Immigrating to Australia, what we discovered!??

Immigrating to Australia, what we discovered!??

Kaikoura mountain range.

The view out of my bedroom window back in New Zealand on a winters day, mountains covered in snow.

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When we first immigrated from New Zealand to Adelaide, Australia, I found the landscape boring, mundane and lacking height. Lowlands everywhere and not a drop of water in sight. I mean around every corner in New Zealand is a mountain, a river or a lake, all clear, blue and very pure.

Blue lake in Southland New Zealand
A river in New Zealand
River turquoise and abundant New Zealand

Rivers, rivers everywhere and lots of drops to drink! Not so in South Australia we discovered!

 

OUR TREK TO FIND SOME WATER

Being unused to the South Australian landscape, on a 40 degree day we headed towards the hills (Mount Lofty range)….looking for rivers, lakes and lagoons so we could cool off and take a swim.

 

BIG MISTAKE!

I have never ever found any of those things in the hills in South Australia to this day!! 

As we rounded each corner of the winding  road up towards Mt Lofty, with those harsh nasty gum trees looking down at us sadistically, I glanced over into the back seat to look at my children. I saw three flaming red cheeked kids with moronic looks on their faces staring back at me……It was that look of, “ Why have you brought us kids to this God forsaken country, what terrible parents you turned out to be, we are definitely not your children? We are adopted that’s for sure!”

Eventually we did realise that the two words “barren” and “Australia” walk hand in hand. Disheartened and very hot we drove back home.

As the days and weeks progressed instead of going to the hills to look for lakes and rivers we headed in the opposite direction. We thought we would see what the coastline offered to this unfortunate family who were suffering badly from heat stroke.

 

OH MY GOODNESS…

Spectacular, beautiful and untouched stretches of beach, which were swimmable! Not too many beaches in NZ are beautiful and swimmable. Too cold, too rocky, too dangerous, too rough, too gloomy, or weather never permitting. You may be lucky to stumble upon a few sunny days in the middle of summer! 

 

WE FAST BECAME BEACH ADDICTS..

Those glorious blue beaches have found us surfing, fishing, swimming, boating, playing, and almost all year round I might add! 

I well remember when we first arrived here trying to put the golden sand into an envelope to send home to show them how amazing the beaches were. True story! (The sand in New Zealand is either non existent or grey.)

Early on with my first camera my photography was centred around photographing my sons surfing. Not a hint of hilly heat stroke on those long warm days spent at the beach with the waves continuously rolling in. These days I photograph  all aspects of the vast blue sea, which changes day to day and moment by moment. Variety and beauty endlessly! It is a genuine privilige to be able to photograph the South Australian coastline.

TODAY….

Whenever we have spent a day at the beach and evening approaches I have created a habit, as I leave any of our beaches, I stop and look back at the ocean and ponder and thank God for the genius of His creation. The beaches so idyllic, I will always miss my homeland but I have found something wonderful to replace those nostalgic longings.

Calm blue sea water
Isolated beach with white umbrella

Above,

This beach is about 2 kms long, I had it all to myself on a glorious summers day last January, crystal clear water and golden sand, no flies and warm weather, what more could a woman want?

Yacht in the summertime

The bluest of blue!

Yacht moored in pink sunset
Fishing boat staying out till the end of the day.

Above,

A boat stays out fishing till the sun sets and the gulls have gone home.

Swimming in Salmon inlet shaded such a brilliant green.

Above,

Swimming in this effervescent green water. Located at the back of Althorpe Island, South Australia, we discovered this unique spot on one of our fishing trips, quite remarkable in its colour and location. You can read my other blog about Salmon Inlet HERE 

Massive cliffs in the setting sun. Cape Spencer

Enormous cliffs tower over the breaking seas. Cape Spencer, Yorke Peninsula.

Stenhouse jetty

Stenhouse jetty.

Surfer jumping

Surfers, sailors, swimmers and sunbakers they all love it!

Surfing at West Cape, Yorke Peninsula
Turquoise beach and waves rolling in
Ethels beach and a pink sunset
At the beach till midnight

What I find exhilarating is you can often swim till sunset. The water is warm as is the air temperature. In the image above it is New Years Eve  and these boys walked the beach till midnight in bathers and bare chests.

