Green Valleys in Spring

The hills of South Australia have a seasonal range of colour values, from a green so rich you’d think it was Ireland, in the wet months, to their characteristic yellow-grey in the harshest summer months. Depending on elevation and what sort of season we get, their nature can vary a lot at the same time of year. This is the stud farm at Hope Valley, in the southern hills, photographed on October 9^th, 2022, one of our three consecutive La Nina years. The landscape is still appreciably lush, though spring is well matured and what should be the hot weather is just around the corner. But in these times of strange weather patterns there seem no hard and fast rules any more. This is a medium telephoto shot, framing up the horses in their paddocks against the house on the hill for a very picturesque composition. Contrast, colour and sharpness were adjusted slightly. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

 

Aussie Skies

As I’ve mentioned a few times, Australia can turn on the most amazing skies. We live not far from the sea but can weather-up from almost any direction, and when storms roll in they can range from the merely spectacular to the downright scary. I captured this frame in my front street, looking north-west on September 2^nd, 2016 (one day after my first short story was published—what an ocean of water has gone under the bridge since then!) The palms add to the tropical feel—nothing is as exotic to a northerner born than the sight of great, fronded palms nodding in a breeze against dark and angry skies, with, nonetheless, sunshine in the foreground. The image is already very contrasty and the colours are true to the moment, so the only enhancement was a touch of sharpening. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

 

An Ancient Seaway

As so long elapsed prior to posting the last picture, I’ll post two on consecutive days to catch up.

I recorded this image during my expedition to Tynemouth Castle and Priory, Monday, November 15^th, 2010. I had caught the bus north from Sunderland, then taken the ferry across the Tyne and walked out to the headland, where the Medieval ruins are preserved as Scheduled Ancient Monuments. This has been a busy artery of trade since time immemorial, and remains a major maritime town to this day. The weather was perfect, sunny and mild, and the sea and river were perfect rippled reflectors. This view looks directly out into the North Sea, and the lighthouse is at the end of the north breakwater of the river mouth. I remember the day very well, and the photographic record forms a visual diary, with many excellent shots worth a look.

The image was adjustment slightly, gamma value, contrast, saturation and sharpness receiving minor tweaks. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

 

Long View

This is the view from the top of Mt Alma, South Australia, looking southwest toward an amazing Southern Ocean skyscape. I’ve been over that road many times, and one can never keep going without stopping to photograph the view. From farm lakes that make patches of sky in the landscape, to the rolling countryside and ever-changing cloudscape, it’s one of the best vantages around. Look south-east, you see to Lake Alexandrina, look west there are dark forests... I took this frame on July 1^st, 2018, on a family expedition around the southern vales--the country is wearing its winter green, such a change from the parched summer yellows. The image was enhanced a little, with increase in contrast and colour, decrease in gamma value and a little sharpening. I chose not to square up the skyline, as the angle of the road makes it a bit vertiginous at the best of times. Just a snap, but what a view! Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Misty Forest

Nature can turn on some amazing views, not all of them grand vistas of sea or sky. Some can only be glimpsed by being “inside” the weather, such as happened on this expedition, a drive through Adelaide’s southern hills on the 14^th of July, 2023. The weather was thick and clouds were hugging the hills, so when ascending from the low-lying vineyards of the McLaren Vale Wine Region into the grey overcast, one found oneself in the densest mist in a long time. An excellent opportunity for a shoot was found on a graded track near Range Road West, where the gnarled gums, frozen in their apparent writhing gesticulation in the hazy airs, created a distinctly primordial feeling. Minimal image processing was used. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Natural Spectacle

Australia can certainly turn on some ominous and imposing skyscapes. South Australia's major changes usually come from the southwest, big storms rolling in off the Southern Ocean, and they never disappoint when it comes to drama. This one was shot from a holiday camp at Normanville, South Australia, on the evening of February 17^th, 2023, looking west, as some very impressive things were occurring. Slight adjustments were made to gamma value, contrast, saturation and sharpness. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Neon Extravaganza

 

