Oxford Falls

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underneath the radar

Sneaky Sunday session on the way home from sunrise 🙂 I have driven through this place called Oxford Falls a few times and never seen any creeks or falls, however I figured there must be some kind of falls for the place to get its name. I took a punt and went along a road with the same name thinking that would be the best bet and came across a satellite comm centre with some serious dishes out in the paddocks :), not to be deterred i kept going ..
Not much further down the road there was a creek, which I assume is Oxford creek, however the lack of any signage, or it was maybe my ability to actually notice said signage, and it was a matter of getting out and walking – after a little walk and I came across this gem of a falls, which is surely on my todo list after some substantial rain, the wide rocks and the watermarks indicates it could be really spectacular in the right conditions.

For now, I am happy with a few quite reconnaissance shots.

4 sets of bracketed images stitched together.
The bracketed set consisted of a normal exposure and a underexposure just to counteract the very bright high lights from the sun, particularly on the top right of the image.

Exif love:
D750 coupled with 24-70mm f2.8 @ 16mm Aperture: f/14 and Shutter Speed: 6s (normal exposure), 1.6s (highlights)
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL and Hoya ND (just to get a some extra shutter speed)

https://blog.avernus.com.au/oxford-falls/

Arranged

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Upper Kellys Falls

I'll admit that I did arrange these leaves, I was looking for something a bit more in the foreground than just a flow of water, there was plenty of nicely coloured leaves here, particularly as we head into the throws of Autumn, which reminds me, I must visit the Blue Mountains for the Autumn colours, I have never really had a good look at them, anyway, thats for another day

So I collected a few of these leaves and +Rodney Campbell tracked down some others and I put them on the little bit of rock where the water was not rushing past. it does take some effort to arrange them such that is does not look…. well.. look arranged 😉

Exif love:
D750 coupled with 16-35mm f4 @ 16mm Aperture: f/18 and Shutter Speed: 6s
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL and some delicately arranged leaves 😉

https://blog.avernus.com.au/arranged/

Goanna Claws

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So, apparently the story has it .. and bear with me here, this could get pretty loose 😉 and is about 10th hand (bit like chinese whispers!)…. there was a dude who called on the Goanna (Dirawong) to protect a bird, so the goanna chased the snake all around the lands of the Bundjalung, through Woodburn and towards Evanshead thus creating the river. Near Evanshead the snake bit the goanna on the head, the goanna then had to eat some herbs as a anti-venom ? note, that goanna's are actually immune to snake venom and often eat snakes (yay for the goanna) so this part of the story actually makes alot of sense.

Anyway, so then the snake turns around, which creates the little islands in the river (called snake island) after which the goanna then chases him out to sea. The goanna (Dirawong) now sits on the coast guarding against the snake and hence the name and shape of the headland (Diarwong / goanna head).

Thats gerry's abbreviated version 😉

So, this is all well and good, but me thinks that Goanna needs a wake up call since I seen waaayy too many snakes on that goanna headland 😉

Awesome history, i wonder why we get taught about stupid british british history rather than interesting stuff like that 😉 .. well it was the case when I went to school.

Exif love:
D750 coupled with 16-35mm f4 @ 16mm Aperture: f/18 and Shutter Speed: 1/1.6s
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL and Lee Graduated 0.9x Filter

https://blog.avernus.com.au/goanna-claws/

The Spirit of the Bundjalung People

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Its interesting how alot of areas here in Oz have their own history, sadly there is a pretty common theme to this history and it involves the traditional owners of the land and their subsequent displacement, sometimes quite bloody. I recently did some research into this area to discover the culture and stories behind the land.

The local traditional owners of this land are known as the Bundjalung People, of which the National Park takes its name, in the middle of the 18th century there was a massacre of about 100 women and children in this area. It is said that you can still hear the sounds of the ghosts and see the lights of the firesticks on the river.

Whilst that's a pretty spooky thought (and i hope i never see it cause that would freak me out 🙁 plus i need to concentrate on not getting eaten by snakes, face slapped by spiders and not falling on my ass, all of which takes alot of concentration 🙂 ). Hence i think its better to see these spirits in the more beautiful and positive things that are around the area, like the wonderful seascapes, flora and fauna and in the case of this morning, the rainbow that lit up the morning from the point.

