No. 56

Way down south....
No. 56 - Big Bend National Park, Texas
End of the Day at Cerro Castellan Peak

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Extraordinary

Extraordinary - that's the only word I can use to describe Thursday images. The rain set in after lunch and I thought I was going to get washed out. However around 4pm, with the temperature hovering around the 3 degree mark, the sky started to break up...the ideal recipe for some great winter images. Initially I noticed some interesting clouds over Lake Wendouree up near the school boat sheds on the north side of the lake. From there I thought I would head out to Lake Burrumbeet, however I changed directions when I saw the clouds moving nicely over Mt Rowan and caught this lovely country lane view. Then heading north up Gillies Street I made a quick stop for this long line of sheep before heading further east towards Allendale West where I was able to go for a fly above one of the old gold mines....the Cooper Mine. Just up the road from this was where I captured my favourite image for the day...this view right on sunset looking up this creek valley. And for good measure, on the way back down to Creswick, some late colour over the lollipop tree on the top of Mt Beckworth. As I said.....extraordinary that you can capture all this in little more than an hour on a freezing cold winter afternoon.
I have heap more aerials to go through....will save them for later!

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No. 57

Moving right along.....
No. 57 - Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Dusk from the Badlands Wilderness Overlook

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Morning to Night

Quite a nice variety of images to share today.....When I looked out the window before sunrise on Wednesday there was quite a lot of fog around. So I jumped in the car and headed out...first stop the Ballarat Railway Station. The fog was quickly disappearing though I still captured a couple of nice images...the Railway Station always makes a nice subject when the lights are on, even from ground level! From there I headed out of town towards the Mt Warrenheip area where a rail element once again came into play at this crossing. The moon also made a reappearance in this view looking across the top of Mt Warrenheip. And to finish off the day, a pretty big sunset at View Point at Lake Wendouree...these 2 images shows just how much the colour changes on just a short time.
And did I mention how cold it was at the Lake!!

9/4.26

No. 58

The Countdown continues......
No. 58 - Arches National Park, Utah
The Petrified Dunes & La Salle Mountains

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No. 59

The countdown begins...59 days to go until the US National Park Service Centennial on August 25. One pic a day from my soon to be released book.

#59 - Acadia National Park, Maine

Sunrise at Boulder Beach and the Otter Cliffs

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Above the Clouds

After the hint of fog on Monday evening, I was pretty confident that Tuesday morning would be a foggy one. And indeed it was...I made my way out to the wind farm around Addington and captured some images that I've been after for a long time. In the 2nd image here, that's Mt Misery with the fog and Mt Ercildoune off to the left. I've only managed to get some aerials once before of the wind towers in the fog so I was really happy with this series. I did get some nice images from ground level that I'll get to next...quite a different take on the same area.

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Near and Far

Another week starts with a brief burst of colour at Lake Wendouree looking across a couple of the small islands on the west side where the egrets like to nest. Later in the day, chasing the clouds, I ended up out at Addington...the clouds in front to me towards the sun had all but disappeared, though the view across to the rocky slopes of Mt Bolton was pretty nice, as was the massive clouds out to the east catching the last light. And then on the way home just after dusk, some low lying fog was already moving in for what promises to be a great foggy morning the next day (trust me!).

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Sunday Scenic

Another very chilly start to the day on Sunday...in fact colder than the day before. Still a bit of black ice on the road had me slowing down as I made my way to Lal Lal...first to a new spot overlooking the reservoir, and then later when the sun had risen from along the Lal Lal Creek off the old Racecourse Road. And in between these 2 aerial adventures, some nice frost on this farm gate just as the sun was rising.
I'm still constantly amazed by what you see when you're up off the ground!

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Snow Aftermath

After all the excitement of Fridays snow, I had a feeling there would still be some left on the side of Mt Buninyong on Saturday morning. There was still enough left to make the scary trip over roads covered with black ice worthwhile. Some nice contrast photos here showing a couple of views before the sun had risen and then just afterwards. And once the aerials were over, I caught some lovely long views with the big lens. And just to top off a cold but calm day...a visit down to the Ballarat Railway Station at dusk.

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Snow!

Yes, the forecast snow arrived on Friday afternoon and I headed out later in the day to the Clarkes Hill/Dean/Mollongghip area and I reckon I timed it perfectly. It's the first time I've captured snow locally with some great light. Usually the sight of snow is exciting enough...when you get some great light to go with it, it takes it to a whole new level. Even the cows and the sheep helped out with this set, though I must admit to wanting to take the lamb in the last one home for the night (and not for dinner!)

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Winter Water

A very wintry day on Thursday, especially after midday, and especially when running around Lake Wendouree just after lunchtime! I had to deliver some books (the last copies of my Ballarat book) in the morning and so I took the opportunity to grab this image at Bo Peep Creek. It's a spot I often stop at, and with the creek flowing so well at the moment (it flows into Lake Burrumbeet) the grey overcast conditions always work well, and some nice subtle green tendrils just below the surface always add a nice extra element.

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Lal Lal Catch Up

This series is from the great frosty sunrise I had down at Lal Lal Wednesday of last week. These are all taken with the aerial camera though the last one is not high off the ground. It was fabulous morning and the frosty covering over everything really added to the images. The first one is right above the edge of Lal Lal Falls...as you can see there is no flow at the moment...that may change soon with the great rain we've been getting today. The 3rd and 4th images shows the 2 creeks that come together here to feed the falls...Lal Lal Creek and Granite Creek whilst the 5th image is about one of the only pools of water I could find in the creek. And what about that last one!!

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