Thursday, May 30, 2013

Pelicans In The Mist

I realise that pelicans 'in the fog' was the reality, however pelicans 'in the mist' sounds better. I returned to Como bridge on a repeat foggy day hoping to get a better shot of the webs clinging to the railway fence. 


Disappointingly, there were fewer puddles for reflections, negligible droplets on the webs and the fog began to lift the minute I put my foot on the bridge. Refusing to be daunted I spent some time practising macro work on the solitary spider I did locate. The fog began to thicken again by this stage so I was annoyed that it was time to leave for work. The camera was switched off and I headed home, luckily electing to take the route past the closed jetty.

My reward was the opportunity to capture two pelicans performing their morning ablutions in the midst of all that delicious fog. The moral seems to be that most dismal photo shoots can be turned into a worthwhile experience by some small serendipitous occurrence. 


Observing the antics of these amazing birds always brings a smile to my face.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

To Cruise Or Not To Cruise

Engaged in a little site reconnaisance for the 2013 version of Vivid this evening with some photo buddies. We spent two hours on a cruise ship seeing Vivid from the water, or valiantly attempting to at any rate. The ship departed from Darling Harbour, travelled past Luna Park, underneath the Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House and back to Darling Harbour. It was somewhat disappointing as the seating was less than desirable - in long rows with no tables, flashing lights and droning music, as well as a consistent flow of people walking in front of us to get to the bar. Photo opportunities were extremely restricted as people jostled for the best vantage point. And as for the food !!! It would have been necessary to crash tackle most of the waiters as they charged by in an endeavour to get the food to those seated upstairs. In spite of these little glitches, it was fun to be out with friends sharing experiences, with plenty of opportunities for laughs.

My friends departed to return another night but my thirst for a few decent shots remained unquenched, so caught the ferry from Darling Harbour back to Circular Quay. Realised very quickly that the view from the ferry (which was free) was superior to the Cruise and it was people free where I was seated. Bliss. Ah well - experience is the best teacher.
 image source: http://www.vividsydney.com/

The Harbour Bridge is always involved in some way in the celebrations

I've realised that Vivid is as much about timing and patience as it is about a visual spectacular. I can't see how you'd do justice to the experience with one visit. It's necessary to spend time viewing each installation to allow the cycle to complete and to decide which component is worth capturing. Some of the installations are not continuous, so you also may miss out on one if you're charging through. Having said that, I think I'm the odd one out yet again because I've become a tad numbed by light shows over the years and I think it's a case of seen one seen them all to a certain extent. I won't dismiss Vivid without at least one more visit however and this time I'll make sure I have my wide angle lens with me because it's impossible to get back far enough to capture some of the buildings completely in frame. Perhaps this is the time to give my new Fisheye its inaugural evaluation :-)

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Foggy Morn

The first true fog of the season arrived today and didn't lift until about 10 a.m. I headed for the nearest scenic location, the wharf at Como, however it was looking pretty lacklustre as the wharf was still cordoned off for repairs and all the available angles looked pretty boring. I thought I may be able to get some decent shots on the bridge and spent a fair bit of time playing around with reflections in the puddles on the bridge and the spiders' webs attached to the wire fences alongside the railway track.

It was actually intriguing to see the variety of web structures - it was like a tiny spider village. Some homes were perfectly maintained, some damaged, some embellished by water droplets, some inhabited, some abandoned, some securely anchored, some clinging precariously to a single anchor point, some secluded and some clustered close together in groups. Although I was unsuccessful in locating a striking web heavily laden with glistening liquid orbs, it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours, great to be out in the fog and I was able to capture a few acceptable shots.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Yena Sunrise At High Tide

One of my favourite times to shoot is just after the sun has risen and the new day's light casts a golden glow over everything in its path. I've not published most of my images from this time period because SOOC they look over saturated and I just can't bring myself to tone the colour down.  I went to Yena with Carolyn and we carefully made our way to our own vantage points close to the crashing waves. It was a beautiful mild morning and exhilarating to be down close to the water without having to scale any cliffs or risk life and limb. Just as well we had to waves to shoot because the sunrise was definitely lacklustre. Many of the craters in the rock shelf comprised of exposed Hawkesbury sandstone were filled with water which created some great opportunities for reflections.
 It was worth another trip back for me later on in the morning after we'd had breakfast at Kurnell. I spent some time on the cliffs at Solander to make up for the other day when the wind was blowing so hard that I was unable to stand upright or hold the camera steady.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Pottering Around Potter's

I've always found it confusing distinguishing between some of the coast locations accessible from Kurnell at one end and Cronulla at the other end. I set out on yet another sunrise hunt, however the sad tradition of unrealised expectations was to continue. All was fine when I left home but the minute I opened the car door at Potter Point the cold winds made their presence felt and it became blatantly obvious that there would be limited colour or cloud in the sky.  Hood up and buttons fastened, I was determined not to leave empty handed so I occupied myself by taking shots of many of the rock formations which resembled strange coastal figures.


 I was lucky enough to score some fairly good shots of crows which appeared in a large group and seemed most interested in what I was doing. It brought back memories of Hitchcock's " Birds". It caused me to ensure I kept well away from the cliff's edge in case their circling was in anticipation of pecking on my remains once I'd fallen to my demise.


The following video created by a photo buddy explains how to reach the Point and showcases some of the attractions. Read " Cronulla to the far left" as " Cronulla to the far right" :-)



The following map seems quite detailed and removed the confusion.