Green

After a great weekend photographing Autumn Colours in the Blue Mountains, Amanda and I were returning home, hoping to stop at a beach on the Central Coast for sunset on the way. (That was the plan at least!) We encountered heavy traffic transiting through North Western Sydney, and ended up stopping for an early dinner.

As we got onto the freeway, the sun was already on its last legs. I was resigned to not getting to shoot this particular sunset, which looked like it would be pretty amazing, lighting up several cloud banks and starting to go pink.

We were frantically trying to think of places close by that we could stop to shoot, when it hit me that we were coming up to the Brooklyn Bridge, on the Hawkesbury River. We turned off the freeway, headed onto the Old Pacific Highway and I made a frantic dash to the waters edge with the camera to setup the gear.

It was now that I discovered (of course) that I must have left my shutter remote actuator somewhere in Mt Wilson in the Mountains... Thankfully my camera has a time set mode that I frantically programmed to try and get the last of the colours being displayed.

I only just managed to pull it all together for this beautiful shot, featuring Spectacle Island as it sits on the Hawkesbury River, with the last of that amazing sunset lighting up the cloud bank behind, in this, one of the most easily and often seen (but least thought about) landscapes in the Hunter Region of NSW.

This image was created while on a spontaneous stop at Somersby Falls on the way home after spending the weekend in Sydney for Vivid.  We had a bit of time before we had to be home and we hadn’t been to Somersby Falls in a number of years. We also knew with the recent rainfall the falls should have been flowing nicely. So, we decided to drop in.

I forgot to charge my batteries for my camera after being at Vivid the night before so I knew I didn’t have many shots left. I scouted the location back and forth looking for the composition I was imaging.

To get to this spot, I had to walk along the slippery rock edge and try not to get my shoes and socks soaked, climb up and perch myself on the edge of a boulder. I struggled to get my tripod to steady itself due to the legs needing to be at such different lengths and positions. The amount of water cascading was perfect for this long exposure and the shine on the tree trunk brings another element of life to the image. I love the varying colours, shapes and layers of the rock shelf which forms the waterfall.  

We were the only ones here at this particular time and we felt a world away from any civilisation, which was such a contrast to the previous days in Sydney.

This image was captured in the very middle of the Darwin dry season. The purple haze is caused by the smoke from bushfires catching the last of the sunset glow, as the aqua blue water of Fannie Bay reflects the dark blue sky above.

If you look carefully, you can see the last of the sun hitting the Paspaley Building in the city.

This creek in the beautiful Mossman Gorge near Port Douglas is the absolute embodiment of beauty in nature.

We recently went to this location during the wet season, and this creek is a solid 3km walk through the rainforest to get to. By the time we reached it, I took about 3 photo's then couldn't stand it any more, stripped off and went for a swim! The water was seriously chilly and extremely refreshing.

This is one of my favourite locations from recent shoots.

Story coming soon!

We had been waiting days and days for the right cloud formation to make this popular Maitland NSW view off the Belmore Bridge composition shine.

I had explored the area thoroughly and decided on this composition a few weeks ago, I loved the federation house looking out onto the river, and the curve of the river heading off into the distance.

We headed out a few times for photos of the composition when the cloud cover looked promising, but alas it was never quite right. Amanda strongly suggested that we head out again, despite my resistance (I didn't think it would be an epic sunset!) but we ended up heading out, for a walk along the levee if nothing else.

We got there just as the golden colours were starting, and I resumed my position on the Belmore Road bridge. The sunset was short and sweet, and the final picture showed a beautiful range of oranges, blues, greens and pinks. The mist off the river in the distance adds to the calm country feel of this river. It's a fair change from a few months ago during the drought when everything was brown and yellow.

Story coming soon!

Whilst heading out for our anniversary dinner, my wife and I saw this gorgeous landscape laid out before us as we drove past. Pokolbin, Hunter Valley is a magical suburb containing so many beautiful small wineries.

This property sits on a low hill, and I made the most of the flowing vines leading to the house on the hill, as the last of the evening sun disappeared well below the horizon.

Story coming soon!

Taken as the very last light of the day leaves the sky, this image reflects the serenity of one of the worlds most precious regions, Kakadu National Park.

The looming cliffs contrast with the extraordinarily green foliage as the vegetation here thrives even in the middle of the Dry Season.

