We are now in Wyoming and whilst I sort through some images from the last few days, I thought I'd post this image from my exhibition from out at Dunnstown a while back on that really cold morning we had, minus 5.6. This is the closest I got to snow, the fields here have a great frosty covering to them. and from around 100 metres up they look quite special.
PS....we just had a top temp here in South Dakota yesterday of 39C (thats 101F in the old gauge!)

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Badlands Coyote

We are now in South Dakota after travelling from Michigan through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota to get here. Been some big days driving though its worth the effort when you get to the National Parks. I was very happy with this nice coyote we captured in Badlands National Park  in South Dakota this afternoon. They don't hang around for long when they spot you, so this one was a great catch. Was very warm today, peaking at around 37C! Sorry if you're feeling the cold back in Ballarat and Victoria! Off to Wind Cave National Park tomorrow before heading over to the Tetons and Yellowstone for the last week of the trip.

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Agnes Falls Michigan

Today we put in a big day driving across the upper peninsula of Michigan and fund Agnes Falls towards the end of the day. Plenty of waterfalls in this part of the world which we had visited on a previous trip...first time here, though. Off to Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota tomorrow as the trip continues. 

And just for fun, a grizzly bear from Denali in Alaska just a few short days ago......

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Moose Mayhem

As we said goodbye to Alaska we had one last morning in Denali National Park, and came across a fantastic group of 5 moose.....3 males and 2 females. As you can see they were very close, no cropping at all in this image!
Off to Michigan for the drive west across the USA to a finish in Yellowstone National Park.

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I'm Back!

Finally after 2 weeks on the road here in Alaska I've got good wifi access to post a quick report. We just finished a visit to the USA National Parks No. 57, 58 and 59...so have now visited them all! The first 2 on this trip we were way up above the Arctic Circle in true wilderness locations and it was an amazing experience....I now fully understand the meaning of the word "wilderness". The first image here shows what greeted us when we stepped of the float plane onto the banks of the Kobuk River....wolf prints, along with bear and moose prints every where you looked! And that first night we spotted a bear moving down the river bank towards us, luckily he decided to swim across the river away from us! And the 59th was to Denali National Park, a truly amazing place highlighted by the highest mountain in North America....Mt McKinley at 20,320 feet. Apparently in Aguust your chances of actually seeing the whole mountain are vey slim, on average only 4 days in the month, so we were were really happy to have 2 great days of viewing this awesome spectacle....a couple of pics to show you. As you can imagine I have many, many images to work through...those from Kobuk Valley NP and Gates of the Arctic are quite unique. We leave Alaska tomorrow night for Michigan and 2 more weeks on the road driving west across the USA to finish in Yellowstone National Park....back soon, I hope!

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Saturday Afternoon

I made another visit up to the North Gardens on Satruday to have one last fly before we head off to Alaska early on Sunday morning. Though quite similar to yesterdays, I went a bit higher, and a bit further out than before and both of these images were worth sharing.
This will be my last post for a while....not really sure when we'll get wi fi access again, so keep checking back for the awesome Alaskan adventure!

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Up Above

On Friday afternoon I grabbed a few aerials from the North Gardens on the west side of Lake Wendouree here in Ballarat. Though it was generally quite grey there was enough of a break in the sky to give some great blue reflections off the lake, and I gotta say these high viewpoint images are always very intriguing for what you get to see.

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Set Up Day

I spent most of Thursday setting up my Ballarat International Foto Beinnale exhibition at the Gold Museum. I must say I'm thrilled with how it all looks and it makes all those early mornings on cold winter days worthwhile! Whilst the official opening date of the Biennale is not for another 2 weeks, you are welcome to drop in now.
The Gold Museum has decided not to have a launch this year. Instead they have worked out a deal with the Biennale organisers that if you show your Biennale program guide at the GM that will get you in, which I think will bring a lot more people in, especially as there is 4 exhibitions at the GM and that makes it worthwhile for people to make a visit away from the main hub of the Biennale in the city centre.
It looks like I may be giving a presentation on the Sunday after I get back....I’ll keep you posted on that for anyone that would like to come along.
Oh, I did catch a quick cloud image at Lake Wendouree on the way home.......

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Wednesday Winter Wanderings

On Wednesday evening I was touring around north of Ballarat and came across a number of nice views amongst the dark clouds and showers. First stop was out on the road just south of Clunes where Coghill Creek meanders through the fields. Then a stop out near Mt Beckworth at Glendaruel had me waiting out some heavy rain, though the view from inside the car was very nice (and much warmer!). A final stop on the road on the north side of Mt Hollowback where you always get a great view west of the wind farm out around Waubra.

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Lake Burrumbeet Gold

On a grey Tuesday I was happy to get about 5 minutes of golden sunshine out at Lake Burrumbeet...just enough time to grab this set before it faded away. 

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Foggy Friday Catch Up

I'm catching up on some images from last Friday mornings fantastic foggy start to the day...first in Sturt Street, and then out at Mt Warrenheip. Got plenty more to share when I get the time!

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Monday Meanderings

I spent some time on Monday afternoon cruising around chasing the light around the Clarkes Hill / Mollongghip / Mt Warrenheip area east of Ballarat. Initially some bright sunlight across the fields near Clarkes Hill offered some great images....and then after driving around for a while, in which I'm sure I almost had some snow, I ended up at Mt Warrenheip where the lowering sun was starting to add a nice warm glow to one section of the horizon as a storm front moved through.

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Shepparton Camera Club Day 2

We had a great start to the day on Sunday, once again out at Lake Burrumbeet in exactly the same spot as Saturday...this time with some terrific conditions that had everyone beaming. I grabbed a few images for myself it was that nice. After a break for breakfast, as a finale to the weekend I took them all out to one of my favourite sites....the Madame Berry No. 3 old gold mine out north of Creswick. This place is an amazing array of unexpected delights....and everyone was happy to seem something so unique. We had fantastic conditions with breaks of sunlight and dark skies creating terrific conditions.   I know everyone went home happy, and there was talk already of planning for next year!

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With the Shepparton Camera Club

I've had a group from Shepparton Camera Club down all weekend and just now getting a chance to post a few catch up images. The first one here is from an amazing "Blue Moon"....and though its not blue in any way as this shows, this is the reasoning behind the name...
According to NASA a blue moon is defined as any time there is a second full moon in a calendar month
The amazing thing about this moonrise is the incredible wobble that the moon showed just after it rose above the horizon....something I have never seen before to this level...trust me, this image is how it was!  Apparently its caused by refraction in the layers in the atmosphere.
On Saturday morning we had a grey, wet, windy start to the day on the west side of Lake Burrumbeet and a  quick visit to the windfarm before spending the afternoon at Moorabool Falls. Trust me, Sunday morning out at Lake Burrumbeet was much better......!

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