The Mighty Murray

Here’s a frame I captured on October 6^th, 2018—almost exactly six years ago. This is the River Murray photographed from an overlook at Tailem Bend, in the hour before sunset. Not quite “golden hour,” the toning of the evening was quite blue, but the majestic sweep of the river, framed in the gum trees, makes an appealing composition, especially against that great, complex skyscape. This seems to be before I got the trick through my head about shading the lens with my cap when shooting anywhere near the sun quadrant of the sky, thus the lens flare in the lower right. It’s endemic to the nature of lenses, but unless lens flare is the theme or object of an image, I must say I’m not a great fan of it in my images. But this is a worthwhile shot, and the lens flare is part f the story. Minor adjustments in Irfanview, including increasing gamma value to pull information out of the shadowed areas. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike

 

High-rise Living by the Waters

Click image to view at 800 pixels wide

This is another reflex shot. I was getting pretty good at it with all those bridges and urban vistas in eastern London as I rode the Docklands Light Railway in November, 2007. Watch for a bridge coming up, frame out over the water of the next canal or dock and shoot whatever appeared. The finished shot looks like it was purposefully staged, but it's actually entirely opportunistic. Only the dark area at top right gives away the fact it's shot through a train window, that's either a bridge stanchion or part of the window surround, otherwise I was lucky with a clean window. Enhancements include sharpness, contrast and colour saturation, though I keep my adjustments subtle: I like to preserve the 'feel' of the original frame, reproducing the visual atmosphere of the time and place as much as possible. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Tales of the riverbank

Click here to view the whole image at 1000 pixels wide.

This image was taken in 2007, before the river really began to die in the South Australian drought. At this time it was still viable, full of fish, and a way of life for countless thousands of people who live in the small communities scattered along its length. It's the mighty Murray, which is ... or was ... the life's blood of South Australia. In 2009, the river is crying out to be rescued, and the people of Adelaide are still waiting to see who's going to do the job, and what they're going to do. The image was easy to capture: bright conditions saturated the colors, and the landscape was naturally photogenic. The only work done on it subsequently was cropping to frame exactly the picture I wanted. Photo by Mel, 2007.

A face from prehistory

Click here to view the whole image at 1000 pixels wide.

Here's a face from the distant past. Tortoises and turtles have survived unchanged since prehistoric times. You could have been looking into this same face fifty million years ago. This one is a Murray River turtle, and is lucky to be living in the Worrawong Earth Sanctuary, because the river which is the natural environment for these creatures is suffering badly in the drought. Not only is the Murray drying up completely in places, but the remaining pools are now so saline, so heavy in chemical salts as the water evaporates away, nothing can live in them. Photo by Jade, 2006.

Hear those paddles clanking

Click here to view at full width.

This photo is almost two years old and the the fact is, the Murray River doesn't look so healthy now. When this photo was captured, there was already a drought in progress but it hadn't started to bite the way it's biting in the summer of 08/09. These paddlewheel riverboats are strictly a tourist attraction now, but a century ago, and more, massive riverboats -- same kind of thing you see on the Mississippi! -- plied the Murray River, carrying cargo as well as passengers. A couple are still in operation as luxury cruising hotels. Got to go there and do that some day soon. This boat is paddling into Murray Bridge, and doesn't have far to go. The town is just out of shot! Conditions were very bright, and this image has been substantially enhanced at the software stage, to add substance and color. Photo by Mel, 2006.