Fast Flowing Moorabool Falls

After all the rain in the last week which took the June total rainfall well above average, I knew Moorabool Falls should be flowing strongly, so I headed off on Monday afternoon in very wet conditions, which fortunately cleared enough for me to spend some time down below the falls. I really wanted to be on the other side of the river but I wasn't prepared to risk my gumboots in the fast flowing water. In fact the left hand boot seemed to spring a leak and started to fill with water, and only when I got back to the car did I realise I had put on the old one that has a hole in it!
Its looking very green saturated and as you can see in the second image here, the spray off the falls was pretty strong. Great to have the falls back in action....I need to check on Lal Lal Falls to see how thats going.

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The End of a Wet, Wintry Weekend

When I headed out for my daily drive on Sunday afternoon around 3.30pm it was pouring....certainly no reason to expect much on what had been a very wet, wintry weekend. Luckily by the time I had made it north to Creswick it was starting to clear and I managed to come home with a nice selection from a big loop that took me out past Creswick to Smeaton and back home again via Mt Rowan where a great sunset was a nice end to the day, and weekend. 

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Waves

An extra image today from a trip to Arizona in 2009 when we visited Lower Antelope Canyon. Whilst images from here always look great in colour, they also work really well in black and white.

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Up High

On a very wintry Saturday afternoon I drove down to My Buninyong to see what the views were like....mostly foggy and wet! Things have really greened up a lot in the last few weeks, especially with the above average rainfall for June and the green fields make a nice background to this gum tree, whilst a bit later on a big rain front passed by Mt Warrenheip in the distance....and then the rain set in.........

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When You Gotta Go......

Caught this on Thursday evening on the way home from Daylesford up in the hills again at Mollongghip. Some beautiful back-lighting really helped with this one...and just so you can experience the full effect I've added a small animation. If you want the full effect, let me know and I'll send over a cow pat or two.....! You really should click on this for a bigger look!!

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An Olympic Morning

On Friday morning I stopped off at the Olympic Precinct for the sunrise at the end of the rowing course on Lake Wendouree. They have been working on some renovations here in preparations for the upcoming World Rowing Masters Championships in October and its a spot that works well with the early morning light as there are a range of striking silhouettes. Bit chilly, too, I gotta say!

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Corinella Falls Eganstown

An exciting new find on Thursday afternoon. After gratefully receiving a new book last weekend that lists 250 waterfalls in Victoria, I was excited to read in the book of the Corinella Falls at Eganstown, about 38kms from Ballarat on the road to Daylesford. As luck would have it I had an appointment in Daylesford on Thursday which fitted in perfectly with a chance to search out and find the falls. I wasn't sure how well they would be flowing, though the recent rain had me hopeful and, after parking the car and heading off across the fields and through the old gold mining gullys, I knew well in advance the water was flowing as the sound of rushing water caught my ears. Here's the first image to show the approx 23 feet falls in a typical columnar basaltic setting. I only had limited time so I'll be heading back soon as there are a lot of other spots on the Corinalla Creek that will need investigating. Certainly a big surprise to find another waterfall so close to Ballarat.....I'm sure there must be more that I'll keep searching for! And there was a cracking sunset on the way home at Mollongghip, site of Tuesdays epic sunset...that's still to come.............

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The Islands of Lake Wendouree

I made a couple of visits to Lake Wendouree on Wednesday - firstly for the sunrise, actually well before sunrise. On the west side of the lake there are 3 islands that harbour a lot of birds, and in winter once they have lost their leaves, they take on the great colours of the underlying branches. Whilst not so evident in the morning, by late afternoon when they catch the sun, they really light up and if you get some interesting skies behind them they look fantastic. A great example of how the changing seasons can offer new opportunities for places that you may visit on a regular basis.

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Winter Light at its Best

Some terrific light out at Mollongghip on Tuesday evening...this is why winter is so nice, as long as you don't mind the cold! This is looking down across Dean Reservoir from up high just as the sunlight made a very brief appearance. I don't think I could have places the cows any better! Really worth clicking on this for a larger look, this would make a fantastic poster sized print.

