Gallery Pick of the Week
Instead of just showing pretty pictures only, here we have space for contributors to discuss their images every week.
This is a great opportunity to get some insight from the original photographer and the content is entirely open. It could be anything from the personal feeling of the photographer about the image to any photographic techniques or location knowledge he/she would like to share with our visitors.
Gallery Pick of the Week > June 2009
 |
Mackay and Surrounds, 25/6/09, Barbara Bryan Sandwiched between the Whistunday region (Proserpine/Airlie Beach) and the Capricornia Coast (Rockhampton) is the delightful Mackay region with its many superb, less developed beaches and the national parks of Cape Hillsborough and Eungella nearby. |
|---|---|
 |
Arkaroola, 18/6/09, Pele Leung The whole 42-km return journey needs four hours. The experience of crawling along the slippery slope could scare some passengers and sometimes the vehicle might slip downhill without traction. When driving uphill or downhill at an extreme angle passangers can often get squeezed together like sardines. |
 |
Out There and Back, 11/6/09, Pele Leung As soon as I lied down and started to count the twinkle stars in the deep black heaven, I could not help myself to count and fell asleep shortly. I was probably the first person regaining consciousness. The surrounding was still fairly dark and silence was the only deafening noise I could hear. |
 |
The Magic of Fog, 4/6/09, Gary Chapman When visibility is low in foggy days, we all slow down on the road but Gary will take an opposite action. Why? Because he does not want to waste any time to take the advantage of foggy weather to his photography. |
Barbara Bryan - Mackay and Surrounds, 25/6/09
Sandwiched between the Whistunday region (Proserpine/Airlie Beach) and the Capricornia Coast (Rockhampton) is the delightful Mackay region with its many superb, less developed beaches and the national parks of Cape Hillsborough and Eungella nearby. Mackay is now a booming town due to its proximity to the Bowen Basin coal mines and the nearby export terminal. Many historic buildings make up its heritage quarter and add character to its location alongside the Pioneer River.
My recent visit gave me the opportunity to explore the region for two weeks. Birdwatchers and photographers are well catered for with numerous nature wetlands and bushland reserves, offering different bird species to see and photograph. Walkers will also find many trails in these reserves and national parks.
An hour's drive north of Mackay takes you to Cape Hillsborough Natinoal Park, offering short but challenging walks in volcanic terrain with superb views of beaches, coastline and hills. The Cape Hillsborough Nature resort offers cabins, cottages, camping and a caravan park for those who wish to be close to nature and the beach. It is not an upmarket resort, more an older style modest affordable resort. Several mangrove boardwalks offer the opportunity to get right into these intersesting wetlands.
Driving to Eungella National Park requires a pleasant drive along the Pioneer River valley past many sugarcane crops and fields, via numerous villages, then a steep short climb up onto the rainforest plateau and so to the rainforest belt. The Broken River running through here is home to the famous platypus which can be seen early or late in the day for those who take the time to sit and wait.
(left) Historic building in Mackay (right) Rainforest plateau, Eungella National Park
Many walking tracks offer the visitor the true rainforest experience of being amongst the giant buttressed trees and many large tree ferns with the feeling of being in another world.
Good, clear sandy beaches can be found on the northside of Mackay as well as near Sarina to the south. These all offer various accommodation options from bed and breakfast or private home stays to caravan parks and resorts
As the tidal range varies by about five metres per day, there are extensive sandy flats to walk on around Mackay town beach areas, some northern beaches and also Sarina beaches. Feeding on these tidal flats youcan see various nomadic wading birds who fly in from the northern hemisphere seasonally.
(Left) Giant buttressed trees (top Right) Mackay Beach (bottom Right) Mangrove trees
Several paperbark wetland reserves around Mackay offer good trails and more opportunities to see birds such as the brolga, whistling ducks, magpie geese, bush turkeys, yellow-footed scrub turkey, egrets, herons, birds of prey, cockatoos as well as various bush birds and lovely tropical butterflies.