Sometimes things take you by surprise and you shoot almost automatically. This was such an occasion—this is the weather awning of the main entry to Heathrow Airport, west of London, and I was making my way back to Australia on the evening of Tuesday, November 16^th, 2010, having come down from Sunderland by train to King's Cross, passing through much fog on the way, then making my way through the metropolis as the sun went down and finally out to the airport by train from Paddington. Just as I was walking into the airport, they turned on the neon and the effect was stunning! It looks purple but I remember it being individual red and blue fluorescent tubes that together created the illusion of colour. I shot several frames to record it, having already photographed the night-time environs—the camera was in my hand as the lights came on. I could have squared up the image but it would have cut into the thematic material, so this time I'm posting it just as it came off the camera, other than a touch of sharpening, contrast and gamma correction. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Vines and Changing Weather

Here is an opportunistic shot, a high telephoto framing looking toward a hill with a storm sky. The view is northward on Foggo Road, McLaren Vale, South Australia, just over the road from Foggo Wines. The date was May 9^th, 2023, and the late afternoon was weathering up, a grateful end to the warmer season leaving the landscape rich in fall colours. This was the third of three frames capturing this scene, each at different degrees of zoom, and this one, closing in to register both landscape and the densest part of the cloudscape, burned in the best colour. It's a delightfully rustic scene in the modern idiom, the vines of the wine region I think of as “the green sea” under the sort of spectacular sky Australia so often provides. The image was sharpened slightly and the contrast was tweaked a touch. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Steel Bike

 The Kenny Blake Memorial Sculpture on the High Street of Strathalbyn, South Australia is an internationally recognised sporting monument. Kenny Blake was a South Australian motorcycle racing icon until his untimely passing at Britain's Isle of Mann in 1981. This sculpture took three months to build and contains over 4000 mechanical components and items of scrap. The imposing, life-size monument stands on a stone pedestal on a street corner, and perfectly captures the power and grace of the sport. The intricate detail is endlessly fascinating, and it would be interesting to reshoot at different times of day to catch the changing light across the monument. I captured this image when passing through Strathalbyn on January 19^th, 2023. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Any Day in the Park

 

People in general sometimes take our National Parks for granted, which is a shame as they really deserve our very finest appreciation. Belair was Australia's first National Park, established in the 1880s, and remains one of the best—as parks-pass holders we used the place as a frequent getaway for a day among green spaces and wildlife. I caught this image on September 9^th, 2020, on the trail leading op from Old Government Farm to the ridge overlooking much of the park, with views to the sea, and it struck me at the time that the interplay of light and shadow was nothing short of magic. The steep embankment up to the trees, its ranks of vegetation each catching the sun at that precise angle, could not have been more perfect if an artist had executed the composition—the sort of fleeting moment an artist would wait for, then sketch furiously in a swift tonal values study, and commit to canvas later. The image has been adjusted slightly—contrast, colour and sharpness. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Bending Light

 

Almost exactly thirteen years ago, I took this photo in Hyde Park, London. It was Tuesday November 2^nd 2010, and I was staying at a small hotel near Paddington Station. I had done the Victoria & Albert, and Natural History Museums the previous day (which I reached by Underground), and on this day explored Hyde Park south to the Albert Memorial and Albert Hall, on foot. Had I known my London geography better I would probably not have bothered with the train the previous day, though, to be fair, I was quite ill on the 2010 trip and the extra legwork to get from Paddington to Cromwell Road was probably not welcome. I came upon this curious piece of public art, one of two massive reflectors in the park, and was fascinated by the way the curved surfaces capture the world around them. I'm visible in the distance, wrong way up, on the concave surface. The image was not modified in any way. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

The Lonely Sea and the Sky

There's a timeless quality to the natural world—it seems eternal. Experience has taught us that it's not, but to the human senses a scene like this could as easily be a million years ago as today. This is the Gulf St Vincent, seen from the cliffs above Morgan's Beach, near the south end of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. Afternoon light creates amazing vistas of sea and cloud, ever-changing, no too images ever exactly alike, and always a delight to shoot. The wind was howling, as recall, some later pictures in the set taken through the car window for protection. The old Fuji chip handles looking into the primary light source very well. This frame was captured on April 6th 2022, at the turnaround point of a south coast drive beginning in Noarlunga. The image was squared up with fine rotation, and contrast, colour and sharpness were adjusted slightly. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Organic Architecture

