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. On this occasion we had the space to ourselves. Most people either stay on Kings Beach, or they walk over the top of Kings Head on their way to Waitpinga Beach. We enjoy hanging out here amongst the rocky outcrops.
It was very soothing to watch the water during the heatwave, and then to try to photograph the form of the waves amongst the granite.
We made our way amongst the rocks to the western end point of Kings Head and turned back, because this area was still in the sun, and the light was very bright and contrasty.
We moved slowly back towards Kings Beach as I was scoping the rocks in the reflected light:
The soft, gentle light was illuminating the rock formations that I would normally have walked right past. What I was seeing suggested that it was possible to photograph along the coast during a heatwave at times other than in the early morning.
Will the light be like this the next time I visited Kings Head in the late afternoon during the high summer of 2018?