Swell Time Back At Bombo

With a rumoured swell of 4 metres at Bombo we headed off yet again. The rain had been falling continuously for the previous few days so we were also expecting lots of puddles which are great for shots. The swell wasn't disappointing but the quarry held so much water it was impossible to access sections of the location. The presence of a gusty wind also destroyed any chance of reflections.

Bombo presents a different face each time we visit depending on where we stand and the weather conditions.  We had been keen to capture water cascading down the backs of the rocky pillars but unfortunately the large waves were infrequent and we couldn't seem to anticipate well.

Just being there to witness the power of the ocean is always so humbling and rewarding, so the trip wasn't wasted by any means.

Dawn In The City

So far I've only processed one image from the City shoot. Difficult to explain what makes an individual gravitate to a specific image from all the shots which are captured at a given location. A young girl on the ferry attracted my attention but it wasn't until I experimented with combining some techniques that I really decided why she intrigued me. I think it was the 'from another era' aura she exuded. I'm pleased with the results.

1. Subject  "as was"

2. Subject after one form of processing 

I haven't been able to leave this image alone for some reason and I decided to document some of the post processing options by combining some screenshots using both Proshow Web and Windows Moviemaker.

See below


 The initial motivation for the City trip was to capture some golden morning light shots of the Opera House so travelled in with a friend and wandered around the famous landmark, thence on a  ferry ride to Darling Harbour, back for breakfast at City Extra and back in time for a movie at the Quay Dendy. 

As luck would have it, there was a professional shoot taking place at the top of the Opera House steps and the light shining on the golden hair of the model was too alluring to ignore. The reflections on the glass walls are always a magnet, but the challenge is to capture the changing light conditions successfully. The Opera House is best before Sydney rises and the crowds mar the compositions. We were lucky enough to see two large cruise ships which were shown to advantage against a cloud laden sky. The trip on the ferry to Darling Harbour was peaceful and productive. It's always difficult to capture an unusual shot of the city icons such as the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park or the city skyline but conditions were quite pleasing this morning and a sky full of clouds is a great backdrop for any scene.

Garie Beach - Crab Haven

Another early start and although the forecast had been for cloudless skies we elected to use the morning as a reconn trip to Garie Beach.

I'd not been there for a few years and was pleasantly surprised to see some of the moss covered boulders which would act as great leading lines.  The rocks were literally crawling with crabs but access was easy.

 The temptation with relatively cloudless skies is to import one and create a composite image. I still think clouds make the difference to an image but I can appreciate why this practice enrages purists.

Once the golden light of the rising sun hit the rocks the scene was reminiscent of the famed El Dorado.

  Once we left Garie, we headed for breakfast at Audley Weir. So many photographs have been taken of the boathouse reflections, but there is only a small window of opportunity before the light becomes too harsh.

Rock Guardians

Part of the joy of photography for me is the appearance of faces in the forests and cliff faces. I find it intriguing that many people don't see them, because to me they're easily discernible. I love to think of them as Nature's guardians of spiritual places and to imagine the secret life of trees.  Creating a slideshow of some of these guardians has long been on my agenda so at last I've compiled a short slideshow of some of the more persistent ones from the Kamay Botany Bay National Park. The quality is not what I would like but at least I've taken some action and I am relatively pleased with the sound track.