A photography visit to the Pinnacles at Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island Victoria has been on my radar and agenda for a long time. I have never photographed or even visited The Pinnacles at Cape Woolamai before, but I have seen and heard enough about them to know they were well worth a visit. I have come close to visiting and  photographing the area about two years ago. I drove the two odd hours from Melbourne with my cousin riding shotgun and the full intention of photographing them, but we bailed out in the car park a mere hours walk from our destination because it was forty plus degrees celsius… and well…. a beer in the pub was more appealing.

I finally got another opportunity yesterday with another very good photographer friend of mine and we made the two hour  journey from Melbourne; this time to completion. We parked at the Cape Woolamai surf rescue club after a leisurely lunch in San Remo and walked the hour or so into the Pinnacles along the beach and through the Mutton Bird rookeries in the early afternoon. The skies were clear and the sun was shinning and it was a glorious Autumn afternoon. It was one of those ‘life doesnt get any better’ moments. We arrived a full three hours ahead of sunset and set about scrambling over the rocks in search of the ideal composition. Mother nature is a fickle mistress however, and as the sun began to set we quickly realised that all our preparations were for naught and that the best solution was to go with the flow and chase the light. This photograph, with the volcanic pink granite illuminated by the setting sun was taken looking East; away from the Pinnacles. It is the composition and frame that offered the best light and for me best captures the feeling that the Pinnacles evokes. Its a truly ‘Jurassic’ location lost in time and I look forward to going back.

The road and drive up to Mount Buffalo in the Victorian Alps is one of my favourites in Victoria. The road snakes around the mountain and at various points provides excellent views to both the East and West for Sunrise and Sunset photography. There are lots of opportunities for landscape photography at Mount Buffalo, but some of the best in my experience are actually on the drive up the mountain. This photograph was taken just before sunrise looking into the Buckland Valley filled with fog. When I left my hotel in the pre-dawn dark and started the drive up the mountain I was unsure if there was going to be any opportunity for photography as visibility was so poor. After climbing half way up the mountain I emerged above the fog and cloud just as the sun was about to rise and was able to take this photograph literally from the side of the road. The swirling cloud and fog in the gum trees in the lower left hand corner of the frame provides the depth and dimensionality that make this photograph enjoyable for me. The orange and yellow glow of dawn adds a wonderful warmth and contrast to the cold blue of the fog. A higher resolution copy of this photograph is also in my Australian Portfolio on my website at www.jholko.com

Unfortunately the forecast storms yesterday evening did not eventuate. In fact, up until the sun actually set (although I never saw it hidden behind many layers of clouds) it didn’t even rain down at Flinders. The first spatters of rain were just beginning to fall as I was packing up to head back to the car in the dark. As a result there was no dramatic storm lighting or lightning so I decided against the long walk into Cape Shank and instead chose the easier option and walked into the Flinders Blowhole area. I had not photographed here before but the area comprises of the same black basalt rock formations as Cape Shank and offers good easy access. The turn off is poorly signposted so I was hoping the area would not be to crowded being a long weekend. Thankfully there were only a few tourists and several other photographers working the area when I arrived a few hours before sunset; but they all left not long after I arrived.

I often just dive right into shooting when I arrive at a new location; being eager to get a few frames in the can as it were – especially if the light is good and/or changing fast. This time I took a slightly different approach and just sat and waited for an hour or so observing the rock formations and considering potential compositions. I watched the other photographers going about their work and took time to slow things down in my mind. Mental preparation and getting in the right frame of mind is a large component of successful landscape photography. It is sometimes difficult to go from the frenetic pace of life to a slower and more contemplative pace that is more conducive to making artwork. I feel this approach worked and I will make an effort to have more contemplation time and what will hereafter be referred to as ‘staring time’ in my photography.

This photograph was one of only three compositions I shot in the four hours or so I spent down at the Blowhole and it is my favourite. I like the foreground rock; which reminds of a knife block and the curve of the rocky coast leading the eye through the frame. The milky, wispy ocean serves to help soften the harshness of the rocks and its deep marine colour adds dimension. Whilst I would have preferred dramatic storm lighting and some colour in the clouds I nevertheless feel that this photograph works on several different levels.

It has been overcast and raining on and off in Melbourne for the last couple of days. We had a good storm yesterday afternoon whilst I was out mountain biking at Lysterfield with hail the size of golf balls. For a short period I was forced to seek shelter under a tree with my pack over my head with some other riders to avoid the painful strikes (I have a few bruises today!). There were reports of smashed windows and damaged cars. Anyway, an interesting phenomenon happened after the hail and rain died down which I have only ever seen a few times before. Because the morning had been sunny and warm the ground had retained a lot of heat under the tree canopy; which meant that much of the rain and hail evaporated quickly. As a result an eerie fog rose up from the ground and hung low amongst the lichen covered gum trees and granite boulders. The combination of saturated lichen from the rain with hail on the ground and low fog was extremely unusual and photogenic. Unfortunately I was a long way from my car and camera and was unable to capture the scene (I did enjoy riding through it). I did make an attempt with the camera in my iphone but this was most definitely the fish that got away. I will make sure my small Canon S90 pocket camera is in my backpack on all future rides – lesson learned. More isolated rainstorms and  thunderstorms are forecast for late this afternoon so I am heading down to Cape Shank in the hopes of some good light.

I was going through my image library having a sort of semi yearly clean out of shots that I no longer wanted and re-discovered this photograph, which was taken back in May 2008 near Marysville in Victoria – Near the Beech Forest on Lady Talbot Drive. It immediately jumped out at me as this area was completely devastated in the 2009 Black Saturday Bush Fires that ravaged Victoria. As a result of those fires (in which more than 150 people lost their lives) this area no longer exists in this pristine, natural state. After the fires this area was nothing more than a blackened and charred moon scape, devoid of vegetation and animals. Now just over a year on there are signs of vegetation regrowth across the landscape, but it will be many many years before the area fully recovers. The boulders that bear the blackened scars of the fires will serve as a reminder of how badly this area was damaged in the fires for decades to come.