Colour Everywhere

I hit the jackpot on Monday afternoon with an incredible display of colour and clouds. A heavy shower hit Ballarat around 4.30pm and with the sun still strong I knew there would be a rainbow......and sure enough, there it was over the Ballarat Cemetery, where I was able to use some great shadows to advantage.
I was almost content with that for the day, however I was keen to head up to Lawrence, north of Creswick, to visit one of the locations in my CHW project. So after 6pm I headed off and straight away knew there could be some interesting conditions around. This dark threatening sky over the Madam Berry No. 3 old gold mine caught my eye, as did this tree with sheep at Lawrence. The plans for the Lawrence shoot didn't work out so I ended up chasing the light, and rainbows, across country through Smeaton and surrounds. Everywhere I went there was another amazing landscape to capture as the rainbow hung around for a really long time, letting me position wherever I could find a nice foreground. In the 6th image here the rainbow sits above the Lord Harry Mine...gold at the end of the rainbow?
So heading home I was very content with the days images....and then as I got back close to Mt Rowan the action really started! The second last image here is just one of a series of some spectacular clouds just north of the freeway....an amazing display that was incredible to watch. And just for a bit of Halloween fun...the last one is a crop of a section of the clouds...can you see the face?!!

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Stormy Start Sunday

A dramatic start to Sunday at Lake Wendouree when just a touch of colour at sunrise really added to the drama of the dark, stormy skies blowing in from the west. In the first one you can see a small sliver of a rainbow trying to make its mark on the scene over View Point as a group of 3 birds seems intent on escaping.....as I did soon after taking these images as the rain started to come down.

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Dean Scene

A colourful start to Saturday out at the Dean Reservoir where the sky put on quite a show. This pair are a nice example of how quickly the colour can change. Driving around a bit afterwards I came across a few pockets of low lying mists that really set of this scene with the grasses.
I've been doing a lot more mornings lately and I'm finding it's really the best time to be out. It seems you have a much better chance of catching some nice atmospherics before the day gets going. More so than waiting for the chance of a nice sunset, and if you get that as well, then it's a real bonus!

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Tullaroop Times

I had a very early start on Friday morning, leaving home just after 5am. Destination: Tullaroop Reservoir. My current CHW project is getting me to some great new locations, and Tullaroop, just south of Maryborough, was a place I had never visited before. I made sure I was there before dawn and though I captured some lovely images before the sunrise, it was once the sun had risen and was lighting up the trees across the mirror smooth lake that I was most excited about the scene. The incredible warm glow of an early morning sunrise was at its best, with just a hint of low lying mist drifting across the surface.
....and I did catch a nice moonrise just near Clunes on the way north...this shows Mt Moorrokyle and Mt Kooroocheang on the horizon.
Image © Central Highlands Water

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A Few Views

An early start on Thursday and I was out at Evansford Reservoir before dawn. A bit too windy to do the flying I was hoping for, though this view off the dam wall looking down on to the waterfall was pretty nice.
By the time I was heading home some fog and low cloud had moved in around the wind farm at Addington, adding some nice atmospherics to the towers, capped off by some vibrant canola fields. Can you see the cow in the 2nd image here?!

© Central Highlands Water

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Unique!

Something very unique today from last night....I'll keep you guessing as to what this amazing image is!

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Blue Morning

A nice blue light start to the day on Tuesday at Lake Wendouree with just enough colour in the sky to make the early rise memorable. I found myself on the north side of the lake near the three small boat sheds that make a nice subject. In the first one you can just see the waning moon at the top of the trees adding a nice extra element to the image. And something a little different in the last one - there is still plenty of water around as you can see in this boat ramp driveway that leads down into the lake.

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A Bit Different

With a forecast for fog on Monday morning I was out early...only to discover there wasn't any sign of the fog! Rather than head back home with nothing to show I decided to make a visit to Lal Lal Falls. Still plenty of water going over the edge, and on this visit I was keen to try and find something a bit different. Everyone and their dog has been here this season with the great rainfall we've had.....so I was quite happy with this image that I feel shows another side to the falls. Wasn't sure if it was best in colour or black and white....? And just for good measure I captured this close-up of the ledge that sits about three quarters of the way down the falls, still pouring plenty of soil-laden water over the edge.

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St George Again!

On Sunday morning I made my third visit this week to St Georges Lake at Creswick. Whilst there was no spectacular light for sunrise, it was calm enough that I did some flying. The trees shown here is the same group I captured last Wednesday on that fantastic morning and I also caught the small jetty that sits on the lake. Going back to Wednesday there's also a selection from that morning last week when the light was so magical! 
And speaking of Creswick.......the Creswick Museum has an exhibition opening on Thursday highlighting my images of the local gold mines Then and Now.  If you would like to attend the opening please let me know...you have plenty of time to visit the Museum as the exhibition is on for a few months.

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A Great Start to Saturday

On Saturday morning I was up at Lake Wendouree before sunrise and initially it didn't look too exciting. A very clear sky didn't offer too much, however, seemingly out of nowhere, this bank of clouds developed and slowly drifted from south to north right across the scene at the perfect time just as the sun was cresting the horizon. And just as quickly it disappeared .... quite an amazing experience to witness. Quite a few in this post to show the quickly changing conditions, and an egret group just to finish up.

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Yarroweeing at the Gong Gong

We had another very wet day on Friday with 17.4mm added to the already wet month, well over the average with over a week to go. It rained just about all day....around 5.30 it had eased a bit so I headed to a spot that I thought would be flowing well....the Yarrowee River as it leaves the Gong Gong Reservoir. Sure enough it was booming and I came home with a nice series from just a short section of the river. A couple here to give you an overall view of the location, and then a couple of nice close-ups. 

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St George Cascades

After the great sunrise the day before at St Georges Lake in Creswick (more images to come later) I was keen to return. Not that I was expecting another foggy morning, however I wanted to explore the area downstream of the lake spillway. There used to be a very nice waterfall off the end of the lake, however after the floods of 2011 there has been a huge amount of reconstruction work going at the lake.They have removed the waterfall and replaced with a huge spillway - the second image here shows how one half is a sea of rocky boulders and the other section is the original sandstone base. I had noticed the day before some nice sections and as the water is still flowing there are still some great sections that are worth capturing. 

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