Holidays .... what are they good for?

It seems that these days, our holidays, like our modern lives, have to be planned, booked and the time spent fully accounted for. It would seem that is why we have such a current infatuation with cruise ship holidays, what could be better than having a fully itemised itinerary of relaxation.


However, this year I bucked the trend by not going on a cruise or even over to Australia favourite overseas holiday destination, Bali Instead I once again booked my holiday at the Australia Post and Telstra sponsored holiday accommodation on Australia's Gold Coast at North Burleigh Beach. The area, located in SE Queensland , is called the Gold Coast because of the large expanses of golden sand on the beaches ... beautiful .


Now, besides the wonderful beaches, the Gold Coast has quite the reputation as Australia's favourite holiday destination because of its proximity to the theme parks, beaches and 24 hour entertainment around Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise. This means that the Gold Coast  attracts events such as Schoolies Week (an Aussie tradition that signals the end of high school formalities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolies_week), 100's of work related conventions, end of season trips for sporting clubs and even a round of the V8 Supercars (Australia's premier motor racing marque) on it's coastal street circuit. It is quite the 'in' destination for those who are in full on party mode. 


But thundering V8 Supercars, the Cavill Ave late night bars or even the theme parks weren't my focus this year ... the plan of this years annual break was trying to achieve total relaxation and recuperation. Although we did manage a day excursion and took the train up to Brisbane to check out the beautiful parks and galleries around the wonderful South Bank precinct of the Queensland capital.


It was a holiday of sun, beaches and books, I did not  even go onto the internet (ok I did once to do my banking), or even (shock, horror!) take the Canon 400D out and preferred to capture my whole holiday on the Sanyo S1275 'point & shoot' camera. The reason for preferring the Sanyo was that if I wanted to take a swim, I could, without having to worry about the security of the bulkier Canon DSLR. With the Sanyo I was able to wrap it up in a towel and secure the compact camera that way ... easy as!

So most mornings I woke early, grabbed the towel, grabbed the camera and took a stroll along the pristine beaches of Australia's wonderful Gold Coast region.


So now I can correctly say on my profile that I enjoy long walks on the beach, watching picture perfect sunrises over the ocean and capturing natures beauty .... I have the pictures to prove it! (& I don't like pina colada's or getting caught in the rain!)


So sometimes on holidays it is best just to do absolutely nothing, just sit back, with a good book, comfy chair and enjoy just being away from the humdrum of our everyday lives! And here's a travel tip, don't catch the train into Brisbane from the Gold Coast  ... it sucks!

Finding gold on the Gold Coast

Looking for gold on the Gold Coast is not a real hard task, especially if you use the Golden Hour Calculator. The calculator which is freely available online at http://www.golden-hour.com/ or as a downloadable iPhone application from iTunes, is a great resource in determining the best photographic times, especially sunrise and sunset from any worldwide location. The Golden Hour, or sometimes better known as the Magic Hour, is the first or last hour of daylight, where you can get out and take some wonderful photographs, as the light is arguably at its best.


Now whilst holidaying on the Gold Coast I thought I'd take advantage of the Golden Hour and see what gold I could find during the glorious sunrises and the wonderful sunsets that can be found in this part of Australia. So being based at North Burleigh, it gave me the opportunity to access some of the best coastal photographic locations on the Gold Coast, from beach, to cityscape, to ocean and to bushland settings, a true smorgasbord of backdrops to chose from..

So armed with both my camera's, the Sanyo S1275 and the Canon 400D I headed out to capture that glorious golden moment.

For the morning shoot I grabbed the Canon 400D and went up onto the rocky headland at North Burleigh to capture to the first rays of dawn creeping across the Surfers Paradise cityscape. This is a great place to photograph from because you have the advantage of sweeping views south to Coolangatta and north to along the crescent shape beaches north to Southport. Although not a classic spectacular sunrise, I was lucky enough to capture a morning with enough broken cloud to scatter the morning rays.

For the afternoon shots, I was lucky enough to be at Burleigh Heads and walking around the Burleigh Heads National Park armed with my go anywhere friend, the Sanyo S1275. Although the Sanyo has some restrictions, especially with the lens choice and zoom quality, it is still a handy bit of equipment. Afternoons on Burleigh Beach are special, there is always something happening on the beach, in the surf, or with people just making use of  the National Park and the walkways. I was lucky enough to be in the area just at the right time, with the late afternoon sun capturing the essence of a perfect day on the Gold Coast.

So if  you planning to holiday on Australia's premier holiday destination around Surfers Paradise, make sure you pack your camera, check out the Golden Hour website and you too will find gold on the Gold Coast.

Keeping The Tradition

It is not surprising that sometimes when you look at your job you think, 'this job really sucks!', without looking past the present. Now this isn't uncommon and I think we tend to look at what is happening in our own bit of the cosmos as a benchmark and never take the the time to really look back at times past.

I have been looking into my working past quite a fair bit during my research into the 'The Lost Post Offices of Australia' series and I'm finding that there is very little that is new in my work as an Australia Post driver. We still have to contend with vagaries of the weather, the mishaps on our journey, irate customers and dare I say it, ineffective management.


Now my research isn't just going back a couple of years, or even a couple of decades, but as far back as the 1830's! The stories reflect how tough it must have been in those pioneering times with roads impassable, the stoic coach horse dying from exhaustion and the mailman sleeping on the side of roads until the tracks dried out sufficiently, sometimes for up to sixteen days (as was the case in 1852) before they could complete their journey.


