Pic of the Week_Afterglow_Oberon Bay_Wilsons Promontory National Park

Canon 20D camera and Canon 20-35mm 2.8 lens @ 20mm. 1/100 second @ f5.6 ISO 100

Here’s a nice secluded spot: Oberon Bay on Wilsons Promontory National Park. Photographers can only access this beach by hiking along a relatively easy, extremely well marked track for 3 hours from the Telegraph Saddle car park. Alternatively you could undertake the moderately difficult 2 1/2 hour coastal hike from Tidal River.

Once there you’ll be well rewarded with great views along this lovely beach. But be aware the prom is known for wet and, at times, windy weather. The evening I made this photo was extremely windy. I was constantly pushed backwards by the incoming tide, propelled onto the beach by the near ferocious winds.

I’d moved back almost to the dunes to make the above image. This allowed me to introduce the shapes of the foreground creek together with that of the distant hillside and islands to the fantastic sculptured cloud formations above.

Image processing was conducted in Adobe Lightroom 3 and Adobe Photoshop CS5.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

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Pic of the Week_Dusk_Port Campbell National Park

Canon 5D camera and Canon 24mm f2.8 L series Aspherical lens_15 seconds @ f2.8 ISO 400

I’ve opted for a relatively surreal rendering of this scene. Many of you will recognize the location, near the famous Twelve Apostles, in the Port Campbell National Park along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. The image was made, with darkness encroaching, with the very last light of the day.

The slow shutter speed, required by the very low light levels, helped add a soft glow to the incoming tide. Clearly the light illuminating the large foreground cliff face is the main focal point within the image. It is further emphasized by the brooding darkness that surrounds and seems to envelope it.

Image processing was conducted in Adobe Lightroom 3 and Adobe Photoshop CS5.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Pic of the Week_Incoming Tide_Whisky Bay_Wilsons Promontory National Park

Canon 5D camera and Canon 24mm f1.4 L series lens. Exposure Details: 1.3 seconds @ f22 ISO 400.

Looking for a little excitement and the chance to behold rare beauty? How about the possibility of challenging and changeable weather conditions? Have I got the place for you? Wilsons Promontory National Park, on the southern most tip of the Australian mainland.

The above image was made at Whisky Bay, with the last light of the day, in high wind and hard, pelting rain. Man it was exciting! I climbed up onto an outcrop of rocks by the waters edge for a safe location with a superior vantage point. Due to the gusty wind I set my camera up onto a tripod that I weighed down with a bungy strap attached to my camera bag. I tilted my camera downwards to protect the lens (with lens hood/shade attached) from raindrops and to further concentrate the attention onto the water surging forward with the incoming tide. A slow shutter speed further enhanced the movement of the water and, thereby, the dramatic nature of the image.

Even though my car was parked only 5 minutes away experience has told me to be prepared when photographing in Wilsons Promontory National Park. Weather patterns seem to move across the prom quickly, often with little warning to the unwary sightseer. I always wear strong shoes with a good grip and pack snacks, water, hats (sun and fleece) and a quality Gore-Tex raincoat when I head off for a photography session in the park. I store spare clothes, including shoes and socks, out of view inside the car. I’m often glad I do and, given that I usually stay outside the park, I want to ensure I don’t finish the day wet and cold with a long drive ahead. A little bit of preparation and care makes all the difference. I love being out in the rain, as long as I stay dry.

Image processing was conducted in Adobe Lightroom 2 and Adobe Photoshop CS5.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Pic of the Week_Twilight_Half Moon Bay

Canon 5D camera and Canon 180mm f3.5 Macro lens. Exposure Details: 6 seconds @ f32 ISO 100.

There’s little better in life than witnessing a beautiful sunset. My own preference is to linger a little longer for the afterglow and beyond, the twilight. The above image was made at the end of a Landscape Photography workshop I was running along Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne. After the class had finished a few of us sat around to chat and wait for what the early evening would provide.

We were not disappointed with the soft ethereal light that followed. Time seemed to slow and the noise from nearby traffic subsided. I felt very much in the moment.

I balanced my exposure with low ISO and a slow shutter speed to produce the soft, creamy appearance to the water. This, combined with the deep tones of the surrounding rocks and distant hillside, give the image its special quality.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Pic of the Week_Glory on a Winter’s Day_Wilsons Promontory National Park

Canon 5D camera and Canon 85mm f1.2 L series USM lens

Wilsons Promontory National Park is one of my favorite locations for landscape photography. It’s a very large park with a range of beach, mountain, rainforest and fauna to keep even the most active photographer busy for weeks.

One of the park’s most special features is its changing weather system. The variations in light that come with the changing weather fronts present the photographer with fantastic photo opportunities. You really feel alive in such moments. Add that to the reward of an early morning start, good technique, an understanding of composition and perspective and a passion for your art and bliss will surely follow. It really doesn’t get any better than that.

The above image was made just after sunrise on an otherwise bleak morning. I’d travelled down to the prom the day before and met a group of photographers for the very last minutes of a late afternoon/sunset shoot at Squeaky Beach, a favorite location for tourists. Getting out of bed the next morning was not easy, particularly given the poor weather. But after a few moments of ill comfort I was off and on the look for interesting subject matter. A quick walk to the beach at Norman Bay and on to Tidal River provided no opportunities in the dim dawn light. I then decided to take a drive up towards Mount Oberon. On the way I saw the sun coming up over the mountaintops and decided to stop by the side of the road. Within a few minutes, and only meters from the car, I’d made an image that made the early morning start well worth the effort.

I love the way this image portrays the soft light and rain-filled atmosphere of that early morning adventure. Not long after the weather further deteriorated and my friends and, with deadlines pressing, I undertook the 3-hour drive back home. With so little time available I almost didn’t make the trip. But the photos I produced made it all worthwhile. And that’s why I do what I do.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Pic of the Week_Sand Dune and Cloud_Mungo National Park_NSW

Leica M7 camera and Leica 35mm f2 Summicron-M lens with Kodak Ektachrome Elite 100 Extra Color film

Mungo National Park, in far southwest NSW, is a harsh, arid environment. But long ago it was part of an extensive inland lake system that provided local indigenous people with a bountiful food supply and, despite common perceptions, allowed them to live in seemingly permanent settlements. This challenges common perceptions that Aborigines were nomadic people, a way of life that appeared backward to the conquering British Empire. It’s now evident that indigenous Australians adapted their lifestyle and practices to the environment in which they lived.

I rendered the original image, shot on 35mm color transparency film, into black-and-white to illustrate the inherent shapes, textural qualities and tonality within the image. The luminous nature and strong shapes present in the cloud and dune have been enhanced by the deep tonality of the sky.

The high contrast nature of this image, together with the grain inherent in the film, has produced a look somewhat similar to that normally associated with black and white Infrared film. I hope you enjoy it.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Pic of the Week_The Painted Desert

Hasselblad 503CW camera and Hasselblad 150mm f4 Sonnar lens with Kodak Professional Ektachrome 100VS film

The Painted Desert is located northeast of Coober Pedy in South Australia. On the way to the location I stopped briefly at the Dingo Fence, one of only 3 man-made structures (I believe) that’s visible from space. The other structures in question being the Great Wall of China and the Hoover Dam in the U.S.A.

Famous for its natural beauty this isolated location has been employed as a set in motion picture films such as Mad Max.

The location’s vivid color palette, the result of erosion over 80 million years, makes it a wonderful place to visit and photograph, particularly at the edges of the day when the landscape takes on a somewhat surreal appearance. Just be sure not to run out of water or fuel. And don’t forget the spare.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography