A Bit Further Afield - Death Valley, California

I thought it would be nice to venture back in to the archives to share a image from a bit further afield than all my recent Lake Wendouree images. This is from our May 2011 trip to Death Valley National Park in California. An early morning sunrise catches the peak of Manly Beacon at the popular Zabriskie Point, one of the iconic locations in the park. I remember jumping out of bed in the tent with a bit of a shock when I relaised I had slept in, though I still made it in time to get there, about 16kms away, to catch something very special.

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The Golden Swan on the Last Day of Spring

Not sure if this swan at Lake Wendouree on Saturday night was laying any golden eggs, though he did give me a couple of nice images in the fading golden light. This side of the lake (eastern) seems very empty of bird life lately....only one or 2 swans and the occasional duck or seagull. They must be gathering on the other side.....

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The Begonia Princess

Caught the Begonia Princess ferry cruising on LakeWendouree on Friday evening. It was pretty chilly just standing on the shores, so I imagine it was more-so on the ferry, though the people on board seemed to be having a great time. I'll have to keep a look out for the other Lake ferry as I'm sure it will be out there for some upcoming Christmas cruises.

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Another Lake Visit

Thursday was another great evening up at Lake Wendouree here in Ballarat...with totally different conditions from the previous 2 nights. Grey and wet conditions early throughout the day gave way to some fast moving clouds as the sky started to break up, and the reverse sunset was especially nice. And one group of swans came over for a look before heading off across the lake.

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The Colours of the Lake

Some lovely soft, subtle tones at Lake Wendouree on Wednesday evening. The stillness of the warm night made for some great water reflections and one lone swan was keen to get into the action!

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The Magic of Moorabool

This pair come from about 2 months ago on that amazing visit to Moorabool Falls. Another earlier version of the rainbow above the falls, and then on the way back to the car there was some special light firing up the sky.

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Fishin'

Nice end to the day on a warm, late spring evening at Lake Wendouree on Tuesday. Plenty of fishermen around, and plenty of colour, too.

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Liquid Mill at Birch's Creek

This pair from just over a week ago on my visit out to Anderson's Mill at Smeaton. A terrific reflection of the Mill in the second one here...its the colourful swirl in the water!

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Simplicity

Just a couple of very simple images from Monday. We have a great fence close by that is totally covered in some sort of vine....and though its full-on green at the moment I reckon it could be pretty amazing in autumn.....I'll re-visit in a few months time!
And though digital photos are a very clean format, its sometimes nice to add in a bit of old fashioned film grain.

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A Few Friends at Mount Moorookyle

This great light on Mt Moorookyle, near Smeaton, is from only a few weeks ago. This was the same night I got that amazing rainbow over the canola....so its had to wait its turn to get a viewing.

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So Close to Home

I'm happy to be back after my few days away, and had a chance to catch a couple of simple images from the backyard late on Sunday afternoon. A couple of examples that shows how you can find something worthwhile even so close to home, especially when the light is the right!

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One of my favourite Waterfalls

I've seen many, many waterfalls in the last few years and one of my favourites is Ebor Falls in northern New South Wales. I had the place all to myself on New Years morning last year (2012). Hopefully you'll see from these why I like it so much (even though it was freezing cold!).

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The Wall of Water

Another one from my Grampians National Park visit in February, and my favourite location in the park - MacKenzie Falls. I came home with many images from this evenings visit....and this is just one of the many that need to be shared!

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Behind the Rock

From my second trip down to Flinders Island earlier this year. CastleRock is one of the iconic images of Flinders Island, and I did post a great image from here a while back. The evening I was there was very special, and this image shows whats behind the rock!

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Up North, Way Back.

A few from my trip up to northern New South Wales at the end of 2011. Just an example of the many hidden gems I've got waiting to see the light of day!

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Lava!

A couple of images from last February's visit to Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island in Hawaii. The Lava Boat cruise was a huge highlight with the moon's presence adding the extra elelment that wasn't planned for. And a drive down the Chain of Craters Road to the coast offered many different opportunities.

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A Morning at the Lake

On Tuesday morning I made another trip up to Lake Wendouree for sunrise. Totally different conditions from the day before....mild and sunny with the promise of a very warm day coming up. 
This will be my last "daily" post for a while as I'll be out of action momentarily. But fear not, I have  some great never-before-seen images scheduled daily until I'm back. Enjoy.......

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Monday Morning Surprise

On Monday morning I was planning on shooting the setting moon across Lake Wendouree. I jumped out of bed at 5.50am and as soon as I got in the car I realised plans might have changed. Overnight a fog had rolled in, and though grey and foreboding to start with, when the sun did come up it produced some nice conditions on the north side of the lake.

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A Horsey Moon

Sunday evening I had worked out a location that would enable me to catch the rising full moon - from the side of Mt Warrenheip. With the moon scheduled to rise about 15 minutes before sunset, I caught a very nice view just as the last sunlight was lighting the fields across to Bungaree. It wasn't until the moon had risen some distance that it gained any clarity against the fading sky, though it was on the way home when I had come down the mountain that I caught the last view here...certainly the highlight of this trip! I'm planning to catch the setting moon first thing in the morning, though I have a feeling that it may not be quite what I was expecting.....! Make sure you click on these for a larger look......

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Mooning Around

On Saturday evening I spent some time out west and knowing we are almost due for another full moon on Monday, I thought I might capture a couple of images with the almost full moon high in the sky. First one from Windermere looking across to Mt Hollowback and the Bald Hills and then a bit further one on my way to Lake Learmonth caught this on the side of Weatherboard Hill. In case you didn't know, these hills in the district are all part of a very large, ancient volcanic field, in fact the third largest in the world. And a nice finish atLake Learmonth was very fleeting before all the colour disappeared.

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Going to the Gong

Made a quick visit out to the Gong Gong on Friday to have a play in the small cascades of the Yarrowee River just downstream of the main reservoir. This is another spot I visit quite regularly and with changing water levels I always come back with something nice. The whole area has had a lot of clean up work done recently so its much easier to gain access to this spot.

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