To Exeter And Back

Memories of the beautiful colour last year in Exeter had me hoping to catch the last of the Autumn colour. Although a reasonably long drive, many interesting locations can be visited en route: Moss Vale, Mittagong, Bowral, Berrima and Sutton Forest to name a few. Sutton Forest has some magnificent horse studs and the driveways are usually gravel and lined with trees. Unfortunately the poplars were well past their best, but the drive was still worthwhile.
Whenever I'm 'out and about' I always receive an unexpected bonus. The bonus today was some young lambs frolicking after their mums. Unfortunately sheep seem to be easily spooked and ewes and lambs ran off before I could grab an interesting shot of a tiny young lamb.

The Lure Of The Red Mushroom

Was drawn back to Mt. Wilson to try yet again to capture the beauty of the red mushrooms with white spots. I was also hoping that there may have been some deeper colour in what was left of the leaves after the recent deluge which hit parts of NSW.  These large red mushrooms have intrigued me since being introduced to them in childhood fictional tales such as "Noddy and Big Ears".  Perhaps their greatest fascination stems from having lived in an imaginary world fuelled by  bedtime stories read by my mum, where these mushrooms sheltered wee folk.

  Wikipedia describes the mushrooms:

Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a mushroom and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, associating with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture. Although classified as poisonous, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare.

  This year the mushrooms could even be seen along the roadside and beneath the trees in Cathedral Reserve.

We knew however to return to Breenhold Private Gardens . 

 I felt I would have guaranteed success for my hunt beneath the gigantic chestnut tree in Breenhold and I wasn't disappointed. The tree is located in a sheltered corner near the front fence.

 Sadly all of the chestnuts had fallen and deteriorated and the colour had passed its peak but it is still indeed a magnificent tree and I doubt any photo could do it justice.

Turimetta At Last

Many people have written about the beauty of Turimetta as a photographic location so I made my way down there with a friend in order to see what all the fuss was about. The major disadvantage is the distance from home, more apparent on the return journey when traffic is heavy. The beach was a a lot smaller than I'd expected however there were some great rock shelves which created impressive kickup from the incoming waves. As with all coastal locations the perspective changes greatly dependent on tide and from a higher vantage point I was able to clearly see a channel between the selves which would create a great leading line given the right conditions. The clouds were not well positioned this morning and it was difficult to establish a stable location for my tripod so long exposures with my new 16 stop filter weren't possible. Many of the images lent themseleves to some mirroring.

 

Searching For Signs Of Autumn

It's always difficult to gauge the best time for a visit to Mt. Wilson in the Blue Mountains. Too early and all is green, too late and all is on the ground. Mt. Wilson is one of the most scenic locations during the Autumn, however being about a 2 hour drive from home, not the sort of place suitable for regular trips. Our first trip was a little too early this year. Although there were pockets of colour, strangely enough many leaves had already fallen and lay brown on the ground. The large chestnut tree in Breenhold Gardens had already shed many of its chestnuts and they lay rotting on the ground beneath. 

We were however rewarded for out trip when we discovered the large red mushrooms with white spots. I'd located these the previous year after following directions from the Breenhold gardener and had not been pleased with the shots I captured, so we were lucky to have another opportunity.

Some enormous samples littered the ground beneath both the pine avenue and the chestnut tree which kept us occupied for a long period.

We visited the Cathedral Of Ferns but were unable to walk very far as it was very muddy underfoot.

Sydney Icons Walk

The Sydney Photo Fun Meetup group linked up at Milson's Point for the Sydney Icons Walk.  The Opera House, perhaps the most well recognised icon, looks resplendent in the Golden Hour. This shot was taken from the ferry on the way to Milsons Point wharf.

The weather was perfect for the task but unfortunately there was a large barge with a particularly unattractive cargo which seemed to always be in the foreground irrespective of location.

Luna Park is always a difficult subject because there is so much foreground and background clutter. I guess the challenge is what makes it more exciting. 

