Keyhole Rock, Blairgowrie : It's wild here

February 17, 2018

Yes it's a little wild. Even at low tide. People climb up the rocks and leap into a perfectly sheltered natural rock pool while photogeeks try to time their clicks to catch fleeting moments when waves and light coincide sweetly. Hopefully.

One gets one's feet wet and one tries not to get one's camera gear splashed. But at least for the humans, the water was wonderfully warm this evening. Enjoy!

(Oh, for the record, I met one other photographer here this evening. His name was Mark. From Mornington. Mark if you read this whenever, leave a comment. Who knows, we'll find ourselves photographing the same sunset again one day.)

Cliff jumpers linger to enjoy the sunset

Sunset as a wave surges over the rocky shelf

20:15 Just a couple of minutes after sunset.

Insane sunset at London Bridge, Portsea

February 16, 2018

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)

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

The Sky, Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary

February 12, 2018

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 )

Exploring the Mornington Peninsula

February 11, 2018

I won't bore you with extensive details. But to really explore the Mornington Peninsula would take many days, weeks, even months. I went down to Portsea and photographed an interesting jetty at Shelley Beach. Then I skipped to the 'Ocean' side and made my way to "London Bridge" where several spectacular rock formations can be found and explored. Preferably at low tide. I shot it at 0.4m.

Next I visited Bridgewater Bay, at Blairgowrie (Ocean Beach) to try to photograph the "Keyhole" rock. Unless one descends the cliff face near the subject (not advisable) this location is best approached at or near low tide. Walk down the steps to the beach, then turn left and cross the rocky shelf. Take strong water capable shoes. Depending on conditions and how close you wish to get, this could be a very challenging location to photograph well. One must watch the sea. So preset almost everything (on the camera) and then quickly approach the target (well there would be many options but my target was quite near to the incoming waves), position tripod down, level camera asap, and get a handful of shots. Then grab the gear and retreat. Tide was nearer to 0.5m and really would have been better a little lower. I feel like I didn't totally nail the focus in my favourite shot. In fact I made more mistakes than I would if I'd been there before. So I'll be back soon.

I guess I'll be learning all about swell size soon as it also impacts how one can / cannot shoot at sea-level locations.

Cliff Jumping at Keyhole Rock, Blairgowrie

Square-shaped Jetty, Shelley Beach, Portsea

Mordialloc harbour views

February 8, 2018

Work remains busy and the air outside oppressively warm for days. Lethargy seeps in by the ends so it gets hard to be motivated for an evening shoot. But the sky looked interesting this evening. So I took the camera and tripod to Mordialloc creek and had a go. It (the sky) didn't happen. But I took a few shots anyway and waited to catch a train crossing the bridge over the creek as it left the local station. Not an amazing evening. But there's just something about being near the water in the evening. It's impossible to photograph the refreshing sea air / breeze that beats being inside a hot house on a warm summer night!

A boat motors toward the rail bridge as a train leaves Mordialloc station.

A small boat passing by The Bridge Hotel, Mordialloc

Lunar Eclipse 31 January - 1 February

February 1, 2018

I bet many people were late for work today. I struggled to wake up after dreaming half the night of flying in a spaceship to the moon which proves that the full moon can make one mad. Especially when it's blood red. And it was. Better than I've ever seen. On a clear sky night. I should have gone to a special location to shoot this 'once in a 35 years' experience. But the need to be at work today won out. So many pics were captured from my backyard. And I quit around 12:45.

Just getting started, 10:44PM 31 Jan 2018