13.338 Kilometres

Would you believe these 2 images were taken only 13.3kms apart? The first at the Ballarat Gold Mine Project in Mt Pleasant, about 3.5kms south of the city, and the other one about 8kms north west at Miners Rest. It's amazing what you can find by scouring Google maps. I have been to the Gold Mine before, however this was my first trip to the quarry. It's an amazing place and from what I captured I can assure I'll be going back...especially for a sunrise!

.

Trees

There was not a lot happening on Friday night, no clouds to be seen all day so I had a wander around the Ballarat Botanical Gardens where this overhanging canopy was lighting up nicely with the late sunlight. I've had quite a week of various trees so thought I'd use this post to catch up on a few of them.

7

Birch Creek, Again!

After discovering that Birch's Creek was flowing last Sunday, I was keen to make another visit before the flow dries up again. So on Thursday evening my plans were to spend some time on and in the creek just near Wheelers Bridge,  and hopefully catch the sunset on the way back down to Ballarat. There were no clouds to get excited about so the main goal was the creek and though the water has dropped quite noticeably in only a few days this spot was worth a few frames. Coming back south to Ballarat you get some broad views out to the west that provided a couple of nice images, and the sun put on some nice wobbles as it made its way to the horizon.

.

Tree and Sheep

On Wednesday evening I headed north east out of Ballarat chasing the clouds. I was initially heading out towards Dean but soon realised my best chance was with this tree that I've often stopped at in the past just a bit west of Clarkes Hill. There was some great light and clouds and I knew I had to make the most of the conditions as a bank of clouds on the horizon quickly killed any chance of a big sunset. As you can see, I was at my most creative for the image titles!

7

Three Stops

Once again on Tuesday morning I was up well before sunrise to make the most of the calm conditions. This time I headed out west...first stop Sawyers Bay on the west side of Lake Burrumbeet where the water level continues to fall and the shoreline moves further out...who knows how much longer it will last?
Second stop was just off the freeway on the way back to Ballarat at Windermere, where it was pleasing to see the Burrumbeet Creek was quite full from the recent rain we have been getting.
Last stop was one I have been after for a while. In a paddock at Windermere there sits an amazing old bluestone house that I have photographed a number of times from the road. The field it sits in has recently been harvested and the bales have been sitting here for a few weeks now. I've made a couple of previous attempts to get those images, however conditions have never been quite right until this morning when I was able to get up close to this amazing old remnant. I'll have to try and find out some history on this place, its quite intriguing.

.

More Monday

Here's a few more from Monday's marvellous morning. First stop on the side of Mt Warrenheip looking down. There was actually a pretty colourful sunrise in the distance, however this was my favourite. In the second image here, I liked the way the road changes from the dark to the light, and the last 2 taken at the Gong Gong Reservoir speak for themselves.

.

The Blue Lagoon

On Monday morning I came home with something that I think is quite unique. I did make a number of stops, firstly at Mt Warrenheip, then north to Leigh Creek and finally over the Gong Gong Reservoir. It was at the Leigh Creek stop that a low lying patchy fog offered something very unusual. The fog was hovering just over this dam and with the vibrant, clear blue sky reflected in its surface the result was amazing. In the second image here the fog has slowly started to move away just as the sun has crested the horizon to add another great element to the scene.
I did get some other great images from the other 2 stops, however I thought I'd just put these 2 up initially to let them bask in their glory!

8