Immigrating to Australia, why I now photograph the ocean!??

Immigrating to Australia, why I now photograph the ocean!??

Kaikoura mountain range.

The view out of my bedroom window back in New Zealand on a winters day, mountains covered in snow.

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When we first immigrated from New Zealand to Adelaide, Australia, I found the landscape boring, mundane and lacking height. Lowlands everywhere and not a drop of water in sight. I mean around every corner in New Zealand is a mountain, a river or a lake, all clear, blue and very pure.

Blue lake in Southland New Zealand
A river in New Zealand
River turquoise and abundant New Zealand

Rivers, rivers everywhere and lots of drops to drink! Not so in South Australia we discovered!

 

OUR TREK TO FIND SOME WATER

Being unused to the South Australian landscape, on a 40 degree day we headed towards the hills (Mount Lofty range)….looking for rivers, lakes and lagoons so we could cool off and take a swim.

 

BIG MISTAKE!

I have never ever found any of those things in the hills in South Australia to this day!! 

As we rounded each corner of the winding  road up towards Mt Lofty, with those harsh nasty gum trees looking down at us sadistically, I glanced over into the back seat to look at my children. I saw three flaming red cheeked kids with moronic looks on their faces staring back at me……It was that look of, “ Why have you brought us kids to this God forsaken country, what terrible parents you turned out to be, we are definitely not your children? We are adopted that’s for sure!”

Eventually we did realise that the two words “barren” and “Australia” walk hand in hand. Disheartened and very hot we drove back home.

As the days and weeks progressed instead of going to the hills to look for lakes and rivers we headed in the opposite direction. We thought we would see what the coastline offered to this unfortunate family who were suffering badly from heat stroke.

 

OH MY GOODNESS…

Spectacular, beautiful and untouched stretches of beach, which were swimmable! Not too many beaches in NZ are beautiful and swimmable. Too cold, too rocky, too dangerous, too rough, too gloomy, or weather never permitting. You may be lucky to stumble upon a few sunny days in the middle of summer! 

 

WE FAST BECAME BEACH ADDICTS..

Those glorious blue beaches have found us surfing, fishing, swimming, boating, playing, and almost all year round I might add! 

I well remember when we first arrived here trying to put the golden sand into an envelope to send home to show them how amazing the beaches were. True story! (The sand in New Zealand is either non existent or grey.)

Early on with my first camera my photography was centred around photographing my sons surfing. Not a hint of hilly heat stroke on those long warm days spent at the beach with the waves continuously rolling in. Now I photograph  all aspects of the vast blue sea, which changes day to day and moment by moment. Variety and beauty endlessly! It is a genuine privilige to be able to photograph the South Australian coastline.

TODAY….

Whenever we have spent a day at the beach and evening approaches I have created a habit, as I leave any of our beaches, I stop and look back at the ocean and ponder and thank God for the genius of His creation. The beaches so idyllic, I will always miss my homeland but I have found something wonderful to replace those nostalgic longings.

Calm blue sea water
Isolated beach with white umbrella

Above,

This beach is about 2 kms long, I had it all to myself on a glorious summers day last January, crystal clear water and golden sand, no flies and warm weather, what more could a woman want?

Yacht in the summertime

The bluest of blue!

Yacht moored in pink sunset
Fishing boat staying out till the end of the day.

Above,

A boat stays out fishing till the sun sets and the gulls have gone home.

Swimming in Salmon inlet shaded such a brilliant green.

Above,

Swimming in this effervescent green water. Located at the back of Althorpe Island, South Australia, we discovered this unique spot on one of our fishing trips, quite remarkable in its colour and location. You can read my other blog about Salmon Inlet HERE 

Massive cliffs in the setting sun. Cape Spencer

Enormous cliffs tower over the breaking seas. Cape Spencer, Yorke Peninsula.

Stenhouse jetty

Stenhouse jetty.

Surfer jumping

Surfers, sailors, swimmers and sunbakers they all love it!

Surfing at West Cape, Yorke Peninsula
Turquoise beach and waves rolling in
Ethels beach and a pink sunset
At the beach till midnight

The water is warm as is the air temperature. In the image above it is New Years Eve  and these boys walked the beach till midnight in bathers and bare chests.

