“They say don’t live in the past and live each day like it was your last but, 
I’d rather live each moment like it was my first” – Hilltop Hoods
 
In a change of format brought about in the face of some technical “challenges”- I am proud to bring you the events of the past two months in a series of short stories.  
 
Chapter 1: South Coast Adventure
Sadly, shooting photos for this blog is not a full-time occupation for me, so I have to squeeze it in around my life.  I like to look at this blog as a sort of highlights reel of the adventures in my life.  This particular adventure was a 48 hour escape at the height of the silly season madness in my day-job.  
 
After throwing a change of clothes and of course the cameras into the boot, we jumped into my car and headed for the south coast. Being both a petrol head and a photographer, we took the coast road. Of course I enjoyed the curves, of course we stopped to take photos.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Like the sunrise we shot at the beautiful Cathedral Rocks in Kiama, it was all over too quickly!
 
Chapter 2: Sommersby Falls
After the Christmas, something very rare occurred- I had a day free! While I came to grips with that concept, I decided to tick off a location that’s been on my to-shoot list for quite a while- Sommersby Falls, hiding just off of the F3, North of Sydney.
 
I couldn’t have imagined the sense of calm and serenity that was awaits in this steep little gully.
 

 

 

 

 

 

This sense of calm put a nice full stop on my shoots for 2012.
 
Chapter 3: Welcome 2013
One of the joys that photography has brought me is being able to record all of the wonder of a moment and be able to savour it whenever I want.  With that thought in mind, this chapter brings me brought me back to Blues Point after many years, on a hot summer’s night, ready to celebrate coming of a new year.  Still surrounded by a strange mix drunken teenagers and picnicking families, but no longer part of either group, my girlfriend and I soaked up each other’s company and the spectacle that is New Year’s Eve on the worlds best Harbour.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I feel that I should explain this last shot- long after the fireworks ended and the families had dragged their young ones onto buses and trains, we stumbled across this group of revellers dancing in the street to the sound of a tiny boom box and some improvised percussion.  People would run in and join the fun as they passed by, I don’t think these people knew each other.  What an amazingly free spirited way to start your year!
 
Chapter 4: The Epic Canberra Roadtrip
I think this chapter is best defined by way of statistics:

 

  • Days on the road: 4
  • Number of Highway Patrol cars spotted: 13
  • Number of times I thought they had me: 2
  • Tanks of petrol consumed: 2
  • Bottles of Water consumed: 16+
  • Number of times rattling muffler was fixed: 3
  • Gates opened in a field: 4
  • Gates opened in a field requiring hand-tools to unlock: 1
  • Estimated number of sheep dodged in a field: 30
  • Number of wrong turns: 20+
  • Furthest distance travelled in the wrong direction caused by a wrong turn: 50km plus return
  • Roundabouts crossed in the ACT: 50+
  • Number of Cars entered in Summernats: 1200+
  • Number of Cars witnessed carrying out a simultaneous burnout: 69
  • Hottest temperature: 45 degrees
  • Lowest temperature: 21 degrees
  • Number of minutes between the time of hottest and lowest temperature: <30mins li=”” nbsp=””>
  • Kilometers travelled: 946
  • Amount of rubber collected on skin: Enough to mold an 18inch Dunlop
  • Sunburn: Mild
  • SD cards filled: 5
  • Photographs taken: 2000+
  • Memories and Moments: Lost count

 

With those hard facts in mind, you may recall my previous post was my coverage of the Summernats Festival in Canberra, this chapter shows you of the rest of the trip.  Including a rare shot of yours truly, carrying out the daily repairs to the lovely sounding but hopelessly temperamental exhaust on my VW.  A mix of architecture and landscape shots here.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Chapter 5: Paddington Reservoir 
Another random location that I have wanted to check out for sometime, this little haven is hidden away below a very busy main street in the inner suburbs of Sydney.  
 

 

 

 

 

 
Chapter 6: Daybreak People
One of the joys of being a photographer is dragging one’s self out of bed way before even the sun has even bothered to do so, to drive yourself to some obscure location, where you will trip over in the pre-dawn darkness, possibly freeze and when it’s all over, you will realise that it’s still too early to even order that coffee you are now craving!  All in the name of taking a handful of pretty photos.  Why? Well somewhere in between all that, you get to experience the daily show that nature puts on for us- watching the sun creep up below the glowing horizon and casting it’s golden rays briefly across the landscape.  
 
I’ve written of my love for this many times before.  What never fails to amaze me though, is how many others are out and about enjoying this spectacle through a camera lens like me, or their own way- on a bike, with a dog, a fishing rod, lapping the pool or riding a wave.
 

 

 

 

 

  
A quick shout-out to Rob Potter, the creator of photographyhotspots.com.au who joined us on this shoot, it was a pleasure to meet you Rob, I look forward to catching up with you for another dawn or sunset session!
 
Chapter 7: Chasing Shadows
Street photography is something that I have always found fascinating, those who are good at this, I rate alongside photo-journalists, as some of the most talented photographers you will find.    Successful shots require the subject, the light and the camera all to be behaving just the right way.  And any photographer will know, of all the variables in a shoot, those three can be the hardest to master.
As I carry my camera with me everywhere (well almost), I find myself regularly trying to attempt to capture moments of everyday life on the street.  My latest attempt was inspired by the notion of ‘chasing light’.  As I discovered, the intense afternoon glare also brings out heavy shadows in equal proportion.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Chapter 8: The Blast Furnace and Knapsack Bridge
Two similar yet starkly different industrial relics: Lithgow’s Blast Furnace- tall, dark, eerie and now lying in ruins; Lapstone’s Knapsack Bridge- a tiny but important convict built bridge, still standing proud as it once did, surrounded by peaceful bush and graced by a crystal clear stream. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Chapter 9: Turimetta
If it had turned out the way I had planned, Chapter 9 was to be filled with glorious sunset hues, shiny black rocks and the misty haze of gentle tide, slowly exposed.
 
After waiting hours for the sun to drop, I was faced instead with a heavy, grey sky and rough seas.  The image below is all I took away after 15mins of shooting.  Strangely, this image has received a lot of attention on Lensflare’s Facebook page, many comments using terms such as “Moody” and “Atmospheric”.  Regardless of my apparent accidental creation of some sort of movie scene, I will be returning to bring you the shots described above.  Look out for them sometime soon!
 
 
Chapter 10: The Happiest 5km
This was never intended to be a shoot that I would share here- I arrived at the Colour Run’s inaugural event in Australia, simply to take some souvenir shots for my girlfriend.  However, what I stumbled into the middle of- coffee in one hand, camera in the other, was a very very happy group of people, dancing around, clouded in brightly colour dust and generally having an amazing time.  
 

 

 

 

 

 
While being way out my comfort zone as a photographer (how many people shots do I post here?) and terrified of my gear being destroyed in a tragedy of rainbow proportions, I couldn’t help but be inspired by the happiness of the people around me.
 
And that brings me back to that lyric way back at the begining.  Each of these photos is simply and record of a moment, an event at a place and time. 
 
Savour every last one that life brings you.