Western-port Bay Tooradin Victoria December 18th 2013

Dec20

Derelict Freighter Ship The images from my last post have created a huge amount of interest, so I thought I would upload a few more photographs that I took of the abandoned old freighter ship lying in the mangroves at Tooradin airport. Please note that for most people you will not be able to photograph this site as the ship lies in a mangrove swamp hard to access. Apart from the Tiger snakes that frequent the area and the sticky mud everywhere, you need to cart a large step-ladder with you to gain access to the top of the ship. There are also legal restrictions on access to the site. You have to cross a commercial airfield and it comes under federal air regulations, plus this airfield is also privately owned and insurance implications and H&S are also something to be considered. Seeking permission is therefore hard. I had the opportunity to photograph only because I pre-arranged it through my friend Gordon, who is the chief Pilot based here. Gordon flies all participants in my Flinders Island workshops each year and I use him on other occasions as well. It was a great shoot and I have many good photographs from almost every angle.

Western-port Bay Grantville – Tooradin Victoria December 17th 2013

Dec18

Old Jetties and Abandoned ships...I have for a long time wanted to photograph the old Jetties in Western-port Bay near the town of Grantville. Arrived not long after Dawn at Queensferry Jetty firstly, and after getting stuck in the mud and nearly losing one of my gum-boots at low tide, I moved further around the coast a little to Tenby Point. Both old Jetties are really good photographic material and I will endeavour to re-visit again, maybe doing a sunset next time I visit. On the way back to Melbourne I had arranged to meet my friend Gordon who is the chief Pilot for Aus-air at Tooradin. Armed with a hefty step-ladder we headed over to the abandoned old freighter ship lying forlorn in the mangroves by the runway. More great photographic material here and I have worked some of the images in HDR as I feel this subject lends itself to this medium rather well.

King Island Photographic Workshop November 29th – December 1st 2013

Dec9

Due to popular demand and extra bookings, I decided to run a second late spring photographic workshop last weekend on King Island, taking advantage of the fine weather and coastal bloom of flowers that appear at this time of the year. Everyone enjoyed the great locations both around the lagoons and along the various coastlines. The weather remained fine enough to visit the penguin colony at dusk and get some images of the little darlings waddling home with bellies full of fish. Great company and lots of delicious food completed the wonderful weekend of photography. I actually stayed on a few days more and took advantage of the Spring blooms, especially at my secret spot. The flowers here are exceptional, given that it’s a shearwater colony and their droppings fertilize the karkalla or Carpobrotus rossii. Hard to get to and a bit of a trek as its out of the way and not near any roads, plus its a tiger snake haven and you also need to go at low tide to negotiate the huge boulders! I spent considerable time here and took advantage of the sunny weather which opens the flowers up fully and makes for a magnificent scene in a kaleidoscope of colour.