So once again I followed I track that I have travelled before, this time armed with my new take anywhere friend , the Sanyo S1275 camera and followed the back tracks from Branxton to Maitland, passing through sleepy Hunter Valley localities such as Windemere, Gosforth and Luskintyre. This time I looked at the landscape through the eyes of not someone who was driving a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, but as someone who had to traverse the area on horseback.


It was a stunning vista, low early morning cloud, lush rolling fields and babbling brooks to visually take your breath away with each new turn of the corner. It wasn't until I came to a Hunter River crossing called Melville Ford, that the realities of how harsh this stunning area can be, for at Melville Ford there are the battered remains of two former bridges, each standing as a silent testament to how ferocious this river can be when in flood.      


Yes, I'll continue to whine about how tough work is, however I know that I won't be sitting at Melville Ford Bridge for 16 days watching my horse die from starvation.


Sort of brings our working life back into perspective.

We Love A Good Southerly ... but

Summer in Newcastle can be brutal at times, such as last Friday & Saturday when the mercury topped out around 45° centigrade (around 114° f), making it hardly conducive for outdoor activities, such as photography!


However, around 6pm yesterday, a good old southerly buster blasted its way into Newcastle, dropping the temperature 15° in a manner of minutes.


Now while this relief from the blistering heat was much welcomed, it did throw the plans of the Newcastle Sundance photography group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/sundancers/) into jeopardy. We had planned to celebrate the 1st anniversary of this informal Flickr group with a sunrise photo shoot at Redhead Beach. So on Saturday night I had a last look at the weather radar, hoping to see whether our gathering was going to be greeted with clear skies to photograph a spectacular sunrise.

The prognosis didn't look good.


I woke at 4am & as predicted, even in the early morning darkness, I could see that the we would have leaden skies, however it wasn't raining, which was a bonus. So remembering back to New Years Eve, where I had a wet start to the day & the photographic opportunities I was able to use, I packed my Canon 400D & headed out to Redhead.


To say I was disappointed was an understatement, however along with around 20 other hardy photographers , we assembled at 5am, under a cloudy sky  & waited.


We waited & waited & waited. Dawn, 5:41am, nothing. Sunrise, 6:08am, nothing.


Then when all seemed lost, at 6:18am, a brief gap in the low cloud appeared & a sliver of the sun greeted us hardy souls with a glimpse of a wonderful Newcastle sunrise.


So while the southerly change was most welcomed, the cloud & showers could have wrecked our 1st anniversary meet, however, we at Newcastle Sundance accepted the uncertainty of the weather  as part of the challenge to our passion & persevered.


Actually this is now the 3rd time I've woken in the pre-dawn to photograph the sunrise & it is the third time I've had cloudy skies to contend with ....  please weather gods, give me a break!

The Winter Solstice

C'mon I know you all love the winter & can't wait to go for those long romantic walks along a windswept deserted beach, just you & your loved one enjoying the moment of solitude that only true love can bring.

No? Well you're probably right, lol.

So here I was, shortest day of the year, the winter solstice & with about 15 other hardy souls

from the the Flickr group, Newcastle Sundance http://www.flickr.com/groups/sundancers/ we

gathered at Stockton Beach at sunrise to capture this unique occasion. However, the weather gods weren't kind & the day produced an overcast morning to obscure the first rays of sun to

greet us hardy (some would say foolish) photographers.

The morning wasn't a total loss & after packing up our gear, we headed for Lexies On The Beach for a warming hot coffee & a bit of

breakfast. Later that morning I drove along the Hunter River & was able to capture some of the beauty of our wonderful river, bejewelled in the early morning light.

So if you see a group of amateur photographers wandering around some of Newcastle's iconic locations , especially around sunrise & sunset, it is probably the Newcastle Sundancers group.

A camera, a plan & a Mercedes van

Isn't it great when a plan comes together. Prior preparation & planning prevents poor performance, the 6 P principle from my old Army days (it used to be 7, but we won't go there!)

This week I put in a bit of effort to enable me to take the Canon 400D with me on my travels

around Newcastle. I checked out the sunrise times, the area & the weather, before heading out, which as luck would have it, turned out to be a picture perfect late Autumn day.

I decided to photograph the beaches of Newcastle, but due to time constraints I was restricted to Merewether, Dixon Park & Bar

beaches. Still not a bad effort, considering I was was still at work at the time & was working to a tightish time schedule. So there it was,

around 7.30am, I was able to capture the best of Newcastle's beaches in the early morning light. If I do say so myself, some of those pics are absolutely stunning, capturing the essence of Newcastle in late Autumn.

With that I would've been happy with my day's effort,however I found myself on overtime & thus with prior knowledge I was able to return home & grab my camera to make use of

the late afternoon on Lake Macquarie (see my previous post 'Working with the tools you got').

I was able to capture some of the magic, but to be honest I wasn't 100% happy with the overall result. This was because I was playing around with the UV filter on the 75 -300mm lens & some of the distance shots came out a bit blurry. But that is photography, always learning something new. However, here's a tip, if you are looking to capture some of the beauty of Lake Macquarie, Toronto & all the way down to Wangi Wangi is a must for any photographer, especially between 4pm - 5pm when the late afternoon sunsets will take take your breath away.

If you can wrangle it on overtime, well that would be even better!