(Top Left) whistling ducks (Bottom Left) tropical butterflies (Right) cockatoos
Pele Leung - Arkaroola, 18/6/09
After consulting the locals in Flinders Ranges, I was told that the route to Arkaroola via Leigh Creek was much safer than the direct route from Flinders Ranges. Therefore I took a V-shaped route to Hawker in the south and then followed the highway to Leigh Creek in the north. This V-route took me almost two hours (200 kms).
Hawker is quite a small town and there are only a few shops selling food and other daily necessities. The information centre is located inside a Mobil petrol station/shop and the most impressive thing in the shop is a huge aerial photo (3x6 metres) of Wilpena Pound hanging behind the counter. The shop sells all basic needs and the petrol price is quite reasonable considering its remote location. Hawker is claimed to be the hub of Flinders Ranges region and I could not agree more - at least my mobile phone was connected to the outside world again.
Leigh Creek is also a very small town established by a coal mining company. Its future existence would be jeopardised if Australia decides to stop using coal for power generation. Meanwhile it services the region happily as there isn't any competitor.
The gravel road to Arkaroola was quite smooth and rock solid as it hadn't rained in the last few months. The scenery was all very rocky and I could drive at 100km/hr on the plain without any problem although the dust generated would have slowed other cars down a lot.
From Leigh Creek to Arkaroola
Arkaroola is actually a small resort established by a geologist more than 50 years ago and now his son and daughter run the business. This jewel of Arkaroola is its rich fossil history but the best selling point is their unique Ridgetop 4WD tour. The tour takes you through a roller coaster 4WD track to a remote ridge top named Sillers Lookout. The whole 42-km return journey needs four hours. The experience of crawling along the slippery slope could scare some passengers and sometimes the vehicle might slip downhill without traction. When driving uphill or downhill at an extreme angle passangers can often get squeezed together like sardines.
The landscape of Arkaroola is extremely rough and vegetation is limited to drought resistant types only. Rocky terrain with a few green patches is all you can see in the region although typical wildlife such as kangaroo is reasonably abundant.
The rough landscape of Arkaroola
After an almost two-hour rocky 4WD journey, the passenger trucks stopped at the top of the Sillers Lookout. We were told that this lookout was used by a car company for making TV commercials a few years ago. As the car to be promoted was not a 4WD, it had to be lifted there by a helicopter.
The Sillers Lookout, Arkaroola
Although Arkaroola seems to be isolated from the outside world by its rocky terrain, wireless Internet access is available. In Arkaroora, you are away from home but certainly not out of touch.
Pele Leung - Out There and Back, 11/6/09
Our small tour to King Leopold Ranges consisted of six people: Chris - the driver/guide/chef, two Swiss guys, Kim - the girl next door, Kelly and myself. Everybody joined the group for different reasons - Chris came for business and the Swiss guys just wanted to have fun. Kim, a student from Perth was working on her university project of improving the tourism in Derby. Needless to say, Kelly and I were focusing on photography.
On the first day, we joined another day trip group to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. Although the daytime temperature in Windjana Gorge was uncomfortable, the crocodiles enjoyed their sunbath in the river as if there were no visitors nearby. On the contrary, Tunnel Creek is hidden mainly in the shadow except the fallen part in the middle of the tunnel. The tunnel provides a pleasant relief of soaring temperature outside. Highly recommended.
Tunnel Creek, Kimberley, Western Australia
Chris picked us up in the late afternoon and we were back to a small group. After driving more than two hours and crossing a few streams in the dark, we finally arrived at our campground in the middle of nowhere. According to the map, it was called Silent Grove.
