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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I took this photograph of Cope Hut in the Alpine National Park a little over 4 weeks ago just towards the end of dawn.
Pentax K-01, DA* SMC 16 – 50 mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/14, 1/4 sec.
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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Went to Cape Schanck recently hoping for a spectacular sunset, however it was a bit stormy instead.
Pentax K7, DA* 16-50mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/8, 8 sec
The title of this post is probably a bit misleading; but it makes the post sound exciting! Yes there was a murder at Howitt Hut, but this post doesn’t really discuss it all that much, if you are after more information on the murders then Wikipedia is your best friend.
During a trip to the Alpine National Park at the end of 2012 I stopped off at Howitt Hut located on the edge of the Howitt High Plains. This particular hut has a rather gruesome past as it is connected to a double homicide that occurred in the high country in 1917 and 1918 and have become known as the Wonnangatta murders. The victims were John Bamford and Jim Barclay and it has long been thought that Bamford killed Barclay, however Barclay’s body was found under a pile of logs near the Howitt Plains hut and to this day the case remains unsolved.
A history of the hut can be found at the Kosciuszko Huts Association website. In brief, the hut was originally built on the site in 1889, it was rebuilt in the 1920s and then clad with corrugated iron in 1938. All that remains today of the original hut are the timber roof shingles that can only be seen from inside the hut.
The photograph below dates from approximately 1925 and is from the Museum of Victoria website.
original source: http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/769761/negative-howitt-hut-mount-howitt-victoria-circa-1925
Visiting the hut today it looks very little like it did in the past. In all honesty its not a very picturesque place to visit, it just looks for all the world like a tin shed in a paddock plus vandals have scrawled graffiti all over the inside to the point where there is no bare space on the walls remaining. Having said that, these points make it a challenge to photograph and come away with something interesting. Below are two photographs of the hut that I took in late December 2012.
A shot of the hut taken in November 2012. A bit over processed but the colours on this particular day seemed to be very bright, so I just went with it!
The inclusion of a couple of additional elements into the scene such as the fence, the trunk of the large snow gum, or the conversion to a gritty black and white each helps add interest to what would otherwise be a rather drab scene.
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Last weekend I picked up a new Pentax camera to serve as a backup to my Pentax K7. The camera I purchased was the mirrorless Pentax K-01. While it has a design that has often polarised people with equal numbers either loving and disliking it. I got one because it has a similar sensor to the highly regarded K5 and gives superb image quality; and as a photographer I am more concerned with the image quality the camera produces rather than how it looks; besides I quite like its design!
To try out the K-01 I headed down to Point Nepean National Park in Victoria, which is the southern most point of entrance to Port Phillip Bay. Point Nepean National Park has a colourful history:
As part of the quarantine station a Cattle jetty was built at Observatory Point in 1879, and while it is no longer complete the remains make an interesting subject to photograph. After a 3 Km walk I arrived at the jetty at 8:30 pm took the shots below with the K-01.
I haven’t used the K-01 very much at the moment but so far I am very impressed with it and am looking forward to taking it out some more.
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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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Earlier this week I spent some more time in the Australian Alps and while the Alps are not high or extensive by world standards, they are unique in Australia as they make up just 0.3% of the Australian land mass.
The area I visited was the Bogong High Plains and is part of the Alpine National Park, during winter the plains make up one of the largest snow covered areas in the country. The majority of the Bogong High Plains are above 1500 meters and the only tree that will grow at this altitude is the snow gum. These trees often stunted and take on a twisted appearance away from the direction of the strong blasts of prevailing winds. Below is a series of black and white images of these incredible trees.
The Alpine National Park is a remarkable place to visit and while the weather can be challenging, the spectacular scenery more than makes for it.
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On the 7 February 2009 Victoria was ravaged by a series of bushfires that became known as Black Saturday. Tragically over 170 people lost there lives, while more than 7500 people were left homeless. The fires burnt an area of over 4,500 km² (450,000 hectares, 1.1 million acres). Two weeks ago I paid a visit to the forests around the town of Marysville (which was practically destroyed during the blaze) and the alpine ski resort Lake Mountain. Below is a small selection of photos from my trip.
View towards Lake Mountain showing Alpine Ash skeletons.
Myrtle Beech re-growth near Marysville.
Road towards Lake Mountain summit.
Forest canopy remains near Marysville.
Alpine Ash skeleton at Lake Mountain.
Many businesses in Marysville have re-opened and Lake Mountain is also open. Its a great area to visit with many attractions including bushwalking, day spas and restaurants.
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