Getting in here is a 4WD only trek, but well worth it if you can ever get here to have a look.

The National Park manages saltwater crocodiles here to make it safe to swim, you can see their boat in the foreground, and if you have eagle eyes you can spot the huge Salty croc trap on the banks of the river.

I was driving during sunset and looking eagerly for a place with some height to capture the beauty of the regions farmland, and the river that makes it possible, when I encountered this modern bridge across the Hunter River, named Irrawang Bridge. The large reeds and trees reflecting in the still waters, and the shallow riverbanks lining this majestic river bring the countryside to your home. 

 We were dying to go and find some beautiful autumn trees in the area as we love the colours they bring to life. We had heard about a rural community that proudly promoted having a great display of autumn so we did our usual and went for a drive.

It took some time for us to find something where the composition allowed you to drift into your own imagining and allow you to forget about the busy life each rural property entails. The white gates and the beautiful tree lined driveway combine to draw your eye into this image, getting lost in Autumn Splendour.

This photo was taken just inside the grounds of the Darwin Aeromodellers Club at East Point.

We went to East Point with the intention to take photos of the Harbour and mangroves at sunset. While I was scouting the location to find exactly what I wanted to capture, Amanda went for a walk.

She came hurrying back to me, saying that that I should see this beautiful tree and the sunset above it. I thought twice about it, but I had a little time before the sunset was going to light up where I was shooting, so wandered over to look at "the tree".

And this was what she saw, she was right, a stunning tree, with a stunning sunset above it.

Greg and Tarnya visited our Gallery in January as they had been looking to replace a canvas piece they had with something new and modern.

They always wanted a beautiful image of Lake Macquarie, but Greg also really liked the idea of bringing the outside in, by having a shot of their view from their balcony on their wall inside.

We discussed our commission service and Greg and Tarnya welcomed us into their home to capture the shot for them.

This amazing evening occurred on our second visit and attempt, after the weather not playing the part on our first visit.

The added bonus of a commission piece is you can be standing with us while we capture the image and they were.  Greg and Tarnya were both amazed with the light show that Mother Nature was providing. They said "we have never seen this here before, the sun rays are amazing". Upon delivery and unveiling of their 80" Acrylic Face-mount print, they told us they still hadn't seen anything like that night since and that the print was "PERFECT!".

We loved getting to know and working with Greg and Tarnya and cannot wait to see the image once it is hung on the wall. 

This was our third trip out to Merriwa, searching for the perfect Canola shot.

The rich brown earth of the region promotes Canola growth, and is even famous for it.

We drove just about every remote road out here searching, scouting for our upcoming fourth trip, when we came across this early season crop.

I set up and waited patiently for the clouds I could see in the distance to move into my composition. The clouds coming over were from a storm front we could see far away, something this extremely dry region hadn’t seen for a few months, could this shower bring just a small bit of relief for the farmers?

As the clouds started into my shot, they partially obscured the sun, allowing these sun beams to develop, highlighting the focal point of this image, the lone tree in the field, and leading your eye through towards the field of ripe Canola.

Jim Jim Falls, in Kakadu National Park created one of those life changing moments for me, the ones that you look back on in 10 years and can picture clear as a bell.

Walking in, boulder hopping and hoping not to drop all of my camera gear in the icy Outback water, I was running out of time to make it back to a spot I wanted to capture right at the last light of sunset.

I took the extra time to walk into the final pool here and it just absolutely took my breath away, that somewhere that is so changed by the seasons can be so beautiful.

I perched precariously atop a giant boulder, one of many strewn across this ancient landscape by the unstoppable flows of wet season water, and captured this panorama, stitched together from 5 separate images. It was the only way to attempt to capture the scale of this beautiful spot.

I took some time to drink it all in and really appreciate it, before heading back out to my patiently waiting wife. 

Four wheel driving around Adelaide River, late in the afternoon we reached our goal, Adelaide River itself, a place with a river crossing that my mate described as a "tropical paradise".

We reached the spot, and he was not wrong, the river gently flows over shallow rocks creating a continuous gentle flowing sound, and the canopy above took out most of the heat of the afternoon.

My mate actually fell asleep on the roof racks whilst I was taking this photo!

This Hilux has obviously had a bad time of it crossing the river when it had a lot more power to it, I doubt it will last another wet season.

Please enjoy this slice of the territory.