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!

Working With The Tools You Got

Although this blog is primarily for pictures taken with my good friend, my Canon 400D, there has been occasions when I've been caught out without my trusty offsider to capture the photographic opportunities that present themselves. On these occasions I've always got my Nokia 6210 Classic with its 2 megapixel in-built camera, hardly a comparison, but it is still able to capture those unexpected moments.

These moments usually happen whilst I'm out on the road at work (the Westpac Rescue helicopter at Redhead bluff for instance) & where it is usually impracticable to have my 400D sitting in the van or truck. So last Wednesday afternoon was one of those 'you shoulda had ya camera' moments.

At the last moment I was taken of my rostered shift & asked to cover another one that basically covered the western side of Lake Macquarie. I had a bit of time before I commenced the run, so I wandered down to the lake, just to get out, stretch the legs & take in the views.

Well what I saw was stunning!

There was Wednesday afternoon yacht racing, kids playing in the park, people sitting on the jetty 'wetting a line' & the most gorgeous late afternoon reflections coming off the lake.

Yep, sometimes you just can't plan photographic opportunities & it is these times that you just have to work with the tools you got.

When April showers go on for hours

I decided to set myself a bit of a challenge this week, given that we have had some very nasty weather,  so I thought I'd grab the trusty 400D & head out to get some shots in some decidely bleak conditions.

Now to photograph Newcastle in perfect weather conditions is easy, just point & shoot basically 

& let the beauty of the environment fill the view finder. However, the weather I encountered 

was atrocious, pouring rain, howling winds that made  taking 'that' shot so much harder. 

The weather was that bad that Newcastle Port was actually closed to all shipping, bar the Stockton ferry. The pictures around Newcastle were taken a 3pm in the afternoon & shows just how dark & gloomy the conditions were. The picture of the lake at Valentine were taken this morning at 9am, still gloomy, but not as bad as yesterday.

For some extra effect, in post production, I added some 'raindrops' to the images using the 'IrfanView 4.2' photo programme. I just done it for some effect, as there is no way I would subject my 400D to such wet conditions. IrfanView is freeware & you can download it at http://www.irfanview.com/

So sometimes its worth setting yourself a challenge, you just never know what will find on your journey of discovery.

East is east & west is west, but I reckon both sides of Maitland are BEST!

Located about 30klms away from Newcastle, nestled alongside the Hunter River, is the picturesque historical town of Maitland. 

Maitland is a river town & prior to motor vehicles & trains, the quickest way to 

get produce to Sydney was using the Hunter River via Morpeth & Newcastle. So Maitland quickly grew into a large transportation hub .

Actually there are two Maitlands, East Maitland & West Maitland (ok, 4 if you include Maitland, the area situated around the Courthouse & South Maitland, near the showgrounds!). East Maitland was the preserve of the rich, mainly because the town was built higher than its riverbank cousin to the west. As a consequence while most of the commerce was gathered around the riverbank, the toffs preferred to live where their feet would stay a tad dryer than the plebs who plied their trades around the wharves.

The architecture is absolutely stunning & this is exemplified by the Post Offices. Maitland PO (situated in Maitland West) is one of the few Australia Post properties whose soul hasn't been sold to become a restaurant or solicitors office, but still enjoys its original purpose, a functioning PO. However, East Maitland was sold off years ago & was replaced by a 'modern' soulless edifice in High St., which I suppose is better than the current fashion of putting LPO's in shopping centres.

Where Flag Now Doesn't Fly

There is a building down by the railway track,

Where eyes no longer pry,

It's now a private residence,

Where the flag now doesn't fly.

There is a building down in main street,

Where the solicitors now all lie,

It's now a place of commerce,

Where the flag now doesn't fly.

There is a building in the middle of town,

Where the food comes from a

 deep fry,

It's now downmarket restaurant,

Where the flag now doesn't fly.

There are a  still a few buildings left,

& I hope that they never die,

They are the local Post Office,

Where our Australian flag 

... still continues to fly. 

Do You See What I See?

One of the most intriquing recent events in Newcastle was joining the crowd on Newcastle foreshore at dawn & watching a cruise ship enter the harbour. It had a real carnivale atmosphere as 100's of well-wishers lined Macquarie Pier, Stockton & The Foreshore on a balmy summer dawn to witness this very unique event. 

This time our guest was the Celebrity Cruise Lines $350 million ship, Millenium. This 1.950 passenger cruise ship is huge & at 91,000 tonnes, it would've had to been one of the biggest ships to enter the port of Newcastle ( your average bulk carrier is only around 40,000 tonnes!), or if not the largest of these type of cruise ships, it would be close enough to it.

The sight of this magnificent ship dwarfing Nobby's headland as it passed, was in itself, a sight to see. 

  

As an extra bonus, Fort Scratchley fired a 3 volley salute from it's No.2 Mark VII gun as a welcoming gesture to our newly arrived guests.  

Luckily, I was at Fort Scratchley, with my old friend, the Canon 400D, to capture the whole event, from the pre-dawn movement to the time that the tugs actually be berthed this beautiful cruise ship at Dyke No.1.

So if you are ever in Newcastle, whether you live here, or even just on a visit, a walk to the Foreshore just before the break of day maybe just worth your while. You just never know what you may see ... you may even get to see what I see!

View From A Fort

I do tend to spend a lot of time at Fort Scratchley these days, mainly because I'm now  a Fort Scratchley guide & so, now most weekends I can be found doing conducted tours of the Fort Scratchley tunnel complex (at only $8.00 it is the best darn value for money tour in the Hunter Valley!).

Not only is it great value for money, but the view is spectacular & the best part ... the million dollar views are free!

Now, the other day when I went up it was a stinking hot summers day with the temperature hovering around the mid 30's, however, in the blink of an eye a southerly storm front blew into Newcastle & cooled the afternoon off. However, as quick as the storm arrived it had passed, luckily not causing too much damage (unless you count the poor soul that was drowned at Port Stephens or the sailor that got struck by lightning on Lake Macquarie!)    

So if you want to see a storm roll in, take in a unique view of Nobby's (Whibay Gamba), or just watch the activity on a real Australian working harbour, take the time to stroll up to Fort Scratchley.

And if you see me ... say hello!

Black & white is alright ... right!

I remember as a kid growing up & all we had was a 22" (55cm) black & white television set, the new fangled Polaroids were black & white & all those you beaut family snaps were in ... yep you guessed it, black & white.

Up until 1975, we certainly lived in a black & white world!

However, although we now live in a colourized world, black & white photography still is able to capture the imagination by its use of contrast to give subjects a beauty that can escape the casual observer

"Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony"