2015 – FACES AND PLACES

The cool dudes at Jang Island School, Indonesia

So here we are, nearly ready to tick the calendar over. It’s been another busy year on the road, nine countries, a few walks, some good bike rides, a lot of spectacular locations, and friends, new and old.

Apart from some travel articles for the mainstream press and a new play, I’ve been more active with the camera than with the keyboard this year. So it seems appropriate to look back on the year through the lens. A few shots worked out well.

A WELL-GUARDED BLUE MOUNTAINS SECRET

A photo op over the Grose Valley.

I’ve finally found time to venture out of Sydney, into the Blue Mountains. I thought I knew them well, but I didn’t know about this hidden treasure.

8 AUSSIE THINGS WE’LL MISS WHILE OVERSEAS

No, not the free beer, it’s the sense of humour. Yes, every culture has its jokes, but I’m Australian and I like ours the best!

We’re off on our travels again tomorrow, to places that I’m sure will be exotic, fascinating and beautiful.

But there are things we’re going to miss about Australia of course. Certain joys and simple pleasures are unique to our wide brown land.

SHOOTING WHITE WATER – what I learned today

Leura Cascades, Blue Mountains…but they don’t really look like this.

I took a short walk in the Blue Mountains yesterday, with camera at the hip. A storm was on its way, and I’d read that gloomy weather is ideal for taking shots of waterfalls.

I wanted to practise getting that ‘soft water’ effect, popular on postcard and poster shots. It’s phoney of course, but it’s satisfying when you can make a shot look something like what the pros can manage. A bit of photoshopping was required too – another learning experience for me.

NEW CAMERA, NEW SHOTS, SAME OLD MOUNTAINS

Rodriguez Pass, Blue Mountains, New South Wales

We’ve come to the end of summer holiday time in Australia. No more excuses for the recent slackness in my blogging. Normal service has resumed.

In my time away from desk and computer I spent a few days in the lovely Blue Mountains, just outside Sydney, armed with my new camera (a Canon 70D, for those interested in such things.)

The weather was fine, clear and warm, not ideal for taking atmospheric shots. To my mind the mountains are most appealing when mist fills the valleys and clings to the cliffs.

Nevertheless, I did happen across wildlife that obligingly stayed close enough to shoot – with the camera only of course.

BLUE MOUNTAINS PHOTO CONTEST – No, I didn’t win, but…

Wentworth Falls – Gary Moloney.

I think it’s surprisingly difficult to make good photos in the mountains. It’s surprising because so many views are spectacular. It’s difficult because any shot you can think of seems to be a clicheed image, just the same scene that hundreds of others have captured before you.

So it was an interesting challenge when the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service ran a photo competition for the best shot of the Blue Mountains. Thanks, Antonina, for bringing it to my attention.

What the best of the shortlist of 17 entries have in common is that they had some luck with the weather. The sun breaking through the clouds at exactly the right moment, Narrow Neck in fog, an isolated shower approaching the Three Sisters…these are the sights that you wish you’d been there to see.

I say they had ‘luck’, though who knows? Maybe getting the perfect light was the result of months of patience and planning.

Whatever their merits, the chosen shots show some of the variety of landscapes and activities that make the Blue Mountains one of my favourite places in the world.

I’ve posted some of my picks of the pics here.