Since the coming of computers in the design process, many buildings have shed the blocky, regular geometry of ages past and taken on flowing curves, often of bizarre form—”twisted” buildings, for instance, or organic shapes, like London's celebrated tower known as “the Pickle.” Such shapes used to be drawn by science fiction artists fifty years ago, as they defied the accepted principles of the art. We have certainly lived into a new era in this respect! This is “Sky City, Adelaide,” the casino which for many years occupied the upper floors of the old Adelaide Railway Station. This part is the ultra-modern northern extension, overlooking what remains of the old Festival Plaza (now a building site), the Festival Theatre and the River Torrens. I walked through from the station on the afternoon of May 15th, 2022, and captured a nice collection of images showcasing the fascinating, futuristic architecture of the place, and will probably come back to this shoot in future. The picture was scaled and colour was slightly tweaked, as the day was quite soft. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Edifice in Silhouette

 As around three weeks elapsed since the photo of the Tyne at sunset, I thought I'd post two in quick succession to make up. Here's an interesting play of light—a very simple shot, but there's always something that captures my eye when I can place a tall object between me and the sun and explore the optical effects. This is the Cape Jervis lighthouse, down at the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the passage across to Kangaroo Island, photographed on an expedition along the south coast on July 21^st, 2017. This image is not modified in any way. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Morning Trade

An interesting exercise in holding the camera steady for opportunistic shooting: this is London's Paddington Station, about 6 in the morning of Sunday, October 31^st, 2010. I had just got off the Heathrow Express, after a 4.50 arrival from Australia via Singapore. It was much too early to be making my way to my hotel, so I killed time around the station, got a bite at a small cafe and just watched the morning traffic as daybreak unfolded. I have another frame showing a clock, snapped at 6.45. Here the place is floodlit but essentially deserted, and I was shooting hand-held. Normally I would look for something to support the camera on with light levels like these, but they were just on the balance point of being high enough, and I was far from well on the 2010 trip, so not being fancy. I held the camera quite appreciably steady, I think! There are nice symmetries in the architecture (by the great Brunel). The picture was squared up with fine rotation, colour and contrast were enhanced and there was some minor gamma correction and sharpening. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

River in the Sun

A simple but effective shot, looking into the late afternoon glare of a low sun on a wide sheet of water. This is the view from the north side of the River Tyne, at Tynemouth, in northeastern England. I visited Tynemouth Castle and Priory on the ancient and famous headland where three kings are said to be buried, including Malcolm IV of Scotland. This was the last full day in England of my 2010 trip, being Monday, November 15^th . The conference at the University of Sunderland concluded the previous day, and I took the Monday for a trip up the coast to Tyenmouth by bus, and a ferry ride across to the north. I walked around the castle and priory for hours, had very good fish and chips at a pub called The Turk's Head, on the highstreet opposite the castle frontage, then made my way back to my boarding house in Sunderland as evening gathered. This image is not modified in any way. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Ghostly Exposures

 

I love doing long exposure night photography, and have captured city scenes in Adelaide, London, Sunderland and Whitby. The trick is supporting the camera solidly, usually just resting it on some surface, then opening the lens and seeing what you capture. If things are barely moving, the effect can be amazing, while the blur and streak effect of objects bright enough to register in motion is always artistic. I took this shot at the tram stop in Victoria Square, Adelaide, on July 3^rd, 2012, looking across to the state administration buildings and the Flinders University City campus. People are blurred, vehicles almost transaprent, while in the clear, cold evening the solidarity of the buildings and fixed lights registered beautifully. No processing was used at all. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

End of Day

When I was a mid I loved shooting sunsets—capturing those glorious, ephemeral colours in the western sky. I would snap away with a Kodak 126 Instamatic, and I did quite well, given what I had to work with. Half a century on I still can't get enough of sunsets, and from time to timer have the opportunity to record the process at some length. This is one of a long series of frames taken looking west over the Adelaide plain to the Gulf St Vincent from a vantage at the top of the ranges, at the top of Range Road, on May 2^nd 2022. This angle is close enough to exclude the silhouetted power pylons just off camera to the right, which, though visually interesting for their own sake, are not terribly aesthetically pleasing. This makes it a natural world image, subtracting the machine subtext of the towers. No image manipulation was done on this one. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

When Everything Holds Still...More or Less

 