So, here's to you the Bundjalung People, and what its worth, I am sorry for the shit that was heaped on your people by the white settlers.

The rainbow was a full arc (faded in and out over the 10 minutes it was there), however I really like the way the foreground pool illuminated with the soft light and the glow in the clouds complimented the rainbow. It was a constant battle with the rain and wiping the filter, however I did finally get a few shots that i was happy with. This particular one is a stitched vertical panorama of 2 frames. I just needed that extra little bit of frame to give the pool and rainbow some breathing space.

Exif love:
D750 coupled with 16-35mm f4 @ 16mm Aperture: f/14 and Shutter Speed: 4s
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL, Lee Graduated 0.9x Filter, rainbow and lots of rain

https://blog.avernus.com.au/the-spirit-of-the-bundjalung-people/

Lower Kelly's Falls

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view large (c'mon I know ya want too and I promise its not a dodgy low res version)

I am sure I could come back here in 12 months and it would be a completely different setup with logs and branches moved about by the water flow.

What is amazing is the sheer size of the tree trunks that are strewn around the falls, this one, which I have dubbed the divider is quite large but probably 1/4 the size on one just off to the right of this shot. How they get there is pretty amazing too, there must need to be alot of water coming over the falls to push them around.

Kellys Falls reminds me very much of the National Falls in the Royal National Park, which is not all that surprising since that particular falls is only 30 mins drive up the coast from here, but they have very similar rock formations and are similar heights, (based on my super accurate thumb in the air kind of measurement 😉 )

The trek in is pretty short, however there is a bit of rock climbing required and the mandatory trust your life to a dodgy bit of rope that someone has tied to a sapling which is clutching to life in the muddy soil 🙂 however it is well worth it and there is actually two falls in close proximity so more bang for your buck (or climb)

One of the hard things about shooting waterfalls is actually 1) getting to the place where you want to compose your shot and 2) getting your darn tripod to be in the right position based on all the freaking uneven rockage. There is also the slippery-ass factor too, thats just thrown in there to test your nerves, joints and bones 😉

I wanted this log in a slightly different possie, however the final composition was dictated by the rocks, minimisation of the possibility of ending up in that murky-ass water and how long I could sit with a pointy-ass rock trying to split me in half ;-(
It is a blended image in that I took three frames of different exposures to capture the highlights up top but also maintain the shadow detail in the rocks, water and trees.

Exif love:
3 images manually blended together in +Adobe Photoshop :
D750 coupled with 16-35mm f4 @ 16mm Aperture: f/14 and Shutter Speed: 13s (normal exposure), 1.6s (highlights, just that bright bit up top) and 30s (shadows, for those dark areas in the trees, rocks and water)
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL

https://blog.avernus.com.au/lower-kellys-falls/

Strong

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one stands firm and holds the rest at bay

Some days the conditions are just perfect, sure there is often no brilliant sunrise with reds and pinks, but when the stormy weather and threats of rain coming it can make for some really cool light and conditions.

I had spotted this big rock up the beach whilst capturing another smaller pair of rocks getting smashed by the waves. This beach and others nearby are fairly unique in that the sand and rock content is made up of a high percentage of coal (probably why the place is called Coalcliff), hence the sand is often quite dark.
This little spot was also quite pebbly, reminding me of Chinamans beach up on the north coast, the familiar sound of small rocks clattering together as the waves surged and retreated was also pretty cool.

After taking the first shot as the wave pushed past me and sunk my tripod another 2 inches into the pebbly beach I knew straight away this was a sweet rock and the conditions perfect for it. Even straight off the camera back (LCD) the rock lit up like a beacon as the white streaks of the waves raced around the base taking with it sand and pebbles. Its not often that I go wow at a picture off the back of the camera, but this was one of them.

Exif love:
D750 coupled with 16-35mm f4 @ 16mm Aperture: f/16 and Shutter Speed: 2s
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL, Lee Graduated 0.6 Filter all covered with lots of spotty rain drops 🙁

https://blog.avernus.com.au/strong/

Welcome to the Easter Bunny

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he (or she) who paints the sky

We (and many other first time parents with kids in Kindergarten) have survived the first term of school and its time for some holiday Easter fun! thank goodness.

