Surfing at Gunnamatta 20 April 2019

We’ve enjoyed the warmest Easter weekend in (almost) living memory. Except it turned normal again as I write this on Monday. But Friday, Saturday and Sunday were wonderful as is the true story of Easter.

On Saturday I took myself and a camera or few down to Gunnamatta Ocean Beach where, as it turned out, there was the occasional large wave and plenty of choppy / flat stuff in between. But the surfers persevered and I bumped in to someone there who ( not the first person to ) suggested I create an instagram page to make surfing photographs available for the surfers who are in them. I’m not sure the concept will work but as the pics were taken I put a few hours aside and set up a new insta account. I will post all sorts of seaside pics to it in time. And who knows, maybe some will sell. I like my Seascapes … so those will be available there too shortly.

Anyhow here’s some of those added to instagram today. Oh, and, the new account name is: @oceanlifepics

Actually I was quite pleased with myself to think of that and find it hadn’t already been taken :-)

So please go follow @oceanlifepics on instagram!

Starting with seagull pic which is appropriate because I rescued one trapped in a tangle of fishing line, hook, bait, sinker, the works. The poor bird had become completely mobilised on the sand at the water’s edge. It tried to nip me over and over until it settled in my hands. Turns out their bite isn’t nearly as bad as their squawk and gee can the squawk. Then a couple of other guys stopped to help which made it easier and, eventually one rounded up a fisherman with his snippers which were used to cut off the hook… then we were able to pull the line from the bird and release it. Amazingly it took off with no obvious injury to the wing and… never looked back to thank us. Seagulls are like that, aren’t they. Enjoy the pics.

A bird’s eye view of Gunnamatta beach

Taking it easy is fine

The lighthouse on the hill

Riding the lip

Making it look easy

Youthful precision

Carving it

See it’s easy and it’s fun

She heads toward the sunset

A man with several cautious admirers

Gone!

Surfers heading home as the sun goes down

Casting out the line at sunset. Oh, and the pure enjoy / chill mood on the beach as the sun set was wonderful.

Madagascar : Through the windscreen

Here are a selection of shots, mostly grab-shots through the windscreen, taken during my two weeks in Madagascar. Yes I got to sit in the front seat this time. Some taken with the special Sony; others with an amazing iPhone. Often one can't tell the difference!

The driver is at the back and he's standing on the brake. It's a crude system but it works. I reckon they've mastered the art of improvisation. At least when it comes to their vehicles!

These people seem to be pulling stuff ( I know not what ) from the water to their raft. It's a tight crop.. so I couldn't zoom in further. It's a different life!

I'd just told Kim I would no longer deliberately shoot into the sun when I had him stop the car so I could jump out and shoot this one. I was 'taken' by the extraordinary amount of smokey haze in the air. They burn stuff. And there are people everywhere. This place is not for those wishing to breath sweet mountain air!

Taken a few minutes before the previous one. You can just see the line of smoke above the ridge. I took this one to show how an ordinary suburban road cuts between a very rough embankment and a neat garden wall! 

A pastoral scene. In the distance kids play soccer.

A tighter crop of the shot above. What can I say. It's a different life. And they're carefree in the moment.

Roadside commerce. It's incredible to think those two tiny children (and thousands of others) play and somehow survive on the narrow edge so near the wheels of so many vehicles.

On his way to Hogwarts with a delivery.

Some roads are easier than others. This is not in a suburb. It's a main / national road threading its path through narrow 'gaps' in various villages. It took us 3.5hours to cover about 60km from Lake Mantasoa to Antananarivo!

Bamboo scaffolding systems were everywhere to see. And I don't remember seeing a single unnecessary bright yellow safety vest. Anywhere. Thanks goodness the yellow (high-vis) fever hasn't spread everywhere.

A road-side sofa store?

Going bananas

Two "Vazaha" buying bread rolls from tiny stall on roadside. Amazingly we were charged the normal price, not the inflated price sometimes charged to 'vazaha' (light-skinned tourists). Thanks, Andy, for sneaking this super shot!

Not an oxcart, but a zebu cart. See the humps. Zebu are thought to have originated in Asia (possibly India). But Madagascan Zebu are special: "Genetic analysis of African cattle has found higher concentrations of zebu genes all along the east coast of Africa, with especially pure cattle on the island of Madagascar, either implying that the method of dispersal was cattle transported by ship or alternatively, the zebu may have reached East Africa via the coastal route (Pakistan, Iran, Southern Arabian coast) much earlier and crossed over to Madagascar." (wikipedia)

An everyday scene. Every few hundred metres. People, bicycles, cars, wagons, anything / everything must share the same roads.

French cars of various ages. And a bicycle and one or two japanese vehicles.

Independence day lanterns for sale. Sue bought a bunch and we all had plenty of fun later that evening. Must still blog that.

Look at those beds!

Sunset from the road side. Near Antananarivo. Yes I broke my rule and shot into the sun here again. If you made it this far thanks heaps for having a look. Hope you enjoyed. Leave a comment or a like!

Returning to London Bridge

They say you should go back. And practice makes perfect. I don't know about perfection. But I'd like to think I get better... and it's fun. Once again I was alone on this beach. That's a surreal feeling. It's such an extraordinary place. And a mesmerising place to be alone. Tonight my favourite shots were taken a few minutes before and a few minutes after sunset. It's officially Autumn. The leaves are beginning to fall in my street. But it was warm enough on the beach. Even the water lapping around my feet was... lovely. Anyone want to dust off a camera and join me next time?

