The Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse

There was quite a bit of excitement on Wednesday for the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse that was due around midnight here in Ballarat. The last one was back in 1982, and the next isn't until 2028, so I hope you made the effort to get outside to see it.
I knew the moon would be rising around sunset at Lake Wendouree and you can always find a good foreground subject at the lake...this time with the Fly Fishers Clubrooms. The big zoom lens really brings the action in close. Of course this is just the normal full moon...the eclipse wasn't until later when the moon took on the "blood" aspect. I grabbed this view when the moon was high in the sky.

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Mars?

When I was heading out to Lake Burrumbeet on Tuesday evening I could see a gap on the horizon that I thought may lead to some nice conditions. I was out there a bit earlier than I needed to be, though when things started to fire up I had plenty of time to get myself ready. Some great yellow tonings to get things underway, once again helped along by a couple of birds, this time pelicans way up high. After this initial burst of light the sun seemed to be snuffed out by a low cloud bank on the horizon and I was in the car ready to head home. However some interesting clouds had developed and so I thought I'd hang around a bit longer...and the last one here is the result. It almost felt like I was on Mars! This is actually a good 15 minutes after the sunset and it's a great example of perservering and waiting just when you think it's time to go home. These 2 images were taken 25 minutes apart...amazing colour change, isn't it?

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A Big One

Even before I got out of bed on Monday I could see the sky was set up for a colourful sunrise. I scouted the west side of Lake Wendouree, trying to decide on the best spot to set up. Though I've often shot at the Palm Pond, it's a location that offers a lot of possibilities and when you get conditions like this it's hard keeping up with all the fast changing action. The skies were amazing and the birds added just that little bit extra in a few of these. And I'd love to know the story behind the lone palm tree here!

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Cows!

On a very warm Sunday morning I had no clouds and no fog to work with. However I did have plenty of cows!
This set starts off at ground level just as the sun is cresting the horizon and the light is at its most intense. Once the sun had risen, I got up above the paddock looking for those long shadows you get early in the day.

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Out West

It's amazing how much early morning fog I've been getting lately, and Saturday morning was another chance to get up above it. The first 4 images here are out on the east side of Lake Burrumbeet, not my usual side of the lake for sunrise, however it was the spot with the best conditions. You can make out a foggy racecourse here in the 4th one, too.
And then on the way back into Ballarat along Remembrance Drive I had to make a couple of stops for the last 2 images here. It's only at this time of the year you can get the sun down the middle of the road in the first one, and the fog just adds the lovely atmosphere to the scene.

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Australia Day Action

Had another great morning at Mt Warrenheip on Friday, and then a couple more chances through the day with some fantastic clouds at Lake Wendouree around 5pm, followed by a pretty colourful sunset later on.

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Warrenheip Wonder 2

On Thursday I made another visit out to Mt Warrenheip and had to settle for some ground level images. It was for too windy to fly and the top of the mountain was buried deeper in the fog than the day before. So I had to settle for a couple of long views. These 2 were taken 9 minutes apart and once again a great example of how quickly the light can change. 
As much as I love the images I captured on Wednesday morning, I think I prefer these! Quite extraordinary images for a location that is only 15 minutes out of Ballarat.

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The Wonder of Warrenheip

Once again the conditions at Mt Warrenheip were quite spectacular on Wednesday morning. On the way out of Ballarat well before dawn I thought it was going to be a bust, however once I got up above the mountain the view was fantastic. As you can see there was a huge patch of open country to the west of the mountain that was untouched by the fog, most likely the mountain was shielding the winds that were blowing from the south east. No wonder I keep going back here, there's always something worth taking home!

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A Drop of Water

At this time of the year in the Ballarat district you will find a lot of the huge paddock irrigators in action, and if you time it just right with the sun you can get some very nice images. I captured this set on Tuesday evening out north east of Ballarat, making three different stops. It's the last one that I especially like...the silhouette effect works really well here and the light on the water from the setting sun is fantastic.

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We're Off and Running.......

A very nice start to the week on Monday morning out west of Ballarat. Made a few stops in different locations and came home with quite a range of different images......

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Wow!

Who would have thought Sunday’s sunset could be more epic than Saturday’s? Heading up to Lake Wendouree I could tell the clouds were well placed for something special. As you know I’ve taken a million sunsets at the Lake so it’s always a challenge to find a new take on it. As I was driving around the lake I noticed there were quite a few photographers all set up for the action looking out to the west across the Lake. From near the Yacht Club I could see that something was happening out to the east away from the actual sunset and quickly got myself airborne for this amazing view. The rainbow over Mt Warrenheip was the extra bonus! The second image shows the actual sunset out to the west...not too bad, either!

The third image here is from the brief but intense sunset on Saturday evening.

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Up High, Down Low

On Saturday morning before the sunrise I was driving around Lake Wendouree and things were looking a bit flat. However when I looked across the lake to Mt Buninyong I realised there was some good conditions out that way so I changed plans and headed that way. I got there just as the sun was rising above a carpet of low lying fog and the initial sun light was incredibly intense...in fact I have actually toned it down a bit in the first image here. You can see the colour fading back the longer I was there in the next 2 images. Realising there was still some great conditions I decided to head down off the mountain and head into the fog. The last image here is a view of the Lal Lal Reservoir from a location I've never been to before that offered some nice views in stark contrast to what I was seeing from off the side of the mountain. This last image is somewhere in that huge bank of fog you can see in the third image!

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First Light Before the Heat

Like the previous day, on Friday I was up nice and early to avoid the heat that was coming. And similar to yesterday, this is the first light just as the sun has crested the horizon on a new section of Lake Burrumbeet that I have been exploring lately.
And boy, did it get hot later on!

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Morning Light

In this hot weather we are having, it's a good idea to get up early. This is from Thursday morning out at Mollongghip where the sun had just crested the horizon to light up the scene.

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Wednesday Wonder

Just a few pelicans on Wednesday morning......with a few friends.

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Baled Up

I've been waiting for the right light at this field of bales for a few days now, and on Tuesday morning it was just about perfect. Out west of Ballarat, I don't think I've ever seen so many bales in the one paddock and I knew from up high the early morning golden light would be great with the long shadows.

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