After the rains

As mentioned in an earlier post it is very quiet along the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula these days, even after the rains. Despite the atmospheric conditions it’s only the locals who are out and about in the early morning before sunrise.

When I parked the Forester at the Petrel Cove carpark before dawn this morning (May 20th) it looked as if the ‘after the rains’ scenario was a misreading of the weather. The cloud cover was heavy, the clouds were dark, and there was rain out at sea. So I put a rain coat on, left the tripod and Rolleiflex SL66 in the boot of the Forester and went walking.

Kings Head, Waitpinga

As we walked along the Heritage Trail to Deps Beach and the rocks beyond the beach Kayla and I encountered an echinda making its way along the Trail. I saw a couple of seals and a pod of dolphins hunting in the sea along the edge of the coastal rocks. There was the odd speckled Pacific Gull sitting on the rocks and some seagulls. Apart from that we had the coast to ourselves as we made to the rocks past Deps Beach.

squalls

During the winter of 2018 the southern coast of  the Fleurieu Peninsula has  been battered by king tides squalls and gusty, cold  northwesterly winds  off and on for a couple of weeks at a time.  It is off and on because in -between  these intense,  northerly winds we have the winter’s standard south westerly winds bringing  rain in from  Western Australia.

rain + sun, Waitpinga

The rain eventually clears after a couple of days,  we have a fine day,  then we are back to the gusty northerlies again. Sometimes these changes in the weather  can be quite  atmospheric.

On the days of rain it is a matter of trying to  go on the poodlewalks inbetween the passing showers,  and then  hoping that we don’t get caught in a squall out in the open.  Often we see a lone surfer, and on other days there are groups of people standing on the cliffs look out to sea, presumably whale watching.  Continue reading “squalls”

walking the CBD in 35-40 degree temperatures

It was a relief to return to the coast of the  southern Fleurieu Peninsula late yesterday afternoon,  after spending around 5 hours  walking the CBD  of Adelaide  in 35-40 degrees heat.

I had taken the Subaru Outback into the West Terrace Jarvis   in Adelaide   for its regular service.    Walking the city and photographing it  with the new Sony A7r111 seemed like a good way to fill in time until I could  pick up  the car. I could then see how Adelaide had changed from when I had  lived there.

Adelaide  was on the cusp of change as we were living –becoming a post-industrial city. The urban life was more vibrant.

So I  walked around the CBD  from 8am to 1pm. However, I struggled in the summer heat and gave up the photography after walking around the  new medical precinct  along  the western part  of North Terrace.

Eventually I packed walking the city in  for some air conditioned comfort. I ended up  at the Flinders University City Gallery, and relaxed by  looking at the impressive  Helen Read Collection of Aboriginal art from the top end of Australia.
Continue reading “walking the CBD in 35-40 degree temperatures”

a misty, autumn morning

Whilst Suzanne has been away walking the Heysen Trail in and around the Flinders Ranges with friends, I have been without internet access for 4 days. It was disconnected on Thursday. Internode , I discovered, was rebuilding the NBN gateway at Stirling because those on the NBN broadband were experiencing frequent dropout–probably due to live streaming Netflix.  Whilst I was disconnected I realised just how integral the internet is to my life.

Internode advised me this morning that they had things at their end finally up and running.  However, I still had no access. I was then on the mobile phone with Internode’s tech support for 3 hours to reconfigure the Fritzbox 7490 before studio’s  computers could access the internet. (We finally realised that the Fritzbox’s wizard was playing up and the settings in the Fritzbox modem  had to be manually configured). We are still experiencing problems connecting the Fritzbox modem and the VoIP FritzFon: a second session with tech support this afternoon failed to establish a phone connection via the Fritzbox.

After being connected this morning I quickly uploaded a couple of images into my digital gallery for the Mallee Routes project that I working on.

Whilst I was disconnected from the internet the local boat ramp car park was still being extended, mainstream newspapers continue to sack their photographers, and I continued to walk the 3 standard poodles in the morning and evening. These are autumn days on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, and the mornings can be quite spectacular:

am, Baum Rd, Waitpinga

There was heavy mist on the fields along Baum Rd on Saturday morning, and the mist hung around after sunrise. The next morning I took my film cameras with me on the early morning walk along  Baum Rd hoping for a repeat, but there there wasn’t any mist at all. Unfortunately, for me, there hasn’t been any mist since. Dam.

Continue reading “a misty, autumn morning”

early spring

The early Spring weather has been wild, since the opening of the Weltraum exhibition at Magpie Springs on Sunday. The gale force winds and driving rain have meant that I didn’t bother to take my digital camera with me on the early morning and evening poodle walks.

The walks were done quickly: we drove to a location, had a quick walk, then returned to the car before we get too soaked. The landscape is saturated from the rains and water is flowing everywhere.

Prior to the opening of the Weltraum exhibition the weather was calmer and some photographs were taken whilst on our  early morning poodle walks:

Depp's Beach
Depp’s Beach

I had been mostly photographing for the Littoral Zone project. This is what the daily photography on the poodlewalks has become now that we are living on the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula.   Continue reading “early spring”

along an old railway line

I’ve accepted the constraints of walking three standard poodles on my own whilst Suzanne walks the Larapinta Trail, and I just go with the flow. It is easier to go with the flow rather than be frustrated by the chaos.

Our early morning walks are along the old Victor Harbor railway line in Hayborough. Maleko and Kayla can play their crazy chasey games in and around the old Port Elliot-Victor Harbor railway line, Ari and I stroll along, my feet stay dry, and I can take a few photos.

railway line, Hayborough
railway line, Hayborough

It’s better than the beach, which is where everyone is walking in the early morning with their dogs. If I walk on the beach most of my time is spend minding the dogs and preventing them from getting up to mischief with other dogs and people.
Continue reading “along an old railway line”