A few weeks ago I went down to Clifton Springs near Geelong in Victoria to photograph the remains of an old pier that was constructed in the early 1900’s. The top deck of the pier has long since been removed and all that now remains are the old pylons.
Pentax K7, Pentax DA* 16-50 mm, ISO 100, f/16, 1 min.
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Over the last few weeks I have been spending quite a bit of time at Gunnamatta Surf Beach which is located in the Mornington Peninsula National Park (Victoria). The beach is a 3 kilometer long stretch of exposed sandy beach and according to beachsafe.org.au is one of the best surf beaches along the Mornington Peninsula, with consistent 2 m waves all year. It is however a very dangerous beach with Life Saving Victoria making an average of 113 rescues at the beach each year. Going to Gunnamatta at the end of winter means I haven’t had to fight the crowds that flock to the beach in summer and it usually just been myself down there and a few keen fishermen.
There are several spots along the beach where there are some large rocks in the sand which make for some interesting photographs if you are game enough to get close to them. This photo below is of one them and was taken late in the afternoon just prior to sunset; just in case you are wondering I got drenched taking this!
Pentax K7, Pentax DA21mm limited, ISO 100, f/14, 0.5 sec
The sunset last Sunday was incredible, the colours were so vivid and constantly changing.
As I mentioned at the start the waves are practically constant at Gunnamatta and you need to keep you remain alert and keep your eyes open, I didn’t and it caused the loss of my DA* 16-50 mm, f/2.8 SDM lens. So my next post will be on seascape photography tips that no one else will tell you!
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Earlier this year I purchased a Pentax K-01 as a backup for my Pentax K-7. As the K-01 is a mirrorless camera I initially thought that I would miss the viewfinder, and while I did at first, I have come to really like using the LCD screen and find it much easier to compose a photograph on the LCD rather than with the viewfinder; especially as I wear glasses. Although it was supposed to be a backup camera I am finding lately that I am using it more and more. I find it a joy to use and out of the K7, ME Super, or K-01 the K-01 is the camera that for me at least begs to be used, when you pick it up you want to take photos with it.
Last week I purchased a Pentax DA 21mm F3.2 Limited lens to go with the K-01. This lens is one of Pentax’s ultra-thin pancake lenses and its small size makes it a great match with the K-01.
To try out the new lens I took it and the K-01 down to Aireys Inlet along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria (the ME Super came along too, but I have to get the film developed to see how those photos turned out). The photograph below was taken at Fairhaven beach which in 2008 was rated as one of the best beaches in Victoria.
Pentax K-01, Pentax DA 21mm f/3.2 ltd, ISO 100, f/8, 4 sec.
I am really happy with the DA 21 mm f3.2 limited lens. The images it produces are incredibly sharp with stunning colours. I think this lens could be the start of a collection of limited lenses; time to start saving for the 15 mm one!
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On Friday I went down to Wilsons Promontory National Park, or The Prom as its affectionately known, for a spot of camping. Over 50000 hectares in size The Prom is the southern most tip of mainland Australia, and has been a national park since the late 1890s.
Unfortunately the camping didn’t exactly turned out as I had hoped as it was school holidays (which I forgot about) and it seemed like every body in Melbourne had the same idea; needless to say it was extremely crowded! Nevertheless it was too good an opportunity to let it go to waste, so I headed out to Whiskey Bay to see what the nights sunset had in store.
This first shot was taken while the sun was just above the horizon.
Pentax K7, DA* 16-50 mm f/2.8, ISO 100, f/16, 1 sec.
This second one was taken over 45 minutes later once the sun had gone and it was almost dark.
Pentax K-01, DA 18-55 f/3.5-f/5.6, ISO 400, f/5.6, 30 sec.
While the camping may not have been great, the chance to visit Wilsons Prom and do some photography was too good an opportunity to pass up.
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Last Saturday evening I went down to Half Moon Bay near Sorrento in Victoria to take a few photographs of the days sunset. The bay is about a 2.5 Km walk from the car park and it is a quiet secluded beach surrounded by sandstone cliffs. Standing on one of the rock platforms watching the sunset I grabbed this shot just as the sun touched the horizon.
However while this was going on, to my left and behind me, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks I was standing on seemed to be getting louder and louder. I put the camera onto burst mode turned around and took the following shots.
This first one is of one of the waves as it just hits the rocks.
Then eight seconds later this is the next shot and before I knew it both the tripod and I were up to our ankles in seawater.
This continued on and off while I was taking my photos of the sunset and made for a wet walk back to the car in the dark. But it was worth it, I came away with a good shot of the sunset and had a blast as well!
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An area that I have been visiting regularly over the last two years is the Mornington Peninsula National Park; in particular Cape Schanck and Pulpit Rock on the very tip of the cape. The cape separates the calm waters of western port from the wild ocean waters of Bass Straight, in fact the waters surrounding Cape Schanck can get so wild that they claimed the 247 tonne SS Alert in 1893 with 15 people losing their lives. The Parks Victoria website describes the Cape Schanck area particularly well:
“Cape Schanck offers stunning landscapes; the mystery of dramatic volcanic features, unspoilt and wild beaches and scenic walking tracks with spectacular ocean views.”
I like visiting the Cape for several reasons: it’s only an hour from home, the rock formations are fascinating (particularly Pulpit Rock), you never know what the weather is going to serve up, and if you are there early of late in the day the light can be very beautiful. Pulpit Rock has long interested artists and photographers, for example this link is to an oil painting of the rock done in the 1860s by Nicholas Chevalier.
All of the photographs below of Pulpit Rock were taken over the last 2 years and were captured with my Pentax K7 using a variety of filters such as polarisers, neutral density and graduated neutral densities.
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