The A.N.Z.A.C Tradition

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this was my first attendance at the A.N.Z.A.C Day dawn service and march. Previously I had always been a participant from the warmth of my loungeroom. I was both surprised and chuffed that the turnout was of mammoth proportions. It takes quite a bit of commitment to rouse oneself at 3 a.m in order to make the long trip to the city, particularly those of advanced years and those with young children.

The mood was respectful and nothing occurred to mar the solemnity of the occasion. After the Dawn Service I made my way down to Circular Quay, then returned to the Cenotaph for the commencement of the march at 9 a.m. Quite by accident I positioned myself in a decent spot ( photographically speaking) on the Cenotaph side of George Street which meant that I escaped having to look into the sun as the march progressed.

Diggers who are no longer with us were represented by descendants of all ages marching in their stead.

 

What really impressed me was the spirit which emanated from the old Diggers, some veterans of a number of wars or peace keeping missions. The tenacity which enabled them to partake in such a long and demanding march was sustained I am sure, not only by their sons and daughters who physically supported them but by the spirit of lost comrades. Their courage and selflessness is as evident today as it was when they placed their lives on the line many many years ago.

 "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them." 

 For our today, they gave their tomorrows

Surfs Up - In A Big Way !

During a stay with my cousin who lives down the South Coast we visited Huskisson Beach where the swell was enormous.

View South Coast Holiday in a larger map

Luckily the sun was behind clouds which reduced the glare of facing towards the light and we were able to find a great vantage point where we could position ourselves to the side of the surfers and obtain a better shot. Even so we were quite a distance away from the action and it was quite a challenge to maintain focus. The surfers were having a great deal of difficulty even getting into the water and I spent ages waiting for that moment to capture the moment. Luckily I was able to grab one shot just before we decided to leave in order to escape the escalating winds.

Autumn Days in the Blue Mountains

I decided to risk the predicted inclement weather and visit a number of Blue Mountain locations. My main aim was to avoid the tourists and large crowds, so I planned on arriving at Katoomba for the rising of the sun. Although the sunrise was less than spectacular, there were only a handful of people until about 8.30 a.m and better still, the parking meters are not functional until 9.00 a.m.

Mt. Wilson

By the time I reached Mt. Wilson it was raining intermittently, so while the light was better, it is always somewhat challenging to shoot while holding a camera in one hand and an umbrella in the other. One stroke of luck - there are a number of private gardens at Mt. Wilson, renowned for its Autumn colours. One of them, Breenhold Gardens, is extensive and as luck would have it,  due to the poor weather, there was no admission charge. On a return trip I will ensure that I take a map in order to spend more time here and plan my route.

I'm still working on images taken on this trip. Im afraid they've been pushed way to the end of the priority pile.

At Rest In La Perouse

Another serendipitous discovery from a visit to La Perouse was Pioneer Memorial Park  created in 1776 by Botany Cemetery Trust from gravestones transferred from Sand Hills cemetery Devonshire St. Sydney to old Bunnerong cemetery in 1901.

My First Sunset

I've decided I prefer sunsets to sunrises - the light is still magnificent as it changes from gold to deep blue, and with the absence of the sun there's no need to worry about blow outs. I was driving on my way home from visiting my cousin and noticed the most amazing cloud formations so I raced down to Shelly Beach and spent a few hours just drinking it in. The image below is SOOC except for the crop and signature.

Oak Park

Oak Park is the southernmost of Cronulla's rock pools and known for its distinctive dressing-pavilion.

Linked to Cronulla by The Esplanade which is a popular walking track, it has a rocky shoreline and ocean baths. Many scuba divers use the end of this rock pool to enter the ocean for one of the best shore dive locations in Sydney. There is a grassed area and some seating but the ocean baths are not patrolled by lifeguards.

It's a reasonable location for sunrises as a step to the right makes the most of any cloud action highlighted by the rising sun and a few steps to the left takes you to Shelly Beach where you can grab some great reflections in the pool.

View Oak Park in a larger map
 

Lesson learnt: Buy a lightweight torch for establishing focus when it's pitch black and you have to clamber over rocks.Big is definitely not best with respect to torches. Head light here I come !

At this rate I'll need my own Sherpa to lug my gear ! Minimal time to play with long exposures.

My initial visit was with two Focus buddies Carolyn and Megan in an endeavour to capture one of those elusive sunrises ( for me anyway). The minute we stepped out of the car what had been star filled, skies turned to cloud cover and the wind whipped up. It looked like it was going to pour down but with time the sun did break through momentarily, however all the clouds with colour were around the corner and by the time we reached the optimum spot they would have dispersed :-(

 

We did finally get a touch of colour near the pool but by that time it was lucky the clouds had increased or otherwise the sun would have ended up being a blown out blob - must try my ND Filters ! 

