Port Campbell – Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge

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Following on from my previous post – I had a real mixed bag of weather in the few days I spent driving the Great Ocean Road. I had everything from brilliant sunshine to blasting wind and rain as sporadic sea squalls blew in from the ocean across the coastline. As a landscape photographer I live for this kind of weather. It is often at the ‘edges’ of weather that the most interesting and dramatic light can be had. Brilliant midday sunshine is great for sitting in the local pub’s beer garden enjoying a few cold ones, but its useless for anything but postcard photography as far as the grand landscape is concerned. The trick is being prepared for inclement weather – making sure you have the appropriate equipment to shoot in the rain can make all the difference to getting the shot; or sitting in the car.

Both of these photographs were taken as sea squalls and rain came and went across the Great Ocean Road coastline in the late afternoon. The first is Loch Ard Gorge; an easily accessible location near the Twelve Apostles just off the Great Ocean Road. The second is the remains of London Bridge; some 15 kilometres or so past the Twelve Apostles and the small town of Port Campbell. Both of these locations are heavily touristed, but there is plenty of opportunity for some really fabulous photography in both these areas.

Lorne – Outgoing Tide and Gura Gear at the Twelve Apostles

Posted in Australia, Equipment, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized1 Comment

After spending so much time photographing icebergs in Iceland on the black sand beaches in July and August this year it was really wonderful to get back onto some golden Australian sand for some local photography. It was really enjoyable to just spend a couple of days driving down the Great Ocean road again through Lorne, Apollo Bay and on past the Twelve Apostles, Gibsons Steps, London Bridge, the Grotto, Loch Ard Gorge and Port Campbell. This part of Victoria is simply beautiful and is a wonderful world class location for landscape photography. If you are considering a photographic trip to Australia then this part of Victoria is a must. This first photograph was taken along the beach on an outgoing tide at dawn just before the drive into Lorne. You can just see the Lorne pier in the top right hand corner on the horizon.This short trip was also the first good opportunity I have had since returning from Iceland to put my new Gura Gear Kiboko camera bag through its paces in the field.  This is going to be old news to those of you who already own the fabulous Gura Gear Kiboko camera bag; but thats ok. If you are fortunate enough to own one of these camera bags you need read no further and are summarily excused to go out and do some photography. If, you do not yet own a Kiboko then before you grab your current bag and head out the door take a few minutes and read on because I really do not know how I managed all these years without the Kiboko for carrying all my equipment in the field.

I recently blogged about the Gura Gear Kiboko on my return from three weeks photography in Iceland after I realised how dissatisfied I had become with my current Lowe Pro Nature Trekker back pack. As my photography equipment has grown over the years it had become increasingly difficult to fit it all into the Nature Trekker and inevitably something got left behind – and thanks to ‘Murphy’ that ‘something’ was usually what I needed in the field. Don’t get me wrong; the Nature Trekker is a great camera bag – its well made, virtually waterproof and is one of the toughest bags on the market; but its simply rendered obsolete by the Kiboko.

Physically, the Kiboko is almost the same size as the Nature Trekker; but that is where the similarities end. The Kiboko weighs less than four pounds – yes, less than four pounds. The Nature Trekker on the other hand weighs in at more than double that. And that is with the optional daypack removed! But the weight saving isnt even half the story. The real genius of the Kiboko becomes clear when you start to pack it with equipment. The Kiboko holds significantly more on the inside than its appearance would have you believe. In fact it will swallow a huge amount of equipment and give you easy access to it in the field.

Here is what I have in my Kiboko: (and the Kiboko meets airline carry on size restrictions with all of the below!)

  • 1 x Canon EOS1DS MKIII
  • Spare Battery for EOS 1DS MKIII
  • Canon EOS1DS MKIII Battery Charger
  • 1 x Canon S90 Point and Shoot
  • 1 x Canon 17mm F4L TSE
  • 1 x Canon 24mm F1.4L MKII
  • 1 x Canon 35mm F1.4L
  • 1 x Canon 50mm F12L
  • 1 x Canon 85mm F1.2L MKII
  • 1 x Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS
  • 1 x Canon 300mm F2.8L IS
  • 1 x Canon 1.4 TC Extender MKII
  • 1 x Canon Macro Extension Tube
  • 1 x Canon Cable Release
  • 1 x Bubble Level
  • 2 x Polarisers
  • 1 x UV Filter
  • 1 x Lee Pro Filter Holder and 3 x Adapter Rings in LEE Pouch
  • 6 LEE Grad Filters in LEE Pouch
  • 2 x Micro Fibre Cleaning Clothes
  • Packet of Lens Tissue
  • All my CF and SD Cards in SanDisk Pouch
  • All of the lens hoods for the included lenses

Oh.. and on top of that I still have room for at least another lens!

Easing the Shutter Finger Aches Along the Great Ocean Road

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Every hour spent out in the field with my camera gear equates to at least two hours in front of the computer. Sorting, editing and processing images is a time consuming process that (at least for me) is a somewhat iterative and occasionally laborious process. Some time ago I adopted the ‘chip-away’ philosphy to my image editing and processing. That is to say, that instead of looking for large chunks of time where I can sit down and really get a lot potentially accomplished I grab small pieces of time where I can and just chip away at it. Its amazing how much you can get done with this methodology. Principally because, with the hectic pace of life large chunks of time are just very difficult to come by.

To this end, I have been slowly ‘chipping away’ at the editing and processing of my photographs from Iceland over the last six or so weeks since I got back. I am really thrilled with the images I have processed so far – although, truth be-known between the office, the family, the kids and all the other distractions of life I feel I still have many weeks of work ahead of me to glean all the gems from the trip. That said… my shutter finger is feeling a little neglected so I have loaded up the car with my gear and am taking off for the weekend down the Great Ocean road to Lorne, Apollo Bay and the Twelve Apostles  for some photography. I have long neglected this part of Victoria from a photography perspective – although I have been to these places many times over the years. It should be a blast and hopefully I get some good light. See you next week!

Iceland – A Penchant for Icebergs

Posted in Iceland, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized2 Comments

The Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon in the South of Iceland with its myriad of icebergs  is a natural wonder and phenomenon that provides landscape photographers with virtually limitless possibilities for photography. Easily accessed from the main Highway One ring road the lagoon is an ever changing landscape filled with icebergs that have carved of Europe’s largest glacier – the Vatnajokull Glacier. There is a real peacefulness and feeling of serenity at the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. The silence is often broken only by the squawk of  native sea birds or the occasional iceberg rolling over. It is an incredibly beautiful place.

I spent quite a few days in this area of Iceland visiting at all hours of the day and night. As the lagoon is so dynamic it changes daily and can be packed or virtually empty of icebergs. Frequent visits often yield very different results and its easy to spend hours lost in ones photography wandering the banks of the lagoon seeking out different shaped icebergs, different textures and different compositions.

During one evenings photography our group was slowly making our way along the bank of the lagoon around 11pm taking photographs of the many icebergs in beautiful soft overcast light. This iceberg, lit from underneath and shaped like half a clam shell was reflected in the near perfectly still waters and is one of my favourites from this area. In this small web jpeg you can just see the distant Vatnajokull glacier in the mist.