People

Since my last post on poodlewalks my images for the multimedia Rock, Stone, Earth exhibition at the Onkaparinga Art Centre in late September have been printed and framed. They just need to be delivered to the gallery next week. My days have been mostly spent sitting in front of computer working on this review for Light Paths, as well as grinding my way through the texts for the Bowden Archives and Other Marginalia project.

The weather is becoming warmer in September, with temperatures in the mid-20’s on some days. More people are starting to venture out in the morning.

Brian, Rosetta Head

It is not just those regulars who are out every morning rain, wind or cold. Other people are walking along the coastal trails, hanging out on the beaches, playing with their dogs and kids, or fishing and surfing.

Petrel Cove

It is now much quieter in the early mornings in late autumn at Petrel Cove on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula, than it was in the early autumn. People disappear from the coast on the autumn/winter cusp. . The southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula is associated with summer not winter. Winter is very quiet. People leave for the sunshine of Queensland.

During early autumn –ie., March–Petrel Cove, despite the loss of most of the sand, was regularly populated by fishermen, surfers and photographers in the early morning. The car park had usually had about 6-10 cars parked there, and a dozen or so people would be either milling around the car park watching the waves, on the beach, or in the water.

Petrel Cove

These days the sand has returned, but our 2011 Forester is the solitary car in the car park during the week. This does change on the weekend, as there a lots of people out walking along the Heritage Trail from 8am onwards.

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:

seascape

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. 

Fog, Petty, Kayla

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”

the summer-holidays are over

The early mornings along the coast of the southern Fleurieu Peninsula  over the summer-holidays were  often  quite colourful.  It’s was very picturesque and uplifting. An example of an early morning at Petrel Cove  during  the recent heat wave over  the  Australia Day weekend:

early morning , Petrel Cove

During the short periods of  the   summer’s heatwaves   we would start to   walk the poodles before sunrise in order to avoid the intensity of the heat. Then we would spend the rest of the  day inside an air-conditioned  house powered by our solar panels.     Continue reading “the summer-holidays are over”

photographer

By Thursday the cold south westerly and easterly winds that had been blowing for the past week had dropped away. By the late afternoon on Thursday it was very still and warm. There was cloud cover and soft light, the tide was very low, and there were no small flies. These were lovely conditions for both a late afternoon walk with Maleko and for me to do a bit of scoping about this place.

seascape

I went back on Friday afternoon at the same time of the day to this particular spot with a film camera and tripod. The weather conditions were very similar but I was dismayed to discover that the tide was much higher, and that it was impossible to gain access to this gap in the rocks.
Continue reading “photographer”

along Tugwell Rd

We–Suzanne, Kayla, Maleko and myself–went for an afternoon walk along Tugwell Rd in Waitpinga yesterday afternoon. It was a way to move on from Ari’s recent death. His vulnerabilities in his old age had restricted where we were able to go on our walks.

We hadn’t explored this part of Waitpinga for a couple of years. The last times was when Suzanne had walked some of these back country roads in the first year of walking the Heysen Trail. We were fortunate weather wise as the cold wind had dropped, and though rain from the south west was threatening, there was some late afternoon sunshine. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable hour of walking.

Tugwell Rd, Waitpinga

I did a bit of photographic scoping whilst on the walk. I was looking for some possible subjects to photograph with my film cameras whilst Suzanne is away walking over the next ten days or so the last leg of the Heysen Trail in the Flinders Ranges. Continue reading “along Tugwell Rd”

at Currency Creek

We all went for a walk at Currency Creek on the previous long weekend–Adelaide Cup Day. I hadn’t been there for ages–several years in fact. The photography that I did then was rather disappointing, and I hadn’t been all that keen on returning. This was a family outing:

Currency Creek
Currency Creek

On previous visits we have had the place to ourselves. Not this time. It was packed. People were camping in the picnic ground that is opposite the historic Kingsbrook estate. There are now a lot more people touring around and visiting the Fleurieu Peninsula these days.

Continue reading “at Currency Creek”

a poodle walk with Heather Petty

Whilst Suzanne walked Ari and Kayla Heather Petty, Maleko and I went on a photowalk along the foot of the cliffs east of Kings Beach yesterday afternoon. We were photographing for about 3-4 hours in the warm autumn weather:

Heather Petty near Kings Beach
Heather Petty near Kings Beach

Heather was using her brand new DSLR —–a Nikon Df—–with a super duper zoom lens—a AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR11— that allowed her do everything she needed along the coastal strip.That big impressive lens looked like Nikon’s workhorse lens. Continue reading “a poodle walk with Heather Petty”

summer rains

Whilst the Sturt St townhouse in Adelaide is on the market and the various offers are being assessed, I’m down at Victor Harbor keeping the standard poodles out of the way for the open inspections and beginning the adjustment to living on the coast.

I’m using the time away from Adelaide to start to centre some of my poodle walk snaps made  in, and around, the Fleurieu Peninsula coastline into some kind of project. A low key or modest one.

Hindmarsh estuary
Hindmarsh estuary

The weather on the coast has been overcast and showery with strong south westerly winds, and we’ve usually ended up getting wet in the morning and the evening whilst returning to the car or house from the beach from the rain. It’s wet shoes, damp clothes and wet dogs.  Continue reading “summer rains”

coming to an end

The days of living and walking in the CBD of Adelaide are coming to a close. The poodlewalk with Ari last Saturday morning will be one of the last as the townhouse is due to go on the market in mid-January.When it is sold–as we hope–then that will be the end of us living in the CBD.

Ibis Hotel
Ibis Hotel

We now live in the townhouse in order to scrub it up–clean it and paint it –for sale. The cameras, computers and scanners are now at Victor Harbor, which is the southern outer suburban rim of Adelaide. We are about one and half hours travelling time by car from the CBD. The car, rather than walking, will now be our primary mode of transport. There is no public transport from the CBD to the outer suburban coastal rim. Nor will there be.
Continue reading “coming to an end”