Went Wandering in Western Australia

[Zichar]

yah, that is the bad luck me.

the flowers dof is not shallow enough, i thought. but the above shot is nice. and i almost misread as loch ness.

Hello zoossh, thanks for dropping by!
Actually thought I didn't have enough dof for the flowers, lol.
Wanted some of the micro structures to be seen more clearly
I like <18> myself too but wish I could have gone wider somehow

 

[Zichar]

The town of Leeman was next
Again the allure of the Indian Ocean proved difficult to resist
Coupled with the possibility of walking down the jetty
An indescribable simple pleasure
As was having common seagulls as target practice

<39>

 

[Zichar]

On numerous occasion, the circling gulls
Put in me the fear that my camera and myself would get pasted
Payback for surreptitious photos taken
Sans model release

Silver Gull
Larus novaeholladiae

<40>

 

[Zichar]

While looking out to the empty sea-sky horizon
Always brings to heart a quiet calm satisfaction
My eyes lit up at the sight of a rough rock island in the waters
Black and white specks milling about

<41>

 

[zoossh]

Hello zoossh, thanks for dropping by!
Actually thought I didn't have enough dof for the flowers, lol.
Wanted some of the micro structures to be seen more clearly
I like <18> myself too but wish I could have gone wider somehow

maybe the sides are not desirable? or simply limitations of lens focal length and how much u can step forward (limited by the river bank)?

 

[Zichar]

maybe the sides are not desirable? or simply limitations of lens focal length and how much u can step forward (limited by the river bank)?

The second and third; taken further back and the curve of the bank (a concrete barrier) would pop into the frame.
Wasn't sure if I'd be any good at stitching LE shots, decided I would probably suck and left it at that! :bsmilie:

>>

I spy
With my telephoto lens
A colony of Pied Cormorants
Making straight flight paths outwards
Barely skimming the water
And then back again

It was here too that subsequently became a recurrent occasion
The family would have a go looking through the viewfinder
To spot things far away
A binoculars would have come in handy lightweight option

<42>

 

[Zichar]

Wasn't sure if this would work in the harsh afternoon
The CPL couldn't quite cut off the speckles of sunlight
So I tried the 10-stop filter, hoping to get the dark and light patches visible

This the roadside at Port Denison
Crumbling rocks slippery cliff danger sign
Made the wife wary of my intentions

I remember a funny squat lighthouse-looking structure just behind me
Google Maps streetview can be quite amazing that way
I can retrace my steps back to the same spot
Aside from the occasional obsolete scenery

<43>

 

[zoossh]

Wasn't sure if I'd be any good at stitching LE shots, decided I would probably suck and left it at that! :bsmilie:

ask nightmare and giantcanopy, esp nightmare who can straighten everything and anything.
i'm not a tripod person and goes for snaps only, and definitely cannot handle complex post processing steps.

u have a strong cold blue preference? time to break the monotony. a mix variety of mid focal lengths is good too, cos i see you have either ultrawide without close objects, or long tele zoom into birds, and things become very dichotomised.

 

[Zichar]

ask nightmare and giantcanopy, esp nightmare who can straighten everything and anything.
i'm not a tripod person and goes for snaps only, and definitely cannot handle complex post processing steps.

u have a strong cold blue preference? time to break the monotony. a mix variety of mid focal lengths is good too, cos i see you have either ultrawide without close objects, or long tele zoom into birds, and things become very dichotomised.

sabee is my go-to person for PP lol. For everything else, there's google!
Admittedly, I can't handle complex steps too, lack the patience and it really bogs down my system. Have had PS crash a few times trying to run a high pass filter ugh. Must rem to save frequently.

I ... don't own a mid-range zoom ;p
The 17-35mm is glued to the cam most of the time. Only switch to the tele if I want to spot something afar (or take pictures of it). The 60mm micro is my mid-range representation, which I only use as a short tele to take portraits of my family.

But yes, that's an astute observation. Think I am enamored with the blue; as with the grass is always greener, the sky is also always bluer? Because it's so similar yet different? Can't quite put it into words. Caught myself daydreaming just staring at the sky and clouds on quite a few occasions. The feeling of so much space is ... liberating?

>>

A bit more blue for you then
And with the tele
It's funny how easily we get influenced
By what we see and read
My ode to Thomas / soulffly
The clear horizons were asking for this:

<44>

 

[Zichar]

We had lunch at nearby Geraldton, one of the larger towns on the coast
Fish and chips at the wharf, and stock up on seafood
Thanks zoossh, I now realise I don't have any shots
of when we wander the town's streets
Or any town for that matter!