South Australia is a vast and hot country, a unique environment which definitely takes some getting used to. There will be many challenges to face however I chose to blog about the landscape and water as I guess that was the thing that really sent me over the edge. Initially I missed family and friends, we struggled to succeed in a business venture and my children were extremely unsettled, but the hot dry weather, the lack of inland water and mountains had a profound effect on my well being. It possibly took 2-3 years for all of us to really settle in.
Today some 30 years later I love the place, can’t get enough of the beaches and strangely I have learnt to also love and appreciate the inland areas. The fields, the farms, the desert, the outback all have a beauty of their own.  “I have found what I was looking for!”  Still hate the heat, but hey, who enjoys 40 degrees?

If I can encourage anyone on this journey, slow down and get an air conditioner, (first things first) so you can think straight and make good decisions for your future. You will ,  as you perservere find a very beautiful and very majestical country.

Looking back….A huge winters storm

Looking back….A huge winters storm

Approaching storm Ethels beach

Winter is here in South Australia and I am waiting once again for the stormy conditions that reguarly hit our coastline in and around Yorke Peninsula.

Whilst I wait, I look back at some of the times that proved worthwhile as a photographer and spectator of lifes grand occasions!!

The 29th day of September 2016, proved to be quite the day to remember. Not before and not to this day have I witnessed winds and sea spray so violent.
The bottom end of Yorke Peninsula has two beaches which are exposed to the open ocean and regularly get huge waves washing in. Ethel’s Beach and West Cape beach. On this particular day the skies darkened and the winds roared into these two beaches making the waves quite exceptional.

At that time we lived in Adelaide and I decided to rent a cottage and drive 4 hours to these beaches.
I was determined to get some shots, however in such weather conditions this proved extremely difficult. The rain just smashed against myself and my camera and I got soaked, and I mean SOAKED, drenched, saturated, in one second. So I devised a few methods to try and get some photos. I would cover my camera in plastic bags and myself in a rain proof coat. Whenever the rain seemed to have a slower spasm I would dash out grab about three photos and dash back into my car. Walking to any of my favourite locations proved impossible.
Beautiful, violent, magnificent and so brutal and powerful. Sea spray and mist towering up into the sky, winds stronger than black holes in the sky, and clouds dropping buckets of water on silly human photographers who thought they could outrun the earthly elements.
Due to these haphazard conditions all the photos look a bit hazy as focusing on an object certainly was not a priority.
What an experience, all the power and phones went down, the roads were closed, so I had to stay in my accommodation a couple of extra nights until things were restored.

Storm rolls in Ethels Beach

The two images above are of the storm rolling in, no rain as yet just a strong, howling wind.

Rainbow and windy conditions
Very stormy weather

Above…I travelled around the hill to Pondalowie Bay. If you look closely there is a tern flying above the waves. It seemed that some birds enjoyed the weather and flew against the winds.

Cliffs South Australian coastline

Above…looking out from Pondalowie.

South Australian coastline

Above…In the bottom right hand corner the normally sandy path is flooded with a torrent of rushing water.

Coastline
Green sea water
Beautiful rock formation

Above…looking towards the ocean, the mist would have been twenty times higher than myself. This shot is taken from the car as I was unable to get out.

Wild waves
Wild weather
Wild weather

The weather over winter can be quite amazing. The waves that roll in are wild and the wind seems to add to the tumultuous conditions.

5  ways to photograph fog.

5 ways to photograph fog.

Fog on the jetty

Fog…a moment in time when one cannot see what’s right in front of you.

Fog adds a dimension of ethereal beauty to our world. What was so obvious the day before is now enshrouded in mystery. For a photographer it is a wonderful opportunity to gaze upon a landscape that is out of focus, magical and vaporous.

One particular morning last week I got up early and photographed the fog lingering along the shoreline. As the sun rose the colours turned from dark grey to pink, then to orange then back to pink, then a purple blue. 

