2018

It's hard to know how many pictures I took this year, though I know it was at least 365! I've managed to narrow it down to my favourite 14 taken within 42kms of Ballarat. Two of these are from ground level, the other 12 are aerials...can you guess which two?

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The Red Yacht

Lake Wendouree, Ballarat. I've captured this lone yacht many times over the last year or so, and none better on this morning.

Amongst the Trees

A fantastic morning out near the Lal Lal Reservoir, south east of Ballarat.

Australia Day 2018

Our annual fireworks display over Lake Wendouree in Ballarat.

Coming in for a Landing

A pod of pelicans arrives early one colourful morning at Lake Burrumbeet as a spectacular sunrise lights up the waters reflection.

Getting Ready

I've captured many images of the rowing crews on Lake Wendouree. This one stands out with a huge colourful sunrise reflected in the lakes surface.

Borrumbeeta Falls

Water levels were down a bit this year, though there were still opportunities and the early morning light reflected here makes this image at Borrumbeeta Falls, near Ballarn, east of Ballarat , something special.

View Point Glory

A reverse sunset over View Point at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat is topped off by the late evening rainbow.

Winter Wonderland

The best snow I've seen in the Ballarat district greeted, unexpectedly, at Mt Warrenheip...and it was actuallyin Spring!

Fantastic Fog

I saw a lot of fog throughout the year, and none was creamier than this morning on the west side of Lake Burrumbeet.

Yacht Club Classic

A sunset to remember over the Ballaarat Yacht Club at Lake Wendouree.

Misty Morn

One of my most visited locations throughout the year was Mt Warrenheip, east of Ballarat. The yearly display of Forget-Me-Nots was one of he best I've seen, as were the ferns this year.

Moody Magic

The elderberry bushes at Lake Wendouree were also at their best this year.

Above the Mountain

The second last day of the year was one to remember. A carpet of fog above Mt Warrenheip was something very special (not to mention the lightning bolts crashing around me!)

Eastern Peake

My favourite image for 2018 comes from a spot that could be anywhere in the world, yet is only around 25 minutes from Ballarat. Eastern Peake's rocky outcrop has been in my sights for quite a while and after many visits I finally got the foggy conditions I was looking for.

The Final Selfie

After another fantastic year of photography, it seemed fitting to send off the year with one last image amongst the fog at Mt Warrenheip. If you look look closely, you may be able to spot me in this!

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Another Warrenheip Wonder!

Once again there were some extraordinary conditions out at Mt Warrenheip on Sunday morning. Not only was there a fantastic blanket of fog sitting on top of the mountain, I was also being peppered with lightning. In fact there was one strike that was far too close for comfort that had me dashing to the safety of the car!
I've got some great video, too, that I'll post later on.....

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Grey and Colourful

The forecast for Saturday was mostly cloudy and grey so I took the opportunity late morning to visit a location south west of Ballarat past Scarsdale that I thought would still offer some nice images...as long as there was still a bit of water. And there was....!
The day continued on as forecast until just before sunset I noticed a bit of light starting to break through, giving me some nice views at Lake Wendouree.

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Town Hall Turbulance

On Friday morning, with no chance of any big colourful sunrise,  I stayed pretty close to home and made the most of some great skies around the Town Hall. And you can see exactly what time I took these!

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Morning Scenes

On Thursday morning there was a bit of colour on the horizon above the Lal Lal Reservoir...this view is a bit further to the left of my usual spot and creates quite a striking vertical panorama.
Once the sun had risen I found a spot further to the east where the pine trees always create a striking image, nicely topped by one lone coloured tree top. Close by, this group had a bit of an autumnal feel to it, well lit by the rising sun.

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Mt Buninyong Bonanza

On Wednesday morning, after taking a quick look at Lake Wendouree, I realised the best conditions looked to be out at Mt Buninyong, so I made my way out there, arriving just as the sun was cresting the horizon. The colour was incredibly intense and there were some great cloud formations and atmospherics that kept me busy with a couple of different cameras.....

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Christmas Morning

Some lovely calm and mild conditions on Christmas morning with just enough colour in the sky out at Lake Burrumbeet to add that extra element to the scene.  A pod of 10 pelicans put on quite a show as the sun hit the lake, whilst a quick stop at Windermere on the way back to Ballarat for this field of wind-rowed canola finished off a great morning. 

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Hey, Bales!

Firstly...Season's Greetings on this fine summers day here in Ballarat!
Today's images from Monday morning show a nice collection of hay bales out on the west side of Lake Burrumbeet. There was just enough fog floating around to add some nice atmosphere to these images...it quickly disappeared once the sun had risen with a just a few pockets left as you can see in the last image here.

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Moon Time

I knew the almost-full moon would be setting very early on Sunday morning and with clear skies I was able to catch a few nice images. The first one here is looking across to View Point at Lake Wendouree and then a couple out at Windermere as the moon was sinker lower and lower on the horizon.

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Mid Morning

A quick visit out to Mt Warrenheip on Saturday morning to find the ferns are still looking pretty nice, certainly helped along by the recent rains. And looking north there was some nice light across the fields looking out to Clarkes Hill.

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A Pair

Friday was the Summer Solstice...the longest day of the year. However, the weather felt more like Winter with a grey morning turning into a wet afternoon. With limited opportunities I managed to find a couple of interesting trees, sitting below a misty canopy, that conveyed the general mood of the day.

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Windermere Wonders

Some thick fog around on Thursday morning out at Windermere just off the freeway where I found (through the fog) a field of harvested canola. There was also some nice light on the edge of the paddock as the sun tried hard to burn through the fog and the whole place was full of spiderwebs.

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Just in Time.....

On Wednesday morning I made it out to Mt Warrenheip just in time to catch a fantastic sunrise above the mountain. It actually started raining whilst I was flying and the colour and light was snuffed out pretty quickly as the heavier cloud cover moved in.

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Misty Morn

A bit of mist around on Tuesday morning offered some nice atmospheric light through the trees, and there is still plenty of canola waiting in the paddocks to be collected....

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