The Gong Gong

On the way home from Saturday mornings storm cause I made a stop just near the Gong Gong Reservoir, just east of Ballarat. Conditions were calm and there were some great clouds around, and the millpond smooth surface of the reservoir acted like the perfect mirror.

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A (Very!) Early Start

Early Saturday morning around 5am, there were  a few flashes of lightning out the window, so after watching if for a couple of minutes I decided it might be worth a chase. Once I got outside I realised it was passing by south of Ballarat out towards Yendon. I found a spot with a good view of the occasional bolts and caught one that was OK, however it was the skies  a bit later on, looking north and south, that really caught my eye. The predicted storms mostly missed Ballarat for the rest of the day, though I'm sure there will be plenty of chances throughout the upcoming summer.
And I got some great aerials on the way back to Ballarat.......!

8/4.07, 1.52

Aerial Adventures

I've got a stack of aerials to catch up with from the last couple of weeks, so I thought I'd put them all into the one post - enjoy!

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Big Skies with a Touch of Dust

Nothing too exciting on Friday evening, though the clouds had some nice texture to them. I found a couple of spots out at Windermere and then at Bo Peep that offered a nice horizon element and the last one here was a dust up between some cows out on a very dry paddock.
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Mt Buninyong Morning

On a mild Thursday morning I found myself on the side of Mt Buninyong for the sunrise. Some great clouds really helped and by zooming right in with the big lens you open up a whole new vista. Nice to see the landscape still looking green, and with the forecast of a major rain event next week it should stay that way for a while. 
I also got some nice aerials after this, once I got down to ground level.....I'll get to them next!

7/4.17

The Next Day

After the great moon rise on Tuesday evening, I knew we would also have a moon setting the next morning....and here it is. Some lovely pre-sunrise pastels colours in the sky and just enough clouds to help out. 
And then a nice end to the day at the Arch of Victory on the western end of Ballarat, with some perfect skies!

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Moon Time

On Tuesday evening we had a perfectly timed full moon, rising about 18 minutes before sunset. This allows the moon to climb into the sky to just the right height before it gets too dark. It was clear all day so I knew we were going to get great conditions so I spent some time deciding where to shoot it from. I decided Lake Wendouree would offer some great options as I knew the direction to work with and thought the view from View Point would work well once the moon had risen high enough above the boat sheds and the cafe. I did get an early image from further around the lake just as the moon was rising over Nazareth House, then quickly moved around to the chosen location where I captured a great set of images, including one well placed gull crossing in front of the moon.
I'm looking forward to seeing it set in them morning, too.

6/4.18

Mt Warrenheip Morning

I captured some great aerials over last weekend and this one from Mt Warrenheip early on Saturday morning is my favourite - so far, I still haven't been through them all yet!
Make sure you click on this for a larger look

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Wombat Hill

On Monday evening I made a trip out to Clarkes Hill and from the Ballarat - Newlyn - Daylesford Rd you get some great westerly views of Wombat Hill. When I left home the clouds were very sparse, however the really strong southerly winds quickly changed all that and gave me some nice light and clouds to work with.

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Colour Everywhere

Sunday turned into one of the most colourful days I've had for a while. Starting with a great sunrise out on the west side of Lake Burrumbeet - when I left home around 6am there were no clouds out to the east, however there was a big bank out to the west so I realised if I went out that way and got myself under them there was a good chance of some nice colour. Even before I got to the lakes edge I stopped in a couple of spots for the cows and then this great tree that I've captured many times in many different ways. 
Later in the day, almost out of nowhere, we had a fantastic end to the day up at Lake Wendouree where the sunset was a beauty, nicely bookended by the almost full moon rising behind the sunset out to the east.
And I haven't even got to the aerials yet......!

8/4.14, 1.53

Catching Up

Remember the great aerials from last Monday morning? This is a few I captured from ground level on what was a fantastic, intense sunrise at Lake Burrumbeet's west side.

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Early Morning, Late Evening

Had a great day on Saturday starting with some terrific foggy conditions on the side of Mt Warrenheip. It was totally clear in Ballarat when I left home around 6am and I quickly spotted the low lying clouds out east so that's where I headed. I did get some great aerials that I'll post later on.
And not a bad end to the day at Lake Wendouree, either!

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