at Kangaroo Island

Our 8 day holiday at Kangaroo Island started yesterday. We left Victor Harbor for Cape Jervis late morning to catch the Sealink ferry over to Kangaroo Island, and we arrived at American River in the mid- afternoon.

Sealink ferry
Sealink ferry

American River, which is on Eastern Cove, is very quiet and laid back. It is a fishing spot (recreational boating and fishing) that is still unspoilt by development. The houses (holiday homes and fishing shacks) are unpretentious, and the place is teeming with bird life–both seashore birds (eg., pelicans) and bush birds (eg. black cockatoos).

a digital disruption

When I was walking around city west yesterday I couldn’t help but think about the digital disruption that is going to happen in the near future. This will be less from the proposed free wireless in the city and more from the National Broadband Network facilitating the digital economy.

photographer
photographer

What prompted these thoughts was the construction site of the University of South Australia’s new Learning Centre. I couldn’t help but think that many in the area have little idea of the forthcoming digital disruption.

heatwave

It was 30 degrees (C) last night in Adelaide. As it is going to be over 44 degrees (C) today, I made some photos very early in the morning. I took a break from working out in the gym around 6.15am and went to take some quick photos before the very bright early morning sunlight hit the streets. Then I went back to the gym.

The Wave, Adelaide
The Wave, Adelaide

I wasn’t really interested in The Wave per se. This was a snap I did on the way to photograph the deserted building on the King William Street and Gilles Street corner. This used to be a Chinese restaurant before they bought The Brecknock pub on the opposite corner and converted it into a restaurant.

Victor Harbor: bark abstract

The poodlewalk on the last day of our holidays at Victor Harbor was spent mooching around the reserve opposite the studio. The southerly winds had dropped and the days were bright and sunny. It was perfect summer holiday weather for those wanting fun at the beach. Suzanne went for her first summer swim before we left.

I had a sense that a heatwave was coming Adelaide’s way so I spent what time I had photographing leaves and bark in the early morning:

bark, river gum
bark, river gum

I made number of studies of bark abstracts in both colour and black and white in both medium and large format.

rocks + twig

The temperatures have cooled and it is possible to start a poodlewalk around 5.30-6pm, walk to a location and take some photos. Ari and I walked to Kings Head yesterday afternoon, and I took a few snaps— plus some studies for large format photography.

rocks + twig
rocks + twig

It’s a favourite section of the coastline of the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula, and I have made a number of photographs there. There is something about the location that keeps drawing me back, but I am not sure what that something is.

Xmas

The afternoon poodlewalk on Xmas day was after a long and luxuriant lunch with family friends in Adelaide. We needed some exercise after that lunch, and so Suzanne, Ari and I walked around the parklands. There was hardly anyone around, and so we had the space to ourselves.

leaves+berries
leaves+berries

I took a few pictures of leaves and bark on the ground with an eye to texture and colour. Suzanne and Ari weren’t willing to stop and wait for me to dilly dally with the photography, the time I had was short.

Kings Beach: early morning

I was up early this morning–around 4.30 am. I uploaded a photograph for the sea abstraction book that I’m working on, then went out to make some studies for a large format shoot. I was on location at the rocks at the end of Kings Beach Rd by 6am. It was a brilliant morning.

Kings Beach 6am
Kings Beach 6am

I had around 2 minutes to work in before the shadows disappeared from the shoreline and the scene went flat. I also had about an hour or so to do photography as the coolness of the morning and the slight sea breeze were to be replaced by a hot north wind and temperatures in the high 30’s.

Wright St, Adelaide

I walk past this building almost everyday and I’ve been wondered how to photograph it. This photo was made early on a weekday morning around 6.30am before there was any one around. There was just a security guard collecting money from the parking meters and she was hostile. Security guards are just suspicious of photographers these days.

I also look at the beginnings of the redevelopment of an open car lot to its left along Frew Street. It is an affordable housing project. Most of the year has been taken up with digging out the contaminated soil and replacing it.

Wright Street, Adelaide
Wright Street, Adelaide

I understand that the development will done in several stages, and it will allow low and moderate income households to live in the CBD. It is part of the Council’s strategy to encourage more people to live in “a vibrant, populous and sustainable Capital City built upon Adelaide’s heritage and lifestyle”.

rock abstract

My 8×10 black and white negatives arrived today from Sydney, just before I was to leave Adelaide for Victor Harbor for the weekend. Several negatives have light leaks (damaged dark slides) or are fogged (dunno why) but most look okay. I’ll scan them tomorrow.

It was very still and muggy along the coast around Kings Head which is where we went for our evening walk. The rain had passed, the sticky flies were everywhere, and there was no cooling wind amongst the rocks. But the tide was low, lower than I’d ever seen it. So I was able to get amongst rocks that would normally be surrounded by surging water:

rock abstract
rock abstract

Ari and I were quite distressed by the heat so we returned to Kings Beach where we were able to cool off by paddling in the sea. Low tide means that I can take the 5×4 Linhof and the heavy duty tripod to this spot over the weekend.

it’s too hot to do much

It’s very hot in Adelaide at the moment. The temperature is around 38 degrees on our evening walks and 28 degrees during the night. There are no cool gully winds at night now. So Ari and I just mooched around the shade in Veale Gardens yesterday evening. The sprinklers only come on in the early morning.

We sat for a while by some of the trees that I wanted to photograph. These were abstractions of the bark currently peeling off the trunks of the eucalypts. The colours of the bark and trunk are soft and subtle:

trunk of   eucalypt
trunk of eucalypt

I took some hand held close-up photos with the Rolleiflex SL66, since this medium format camera system doesn’t need closeup rings. Then we move on to the next tree taking care to remain in the shade. We pretty much just sit in the shade and watch the world go by.