DANIEL COURTNEY PHOTOGRAPHY

After a full on day in my Gallery, I was pumped to stop talking about my artworks with people and get out and capture one!

This was my 4th attempt to get a nice Redhead sunset, each previous attempt foiled by nature, people or my own forgetfulness (Apparently I need a tripod to shoot).

I had really high hopes for this evening, there was a strong wind, and interesting cloud formation. I had hoped to get a nice vertical panorama with beautiful lit up clouds overhead.

As sometimes happens though, nature has its own intentions, and I just have to roll with it. This soft cloud glow was the best of the night, as the sun sank into a dense cloud bank before it really had a chance to bring much colour to the clouds.

I used the opportunity to get some muted sand and water colours, brought together by these incredible rock formations and the surf lifesaving tower. The quick moving clouds created a nice soft sky for the tower to stand against.

Sometimes you just have to try and try (and try!) again. This is how I felt recently attempting to take this iconic Newcastle scene, but it really was worth it.

Taken on a blustery winter evening, The warm golden tones of the rocks at the Bogey Hole in Newcastle light up this image.

The rocks were extremely slippery, and I had to take extreme caution when getting to this spot, my backpack lowered down from above by my partner. Getting exactly the right composition was a challenge as the rocks fall away from where I wanted to take my image from. I used the full extent of my 2.5m Tripod to get this, as I sat perched on the rocks waiting for the perfect light.

This image is a panorama, stitched together from 4 full sized images to give me an amazing amount of detail and let me print this really large in beautiful Fine Art quality.

This beautiful sand island rests in the Great Barrier Reef, reasonably close to Cairns.

Taken from a helicopter as we flew over the reef, our pilot stopped and touched the skids down on Sandy Cay for us. I took this image almost straight afterwards, as the shallow waters of the reef surrounding the island pop light and dark blues, contrasted with the super white sands.

I hope you enjoy this peaceful part of Australia. 

Ahhh those summer beach days, this shot of Dixon Park Beach, Merewether captures Newcastle in the Summer holidays.

I absolutely love everything this image shows; the white sandy beach, the turquoise blue water, the gentle waves, the beach goers enjoying the sunshine, it just makes my heart sing and happiness burst out. 

This playful image shows sun lovers basking in Summer at one of Newcastle’s most famous beaches, Merewether. The waves rolling in over the sand produce a beautiful intense blue that contrasts perfectly with the light yellow of the sand.

This image is a snapshot of summer, watching surfers and swimmers taken from above.

When creating this image I was aiming to bring warmth, happiness and sunshine to any space through it, whether it be a loungeroom, bedroom, bathroom or office.

I have spent many mornings and afternoons bodyboarding the Newcastle coastline and each time I look into this artwork, I am caught up in a wave and find myself reminiscing the many good times the Newcastle beaches made available.