Shooting after dark is a hit and miss affair with a camera that was never rated for it. These days digital ISO settings are into orbit and you can dial up undreamed-of sensitivites to capture scenes in effective darkness. But older and cheaper cameras are not so fancy, and when I visited England in 2010 I had never heard of such “virtual film speeds” as are now commonplace. I took a stroll around the Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby on the evening of Sunday, November 7^th, 2010, and got some interesting results. The Whitby lifeboat towed in a boat that had apparently broken down at sea. The swing bridge was opened to allow the craft to pass up-river to the trawler berths, and I was there to record the interesting effects of town lights upon the waters of the harbour. The evening was luminous, a while after sunset, and though most of the pictures were blurred, here and there a few magically crystallised out. Here is a view of the bridge opening, and the lighting seemed to gel perfectly—this shot is not enhanced in any way. I'll post others from that evening at a later date. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Ocean Sky

 

There's something about the eternal southwesterly change of southern Australia that never fails to create pictures in the sky worth capturing. These feathery clouds rose over the Gulf St Vincent in the hot weather, promising some relief. I took this image from the O'Sullivan's Beach overlook on March 3^rd, 2023, framing the skyscape directly over the boat launching area. No post-processing was needed, other than a little contrast and sharpness. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Angles and Reflections

 My sense of composition can't resist the effects created by a built environment. Here are reflections in modern plate-glass architecture on a clear sunny day—taken downtown in Adelaide, South Australia on February 23^rd, 2011. I remember being on some errand or other, having the camera with me and being captivated by the angles and lighting conditions the day and structures presented. Cities are sterile places in comparison to the natural world, but filled with the abstraction of human inventiveness and notions of aesthetic appeal, and the engineer and futurist in me can appreciate these things as a form of, yes, abstract art. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Angry Eye of Day

The old Fuji chip handles harsh contrast in some interesting ways. One thing it's always excelled at is looking into the sun and adjusting exposure to very dramatic effect. I got this shot on April 11^th, 2023, in the main street of Clarendon, South Australia, a closer angle than the previous pic which included some roof or treetop. The shortened exposure emphasises the contrast so the sun through a merely overcast sky becomes the ominous black of some fantastical storm, one of the ways nature puts on a show if you're quick on the shutter. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

A Very Australian Highway

 

There's something just so Australian about hot tarmac under a cloudless sky. Ever since director George Miller made an artistic statement out of roads over forty years ago, the temptation has always been to get down on the white line when traffic is sparse and capture images like this. I shot this one on November 23^rd, 2020, on the last leg of a country drive from Palmer to Mount Pleasant. This is in the northern grain lands—there were huge harvesters working not far from our stopping point. This picture evokes the vastness of Australia, and is just as it came from the camera. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Cold Stone, Warm Light

England is a land whose history presses close, and reminders of past eras are everywhere. This traditional stained glass window is part of the frontage of the Gothic church on Skinner Street, in Whitby, North Yorks, which I photographed late one evening around the 5^th — 7^th of November, 2010. The warm light makes the stonework glow, this west-facing wall catching the last rays of the afternoon sun, and I remember walking those streets, camera in hand, before going down to the harbour to capture the town lights after dark. This was the last time I was in Whitby, and I can hardly credit that almost thirteen years have gone by! The high-telephoto image has not been processed or enhanced in any way. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

A Not-So Hidden Gem

 

This image evokes thoughts of deep forest, of a gorge in pretty inaccessible bush land, or a national park perhaps; but a main road is actually less than thirty metres away, to the left. This is the Sturt River where it flows through Coromandel Valley, parallel with the main street, and constitutes the Coro Linear Park. There is usually water in this stretch, all year round, and the valley stays remarkably green even at the height of summer. This photograph was taken on January 21^st, 2020, during a walk on the park trail before coffee and going on to Belair National Park. No retouching or fine tuning, this is just as it came off the camera. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Ancient Figures, Modern World

I photographed this group of statuary in the first few days of November, 2010, in London. This is one of the four groups flanking the Albert Memorial on the south side of Hyde Park, opposite the Royal Albert Hall, tribute to the partner of Queen Victoria. The groups were meant to represent the British Empire's overseas protectorates and dominions, such as India and Egypt, and, leaving aside colonialism, which today leaves such a bad taste in one's mouth, one can enjoy these monuments purely as art. The Albert Memorial is perhaps the most sculpture-rich edifice in a town which to this day is dripping with the stone-mason's art, and the individual figure work is quite breathtaking. Colour and contrast were adjusted as tiny bit. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Dawn from Altitude