Minimal imagery, which I love, is ideally suited to foggy days.The fog limits any background objects and adds a hazy, watery feel to the picture.

A few quotes about fog:

 

Fog stimulates your imagination into places where it may be afraid to go.

The fog always lifts.

You may not see clearly in the fog, but rest assured peace can be found simply enjoying its beauty. 

Sometimes when you lose your way in the fog, you end up in a beautiful place.Dont be afraid of getting lost. (Author, Mehetmet Ildan)

Points on how to take a good photograph on a foggy day.

1. If you dont want just one big haze you must put a relatively close and clearer object in the foreground. In the image below I placed the begining of the jetty in my foreground.

Birds on the jetty

2. Chose a brighter object in the middle of the fog.  

This can really make the fog stand out. In the image below the sun started to rise and made a perfect scene.

Foggy morning
Sunrise on a foggy morning

3. Chose a darker object that is standing out in the fog.

Seagull on a foggy morning
Two sea birds in the fog
Trees in the fog

4. Find a point of interest to include in your image.

This yacht (below) just caught the morning sun and looked beautiful in the quiet of the morning.

Yacht in the fog.

5. Be patient and walk as far and wide as you can.

The fog changes very quickly as it moves and then is absorbed by the sun. You can get some very interesting images. In my images below I watched and took photos of a fishing boat departing.

Fishing boat in the fog
Fishing boat in the fog
Misty morning
Tree top in fog
Sea bird flying in fog

Minimal is probably the concept that comes to mind when photographing fog.  

Remember to adjust your settings to gather in a bit more light.

Lower shutter speed for darker scenes and a higher iso.

But you may need a tripod for those early morning shots. 

For more information on fog photography CHECK THIS OUT

6 great photo ideas using the colour yellow

6 great photo ideas using the colour yellow

tree in yellow canola field

Yellow the brightest colour in the spectrum.

Fun, stimulating and picturesque, not really the colour one would paint a whole house in. But touches here and there add a vibrant and happy feel to a home. Here are a few thoughts on what to photograph and how to photograph the colour yellow.

1. It’s a magnificent sight to drive along a country road and behold an enormous yellow field. Nothing quite like it! If you live in the country or near some farmland, do take the opportunity to drive and photograph some fields. I don’t put myself into a farmers canola field any more for a selfie, I prefer to be on the edge of the field. I have learnt they work hard and dont need people tramping through their fields.

2. I usually photograph canola fields on a cloudy day. This is just my preference because I prefer the combination of yellow and grey to yellow and sky blue. So chose your weather conditions depending on what you would like to photograph.

3. Yellow cars or scooters are great to photograph, make sure you have your camera with you when navigating the city or when you take a drive on the beach. Use a fast shutter speed if you do not wish to capture any movement.

4. I like a touch of yellow in my home, my yellow linen duvet cover is lovely to photograph… and lovely to sleep in.

5. I do find yellow, maybe a car, maybe a church spire. maybe a yellow dress a very inspirational colour. However too much and it is a little blinding and over powering, as they say..”Everything in moderation.”

6. Yellow is not a common colour in our landscape so in some of my images I have edited them to show a more vibrant yellow colour.

Have fun.

Gallery

More black and white images of our coastline

More black and white images of our coastline

 

Black and white images stand out as being simple and yet bold.

 

I have a blog written awhile ago about my love for black and white and the ocean. Read here.

This is a continuationof that blog.

Two basic colours at the end of the spectrum provide room for our imaginations. Two extremes of light and dark with many shades of grey in between. It’s perhaps the shades of grey that provide the connections between the black and white. This makes it easier for our eye to roam around the image, appreciating the variations.

I have been experimenting and making some of my black and whites lighter. Not so much contrast. I enjoy doing this type of editing.

 

pink sunset and a distant lighthouse
pink sunset and a distant lighthouse
Big waves and distant lighthouse
black-and-white -simplicity
Seagulls resting
sailing boat and waves
Seabird flying over seaweed
Two yachts
Moon over ocean in black and white
Lighthouse in black and white
Girl fishing in black and white

Me fishing off the back of our boat. Gotta love a striped T shirt in black and white photos.