Well done chaos, that's one term down… only ….47 (i think) left 😉

Every time i see a nice crimson sky or warm orange glow of the sunrise or sunset I am reminded of a time when my daughter (chaos) would always tell me how the Easter Bunny had painted the sky.

Its looking like a bit of a wet weekend, however, be sure to enjoy the long weekend wherever you are.

Exif love:
D750 coupled with 16-35mm f4 @ 16mm Aperture: f/16 and Shutter Speed: 30s
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL, Lee Graduated 0.9 Filter

Back against the wall

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This was taken after scrambling down the rock face only to find a rather large cave with some strange smells being emitted from it (maybe seals +Kitten KaboodleInc ?)
I had my back against the rock face next to the entrance of the cave half expecting a yowie (or seal i guess in hindsight) to appear at any moment, luckily no yowies 🙂 but there were some very cool rocks, unfortunately the swell was pretty low so there was not much in the way of water movement here, but that little tinge of colour in the sky made up for it I think.

The climb out was not so graceful 😉

2 image blend (i did not use the neutral exposure)
Exif love:
D750 coupled with 16-35mm f4 @ 16mm Aperture: f/16 and Shutter Speed: 13s (neutral) 3s (under) and 25s (over)
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL, Lee Graduated 0.9 Filter

RIP GermanWings

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They don't fly over here so this is just some random airliner (not even of the same type) flying over my backyard the other day, none the less, lately when I hear the whine of of the turbines, I can't help but spare a thought for all those people on board the Germanwings flight 4U9525. For all those who suffered at the hands of one messed up individual, who will, as he wished, be remembered and enter into the history books with the other pilots who have taken it upon themselves to end their life in a plane and take so many others with them.

you can make all the policies you like with multiple people in the cockpit and lockable / bullet proof doors, but if you can't trust the dude/gal up front, you are screwed.

Girls will be Girls

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Manicure and Facial Session

Chaos has clued into my photographic ways in the last 18 months or so and for me trying to get a picture of her without pulling a face or doing a celebrity style face palm to me is hard work. However occasionally she will light up (with the camera there) and give me a natural smile and with a little extra tickling that uncontrollable laughter and smile appears 🙂

Covered in moisturiser and after having a massage session from mum she was looking pretty relaxed.

Fire and Ice

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Dreamin' of Iceland

Over the years I have always dreamed of visiting Iceland, such a interesting place, did you know they are the only country to import Breastmilk (from Denmark or thereabouts from memory) ? well thats not quite the reason for me wanting to visit but hey, still a fun fact.
I actually now think rather than visiting Iceland I would rather visit somewhere like sweden or Norway, purely based on the fact they seem to be less represented in the photographic tour departments 😉
If I see another image of Gullfloss (or what ever it is) i think I am gonna barf, even if it is brilliant (which most are) 🙂

So on that note, i have dedicated this image to me moving past my desire to visit Iceland (ok there might be the other 10K price tag factor too but….), hence I'll be happy with Sydney for the moment 😉

Now this location is the unique Botany bay, the site of first white invasion in the country (yeah i know that'll rile some people up but relax, its history, deal with it 🙂 ) But what I do like about it, beside being fairly local to me, is there are lots of cool locations, from the airport (for those plane nuts), to mangroves, to Bare Island, to industrial, something for everyone I say 🙂 So.. at the crack of dawn I wandered down and was greeted by a local who said as he jogged away on his morning fitness run;
'ya picked a good one mate, its gonna light up nicely today'
So i found myself a nice little spot with my toes in the water, not really by choice, but I really wanted this composition which meant wet feet 🙂 and.. waited for the promised colour. The dude was not wrong either, it turned out nice and I was outta there as the sun peaked over the horizon and home in time for pancakes with the girls. Nicely played I say 😉

This is a 3 image blend (+Adobe Photoshop ) one for the foreground (+2EV), one for the hot stuff in the middle (-2EV) and one for the rest (0EV)

Exif love:
D750 coupled with 16-35mm f4 @ 16mm Aperture: f/16 and Shutter Speed: 15s (0EV) 4s (-2EV) and 30s (+2EV)
ISO 100
out front – Hoya CPL, Lee Graduated 0.9 Filter

https://blog.avernus.com.au/fire-and-ice/