Stopped over at the first purple patch we saw
This one just 10minutes away from town
Because the wife likes the colour purple. And flowers.
The combination of both warranted a stop

Found out later on in a conversation with a canola farmer
That they're not pretty wildflowers, but a pesky weed of sorts
Nicknamed Patterson's Curse

It's odd, I leaned over the barbed wire fence for this shot
And discovered a recycled bathtub in the middle!!!

<45>

 

[Zichar]

Kalbarri was where we were to put up for the night
We took a wrong turn and came through inland via the North West Coastal Highway
The alt route which hugs the coast is much more scenic

Our unit at the seafront villas were on the
Upper floor of a two storey block
Heaving grunts and groans as we shuffled the luggage upstairs
A pleasant view though, overlooking the river jetty
Was much too tired to go out and had wanted to conserve energy
For a spot of squid jigging at night

Standing on the balcony however
My ears strained to hear
Like the drone of planes, booming waves in a distance
From this vantage point, I could see the tall spray

Stifling a sigh, I reached out for my bag
It wouldn't hurt to see what that's about... famous last words

Grab shot from beside the car, birds coming in for the evening

The ubiquitous Galah
Eolophus roseicapilla

<46>

 

[Zichar]

Kalbarri; where the Murchison River meets the Indian Ocean
Its geography was quite unique;
The mouth of the river does not open straight out into the sea
But follows a bend which creates a naturally shielded cove
With waves battering the barrier of rocks

We made our way to the tip of the entrance, on the other side of town
The sign pointed, Chinaman's Rock
(not sure why but there's a lot of landmarks named Chinaman's such-and-such)
It was amusing to see boats slalom through floating buoys and poles
The calmer waters, a haven for anglers?

<47>

 

[Zichar]

<48>

 

[emlee]

Nice purple flowers, the bath tub makes the picture even more interesting.
The broken jetty is a nice subject to photograph, you have more to show?

 

[Zichar]

Nice purple flowers, the bath tub makes the picture even more interesting.
The broken jetty is a nice subject to photograph, you have more to show?

Thanks, I wonder if the bathtub is used as a watering trough for farm animals perhaps
Was really itching to go in to get a closer angle
There were private property keep out signs, but the gate wasn't locked, simply latched shut
Didn't seem like there was anyone around (which can be said of a lot of farmland we came across too) or I'd ask
But in the end decided against trespassing. Admittedly the temptation was very strong ;p

That's all I have with the broken jetty. Doesn't look that great up close; the stripping isn't complete, left odds and ends sticking out at weird angles.
It's also cordoned off with those orange construction plastic mesh and a warning sign.
We actually detoured to stay just further down, opposite jetty #2, on our way back to Perth
But arrived much later with the sun barely a sliver, and found the same mesh around

 

[Zichar]

We clambered up the lookout behind the fishermen
And bore witness to a magnificent sunset
Amidst incoming wind and waves
Seaspray on my cheeks
Camera, lens, tripod and glasses
even when 10m away

<49>

 

[Zichar]

Imagine the sea gathering up its strength
To make a giant fist to pound the sand and rocks
Over and over again

On the far side of the beach

<50>

 

[wrongculture]

lovely series, and great commentary.:thumbsup:

 

[Zichar]

Just ahead of us by a few steps
A young couple with their young daughter
Bits of Singlish wafted over in the wind
Simple camera strapped to the wrist, and a bag of Loacker wafers in the child's
All of whom proceeded to the vantage point at the tip of the lookout

I was kicking myself for spending so much time below with the fishermen
And missing out on the spot
With the sun setting so quickly, I shrugged and setup near the rails instead
Kept my eye on them just in case they decided to leave

But it was a compelling scene, a happy family, watching the sunset
When dusk turned to night, they left, myself holding the tripod legs shut to let them by me
As they filed past, I wanted to call out
Ask for contact details, send the photo over
I hesitated, selfishly, would they object?
The moment, the family disappeared into the darkness

<51>

 

[dapr0digy]

Ack!!! I was in Kalamunda for two nights! Hahaha, didn't know anything about the observatory

Wasn't really sure it would work, tried to practise here before I left but that wasn't particularly fruitful
Had to reserve time for startrails later
Shot above - 17mm, 25s, f/2.8, ISO800
Have others with longer times but they all seem to look the same

ooops sorry i didnt subscribe and didnt know u replied to my post. Thanks for the info .. i'll try it out next time im back in aussie land.. or maybe perhaps ill try it out in europe first