The Dog Rocks

Here's another image from my visit to the Dog Rocks at Batesford near Geelong from early in May. Some epic clouds created some awesome skies, and black and white added to the drama. I know I'll be dropping in at this spot whenever I'm going down to Geelong.

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Last Day of Autumn

Last Day of Autumn on Saturday started with a very colourful sunrise. I awoke to this golden glow filling the room and quickly grabbed the camera to catch this view across the neighbouring rooftops...by late in the day it was grey and overcast. So thats Autumn for another year.....I'm looking forward to winter, looks like some good rain in the next day or so.

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The Flower in the Bird Bath

Something very different today (and I hear you all cheering!). I was working on some images for a book cover and the bird bath in the backyard was the prop. The book is a dark, horror/mystery thriller needing  an image with a menacing feel to it. This is one of the images I worked with that works really well as a square, static statement of contrasts.
And if you're missing the daily Lake Wendouree fix, don't worry, I'm sure I'll be back there soon!

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Late Autumn Lake Wendouree

Some nice late autumn sunshine at Lake Wendouree on Thursday evening, and then a nice sunset to follow.. As you can tell from the last weeks posts, there is always something to catch here, even in such a narrow area to work in. I am planning to move a bit further afield very soon.........!
This set is really worth clicking on for a larger look.

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Dark and Light

I wandered up to Lake Wendouree on Wednesday evening after a cool, grey day. Half the sky was actually quite clear but you could see a huge dark front moving in. The first one here shows it sitting above the boat sheds in the south east corner of the lake....before it really moved in and started to rain. The second image here shows how dark it got, even though the right hand side of the sky out to the east was still bright and clear and was lighting up the sheds nicely. And then I got quite wet.......!

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Big Blue Skies

On Tuesday evening, which is now very early as we head into winter, around 5.15pm, we had some great huge skies in town. And just at the last minute the sun found a very small window to add just a touch of colour into the mix. Surprisingly, out of all this we didm;t receive any rain, and with just a few days tip June, the May rainfall is less than half the average.

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Blurring the Lines

Monday evening at Lake Wendouree was pretty slow...especially when I started swinging the camera on long, slow, sweeps to create an abstract blur across the horizon.
I know, I know...too much Lake lately? Well heres an archive find from last years trip to Maui in Hawaii in late February from a fantastic sunrise and early morning on top of the world at Haleakala National Park.

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Contrasts

After Saturdays bold and spectacular light and colours at Lake Wendouree, there was a huge contrast on Sunday evening with a soft range of pastels. Working in a limited area I was happy to come home with a nice set that I feel conveys the mood of the evening.

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Saturday's Super Sunset

I managed to make it up to the end of the street on Saturday in time to catch a great sunset at Lake Wendouree. As the sun was setting the light was incredibly intense and I love the way it was catching the leaves in the tree, and then once it had passed actual sunset, there was still some great colours that continued to build. Todays Tip: Never walk off once you think the sunset has finished.....hang around for a bit longer and sometimes it gets even better!

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Local Colours

I was quite limited in my movements on Friday, though I was still able to find some nice colour close to home. Here's a selection of varying colours....

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Slim Pickings

Not much opportunity on Thursday.....I caught this cloud just before sunset on a grey day, just as the rain was starting to come down. So I've added in an oldie....from our trip to California back in May 2011. After we came back from our visit to Channel Islands National Park, we had a night to pass in Ventura, where the pier gave me some nice opportunities.

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The Bird Trees

Caught this on Wednesday morning.......more to come.....and here they are...
After arriving before sunset to quite a grey morning, the fog started to roll in and ended any chance of a big sunrise....though it came with a totally different character.

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Burrumbeet's Beauty

On Tuesday I made a quick trip out to Lake Burrumbeet, and came home with a couple of keepers.....some great, dramatic skies without any real fireworks. Looks like the water level is staying constant at the moment......even with the very dry May we are experiencing.

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Big Sky Monday

It was actually raining slightly when I headed out late Monday afternoon, so I decided I'd head to some running water....once I got out north of Ballarat I could see some interesting clouds on the horizon and realised there might be some nice sky action. So I totally changed plans and did a big loop from Kingston, over to Allandale and back into Creswick. As you can see from this series I got a bit of everything. This series is a good example of knowing your area and following the conditions and light to the right spots.

