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!