Tag: daily walks

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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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bush-fires in April

We now have  bush-fires  in the Inman Valley,  or more specifically,  in the hills east of Yankalilla  in the southern Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia.   As mentioned in an earlier post    there has been little to no rainful  in South Australia  this year, so  the land   is very dry; dry  to the point of being parched. Bush fires make the permanent impermanent. and evoke a pathos or heartbreaking.

We have experienced  some  sustained heat during these last few days in April, (Sunday 8th—Tuesday 10th inclusive): the  temperatures have been around 34 degrees C on the coast  along with the   hot and dry  northwesterly winds. These bush fire conditions are  unusual  for this time of  the year,  as these  are summer temperatures and conditions.

gull + granite

In these conditions  Kayla and I  need to start  walking in the morning before sunrise. We try   to take advantage of the early morning cloud cover that sits along the coast,. Cloud cover is important  as it gives me greater leeway to photograph the ephemeral and  the melancholy of the fleeting moment.   Continue reading “bush-fires in April”

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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.

seaweed strand, Petrel Cove

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”

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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”

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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.

sea+granite, Kings Head

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”

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holidaying in Melbourne

Well,  the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria  sure was crowded with people holidaying when we stayed  there on our roadtrip.   Karen,  my sister at Safety Beach   put us up, and as that stay coincided with  a hot spell, that meant  both limited documentary photography in Melbourne    and  walking very early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

The foreshore  along the eastern  coast of Port Phillip Bay from Dromana to Sorrento was jam packed with   caravans,  tents, boats and people.   The Nepean Highway from  Rye to Portsea was crammed  with cars,  due  to people travelling down from Melbourne to Sorrento or Portsea  for a day’s outing. The Mornington Peninsula is Melbourne’s playground.

Martha Point, Mornington Peninsula

We found  very few places where  we could walk the poodles off lead along the coast.   There was  a small  off-lead, dog friendly   beach at Tassells  Cove and a small walking track around Martha Point that went down to  Pebble Beach.  Continue reading “holidaying in Melbourne”

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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.

winter, Dukes Highway, 2013

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”