Andrew Thomas Photographer: December 2011

A Word of Warning.......

Thursday was busy...up again at 5am to shoot Fingal Heads and Dreamtime Beach, and then later on a visit to Natural Bridge Falls in Springbrook National Park, just over the border in Queensland. First shot here is early morning Dreamtime Beach and then a view across to Mt Warning from the Condong Bridge. Stay tuned .... I'm attempting the big climb to the top of the peak next!

Day 2 - Total 1940kms

Had another long day on the road, but got to visit some very spectacular areas. I'm now at Kingscliff on the NSW far north coast, almost into Queensland. First image here is Boundary Falls in the Gibraltar Range National Park, followed by the sunset at Fingal Headlands. Got some truly amazing scenery to show in an upcoming post.......!!!!

Day 1- 1149kms

I'm on the side of the road in Tamworth, its 8.13am. Put in a very big day first up and made it to the Warrumbungles National Park. But heres a couple...1st pic of the trip at Harcourt, near Bendigo, for sunrise. and last night from the grounds of the caravan park in Coonabarabran......must get going again....

Boxing Day - before the big Road Trip

Had a quick visit down to Mt Buninyong on Monday morning and got quite a nice selection in the overcast conditions. I'm posting this a bit earlier than usual as I am heading off very early Tuesday morning for the big drive up to northern NSW - keep checking for some great new images over the coming week as I head into totally new territory.

Xmas Day

Went down to Box Hill, Melbourne, for Xmas day, and witnessed some fantastic electrical storms passing by, and about 6.30 after leaving for the trip home got hit by the heaviest downpour I have ever seen. Managed to capture one lightning bolt at Box Hill, then a nice sky at Bungaree and just made it back to Ballarat to catch the last of the sunset at Lake Wendouree.

The Lovejoy Comet

Here's a slightly earlier view of the Lovejoy Comet over Lake Wendouree.

The Xmas Comet

On Saturday morning I got up at 4am to see if I could spot the Lovejoy Comet....and there its was, quite clear above the eastern horizon above Lake Wendouree. Certainly worth the effort if you can get yourself out of bed. So at about 5.15am I thought it might be worthwhile to go down to the lookout on top of Mt Buninyong, and once again I was presented with some great sunrise scenics. So Merry Xmas to all and a particular hello to David and his mate that joined me on top of the lookout! Make sure you click on the images for a larger look! And if you want to find out more about the comet you can check out this site.....
http://astroblogger.blogspot.com/

A mixed bag from Friday evening

Friday evenings wanderings east of Ballarat...wheat near Moorabool Reservoir, Kanes Lane rambling house, Clarkes Hill potatoes, and sunset sheep on the Ballarat-Daylesford Road just down from Clarkes Hill. Look for the Xmas comet tomorrow!

Lake Learmonth - Solstice 2?

Thursday evening at Lake Learmonth. I've noticed quite often that the dates given for the summer solstice are usually December 21 and 22...so just in case, this is the solstice again! And a quick grab at the Windermere Palm on the way back home.

The Solstice

At Lake Burrumbeet from a new angle I haven't been to before. December 21, 2011....the summer solstice.

The Xmas Sunset

A couple more from Tuesday evening.....I did get a totally different sunset at Lake Burrumbeet last night, but they'll have to wait....

Wow!

A quick post of a super sunset at Lake Burrumbeet Tuesday night...some more fantastic images to come......

An Evening at Newlyn Reservoir

Newlyn Reservoir is about 26 kms from Ballarat...bright and sunny when I got there, but shortly after the clouds moved in, one last burst of sunrays managed to escape! The reservoir is a lot fuller than my last visit, probably 18 months ago, the shore is much closer in, I reckon last time I could walk out another 100 metres. And on the way home there was some nice soft tones in the east above Forest Hill.

Waiting for the light

Spent quite a while waiting at Lake Wendouree for the sun to burst through late in the evening as a lightning storm passed through Ballarat. A few minutes of bright sunshine soon gave way to some softer tones, gradually fading into the darker evening.

Cumberland Falls Kentucky

From the recent trip, the Cumberland Falls are known as the Niagara of the South. Perfect timing for autumn colours, and to sign off today, a Xmas greeting from Daisy!

The Windermere Palm

West of Ballarat stands the Windermere Palm, just off the Western Fwy on the road up to Lake Learmonth. I have driven passed it many times, but Saturday night it really caught my eye...dark, brooding skies and standing all alone in the middle of a full wheat crop. Very strange to see a palm here, perhaps it was planted in a garden of a long vanished homestead? And some more from the west side of Lake Burrumbeet as a rain band passed by.