Tag: coastline

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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”

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winter’s wild-seas

I spent the last few days taking advantage of the sunny mornings before I left  for Alpana Station near   Blinman, to go on  a 13 day   camel trek in the Northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia with Suzanne and some of  her Heysen Trail friends.

seaweed+sand

This fine weather did not last  for long. The weather turned story,  and I ended up  exploring the wild-seas amongst the coastal granite rocks  between Petrel Cove and Kings Beach. Continue reading “winter’s wild-seas”

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At American River

Suzanne, the 2 standard  poodles and I,   spent several  days at American River on Kangaroo Island with Suzanne’s sister, (Barbara Heath) and her husband (Malcolm Enright) who had flown down from Brisbane.

The days on the island  were gentle,  balmy  late autumn ones.  A storm hit the island  just  as  I was leaving on the late Sealink ferry on Wednesday evening.

erosion, Redbanks

On Saturday    I arrived on the island   on Saturday   on the 10am  ferry from Cape Jervis   with the  poodles to  open up the cottage.   That early morning arrival  gave me time to go  exploring American River with the poodles.  I  started with places that I was familiar with from previous trips.  The last trip with friends was 4 years ago in 2014, whilst the last photo trip was in 2013.  Continue reading “At American River”

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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”

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standing-guard

Our  two standard silver poodles–Maleko and Kayla–are standing-guard whilst I am absorbed in  photographing some   abstractions amongst the granite rocks within the littoral zone.  Some people were walking along the nearby clifftop path–the Heritage Trail—  in the late afternoon.

Maleko + Kayla

It is school holidays in South Australia and people are everywhere along the coast. They are walking, photographing, fishing, playing and just  hanging about on, and around,  the  local beaches.  Hence the poodles standing-guard. This activity is usually in the late  afternoon, as the early mornings around  sunrise are quiet,  with  only the locals out walking.  Continue reading “standing-guard”

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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.

am, Dep’s Beach

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”

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an intertidal zone

It is now autumn in South Australia and I am  very slowly adjusting back  to the bleak, dry landscape  of  the Fleurieu Peninsula after my   brief but enjoyable sojourn briefly walking  Wellington,  New Zealand. I  flew over at short notice  to participate in Photobook/NZ and  to link up with, and re-join,  PhotoForum. 

For better or worse  South Australia  is where I have made my home,  and the coastal landscape of  the southern Fleurieu Peninsula   is, to all intents and purposes,  my  photographic backyard.

purple quartz

This  is where a body of work —The Littoral Zone—is gradually evolving  from walking through and exploring the ever-changing interface or habitat between the land and the sea along this  particular coastline.   Continue reading “an intertidal zone”

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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.

early autumn

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”

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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”

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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”