And perhaps most obvious of all and one of the most over photographed of Sydney's icons,  the over arching Sydney Harbour Bridge

Choose A Colour

This weekend I joined the Sydney Street Photographers' Meetup Group in the city. The challenge was to select a colour from a hat and then walk from Hyde Park towards Circular Quay snapping shots along the route which were predominantly the chosen colour. I drew brown which wasn't particularly inspiring but nevertheless it provided a focus for the day's shoot and was something I'd not participated in previously. 

Up until just recently I've not been a fan of portrait shots but I find myself becoming increasingly drawn to candid shots, particularly of children. The challenge is to capture them making eye contact and standing relatively still.

St. Mary's Cathedral was yet another opportunity for some iconic subjects. It is always intriguing to observe the architectural contrast between the old and new.

The three hours allocated for the task passed quickly indeed, mainly because I allowed myself to be continually distracted by the amazing Moreton Bay fig trees dotted through our city. Walking past the gigantic fig trees just outside Hyde Park Barracks I was delighted to see some demonic faces hidden in the trunk's folds. Faces in the trees are always a highpoint of a city walk.

 

Possibly the most exciting facet of the walk was observing the hundreds of fallen crinkled golden leaves which herald the pending arrival of Autumn, my very favourite Season.

No Show At Sandon Point

The idea was to capture an amazing sunrise photo at the Sandon Point Boatsheds.
 
The reality was an overcast drizzly day which nevertheless provided some great opportunities, and it's always great to get out in the open air with some fun company. It is important to coincide a shoot with a low tide otherwise access to the sheds is limited. 

 

Stopping at Wombarra on the way home we were treated to some decent wave action as the swell had begin to pick up. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated and the rain drove us back to the car.

The penny has just dropped that it was Friday 13th. Well that explains it :-)

As with any location, the image very much depends on weather conditions . The following shot was taken on a previous visit and created a much moodier atmosphere.

Urbex Meetup

Joined Sydney Photo Fun, yet another photography group and attended an urbex shoot at Callan Park.  

 

Garry Burton has some great shots of the extensive grounds if you're thinking of planning a trip there. We were only there for two hours which is not nearly enough time to see everything. I would recommend going by car in order to do justice to the visit.

As always, trees are like a  magnet for me and there are certainly some magnificent examples.

 

Pink Days At Solander

Blood red sunrises and sunsets aren't really my 'thing' because they appear unnatural but I love the mixture of colours Mother Nature cleverly produces - the blues, golds and pale pinks. There were no grand expectations for this morning's shoot with some fellow snappers but the sky really was visually enchanting and seemed to linger for a substantial time, continually changing hues.

Carolyn and I followed the track along the coast from Solander towards Cape Bailey in search of the hawk we'd seen there on previous occasions. Our search was fruitless but the scenery was awe inspiring as usual.

Shoots are fairly casual affairs with the Focus group. Lots of expertise interspersed with lots of humour and lots of Smartphone consultation.

Wollongong Botanical Gardens

Joined two friends for a trip to the Wollongong Botanical Gardens. Although we arrived when there was some heat in the sun there were plenty of shady nooks to find relief. 

 

We were rewarded with some moorhen chicks frolicking amongst the water lilies and some pretty reflections. Moorhens have the most enormous feet, just perfect for their environment.

The much publicized Japanese bridge,  renowned for wedding photos. I'm guessing many a bride has fallen in this location.

 The water dragons love to compete with the ducks for scraps and take refuge amongst the water lilies.

Stopping off in Wollongong for lunch I yet again tried to capture a shot of the gnarled old trees near the foreshore. This was the first time it was not being used as a climbing gym by the local children, but I doubt that I've done it justice even though it is a better attempt than all previous occasions.

We then left the vicinity of the lighthouse and enjoyed experimenting with various compositions centred on a new sculpture which had come highly recommended, finally following the scenic coast drive back towards Sydney which is always far preferable to the highway.

 Nerine Martini created the Migration Project in 2014 to commemorate the contribution migrants have made to the city of Wollongong. It consists of one tall structure which features a boat and ladders reaching upwards in hope and three steel plates which represent components of the migrants' lifestyles.