Sometimes a photograph presents itself even when you think the day might be a lost cause. Which, is exactly what happened to me this morning. I had set the alarm the evening before to get up just before five AM to drive up to the top of Mount Buffalo to photograph first light on Lake Catani. Unfortunately it turned out to be ‘just one of those mornings’ when there was too much low cloud in combination with the wrong atmospheric conditions for any colour or decent light. As the sun came up it was buried behind layers of clouds and instead of the transparent soft light of a rosy dawn it just got lighter – bugger.

Somewhat despondent I packed up all my gear for the forty five minute drive back down the mountain with a view to salvaging the morning with a nice cooked breakfast (it seemed the decent thing to do!). I rounded a bend on the trip back down a good twenty five minutes or so after sunrise, just as the sun broke through the thick layers of cloud and threw a warrm glow into the morning fog in the valley. I slammed on the brakes, grabbed my camera and had time to squeeze off just two frames before it disappeared into cold grey monotones; which it stayed for the rest of the day. Sometimes in landscape it just lasts for a few seconds.  And much like air travel, landscape photography can be hours of sheer boredom… followed by ten seconds of sheer panic (during landing) when the light is right. The joys of landscape photography.

This photograph was taken back in Summer 2008 just outside the You Yangs National Park in Victoria Australia. This relatively small park is often overlooked by landscape photographers given its close proximity to Melbourne; but scattered amongst the granite boulders and gum trees lie many potential photographs. What I really like about this photograph is the juxtaposition of the quintessential (somewhat cliche’) dead gum tree to the line of blue sky through the brewing clouds. The blue sky leads the eye deep into the photograph and adds a dimensionality and balance to the photograph that would have otherwise have been missing – and most likely otherwise resulted in a flat and boring photograph. Taken in the height of summer this is text book Australian drought conditions. This photograph has also been featured on the Channel Two News Weather segment in Melbourne.

This photograph was taken at what used to be Mitre Lake at Mount Arapiles near Natimuk and Horsham in Western Victoria. I scouted this location on a previous visit and new it would make a great photograph with the right light. The composition works for me with the parched land and dead wood in the foreground leading the eye off to the distant Mount Arapiles and dawn sky. In the end I took this photograph just before sunrise as I felt it would offer the best light. The colour in the sky was greatly enhanced by smoke from the bushfires that ravaged Victoria in Summer 2009. Mitre lake has been dry now for many years; a result of the more than ten years of drought Australia is suffering from. Scenes such as this are now an all to common site throughout the country with many of the countries lakes and ponds now no more than dustbowls.

Whilst down the coast for work last weekend I took the opportunity to squeeze in some photography at a relatively unknown location deep in the Otway forest. The area is simply known as ‘The Redwoods’ and is comprised of a relatively small plantation of the giant Californian Sequoia Redwood trees. These trees grow to be some of the largest in nature. Their girth and height can be truly immense. This small plantation is approximately sixty years  old and as  yet no where near fully grown, however, it already stretches more than a hundred feet into the sky.

The weather was overcast and drizzly for most of the weekend, ideal for forest photography. Direct sunlight creates too much contrast under a forest canopy. In full sunlight under the canopy the camera’s sensor is unable to capture the full dynamic range of light and dark areas. This leads to either blown highlights or complete loss of shadow detail. A cloudy overcast sky greatly reduces the contrast and gives a soft-box effect to the light that is far more suitable and pleasing. The rain and drizzle adds a lovely saturation to the foliage and forest floor. The inclusion of the small forest fern in the foreground, dwarfed by the Sequoias completes the composition and results in a very pleasing photograph to my eye.

It’s December and it is now summer here in Australia – my least favourite time of year for photography. Autumn and Winter are my preferred seasons for landscape work. I far prefer the cooler weather and the snow and ice of the alpine regions to the blazing heat and humidity of the Australian summer (I should live in Scotland!). During Autumn and Winter the air is usually cleaner and the light tends to have a more transparent quality to it that lends itself very well to landscape photography. Looking back at some of the photography from the cooler months of the year this one jumps out as one of my favourites.

This photograph was taken at a location known as ‘The Castle’ at Mount Buffalo in the Victorian alps at sunrise. The location is not often visited as the walk in is fairly steep and arduous; particularly in winter. This is not the first time I have photographed here but it is the first time I have been lucky enough to get really beautiful light in combination with a lovely hoar frost. Combined with the reflection in the icy pool and the wildflowers this is a photograph I like very much.