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Winter Blues, Hues and Views

Quite a range from Mondays travels. First up was a cold, windy Lake Wendouree for a sunrise that never happened, though the blue light and fast moving clouds made it quite interesting. And then after a day that was cold, wet and windy, a break in the weather late in the day out at Windermere produced something very special. We are in for a very wintry week, in fact as I write this the rain is pouring down outside, hopefully filling up the waterfalls! Maybe even some snow......?!

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Autumn in Shenandoah

Here's an extra image today...from our trip to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia in September 2011.

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Storm Survivors

There was very little on offer on Sunday with the dull grey conditions. So once again an image that seems most suited for a monotonal style. Fortunately the clouds had some nice textures in them, sitting above these trees out at Bo Peep, near Lake Burrumbeet.

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Nestled In

This is my favourite image from Saturday's explorations in the Clarkes Hill area....and it was especially suited to black and white. A funny little brick shed that was being overrun by the hill around it. Worth clicking on for a larger look......

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Winter Wanderings

I spent Saturday afternoon exploring out around Clarkes Hill. It was a damp, drizzly cold day with the occasional break of sunlight across the paddocks - even managed to get a rainbow on the way home - I think that makes it 3 rainbows this week.   

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Mt Warrenheips Comeback

The forecast for Friday afternoon was grey and gloomy, and as it was sunny in the morning, I had an inkling to head out around 9.30am. As soon as I had my first glimpse of Mt Warrenheip I knew that would be the target. With swirling clouds sitting on the top I spent some time exploring and came home with a great range of images. After the big fire from February last year, the mountains comeback has been great with new growth everywhere you look, and contrasted with the blackened remains of lots of the trees it makes for some striking contrasts.

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The Black Canyon

Came across this image from our visit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado from September 2008. One of the lesser known USA National Parks, though one of the more unique and spectacular. We only had an afternoon here and were treated to some spectacular conditions. I strongly recommend you have a visit to this link...
http://www.gunnison-co.com/?pid=blackcanyon
http://www.gunnison-co.com/?pid=blackcanyon

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The Only Colour.....

On Thursday morning there was some nice colour developing before sunrise so I scooted up to Lake Wendouree. I only managed to grab 3 pics from St Patrick's Point before it was gone...and that was it for the rest of the day. A very cold day that only made it to 7 degrees, it seemed cold enough for snow...now that would make the cold well worthwhile!

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Under the Bridge

An extra from last nights visit to Birch's Creek at Smeaton. This gives a good idea of where I took the previous post's images, and seemed well suited to black and white. Let me tell you - that water was pretty cold!

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Cascading

A drab, grey end to the day on Wednesday, which had me looking for options that don't rely on colourful sunsets. Birch's Creek at Smeaton is always a great place to spend some time in these conditions, and almost underneath the Smeaton Bridge there is a very nice small cascades. Water level is up a bit from last time I was here so the flow over the edge is a bit fuller. A great spot if you want to practise some water imaging techniques, certainly without getting too wet!

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Winter Wanderings

On Tuesday afternoon I made a trip out of town in wintry conditions that took me out around Bald Hills, over to the foot of Mt Beckworth and then on to Clunes where I finally caught up with the light to capture some breaks in the clouds above the old mining area. This is an area I don't visit too often, especially around Clunes, though it deserves more time and exploration.

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Westerlies

On a cold, wet winters Monday evening I took a couple of fellow photographers out for a quick scout around. We ended up at a location on the side of Wombat Hill in Boundary Church Road where you get a great westerly view from up high. Though there was no stunning sunset, the fast changing conditions produced some great clouds, with just enough light breaking through to show the many layers.

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A Definite Direction Decision Pays Off

On most days when I go out for my daily photo excursion, I tend to let the conditions decide for me in which direction I head.....on Sunday I had it all worked out before I left, planning on a visit to Lake Burrumbeet's south shore, but moving around a lot further west than usual. And it paid off big time...on the way out west I had a good feeling that I might be in for some rainbows...and as you can see thats exactly what happened, in many directions and for quite some time. Quite a magical days outing.

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