South Australia is a vast and hot country, a unique environment which definitely takes some getting used to. There will be many challenges to face. Initially I missed family and friends, we struggled to succeed in a new business venture and my children were extremely unsettled, but the hot dry weather, the lack of inland water and mountains. definitely had the most profound effect on us all. 
Today some 30 years later I love the place, can’t get enough of the beaches and strangely I have learnt to also love and appreciate the inland areas. The fields, the farms, the desert, the outback all have a beauty of their own. There is a huge variety of landscapes to photograph and as time has gone by I have noticed I am never bored with my photography.  Still hate the heat, but hey, who enjoys 40 degrees?

If I can encourage anyone on this journey, slow down and get an air conditioner, (first things first) so you can think straight and make good decisions for your future. You will ,  as you perservere find a very beautiful and very majestical country.

Is light blue a good colour in photography

Is light blue a good colour in photography

Cloud on a bee beach

 

Colour lightens our life and adds such a beautiful dimension to all we see.

How clever is our God to come up with a concept like colour. Through our eyes we absorb the beauty of creation in an array of colours. Each sunset, each green grassy slope, each red harsh desert, the ocean, greens to deep blues… one certainly could write pages of descriptions, endless and timeless.

We need light to see these colours, darkness cannot comprehend or display any colour at all.

 

One of the most tranquil and calming colours apparently is light blue.

 

Soft and gentle, cool and clear. From snowy mountains captured in the South Island of New Zealand to brilliant coastal sights captured in South Australia.

Light blue is good for your health and your soul. As we view this soft colour endorphines are released and we are calmed and soothed. Being a cool colour it also has a cleansing and refreshing effect on us.

Conclusion….Yes, light blue is a fabulous colour to use in your photography!

Tips to get that soft light blue colour.

*Editing your photos becomes a must, as the blue of the sky or the ocean is quite a vivid blue and very often is not that soft gentle shade we want. I generally desaturate my images and try and tone down the brightness of the blue. I often raise the exposure a little as well.

* You may try adding a haze of white over your blue sky to soften it. I use photoshop for this.

* Snowy scenes are often perfect for that light blue shade. The sky in the early morning around the mountains can look quite spectacular. Once again try the desaturation slider if the blue is too intense.

* Try photgraphing on a cloudy day and try different settings. Experimentation is a great way to perfect your art.

* In South Australia there are some magnificent salt lakes that are that exact soft light blue shade. So if you are fortunate enough to live near some salt lakes, try your hand at photographing those.

* Dial the shutter speed down a bit so your images are a fraction lighter. Take a look and make the necessary changes.

Good luck and have fun.

 

Gallery

Yacht sailing by
sand dunes
Moon
Yachts at sea cliff
Snow in the cool of the evening
Misty mountains at dawn
Snowy mountains NZ
Frozen grass
girl in desert sands
Sand dunes
Blue wave
Alone on a hill
Spponbills flying

The beautiful Chinamans Hat Island

The beautiful Chinamans Hat Island

Cinamans hat Island

Chinamans Hat Island is located in the Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia.

 

 

As the seasons and the weather change so does the look of this tiny but beautiful island. I often stop and photograph these changes, some days rough, some days very calm and still, some evenings like a fire has been lit. It amazes me the way the ocean colour changes to suit the sky. Like a well dressed and fully colour coordinated woman.

This tiny (well dressed) island is only some 350 meteres from the shoreline and some have been known to walk over to it at low tide. Well I think it would have to be a very low tide for this to happen.

When visiting this area of Yorke Peninsula be sure to stop and walk down to the small but very clear waters on this beach.

This has always been one of our favorite spots for swimming.

Just around the corner of Chinamans Hat Island, is the surfing beach called Chinamans. Very tricky, don’t get confused!! At the surfing beach you can walk up to the ramp and if there is a swell there are bound to be a few surfers out.

Certainly a lovely spot to visit, surf  and swim.

China mans Hat Island
In rough weather.
Chinamans Hat Island with a radiant sunset
Chinamans Hat Island in a storm
Chinamans Hat Island
Chinamans Hat Island
Chinamans Hat Island in the twilight
Chinamans Hat Island

As a photographer….

Your favorite location has the unique ability to change with the seasons, the time of day and the weather. How could a photographer ever get bored?? The variety is endless. 

Another thing I will do is edit the same photo in a different way. Maybe add a different sky, maybe darken a cloud, maybe lighten the entire image. It is time to start experimenting and seeing where your creativity leads you. You will learn so much as you experiment with styles, techniques and your camera. Have fun!!