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 > January 2010
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Monaro Plains, 21/1/10, Barbara Bryan This high country land has its own character offering sweeping wide vistas towards higher mountains surrounding Canberra, and further south towards Australia’s highest mountain range at Kosciuszko National Park. |
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The Snowy Mountains - the Top of the Country, 14/1/10, Pele Leung When the temperature rises over 40 degrees there are not many holiday places you can choose from. Our great Outback is certainly not the ideal choice to go. |
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Our 2010 Plan, 7/1/10, Pele Leung As one of the principal contributors of this site, my mind has already been filled up with all sorts of ideas before the arrival of 2010. Although our main aim of portraying Australia will not change, new elements are essential to our growth. |
Barbara Bryan - Monaro Plains, 21/1/10
A GOOD SHEEP STATION SPOILED?!
Due to unresolved intercapital rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne over a century ago, the National capital of Australia was established between the two main cities. The site chosen for this new city was formerly a working sheep station. As some wag once said, it was a good sheep station spoiled!
The countryside around Canberra is known as the Monaro Plains.
Monaro Plains is known for its open pastures with few trees and is mostly utilised as sheep grazing land. During the past decade it has been subject to severe drought conditions so many of the native trees are now dead or struggling to survive. Most live trees which stand out across the plains are introduced pine and poplar trees. However this high country land has its own character offering sweeping wide vistas towards higher mountains surrounding Canberra, and further south towards Australia’s highest mountain range at Kosciuszko National Park.
Staying in a farm cottage offers a wonderful opportunity to soak up that character and get a feel for this country in the rain shadow of the mountains. Our small charming cottage on a large sheep and cattle station was located south of Dalgety village beside the famed Snowy River.
The weather changes could be seen clearly sweeping across the landscape and bringing some much needed rain as a New Year gift to those properties lucky enough to be in the right place.
The grasslands were still high in many paddocks so may be boosted just enough to sustain the stock through the current summer months.
Exploration of the property revealed an old homestead, woolshed and stone cottage ruins which all offered great photography. These properties have seen better days when many more people were employed on farms compared to current times where many property owners need to find off farm work in order to survive.
Some tourism has brought more visitors to the Dalgety region but as it is located away from the main road to the ski resorts, it does not gain nearly as many visitors as those who head for Jindabyne, Perisher and Thredbo. However every November there is a wonderful Man From Snowy River festival at Dalgety, featuring bush and folk music, many horse events, so that the culture of the high country is kept alive for current and future generations.
Be warned! This country gets under your skin and beckons you to return to her fold more strongly than you can imagine.
Pele Leung - The Snowy Mountains - the Top of the Country, 14/1/10
Wildflowers and huge trees, Mt Kosciuszko
When the temperature rises over 40 degrees there are not many holiday places you can choose from. Our great Outback is certainly not the ideal choice to go. Perhaps some coastal resorts are the preference of many people but there is one place up there waiting for you - the Snowy Mountains.
In summer, most skiing resorts are in hibernation but there is still one activity going - bushwalking. If you are lucky and pick the right date, seas of wildflowers up the Snowy Mountains are not uncommon. White, yellow and pink are the common native colours of wildflowers in the Snowy Mountains region.
Wildflowers in Mt Kosciuszko. Photo by Rob Gray.
This is also an opportunity to visit the highest spot in the country, Mt Kosciuszko, without wearing your down jacket. One of the less demanding approach to hike up to the top is via a 6-km easy walk departing from the top of the Crackenback Chairlift at Thredbo Village. The well-constructed track with gentle slopes leads you up to the highest point of Australia with minimal difficulty.
Many visitors will be surprised by the flat contour of the peak of Mt Kosciuszko. There are no sharp peaks like the famous and highest mountains in other continents. If you pre-visualise Himalaya in mind, you will be disappointed by the flat contour even if you think Mt Kosciuszko has the highest point in the country. Regardless of what you would see, subject to weather of course, hiking in the Snowy Mountains is an unique experience that is as good as other high profile tracks in the country.
Muellers Peak and Lake Albina, Mt Kosciuszko. Photo by Rob Gray.
Pele Leung - Our 2010 Plan , 7/1/10
Dawn View of Mt Bogong from Mt Buffalo, Victoria
As one of the principal contributors of this site, my mind has already been filled up with all sorts of ideas before the arrival of 2010. Although our main aim of portraying Australia will not change, new elements are essential to our growth. In terms of our galleries, other subjects such as Australian wildlife will also be considered in addition to scenic photos.
As most contributors come with a photography background, we will not be surprised if there is an increasing number of photographic articles discussing new ways of seeing the world around us. Instead of discussing general photographic techniques and hardware gear like many other photography sites, our primary interest is more with the new ways to see things. Our aim is to bring new face of Australia to your doorstep. However, the ways of how to bring NEW concepts to you are entirely open to our contributors.
In terms of locations, we will be seeking new or less known destinations to avoid repeating contents that are already available. If popular locations are still needed, we hope to use new approaches to illustrate them.
Although photos and words are the primary tools on most sites, the trend of video blogs should not be ignored. By following this thought, we expect to introduce true videos (not simply slideshow videos) to broaden the AUScenery experiences for you.
As you probably realise, we are keen to bring new ideas and contents to you so the coming year will be extremely challenging and this should keep us very busy to fulfill our goal. The success of this site is mainly dependent on our contributors, sponsors and visitors so you are welcome to play any of these roles. If you have any suggestions, please email info@auscenery.com and we will listen and reply promptly.