photography – Page 7

Never Walk Backwards …

I never seem to visit Farina at New Moon. These shots were taken with a first quarter moon behind me …

Poor old Farina is north of Goyder’s Line and south of the Great Artesian Basin. It had a big problem with fresh water. Once the Ghan was rerouted and the Telegraph fell into disuse it became a ghost town.

Goyder was the Surveyor-General of the then colony of South Australia. In 1865 he made a journey on horseback crossing some 3200km to come up with a line demarcating land suitable for agriculture from land prone to drought. This followed the 10 inch isohyet which Goyder determined mainly by reference to the vegetation. Settlers ignored his advice to their cost – the buildings at Farina are accompanied by numerous abandoned farm houses north of the line.

A number of wells were dug at Farina with minor success. Sixty kilometres north and plenty of water lies just below the surface. The Great Artesian Basin underlies about 22% of the continent .

From Farina we traveled up the Oodnadatta Track to William Creek passing Lake Eyre South and spending the night at Coward Springs. There are quite a few springs along the southern edge of the Great Artesian Basin. As they bubble out of the ground they bring minerals that eventually produce a mound with a small pond on top. If the flow is strong enough a small wetland forms at the base. One can find water birds such as Spotted Crake right out here in the desert. Notable mound springs along the track are Blanche’s Cup and the Bubbler. I photographed a small, so far as I know, unnamed one just north of Coward Springs.

The Oodnadatta north of William Creek was closed to towing vehicles so we made a left turn and headed to Coober Pedy where there are opal mines and spoil heaps dotted across the landscape. A warning sign advised of open holes and sternly admonished the traveler “Never Walk Backwards”.

The road had not been as rough as we had expected. Cober Pedy is on the bitumen, the Stuart Highway. The next few days will be far less exciting than the last few days.

Farina …

The Flinders was as dry as a chip. We took the scenic route through the Parachilna Gorge – not as scenic as Glass Gorge but gentler on the trailer. Then north up the Outback Highway. There was some green pick after Leigh Creek, then some surface water and by the time we pulled into Farina actual grass and even some mud. And by all accounts there’s a lot more of that ahead of us.

This route north brings you face to face with history, John McDouall Stuart followed by the Overland Telegraph, then the Ghan, the birth and death of little towns like Farina. How could you not love this country?

A number of things had conspired to draw people north from Adelaide. As dry as it is, cattle and sheep can be grazed in the hinterland. The railway provided a good way to transport them to market. The telegraph and the railway provided employment. And of course, at the time it was thought that the rain would follow the plough. Plant your crops and the rain would come, a theory promoted by scientists of the day such as the noted American climatologist Cyrus Thomas. The settlement here was founded in 1878 as Government Gums. Its name was changed to Farina to reflect the intention to grow wheat. It grew to reach a peak population of approximately 600 in the late 1800s. It was the rail head for a time. In its heyday, the town had two hotels (the Transcontinental and the Exchange) and an underground bakery, a bank, two breweries, a general store, an Anglican church, five blacksmiths, a school and a brothel. Wild oats were sewn but no wheat was grown. All that remains today are the ruins and the cemetery.

It’s a great camp site and an excellent spot for birding. Inflation has hit, the fee is now $10 per person per night, a 100% increase in 9 years. The bakery has been restored and is in action during the winter months when the camp is busy. At the moment we have it almost to ourselves.

Flinders Ranges …

A few days ago We saw in the day on a friends property in the Victorian Goldfields …

and then headed west passing through Horsham which has grown some silo art since we were last there …

After a couple of nights in the west of Victoria it was on to South Australia and the Flinders Ranges. Matthew Flinders was the first to circumnavigate Australia and was also influential in having the name Australia adopted for good old New Holland. He sailed up into Spencer Gulf in March of 1802 and landed a party that were the first Europeans to encounter the rather spectacular mountain range now named after him.

This little party, two Australians and a Fox Terrior, have spent the day touring around spectacular landscapes and fighting off some spectacular birds. Wilpena Pound is perhaps the most famous spot in the range but we can thoroughly recommend the Glass Gorge route from Blinman to Parachilna and the Morelana Scenic Drive.

Along the way we stopped at the tree where Harold Cazneaux took a photo in 1937 that he titled Spirit of Endurance. It won him numerous prizes in photographic competitions. Unless you are prepared to climb a fence you can no longer stand down in the creek bed where Harold took his photo but I had a go at reproducing the shot. Here is my homage to Cazza …

Tomorrow we head north. Modifications are needed to plan A but according to a very helpful man at the William Creek Hotel we will probably be able to negotiate the southern section of the Oodnadatta Track but will have to divert to Coober Pedy at William Creek. The problem is not so much the flooding but the damage caused by people driving on it when it was wet and plastic.

The Todd River at Alice Springs actually has water in it – it does happen occasionally. While the Tanami is under water! Further modifications to our plan will need to be made in due course.

Braeside Park …

It was the 2nd of April 1989, opening day of the new metropolitan park. It was extremely busy. In I drove through the northern gate. I followed the road which ringed the picnic area. Traffic was nose to tail, moving at a snail’s pace. Each of the carparks were full and having completed the circuit I was decanted back onto Lower Dandenong Road. I found a carpark at the second attempt.

In the early days I coordinated bird counts in the park and I was involved in a long running banding project. The bird list grew apace. A walk around the park’s 310ha (770 acres) would yield about 50 species in about 3 hours at a bird watcherly pace. According to eBird the list now stands at 188 species.

