Travelling is fun. Travel photography allows you to capture the memories and look back on them fondly later on.
My last visit to Adelaide a few months ago happened to coincide with Adelaide Festival. On the Saturday night I headed out into town to check out the light extravaganza. It was projecting colourful light mosaics onto the facades of Adelaide’s historic buildings. Check this out:
Landscape photography is something I’m particularly interested in - mainly because I love to travel.
I’ve seen some pretty varied landscapes, and some are easier to photograph than others. Recently I visited Victor Harbour in South Australia for the first time, and took the opportunity to walk over to Granite Island. It is a fascinating place, and not just because you can get there on a horse drawn ‘coach’.
The position and weather make this a pretty weather ravaged place. Add some lichen, and you have the makings of some interesting photographs…
Going through some recent photos, I can across two shots which looked pretty hopeless when I took them (I was scouting out wedding photography locations with a bride and groom to be, and the weather that day was miserable).
But, I decided to have a play in old faithful Photoshop….
Here is one of the originals:
One of the things that you need to make most landscape photographs work, is sunlight and at least some blue sky.
On a trip earlier this year to Byron Bay, in northern NSW, Australia, sunlight was a little lacking.
So, I just waited until there was a hint of sunlight and then let Photoshop do the rest!
Having recently photographed a friend’s wedding, I realised again how much planning and detail goes into a wedding.
Wedding photography focuses primarily on capturing the bride and groom on their big day. Something else though that is important are the decorations, and what has been organised to “pretty up” the event.
Every time I’m asked to photograph a wedding, I’m also asked to capture the church before the ceremony, and the reception venue before guests are allowed inside. Someone (usually the bride) has spent hours designing the flower and table arrangements, and they rarely get to enjoy them on the actual day, so the photograph allows them to enjoy the view in retrospect.
Here are a few different images…
My apologies for the long break. I’ve been doing a bit of weekend travelling. One of my recent trips was to our nation’s capital, Canberra.
I hadn’t been to Canberra for a number of years, so it was fun re-exploring this city. I was hoping to get some mood shots with the waterfall that usually sprays out of Lake Burley Griffin, but it wasn’t spraying the weekend I was there…
This is one of the last posts solely dedicated to Norfolk Island. Seeing as this island is full of nature beauty, I now wanted to showcase how the history looks through the eye of black and white (with a few Photoshop enhancements, such as Diffused Glow).
This is one of the boats used to transport cargo from the large freight ships, to the shore. It’s obviously been long retired, and looks perfect next to one of the old penal settlement buildings. The black and white effect was achieved in Photoshop with Gradient Map, then had the glow added over the top.
In a previous post I looked at the beaches of Norfolk Island, and here I’m focussing on the coastline in general, as from nearly every vantage point the coastline changes!
Here is the northern coastline view from the Captain Cook monument lookout:
There is such a lot of historical happenings on this island, and the locals have definitely captured that and kept it alive, which is wonderful. The monument where this view is from gives you the historical significance of the site and is incredibly serene. Definitely need a polarising filter though!
Here is probably my favourite photographic location on the island - Anson Bay. I just loved this place. The view from the top of the hill, walking down and once at the bottom - every angle is beautiful. The crystal clear water makes the coast look less menacing - almost serene…
Finally, this was taken near Point Howe and really shows how rugged some of the coastline can be.
There are actually only two places on the island that a large boat can moor and offload supplies - Kingston Pier and Cascade Pier. They are on different sides of the angle, so it depends on the wind and how rough the waters are. Just an incredible island to explore!
Coming from Queensland in Australia, and having travelled a bit, I’ve seen some beautiful beaches. Norfolk Island didn’t really compare from a swimming beach perspective, but the coastline and water colour was stunning.
Because everyday was bright and sunny, my polarising filter became my best friend. I call this my camera’s sunglasses. It works particularly well when photographing water. Here is Anson Bay, which was perhaps the most visually stunning:
Happy New Year! Well, it’s been a nice break. Now, it’s back into the next year, in full swing!
Over my break between Christmas and New Year I went to Norfolk Island, which is a 2 hour flight south-east of Brisbane, where I live. I had never been there before, and though it’s considered part of Australia in many ways, it is a unique place with it’s own Administration.
It’s a small island, and the only way around is by car. That said, there are no traffic lights, and only 1 roundabout, which has become a sort of ’signpost’ to direct the tourists by.
I was there for just over a week and it was fantastic. It is such a relaxing place and you really feel like you’ve had a proper break after being there. If you’re interested in underwater photography, or landscape photography, this is a great place. Plus, there is a lot of history to capture.
Over the next few weeks I’ll break down my stay there, in photos.
Here is the first real image I have - the view from my apartment. I’ll let the photographs speak for themselves. Here is looking left:
It was a bright sunny day, so needless to say I was using my new Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter! Now, let’s look right:
Just spectacular, sitting out on the balcony looking at this view. That’s just the start of my travel and photographic adventures. Stay tuned! 