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Out West to Windermere and Lake Learmonth

Conditions throughout most of Sunday were somewhat uninteresting, though I felt there was a bit of hope for nice finale as the west horizon had some clearer patches. Heading west I made a first stop just off the freeway at Windermere where this great tree shadow caught my eye, a striking contrast against the vibrant red soils. 
Then onto a spot at Lake Learmonth that I haven't been to for quite a while. Once again the receding water levels is creating new views, and the sky co-operated nicely. Though a lot of the edge of the lake is quite mucky, it does create some interesting patterns in the foam and muddy flats. Always something new......

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In the Lake

With only a couple of weeks of autumn left in Ballarat, everywhere you go at the moment you'll find leaves everywhere....including this nice group I noticed whilst walking at Lake Wendouree on Saturday afternoon. So I went home and grabbed the camera and came back for a few shots. An inquisitive swan also wanted to get into the picture, and makes a great contrast with the leaves.

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Sky High

Here's another image from Friday's visit to Lake Burrumbeet...there were some pretty epic skies when I arrived...enough said!

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The Bridge at Lake Burrumbeet

With the continued warm weather and lack of rain here in Ballarat and district, the water level continues to fall at Lake Burrumbeet. Pelican Island is no more.......this popular location for my photography has now taken on a whole new look as the island is now connected to the mainland by a small sand bar. And its given me a whole new aspect to work with. This is one of many I took on Friday evening with the sweep of the shoreline .... lets hope some rain soon with stop the receding water levels, we certainly don't want to return to the drought of a few years ago.

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Moonsetting at Lake Wendouree

A fantastic Thursday morning had me up at Lake Wendouree for an awesome setting of the moon. Once again, like the previous nights images, I thought the clouds were going to spoil it as the moon disappeared for a while as I was setting up the tripod, only to re-emerge a few minutes later, and then the clouds kicked in to really enhance the overall view. Certainly one to remember...and it was surprisingly mild, too, as we are in the middle of an extraordinary warm spell which is set to continue for a few days to come.
The panorama here is certainly worth clicking on for a larger view!

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Lake Burrumbeet Moonrise

I went out to the west side of Lake Burrumbeet on Wednesday afternoon specifically to catch the rising moon, scheduled a few minutes before sunset. I sat in one spot for a while waiting, but it looked like the clouds were not going to co-operate. Knowing that the sunset in the opposite direction looked like being a good one, I actually headed further down Dobson Lane to get a better view of the western horizon .... and by this time the moon had risen high enough to find a few gaps in the clouds and the tree with cows seemed almost too good to be true! And then the reverse colour of the sunset lit up the clouds around the moon to give me something very special. Content with what I had in camera, I headed home, only to be presented with another great view from my original viewpoint...what a session!
And I've got a feeling the setting moon on Thursday morning might be something pretty nice, too......!

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Wide World Web Wonderland

Here's an extra from Mondays travels....after visiting the Gong Gong Reservoir, I came home via Glen Park, and scattered across the paddocks were all the fine webs that had been floating around all day. Even at home in Ballarat whilst sitting outside for lunch we had noticed these fine strands floating around...must have been something to do with the light winds and calm overnight conditions. It was at its most noticeable when looking into the sunlight, and as the sun was almost setting the warm glow really lit them up. I really had to battle the prickly hawthorn bushes to get into position for this one - well worth the effort!

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Almost Full at Dean

When I visited the Dean Reservoir on Sunday the moon was getting to a nice stage - almost full and high up in the sky. I figured in another couple of days would be the best chance to get something really nice, so thats where I headed on Tuesday. Still 2 days before the official full moon, though you can hardly notice the difference here. The Dean Reservoir is quite low down between the hills so I knew it would be up in the right position around 5pm, a good half hour or so before sunset. Luckily the sky co-operated and I came home with some nice images. The last one here is almost 20 minutes past sunset and is a great example of how the conditions can still be really interesting well after sunset. For those interested in a bit of technical info - the last one was shot at 2000 iso and I'm thrilled at how the Canon 6D handled this.....a huge improvement on my last camera (may it RIP!).

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