Braeside Park is one of the first places I head to when back in Melbourne. The number of bird watchers is up, the number of bird species is down. Many of the birdos are carrying cameras with very long lenses. It seems that the advances in photography have attracted many more people to the hobby.

The decline in species is probably due to a number of causes. There has been considerable development surrounding the park. Previously raptors such as Swamp Harrier could range over the park and extensive grasslands outside the fence. Now they just have the park which may not be enough for full time habitation. In addition Melbourne has had a very dry summer which may have caused some species to go looking elsewhere. And it’s autumn, the summer migrants have gone.

Nonetheless the park remains an outstanding place to watch birds.

Statistics …

As I recall Statistics is something you can do with independent observations taken at random and assembled into a sufficiently large sample. It’s a dark art, lies, damn lies and statistics etc. Bird watching stretches it even further into the kingdom of the devil. Bird watchers choose their sites to generate large lists, large list are more fun. Will we turn left or right? Depends where the Red Goshawk’s nest is or the owl’s roost. It’s called bias. Bird watching and citizen science make for a turbulent marriage

The year list is coming along very nicely, thank you for asking. Bird watchers tend to disparage introduced species, the plastics, but we do make sure to get them on our lists. If numbers give you an inner glow then they all count. I have my Goldfinch for the year. Port Fairy is very good for Goldfinch. But where is my Greenfinch? If I don’t get it here I am unlikely to get it this year.

Port Fairy is also a very good place to find the Striated Fieldwren. They live in rank vegetation and low scrub. In spring the males get up on rocks or taller plants and sing their little hearts out. The rest of the time they are a challenge. It’s not spring but this visit they have been very cooperative. I even have photographs! (Notice they all face to the left, n=2, the sample size is too small, p is nowhere near significant).

That thing they do with their tail is very endearing. Shame the one in the better light didn’t do it.

Port Fairy is not only famous for Fieldwrens it is also home of the Port Fairy Folk Festival. Secombe Park has been transformed into a reasonable facsimile of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The town benefits greatly from the revenue raised. Fortunately I will have left before the festivities reach full swing.

Just over a day to find the furtive finch. I haven’t connected with the snipe either, it may be too late in the season for them. I may have to come back in the spring. But the birding has been excellent …

The Shakedown Tour …

… is complete. The AOR Quantum plus has had its first trial and its first service. Tomorrow we cut the umbilical cord and head into the outback.

The tour took in a circuit of south east Queensland, covered just over 2000km of towing over two weeks and looked something like this …

The Quantum plus passed with flying colours. Minor teething troubles have been fixed. The three burner stove was fixed before leaving Caloundra. A stabiliser leg needed minor attention and a shock absorber was replaced on our return. I have tried to avoid a millimetre by millimetre account of the rainfall but the weather has been dreadful. The Quantum+ does not leak and the awning can withstand some hefty gusts.

Not exactly Game of Thrones …

Byron Bay is full of surprises, there is a dragon in the garden.

An Eastern Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii) to be precise. This guy, and it is a male because of the clarity of its markings and his size, is about a metre long and is reasonably tolerant of human presence. Thery are found along the east coast of Oz down to Gippsland in Victoria.

The guy in the first photo is all there, you just need to click on the gallery to get the whole picture.

Lazy Day in Byron Bay …

And just for a change torrential rain, thunder and lightning. Byron lost its electricity supply for a few hours. All in all a chance to take stock and catch up on some editing.

We are 4,800km from home. The trip bird list stands at 103 species. The symbols on the map show where I made my observations. The red symbols are places that are frequently birded, the blue ones are other spots where I found some interesting birds.

I would certainly have seen more if we could have taken our time, a lot of roses left unsmelt on the trip so far but the tempo will change.

I managed a few nice photos along the way …

Gayle has gone to catch up with a friend. Their friendship began on their first day at kinder and survived despite separation whilst still in primary school. I think that’s rather special.

How to Photograph Lightning …

That’s a question, don’t expect a tutorial!

You don’t know when it’s coming. By the time you find your gear it’s gone. If it hasn’t in fact gone you then need to guesstimate some camera settings. You try them and when you think you have the right ones … it’s gone.

OK, it’s not gone. Where will the next flash be?

The whole sky was going off last night so I tried a wide angle lens. I got the whole storm in the frame. Actually I got the whole storm in the bottom millimeter of the frame. A fifty millimeter lens maybe. None in my bag. 70 to 200 then. Where to point it now. Mostly the wrong place.

I never have had much success with lightning. My worst effort was when I lived in the Victorian Goldfields. I dashed out chasing a storm and a half decent composition. Got nothing except soaking wet and got home to find my step daughter had a nice series of shots taken on her phone off the back verandah. Such humiliation.

The best lightning bolt (of about 200 photos) was in a shot that had half a good flash hanging off the left side of the frame and a better half flash hanging off the right side. Black sky in the middle, oh, what could have been. One or two other frames were passable. After careful consideration I decided not to slash my wrists. Instead I took the right side of the frame and moved it to the left. Flipped a copy horizontally and moved the two halves together. I did this in Affinity Photo.

Electric …

Lightning, a natural phenomenon of electrostatic discharges in the atmosphere.

It’s the wet season here in Broome, hot, humid and charged. There was a storm out over Roebuck Bay last night …