 

The rising sun breaking through ocean cloud, seen over the wing as my plane approached Singapore on November 16 or so, 2010. This was the midpoint landing on the way back to Australia. Air travel offers the chance of such sights, amazing views of day's beginning or end, of storms and panoramas of the Earth below, and I miss this a lot. Of course, the filthy windows, with persistent drops of condensation between the inner and outer panes that turn to ice crystals at altitude make first-rate aerial images more a matter of luck than skill for the casual traveller. But there are still endless opportunities, and on every trip I had a window seat and my camera to hand for this very reason. This image is unretouched, just as it came from the card. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

A Refuge for Wildlife

 

This peaceful scene of an Australian waterway is just a stone's throw from habitation—just across a road, as it happens. Here is nature in harmony with suburbia: the Onkaparinga River at Old Noarlunga, the highest stretch at which the river is in fact a tidal estuary. Here one finds fish aplenty and birdlife to match: pelicans frequent the area, testimony to the plentiful catch to be had. I took this frame, looking toward the cliffs on the east side of the river, during a family walk around the Noarlunga “Horseshoe” on February 13^th, 2020; nothing fancy in the approach, simply taking advantage of the scenery to compose a pleasing image. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Stark Stone and Light

Parliament House, North Terrace, Adelaide, photographed after dark. The symmetry of the columns is a pleasing perspective, and looking up into the floodlights is unusual. The building, completed in 1911, if memory serves, was thoroughly cleaned of soot and vehicle carbon many years ago—Parliament House was a dark grey, almost black, when I was a young child, but the stonework was deep-cleaned and taken back to its beautiful native tones. The same program cleaned the General Post Office, the Town Hall and the cathedral off Victoria Square, removing a reminder of the days of rampant air pollution. I took this shot on the evening of Sunday 5^th December, 2010, on my way home from the Celtica Festival at Hart's Mill Waterfront, Port Adelaide. Very little enhancement, this is pretty much what the raw pic looked like. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Cool and Lush

 

A temperate woodland—Europe? North America? This is the redwood plantation (Sequoia sempervirens) at Belair National Park, east of Adelaide, photographed on July 12^th, 2017. These trees were planted in 1966, the last mass planting of an exotic species to ever occur in the park, and have a long way to go to reach their full size. They towering trunks and fern ground cover create a distinctly north-temperate feeling to the hills above a very Australian eucalypt forest, and the wind in the coniferous needles is an unusual sound in these surroundings. Nothing fancy on this shot, just some minor enhancements. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Geometry and Light

The play of light and shade amongst geometric architecture has always captured my eye, and this view seemed served up to me by the very hand of fate. I took this shot on November 2^nd, 2010, during a visit to the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd., London. This is the annex or vestibule connecting the traditional museum to the super-modern, organic-architecture research wing, and the afternoon light through plate glass and girders creates a very futuristic effect. What you see is exactly as the picture came off the camera, I've done nothing with it. I could have sharpened it, added contrast, turned up the colour, the usual round, but I decided to leave this one alone. The murky feel of the light is mysterious, and the geometry created by the sunrays and steps is a hard artificiality contrasted by the natural light source. The institution serves to explore nature—the artificial contemplating the natural, if you will—and this picture creates an interesting, abstract, salute to the concept. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Changeable Weather

 

This is the view from Brighton (South Australia) jetty, looking south. The storm front was coming up from the south-west, making a spectacular grey background to a sunlit beach and sea. Looking north everything was blue and summery, so Brighton and suburbs immediately south were on the edge of the change. I took this shot on the afternoon of November 24^th, 2014, after having a business lunch at a local cafe with a client looking for a museum-quality display build, which I pursued through the Palaeo Lab at the university—I had the pleasure of being project lead on that one! Image is adjusted slightly, with increases in contrast, sharpness and colour saturation. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

A Tangle of Life

 

