Victor Harbor Archives - Page 3 of 21

June 10, 2018June 10, 2018

Victor Harbor township

The period inbetween the photo session in Melbourne and the training walks for the camel trek in the Northern Flinders involved me photographing in the Victor Harbor township whilst Kayla and I have been on our early morning poodlewalks.

We only do this urban walk occasionally–it provides shelter when it is raining or the coastal winds are gale force. Since this coastal township is quite small, this early morning walk needs to incorporate the beach around the Granite Island causeway.

I do find it a sad and depressing township to walk around in the early morning with Kayla. What is so noticeable apart from the empty streets are the number of the small shops along Ocean Street, the main street, that really struggle to survive.

These shops come and go and they don’t really last all that long. This is in spite of the upgrade to Ocean Street by the Victor Harbor Council to revitalise the town centre, and to make it more attractive for the day tourists to stroll around in. Continue reading “Victor Harbor township”

April 26, 2018April 26, 2018

A foggy photowalk

We had a foggy photowalk when Heather Petty stayed with us at Encounter Bay over the weekend. She arrived late Friday afternoon and returned to Adelaide on Sunday afternoon. Encounter Bay provides a relaxing time away from her work and daily routines in Adelaide. It’s time out so, to speak.

We went on a couple of photowalks together with the poodles along the coast over the weekend. She joined us on the Friday afternoon, as we slowly made our way along the granite rocks towards Deps Beach from Kings Beach Rd, where I had parked the Forester.

It was an enjoyable photowalk as there was little wind, the temperature was pleasant and the autumn light was soft:

The Sunday morning walk was notable for its dense, foggy conditions, which are rather unusual on the coast of the southern Fleurieu Peninsula. The fog is quite different to the more normal misty, autumn mornings.

The tide was also very low that morning, and so we were able to venture amongst the rocks that would usually be inaccessible because of the waves sweeping across the rocks. Kayla did her standing guard thing whilst we photographed. Continue reading “A foggy photowalk”

April 18, 2018April 18, 2018

standing-guard

Our two standard silver poodles–Maleko and Kayla–are standing-guard whilst I am absorbed in photographing some abstractions amongst the granite rocks within the littoral zone. Some people were walking along the nearby clifftop path–the Heritage Trail— in the late afternoon.

It is school holidays in South Australia and people are everywhere along the coast. They are walking, photographing, fishing, playing and just hanging about on, and around, the local beaches. Hence the poodles standing-guard. This activity is usually in the late afternoon, as the early mornings around sunrise are quiet, with only the locals out walking. Continue reading “standing-guard”

April 10, 2018April 13, 2018

bush-fires in April

We now have bush-fires in the Inman Valley, or more specifically, in the hills east of Yankalilla in the southern Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia. As mentioned in an earlier post there has been little to no rainful in South Australia this year, so the land is very dry; dry to the point of being parched. Bush fires make the permanent impermanent. and evoke a pathos or heartbreaking.

We have experienced some sustained heat during these last few days in April, (Sunday 8th—Tuesday 10th inclusive): the temperatures have been around 34 degrees C on the coast along with the hot and dry northwesterly winds. These bush fire conditions are unusual for this time of the year, as these are summer temperatures and conditions.

In these conditions Kayla and I need to start walking in the morning before sunrise. We try to take advantage of the early morning cloud cover that sits along the coast,. Cloud cover is important as it gives me greater leeway to photograph the ephemeral and the melancholy of the fleeting moment. Continue reading “bush-fires in April”

March 18, 2018March 28, 2018

an intertidal zone

It is now autumn in South Australia and I am very slowly adjusting back to the bleak, dry landscape of the Fleurieu Peninsula after my brief but enjoyable sojourn briefly walking Wellington, New Zealand. I flew over at short notice to participate in Photobook/NZ and to link up with, and re-join, PhotoForum.

For better or worse South Australia is where I have made my home, and the coastal landscape of the southern Fleurieu Peninsula is, to all intents and purposes, my photographic backyard.