Every group/person was given one/two swag(s) and a tent with mosquito net only. Comparing to Chris' two-hour cooking programme, setting up our tent was not hard at all. Around 9:30pm, the supper was ready. Although we had already eaten some snacks, the main course Mango Chicken, had been consumed quickly. Shortly afterwards, we had the opportunity of trying the climate control shower facility (powered by the water heated up by the sun during the day). It was not too bad and we managed to survive although we had asked Kim to be the guinea pig first. As soon as I lied down and started to count the twinkle stars in the deep black heaven, I could not help myself and fell asleep shortly.
I was probably the first person regaining consciousness. The surrounding was still fairly dark and silence was the only deafening noise I could hear. I crawled out of my tent while Kelly was still making her sweet dream. Ten minutes later, I was standing on a rocky platform nearby and waiting for the first light.
Camping at the Silent Grove
If you think visiting two gorges per day could leave a lot of spare time at the end of the day. Think twice. The walk to Galvins Gorge was easy but the two hour return walk to Manning Gorge was not for everyone. If you carry 10kg gear and crawl through the hilly and rocky terrain in a warm day with no less than 35°C, the whole story would have to be rewritten completely. At some stage, you would also need to take off your shoes for crossing creeks. The punishment does not stop there as the most common insect in Kimberley would like to make friend with you. This was why flies were never my friends during the whole journey even though some scientists think this annoying insect species contributes to our environment by decomposing some unwanted materials.
Finally we came to the Bell Gorge on the third day. When I was taking a panoramic shot down the gorge, a couple of people insisted on standing on the gorge rim with waving hands. Do I know them? Probably not. Would I accidentally bump into someone I know in Western Australia which is almost half of the size of Europe. Surprisingly they were our tour mates in Purnululu National Park. This was the second time we bumped into each other after the tour. Is Western Australia really a huge place? Now you tell me.
Bell Gorge
Gary Chapman - The Magic of Fog, 4/6/09
Given that my home state of Victoria is so far entrenched in drought, its not surprising our fascination with water has grown. Not only from a conservation point of view but also from a photographic approach as well.
Being born and raised in the country, some of my strongest memories are of damp, foggy mornings in a small country town and on numerous farms owned by relatives and friends. Of course water is one thing, fog, by its strict definition is in fact “condensed water vapour ” Or in other words very fine droplets of water. Its many forms are truly a sight to behold when the morning (or evening) light illuminates it.
This attraction has developed over the years to a point where any promise of fog in the coming weather forecast will more often than not find me out with my camera gear well before dawn. The most satisfying results are achieved when the fog is just at the right density that the suns rays can penetrate it, rather than thick dense fog, which of course can be limiting to overall visibility.
By far the most dramatic effects are seen when looking almost directly into the light with the subject being backlit and sometimes just a silhouette. This can make it hard to obtain the correct exposure and bracketing is a good idea but this will also give you a variety of effects to choose from.
Another idea is to catch a scene just as the fog is evaporating. As the fog slowly thins the light levels start to increase, creating a lovely soft, painterly quality to any subject. Colors and shades slightly merge, creating a palette of pastel tones reminiscent of an impressionist painting. These situations are particularly effective if part of the subject has a stronger color to emphasize.
Where an opportunity exists to climb above the fog this can also present some amazing images. Looking over valleys or rivers watch for the fog as it sometimes drifts and swirls revealing and enveloping the lower areas of the scene. Care needs to be taken here as the best angle for this type of image normally means pointing your camera into the morning light. Flare and reflections are something that need to be accounted for. Either use them to effect or try to avoid all together.
Another advantage of viewing fog at higher vantage points is that on rare occasions it will be made up of such fine droplets of water that it actually creates a rainbow when the sun is in the correct relative position. Although I’ve seen this phenomenon a couple of time, I have only been able to capture once, with myself as the figure in the centre of colors.
So next time there is a forecast of “morning fog” set the alarm and get out before the sun comes up. Find a suitable location in advance or revisit a place you’ve photographed before. Be patient and watch carefully as the scene can change very quickly. In any case I’m sure you will literally see things in a different light.
Just be sure not to bump in to me if the fog is thick!