A simple image but it epitomises the “be there and catch it” serendipity of photography. Just this association of trees, just that display of clouds, the light at just that angle, coming together to make a visual maze of stems and leaves, with the depth of the rich blue beyond. This shot was taken at Belair National Park on August 13^th, 2017, beside Playfiord Lake. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

The New and the Old

 

Here is a classic juxtaposition such as could be found in any city, the soaring architecture of the 21^st century and the solid, classical style of previous epochs, cheek by jowl. This is King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia, photographed on June 11^th, 2020, from the simple vantage of a bus stop on my way home. The new residential tower rises to 25 storeys, way above the already-imposing Bank of South Australia next door, though still dwarfed by the State Bank building behind. The bright winter's day demanded no photographic cleverness, just point and shoot, and the vanishing point symmetry of the buildings does the rest. Smartphone shot—Leagoo M9. Image by Mike.

A Magical Valley

This is a simple roadside snapshot looking over the eastern end of the Piccadilly Valley, South Australia. This whole area is one of the most picturesque and fertile spots in the ranges, a high valley lying east of Mt Lofty, and in its western parts, over toward Summertown and Uraidla, home to market gardens and vineyards. This photo was taken in the late afternoon of June 3^rd, 2018, and one might be forgiven for thinking this was Europe, rather than the Antipodes. Imported northern species mingle with the native flora in the cool of altitude and the damp of early winter, creating a spot with an undeniable magic. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Ancient Places

 

Here is a photo I lined up to use way back in 2009 before the blog went on the back burner. This photo looks and is a simple one, it's strength lies more in what it is, and where it is. This is a view across the Wiltshire countryside to the town of Salisbury, denoted by the Medieval cathedral which has always marked out the town. The view is from the ramparts of Old Sarum hill fort—and that's where it gets doubly interesting. Old Sarum was a fortified hilltop from ancient times, and was castellated by the Normans. Little remains of it, and what there is was reworked in modern times to suggest some sort of order to tourists passing through, The cesspits are recognisable, as are the foundations of the chamber in which Henry II slept—the last king recorded as ever spending a night at Old Sarum. I visited on my road trip westward from London in the early winter of 2006, my first overseas trip, and can remember even now the sharp chill of the day. From the sun angle, you can see it's late in the day, about the last stop before the coach headed back east. The soft, almost milky quality to the light seen here was pretty much what it looked like on the day, The image has been straightened up, contrast and colour balanced, and sharpened a touch. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Framing the Sunset

Sunsets have an enduring appeal and every one is subtly different, which makes them perpetual fodder for the photographer on the lookout. This is part of a set taken at Flinders University, looking west to the sea, on the evening of February 13^th, 2005—I was on my way home, walking down from the ridges to get the bus, and this magnificent cloudscape just begged to be photographed. The framing is simple but exploits the juxtaposition of the linear, built environment with the organic expression of nature—the trees, yes, but the sunset itself is nature at its most aloof to human doings. This part of the university no longer exists, it was redeveloped many years ago, which makes such images something of a time capsule. The image is squared up a little with custom rotation, and slightly balanced for colour and contrast. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

City Panorama

Last year I had hard drive troubles and needed to use a data recovery service, which took me for the first and only time into Adelaide's tallest building, the old Westfield tower (formerly the State Bank building), soon to be eclipsed by new developments, I believe. The company had offices on the 31^st floor, pretty much at the top, and when dropping off my hard drive for forwarding to the workshop I had the chance to see the city from up there. This was shot through plate glass, and was one of only two frames to avoid major reflections. The view is directly westward, and the time was late morning. April 7^th, 2022; smartphone shot—Leagoo M9. Photo by Mike.

Reflections in a Tranquil Pond

After thirteen and a half years, “Digital Kosmos” is alive and well. New posts will be appearing irregularly, so check back for a wealth of photography from Australia and overseas!

Here we see one of Adelaide's best-kept secrets, Himeji Gardens, on South Terrace, part of the South Parklands. Adelaide is twinned with many cities around the world, including Himeji, Japan, and these gardens celebrate that relationship with a traditional Japanese water garden, including a dry Zen garden, a bridge over the pond, bamboo wall architecture, and many imported species. One can enjoy quiet moments here, as the surroundings encourage a contemplative spirit, and a half hour on an airy afternoon is known to recharge one's batteries for coping city life once more. I took this image on the 9^th June, 2012. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.