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.