digital Archives - Page 2 of 33

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 15, 2018July 29, 2018

along the Heritage-Trail

These clouds and early morning light are what I saw on early on Friday morning when Kayla and I were walking along the Heritage-Trail through a familiar coastal landscape. It was so very still that morning.

These are the kind of conditions that indicate that a dramatic change in the weather is about to happen; usually, they mean that the hot weather is coming to an end, and a big storm will be sweeping into the coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula from the south west.

It was the morning of the 13th April, which is when the cold front with its wild winds and driving rain, hit the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the late afternoon.

I was taking advantage of the lull before the storm to walk to a specific site amongst the granite rocks around the point from Dep’s Beach; a site that I had selected for a large format photo session. Continue reading “along the Heritage-Trail”

March 29, 2018April 8, 2018

back home

I am now back home after a hectic period of travelling during March. There were a couple of trips to Wellington to photograph around Wellington quickly followed by one to attend Photobook/NZ. After that I made a couple of trips to Swan Hill in Victoria for the Mallee Routes 2018 exhibition.

We are now easing back into our daily routines and poodlewalks at Encounter Bay. The Easter holidays are a few days away. That means huge crowds in the coastal towns and along the coastal walks.

It is autumn in South Australia. The light has softened, there is now more in the way of morning cloud cover, the winds have eased, and the temperatures are mild (in the mid 20’s C) . It is still very dry, as there has been no rain. Continue reading “back home”

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 29, 2018February 9, 2018

photographing during the heatwave

During the recent January weekend heatwave in South Australia after our roadtrip to, and holiday in, Melbourne I ventured to Kings Head in Waitpinga for the afternoon walk with Maleko.

We did so to find shade and shelter from the hot, burning sun. We usually walk between 6-7pm, and there is little by way of shade along the southern coast when there is no late afternoon cloud cover.

At one stage on the walk we just sat on some rocks in the shade at Kings Head and watched the waves roll in around our feet. It was a section of rocks where the surfers jumped off into the sea when the waves were rolling in between Kings Head and West Island. Continue reading “photographing during the heatwave”

January 15, 2018January 29, 2018

a roadtrip to Melbourne

We–Suzanne, Kayla, Maleko and myself– leave early tomorrow morning on a roadtrip to Melbourne. Our route is Keith, Penola, the Hamilton Highway, Geelong, the Queenscliff ferry to Sorrento. Our destination is Karen, my sister’s place at Safety Beach on the Mornington Peninsula.

We will stay a week or so with Karen then return to Adelaide via the Western/Dukes highways. This is a small roadtrip–just to Melbourne and back. Continue reading “a roadtrip to Melbourne”

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 8, 2017February 9, 2018

clouds

The very changeable, early summer weather that we have been experiencing at Encounter Bay in South Australia, has meant that there has been some good clouds along the coast. We have had hot days, cold days, sunshine, rain, lots of gusty wind from the south-west, calm days and striking cloud formations:

We have been walking along the coast, rather than the Bluff, and we’ve often we’ve been caught in the wet weather whilst walking in the morning and the evening, and I have had to find whatever shelter amongst the rocks that I could until the quickly moving squall had passed. Continue reading “clouds”