This is where a body of work —The Littoral Zone—is gradually evolving from walking through and exploring the ever-changing interface or habitat between the land and the sea along this particular coastline. Continue reading “an intertidal zone”

March 4, 2018March 14, 2018

such a bleak landscape

We were stunned at how dry, brown and bleak the South Australian landscape was when we were driving down to Encounter Bay from Adelaide. We had just flown into Adelaide from spending a couple of weeks travelling, walking and photographing in New Zealand.

It was a real shock after experiencing the greenness and lushness of the New Zealand landscape in both the North and the South Islands. After experiencing frequent rain, flowing streams and rivers, and lush green bush, we were taken back by the dryness. Hell, we thought, we live in this dry, bleak landscape.

I had noticed the brown landscape as we flew across Victoria and South Australia on route from Melbourne to Adelaide, but up close and walking in this landscape was a shock.

Yesterday afternoon, when I walked along the coastal path and the rocks on a late afternoon walk with Maleko, I didn’t even bother to take a camera with me. I couldn’t see the point. Continue reading “such a bleak landscape”

January 10, 2018January 10, 2018

afternoon walks

We–Suzanne, Maleko, Kayla and I — did some walks together between, and just after, the Xmas-New Year period. We wanted to avoid the Xmas crowds gathering around the coastal beaches, and I had used google maps to look for possible ways for us to walk along Hindmarsh River. Most of them turned out to be duds. There were just no walking trails. It was mostly all private property.

One of the afternoon walks that we did early in the new year (2018) was one along the trail of the Hindmarsh River, which ran adjacent to the old McCracken residential development.

It had been years since we walked along the upper section of the Hindmarsh River Walk . On the day we walked the river was low, with little in the way of a flow, and we noticed that there had been some planting on the old flood plain, which was now a park with a playground. Continue reading “afternoon walks”

January 3, 2018January 3, 2018

memories

One of my memories of the early morning walks that I used to do in the last months of Ari’s life in 2017 was one where I ‘d walk with him along Jetty Rd. On these occasions Suzanne would take Kayla and Maleko up and over Rosetta Head, and I would walk with Ari down to the beach, then along Jetty Rd, which runs around the foot of Rosetta Head.

Jetty Rd runs from Whalers Convention Centre to the little jetty at the northern side of Rosetta Head, and as it is easy walking, it was suitable for Ari. The jetty is a favourite of the recreational fishermen and we’d alway meet someone fishing from the jetty early in the morning.

It was a slow walk to and from the jetty, and Ari and I would often hang around an old palm tree and cactus on our way back. I would take a few photos with the little Olympus XZ-1 that we had purchased for Suzanne to use on her various walks. Continue reading “memories”

December 29, 2017December 30, 2017

Xmas

We are in the middle of the Xmas summer holidays and the Heritage Trail is now extremely popular, as is the beach at Petrel Cove. As usual the recreational fishermen are out in force in their hunt the oceanic wilderness beyond the Encounter Marine Park for the Southern Bluefin tuna. This recreational fishing is still allowed in Australia, despite the accepted global status of Bluefin tuna as an over-fished species.

There appears to be a lot more people holidaying on the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula this year. Maybe people are holidaying locally cos the poor exchange rate for Australian dollar makes the overseas holiday trips too expensive?

Kayla and I have taken to walking around the empty streets of the township at 6.30 am for our early morning walks:

We wander down any alleyway that we come across that would provide some shade and protection from the wind. The alleyways allow us to avoid all the runners and the bicyclists on the paths near the beach. Continue reading “Xmas”

December 22, 2017December 23, 2017

to walk the Heritage Trail

And so it was on one fine summer morning that Kayla and I set out just after sunrise to walk along the Heritage Trail to Dep’s Beach and beyond. The sun was popping in and out of the morning cloud cover, the coastal wind was still light, and the Nankeen kestrels were keeping us company.

We past the spot of the swirling seas and we made it to the western end of Dep’s Beach without encountering any kangaroos, runners, photographers or trail bike riders.

I had a photoshoot planned of the rocks lying west of the beach–I envisioned a picture of the granite rocks with soft morning light playing across their surface with a bit of cloud above them. Continue reading “to walk the Heritage Trail”