THe Calm

On the west side of Lake Wendouree there is an area known as Fairyland and it's a great spot to take in the sunrise when it's very windy. You can always find some calm water in here, as I did on Thursday morning......


.

Silo Set

Before I got over to Lake Burrumbeet for the pelican images I posted earlier, there was some nice pre-dawn colour on the horizon that added nicely to this view of the silos at Windermere.
.

Go On...Count them!

Last week at Lake Burrumbeet I found a pod of  39 pelicans and was hopeful that they were returning to the lake in the numbers of recent years. So on Wednesday morning I made a visit to the south shore of the lake and really hit the jackpot with this pod of 342! (Yes, I counted them!).
On the way home I made another stop at the Bo Peep Creek (which flows into the Lake) and caught these 2 loners who decided to take off..perhaps to join the other group?



.

The Sun Pillar

I've seen a lot of fantastic sights at Lake Wendouree over the years and Tuesday morning gave me one of them. Initially the sky looked pretty plain, however just before sunrise this sun pillar started to appear and just kept getting bigger and bigger. And in case you need to know whythis happens.....
sun pillar is a vertical shaft of light extending upward or downward from the sun. Typically seen during sunrise or sunset, sun pillars form when sunlight reflects off the surfaces of falling ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds (like cirrostratus clouds).
.

West and East

There was some fantastic foggy conditions on Monday morning and though I captured plenty of great images, it's this pair that may be the most unique. I made my way out to Mt Warrenheip where there was a break in the fog above the mountain and the view back to the lights of Ballarat was quite amazing. After spending a while there, I then headed back into Ballarat and spent some time at Lake Wendouree where the second image here shows the peak of Mt Warrenheip in the far distance sitting above the amazing carpet of fog. Make sure you click on these for a larger look!

.

Through the Trees

On Sunday morning at Mt Warrenheip there was a bit of colour, and a touch of fog, on the horizon for sunrise, shown in the first image here. Then I changed tack with a different camera and lens for these views looking through the trees.




.

The Judges Box

It's been a busy week at Lake Wendouree with another great sunrise on Saturday, this time at the end of the rowing course. The judges box always adds a nice element especially when you get skies like this!



.

A Hive of Activity

Things have been buzzing on Lake Wendouree this week. The first image shows a group of kayakers early Friday morning when this unusual red glow around sunrise bathed everything, whilst the other images from during the week show the different activities on the Lake. The rowers are out in force in preparation for the new rowing season.



.

The Boatsheds

There was some nice light at Lake Wendouree on Thursday morning on the north side of the Lake on the small boat sheds. By exposing for the bright highlights, the rest of the image goes dark resulting in this high contrast image.


.

They're Back!

I was out at Lake Burrumbeet on Wednesday morning where there was some nice surface fog drifting through. I've been keeping my eye out lately and was pleased to find a pod of 39 pelicans. In the last one here the colour in the fog is from the just-risen sun as it lights up the wispy fog. Hopefully the numbers will keep growing into Summer whilst the lake maintains it high levels.


.

Foggy Fun

Some terrific fog on Tuesday morning out west of Ballarat. I found a gap next to Weatherboard Hill and came home with some great views. Nice to find something a bit different for a canola image, too.
I also made a quick stop on the freeway on the way home for the last one here.



.

World Wombat Day

Today is World Wombat Day and on my recent trip down to Mt William National Park in Tasmania I came across a number of these lovely animals. When I started photographing this one and got a side on view I thought for a moment that she was pregnant. However, when she walked away from me I got quite a surprise when seeing the last image here, realising she already had a new baby in her pouch! And a friend just informed me, thanks to his son, that their pouch faces backwards to stop the dirt getting in!


.

Monday Morning Mood

Captured this at Mt Warrenheip on Monday morning...seemed suited to these blue tonings......If you can, try and view on a larger screen!
.

Don't Forget.....

The Forget-Me-Nots at Mt Warrenheip are starting to look pretty good! Sunday morning......

.

Last Day

Today is the last day of the Biennale and so it seems appropriate to share another selection of Lake Wendouree images from Saturday morning. It seems every time I visit the Lake at the moment there are more cygnets ... here's a couple of new families. And it was getting quite busy with the kayakers out there as well!







.

An Early Start

A friend came up from Melbourne on Friday to visit the Biennale, so we made a (very!) early start with a visit to Lake Burrumbeet and then a detour on the way back to Ballarat into the hills around Eastern Peace where a bit of fog had built up after sunrise......


.

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...