A Touch of Colour

The forecast for Sunday morning was for widespread fog.......I must have missed it all on my way out to Lake Burrumbeet! It was looking very grey and flat, however at least it was calm. This spot on the west side of the lake is probably my favourite part of the lake, and I was really happy when a sliver of colour appeared on the horizon that added just enough colour to the scene to contrast so well with the mono tonal feel of the overall scene.

12Y/64.18(33.52,30.26)

Yachting Along

On Saturday afternoon on Lake Wendouree here in Ballarat we had a sailing race take place, and the course was a lot further spread than I've seen in the past. A couple of the markers brought the yachts in quite close to sure enabling me to get in really close. Whilst there was some nice full sunlight traditional views, it was when the sun broke through with some dark skies behind that I was more interested in capturing. I really like the way the sails are almost glowing. By exposing for the bright areas it added a really dramatic dark feel to the rest of the image.
And just on sunset I made a return visit and caught this view at the yacht club with the boats at rest. 



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A Good Sign

On Friday morning I had a job down near Ballan, so I took the opportunity to visit this spot on the Moorabool River East branch to see if the recent rains have had an effect. Whilst not a huge amount of flow, it was enough to keep me occupied for a while. With a bit more rain this waterfall will totally vanish as the water level rises to cover it completely. A great sign that we should be in for a great waterfall season, it's rare to get even this amount of flow this early in the year.
I also took the opportunity to grab this view looking over part of Pykes Creek Reservoir just as the sun was lighting the landscape.

11.5

Autumn at its Best

On Thursday an initially lack lustre morning really fired up at Lake Wendouree giving me some lovely autumn light. I did post an image yesterday, and I have quite a few more to look at, however this one I felt deserved its own post. And it was the second last image I took, in fact I had already gone back to the car when I looked back and I thought I'd wander over to this spot to grab a couple more!
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Wednesday Wanderings...plus

I was out west of Ballarat on Wednesday evening and initially the clouds and sky looked quite promising...this first image out at Burrumbeet as the sun made a valiant effort to break free. Soon after, though, the clouds moved and it looked like a dull end to the day. Remembering all the recent rain I figured a quick look at Bo Peep Creek might be worth a look and was pleased to see the flow was really up enabling me to catch these 2 almost abstract images.
And before I have a proper look through this mornings sunrise at Lake Wendouree, here's one from the palm pond area on the west side of the lake. Some lovely autumn colours at this spot...make sure you get there just after sunrise for the best, intense colour!



11.5

Kirk's Capers

Some heavy rainfall over Monday night left everything saturated for Tuesday. These conditions are actually quite good for the added saturation it adds to foliage so I popped out to Kirks Reservoir, east of Ballarat, to cheek on the autumn colours. Some nice patches amongst the picnic grounds, though my favourite images from this visit were 2 views looking out across the reservoir. The first one is looking out to the left, and then the next is the totally different view looking out to the right. The rain had set in again adding a nice softness to the last one here.
And coming back into Ballarat at Lake Wendouree, I had to make a stop...to catch this foursome crossing the road. Don't you like the way we have trained our swans to cross in the most appropriate place!



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Monday Morning Magic

Monday morning once again offered some nice low lying misty conditions. The first image here shows a few tendrils floating around Saddle Back Hill just next to Lake Learmonth. Down at lake level a lone twig sticks out of the water, whilst on the way back home to Ballarat a slight detour up a side road gave me this lovely view of the mist before the strong sun burnt it all off. And a windmill in the scene always helps!


11.5

Autumn

With another forecast of a foggy morning on Sunday, I was up and out early and after getting caught in fog that was too thick to do anything with down around Lake Burrumbeet, I finally ended up north of Learmonth towards Mt Beckworth. We have a number of wineries in the Ballarat area and I've had it on my list to capture images from them, so it was nice to find one sitting in amongst the low lying mists. What made this even more special was the way just a few of the rows had turned into a lovely strip of autumn colour, making this quite a unique capture. 
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Saturday Sights

Saturday was one of those days that offered some great, contrasting conditions. Starting with some misty conditions on the side of Mt Warrenheip around 9.30am, and after a generally cloudy day, a burst of sun snuck through just before sunset to light up the west side of Lake Wendouree, looking up towards the Botanical Gardens. Make sure you click on these for a bigger look, especially that 2nd one!

12/66.17Y 

A Few More

A few days back you may remember I had a great early morning out at the wind farm around Waubra and Addington. After capturing the aerials, I spent some time at ground level in the hills up the back of Addington where the light was really nice, helped out by a few sheep! This is another location I visit regularly and it has a real Scottish Highlands feel to it.



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Let There Be Light

Some great rain overnight really freshened things up on Friday. However the day remained mostly grey and overcast, until....just before sunset the sun managed to break free, creating a lovely golden glow up at Lake  Wendouree where I caught these images. I quite like that branch reflection!
Earlier in the day there was a very brief glimpse of some sunlight across the landscape looking north off the side of Mt Warrenheip. That's Clarkes Hill on the horizon below the dramatic clouds.



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A Lake Morning

After an amazing run of great foggy calm conditions over the last few days, on Thursday morning the wind was up, dispelling any chance of low lying mists. Nevertheless the sunrise was still very nice at the end of the rowing course at Lake Wendouree. I've spent many sunrises at this spot and it can still deliver something memorable as this series shows.



11.5

Burrumbeet Beauty

Heading west early Wednesday morning for another great sunrise, this time with just a touch of morning fog. However look at that colour! One of the biggest explosions of colour I've seen for a while out at Lake Burrumbeet. I knew on the way out of Ballarat that the clouds were looking good and they didn't disappoint. 
After the colour show there was some lovely early sunrise light a bit further down the west side of the lake from up high, and from ground level as well. 
We've been in an amazing patch of superb morning conditions this last week or so...will be interesting to see what Thursday brings......





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After the Burn-offs

Another fantastic foggy morning on Tuesday out north of Lake Burrumbeet. This is what the paddocks look like after the recent burn-offs...quite spectacular, isn't it? We are getting some amazing conditions lately, autumn really is a lovely time for photography.



11.5

Amongst the Towers

We've been getting some great conditions lately, some more great foggy conditions on Monday morning out at Addington at the wind farm. One in colour and one in black and white...what do you think?

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Striking Saturday Series...plus....

Getting back to Saturday morning...here's a series from the foggy shores of Lake Learmonth after the aerials I shared previously. Some very intense early morning colour, intensified by the fog. And whilst on the way back home I made another stop for this great fogbow - first time I've had a fogbow with the moon!
And a nice end to the long easter weekend on Monday evening at Lake Wendouree.






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Snow Time

It's been a while since my last post. We had a fantastic snow event last Saturday here around Mt Roland and Sheffield and of course I wa...