Painted Reflections

 

Reflections in water are one of my favourite things to photograph. They’re ever-changing, completely dependent on the light and wind conditions, and the artistic effects are always pleasing. This is Playford Lake, at Belair National Park, South Australia, which I‘ve shot many, many times over the years. Depending on the time of day, the most amazing studies can be taken from the path that circles the lake. If I remember correctly, this is a long telephoto shot from the west end of the lake, looking back to the western end of the island, and the light angle suggests quite early in the day. This shot was one of many taken when the light was just right on November 15^th, 2023. Minor tweaks to contrast and colour only. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Nature’s Symmetry

 As a photographer I’m fascinated by symmetries, whether man-made or natural, and here is a natural one—the long, straight trunks of pine trees creating a vanishing point when viewed directly upward. I took this photo on the 8^th of April, 2017, probably somewhere in the Kuitpo Fortest region, though I couldn’t swear to that as there’s no record, and other parts of the same expedition are down around Mount Compass and environs. No matter, the symmetry’s the thing, and its always interesting to see parallel lines in nature. Some enhancement was done, contrast, colour and sharpness. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Echoes of Long Ago

The ruins of Whitby Abbey are among my earliest memories. I would have first visited in the mid-1960s, and remembered them well when we came to Australia in 1971. I have had the chance to visit again on a couple of my UK trips—now, alas, also many years ago. I took this shot on Saturday November 6^th, 2010, the day after arriving in Whitby from London. This was designated a rest day, so I was not catching a train anywhere else, just wandering around that quaint town by the North Sea. I visited the abbey and did a lengthy photo shoot in the afternoon light. I captured many studies of the stonework, long eroded by the salt wind—the abbey stands on the east headland—and one can lament the destruction of these great Medieval buildings. How amazing it would be to see this place in perfect condition, a relic of most ancient times. This pic was taken in good light, and required only the most minor adjustment—contrast and colour. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

A Wild Land

At first glance a jumble of colours and shapes—this is the view over central Australia looking down from the starboard side of an airliner on its way to Singapore, on the first leg of my flight to the UK, on October 31^st, 2010. There are clouds and their shadows, over a dun-ochre landscape—it could almost be Mars, right?—which, one can see from altitude, seems, incongruously, to have been shaped by flowing water. Incongruous, because it’s bone dry most of the year, and subject to flash floods at wide intervals, which, nevertheless, mould the landscape in ways quite distinct from above. I have vivid memories of this flight as we passed by Uluru, and the Captain announced that they had been given permission to deviate slightly from flightpath so as to pass almost over the Rock. Passengers on my side of the plane saw it as we went by. My photos are not very distinct, there seemed much haze on the day, and the window was far from clean. This image, taken some way south of Uluru, probably in the far north of South Australia, has been enhanced a fair bit, gamma value was reduced a long way to compensate for the haze, contrast and colour were intensified, and the whole was sharpened just a little. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.