Five minutes after sunset. So calm. 16mm 6s F8 ISO64 & a 6-Stop ND64 Filter

Sunset at 19:57 21mm 0.5s F16 ISO 64

The light! 19:48 22mm 1/15th F11 ISO64

The sea is a savage! 19:36 21mm 0.5s F18 ISO64

Insane sunset at London Bridge, Portsea

Everyone says everything is insane these days. What's insane is that nobody else was out to photograph this evening. It felt surreal being the only person on such an isolated beach. It's an amazing place. But not insane. Some have suggested that it could be dangerous here because there are signs nearby warning of "Unexploded bombs!". However, I doubt it. Although I was alone tonight there remained many footprints on the beach and none ended abruptly. But I digress.

The sunset was beautiful. The sky wasn't super dramatic. But it was still a blessing to be close to the raging ocean clicking away on the shutter as the sun sank beneath the waves. Here are a few clicks.

A ten second shot at 20:08 (7 minutes to sunset)

A 0.8s shot at 19:50 (25 minutes before sunset)

Sunset (1/3s)

Through the looking glass (3s exposure at 19:47. Cropped, no other edits).

The Sky, Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary

When I left work it was obvious something was going on above. I kept looking up as I made the one hour drive home. I grabbed a very quick bite to eat. Then the camera and went down to Ricketts. Ricketts seemed like an ideal choice given the lack of time (it's only 35 minutes from home) and because there are often pools of standing water. Pools can reflect the sky. As it turned out there was far less pooled water than on previous visits. That limited choices. But I'm happy anyway with the composition and thrilled with how the sky came alive a few minutes after sunset. I don't know how many of these we'll get in a lifetime. But this would be one of the better ones for me. What a blessing to be out on a beach / marine sanctuary on a perfect 22 degree evening. And not alone. At least six gorgeous Pelicans and three beautiful Black Swans were out enjoying the show. I wished I could fly to and fro like the Swans. 

Six Pelicans in heaven ( shot with the iPhone - no edits )

A wider view ( handheld iPhone pano - no edits )

A three minute exposure at sunset ( with an ND64 filter and a graduated ND8 filter )

SUNSET AT MORDIALLOC

We've been blessed with a few beautiful sunsets recently. So at the last minute I decided to have a go at getting one in a new location. Not necessarily a good idea. 

It takes 27 minutes to drive from my house to Mordialloc Pier. That's what Apple Maps said. But then I needed to track further along the bay to locate an ideal vantage point to capture the sun setting behind the Pier. Once I'd found said spot I had about 2 minutes to whip the camera from the bag and land it on the tripod. The first shot was my favourite because of how the water/waves 'fell'. But it's hard to choose. Anyone who's tried photographing water knows every shot is different and unique and you may need to take quite a few to get one that feels just right. Ideal shutter speeds range from, maybe, 1/5 to 2/3 of a second. So here are 3 shots taken within seconds of each other around 20:41pm just as the sun reached the horizon. And one or two taken a little later.

Sunset behind Mordialloc Pier 28mm F16 1/5s ISO64

Seagull makes a cross (top left), Sunset behind Mordialloc Pier 35mm F16 1/8s ISO64

Sunset behind Mordialloc Pier, 35mm F16 1/6s ISO64

Sunset behind Mordialloc Pier, 24mm F16 0.4s ISO64

Gulls swimming at Mordialloc Pier, 24mm F16 1/6s ISO64

Dreams begin, Mordialloc Pier, 24mm F16 1.6s ISO64 GND3Stops

Darkness falls, Mordialloc, 17mm F9 2.5s ISO64

Brighton Beach - 18 November 2017

So I went back to Brighton Beach this evening because we'd enjoyed a repeat of the previous afternoon's thunderstorm. Except today's was borderline epic. And I had a hunch the evening sky would be too. So I returned to the beach, arriving about half an hour before sundown.

I was rewarded with a marvellous sky that kept transforming from tone to tone as the sun worked its way first out and then back behind various clouds before eventually setting beneath the horizon shortly after 8pm. But the magic continued. They always say you shouldn't give up on a sunset too soon. Just like you shouldn't be late for the sky.

"Schoolies" week officially began yesterday (Friday 17th) with the year 12 exams all finishing by now. It seems I'd chosen the best vantage point (just in front of a fence behind the bathing boxes) to enjoy the sunset and the colourful bathing boxes because a small group of youngsters gathered behind me. I hadn't even noticed them until one said "excuse me, would you like an ice cream .. we've got one or two too many!". I politely refused. Would feel like taking candy from... oh, well. Still their simple generosity surprised me and they were genuinely interested in seeing some of the pics of the sunset because they'd arrived (no doubt train) too late. One even asked what the square (graduated) filter was for and quickly understood when I told him it's to help balance the sky vs the darker land below. Wow, there's hope for the future after all!

Anyway, back to the pics. I was blessed to get some of the best beach pics I could have hoped for. I've put two in the "Beach" gallery. And i'll put an abstract and one of silhouetted photo-taking strangers enjoying the atmosphere without realising what great silhouetted subjects they were for my point-and-shoot.

Everyone enjoys an epic ending.