 I love the golden light which bathes everything as the sun just frees itself from the horizon

One of my favourites from the morning looking back towards Shelly Beach

As the sun rose higher in the sky it provided an opportunity to silhouette the surfers against the sparkling water

Some of the wave action was amazing as the wind increased

I always find it difficult to choose an effective crop for surfing images

My subsequent visit was with a new Focus buddy, Chris and I came better prepared this time although watching Chris made me realise what a boon ND filters are for controlling solar blow outs.It was intriguing to see what a difference the light made on the day. Same location, completely different shots.

A pretty lame attempt at long exposure but I quite like the desaturated effect.

Chris's camera inadvertently became the star of the show.

 

 The swimmers and surfers were backlit by the rays of the rising sun.

It was interesting to see the change in colour in the sky, within the space of a few minutes

The ghost of a surfer waiting to launch into the swell

The golden light of a new dawn. A dad gives surfing lessons to his small daughter

Wattamolla Sunrise

Sunrise at Wattamolla (or that was the idea) !

Wattamolla is a sheltered cove with a sandy bar at the inlet behind which lies a lagoon fed by the waters of Wattamolla Creek and Coote Creek. This lagoon  then enters the sea via an ankle-deep (so they say) stream at one end. Coote Creek finds its way down another valley, then as a beautiful waterfall, it rushes over a sandstone rock face into the lagoon below ( sourced from Wikipedia )

Although the sky was very cloudy the rain appeared to be holding off so David Mills and I decided to give it a go. Walked down the path to the lagoon where we took some shots of  the lone palm tree and waterfall, then on to the beach where we had to negotiate the narrow channel to reach the sand. David assured me the tide was going out so apart from initially sinking almost up to my knees in something akin to quicksand I was able to take some shots looking out towards the horizon. Missed a great shot of some guys jumping off the rocks at the top of the waterfall. Must go back with my wide angle.
Reminder to self : Don't ask David again for his opinion about tides ! On the way back the channel was deeper and wider :-)

Canberra Hot Air Balloon Festival

Decided to tick off another item on the Bucket List - the hot air balloon festival in Canberra, the political capital of Australia. 

I was able to stop off on the way in Goulburn and Collector, two other historical towns so it was a packed 2 days. 

 Most of the large balloons ignited but didn't launch due to poor wind conditions and most of the decent shots were taken on the ground. I spent some considerable time balloon chasing when it was decided to launch the balloons from a location other than the one I was at :-) Thank goodness I had my Navman as I ended up on the top of a large hill on a dirt road only to glimpse the balloons as they landed. I guess it was better than nothing :-)


View Balloon Landing Places in a larger map

The light was fairly lacklustre so I decided to try out Nik Software HDR Efex Pro. This one was very grainy and I can hear all the purists moaning, but I like it.

St. John's Orphanage Goulburn

Another location which keeps calling me back is the old orphanage on the hill - St. John's - overlooking the city of Goulburn. Opened on the 17th March 1912, the Sisters of Mercy ran the orphanage for its duration until closing in 1978. The building was designed to house up to 100 boys but that figure reached as high as 250 during the war years. It was a foundling orphanage which meant that children who were placed here usually had at least one surviving parent. During the Depression, it was common for families to keep older children and leave younger ones in the orphanage as there was not enough money to care for all the children.  

 I've visited on 3 occasions now, exploring different rooms each time. The last time I visited on my way down to the Canberra Balloon Spectacular and as luck would have it, there was a local wandering around inside so I was brave enough this time to explore upstairs with him. Motivation was high after discovering the following video on YouTube. It seems to be very difficult to locate much information on the internet about St. John's. 

During all visits access was easy as there was no scaffolding erected even though it is obviously going to be demolished to make way for some aged retirement villages. Until my third visit I'd been wanting to go upstairs but I thought it was unwise in case I had an accident or the floorboards were damaged.  It also gave me the creeps as the stairwell was really dark and although it wasn't a windy day, there was the sound of a door which kept banging.  On my third visit when I was not alone, it didn't appear nearly so haunting but there is still a sadness which pervades the air.

 Other links :
Boys Homes
Flickr images
Wikipedia

Rainy Day At Wollongong Harbour

Lesson Learnt:  Never underestimate the unpredictability of water and always cover the camera.

My photography teacher Greg Ford, David Mills, Danielle Sheehan and I had our plans thwarted for a sunrise at Sandon Point so we headed off in the rain to see if we could capture some interesting shots at Wollongong Harbour. It was BIG. I farewelled my first DSLR camera, my Canon 60D. 

Thinking I could get some great action shots of David and Greg, I took shelter behind what I thought was a safe barricade while they attempted to reach the lighthouse. However, the swell was so large a wave dumped beside me, bounced back up and poured down on both my cameras and left me with water swirling around my legs up to my thighs. My position ( indicated by the arrow) looked safe enough I thought. 

I was obviously wrong :-(

 It was interesting to watch Greg and David from my so called safe spot. Interesting to compare the two video versions. Can't find any way to make the One True Media (purchased software)video larger while the Slide.ly version (free) is easy to configure but difficult to change slide order . Go figure !!! Can never get exactly what you want