Changes

Haven’t posted anything for a while as I have been moving house. Amazing how much crap you accumulate! You promise yourself that you will be ruthless and chuck out all the stuff you haven’t seen for ages but somehow it manages to stay with you. (Now, which box is that obscure doodad in? I need it right now!)
Probably won’t post anything for a little while either as I am about to undergo a hip replacement, so things won’t be much fun for a litttle while!

Anyway, one of the reasons I love going down to Tasmania is that you run across a lot of things like this old holding yard. Bush carpentry at it’s very best.
There are still a few of the old blokes who used to build things like this still around but sadly their numbers are dwindling.
While building materials and methods have “improved” over the years, it will be a sad day when places like this no longer exist don’t you think?

The Father of Cradle Mt.

These are some images of ‘Waldheim’ which was the home of Gustav Weindorfer, acknowledged as the spiritual father of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St.Clair National Park.
‘Waldheim’ was built in 1912 from local timber that was all manually split for shingles and used for furniture etc.
Considering there were no roads into this area then, it is usually cloudy and drizzly and it can snow in the middle of summer, you’ve got to hand it to the people who made the area their home. Tough buggers!
But when you look at the surroundings you can’t help but think what an awesome place to live!

It’s a far cry from modern times where the area is a tourist mecca and is very carefully managed by the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service to ensure that the thousands of people who visit each year don’t completely wreck the area.

I was here early one morning, weather was crap for getting any decent images of Cradle Mt. Luckily it was too early for the tour buses so I had the place to myself for an hour, a rare experience!

Timeless

If you are heading to Cradle Mountain, chances are you will pass through an area called the Middlesex Plains.
This is one of my favourite drives, great road and the scenery has a haunting beauty to it that is unique. Skeletons of trees killed long ago by extreme weather and fire, among other causes, stretch their ghostly limbs to the sky.
The human history of this area is littered with tales of hardship,loneliness, folly and bravery although there is little evidence of it these days.
I have tried to capture what this place feels like on a few occasions but so far it has eluded me, Its a place that needs time to get to know. These are a couple of attempts that hopefully gives an idea.

Serendipity II

Driving down a Tasmanian backroad just following my nose. Not much happening,sky is a flat dull grey. Come around a corner and find this little gem!
It was once quite a large house and just up the road was I guess it’s replacement, a large colonial type mansion which is probably Heritage listed.
In it’s heyday this would have been a large prosperous farm owned by wealthy people.
Had to stop and take some pics. Used a treatment in Lightroom called Detail Booster which suited it quite nicely I think. Hope you like it!

Capture the Spirit!

These are 3 images I have entered into a competition run by the Spirit of Tasmania who operate the Bass Strait Ferry. It is called ‘Capture the Spirit’ and is open to any resident of Oz who has some images of Tasmania.
Prizes include Canon1000D cameras and Accomodation packages etc.
Like most comps of this nature they require copyright waivers for the winning images so they can use them for promotion.
If you want more info go to www.capturethespirit.com.au

BTW you can also vote for your favourite image and be in the running for a prize as well. I could do with an extra camera! hint,hint.

A land of extremes!

It doesn’t seem so long ago that photographers such as Tony Middleton who lives in Victoria were posting images of a dry, blackened landscape after the horrific bushfires.
At the same time we here in Queensland had flooding rains and everything was green and juming out of it’s skin!
How the tables have turned. Tony is posting images of lush green meadows and we here in Qld are going through one of the driest winters for a long time!
i had spotted this windmill and water trough a while back and thought it could make an interesting shot. God only knows what the Brahman cattle on this property are drinking as there is no surface water anywhere that I can see!
Bring on the wet season!

A Bit Dusty!

No, I am not recovering from a lager frenzy! You have probably all heard about the dust storms that have enveloped the eastern states over the last week. Well they even made it into the tropics, not as severe as further south but they have hung around longer. The light and visibility have been pretty ordinary over the last week, not the beautiful blue skies we are used to at this time of the year!
I havn’t really bothered shooting much till it all goes away but I did manage to get a couple of worthwile images one afternoon.
Look familiar Fletch?

2010 Calendars

Even though most of the 6 people who read this blog are photographers and probably make their own, I have made up some 2010 calendars of my travels over the last year or so.
Available at my RedBubble site-
http://www.redbubble.com/people/wootton60/calendars
They would make great Xmas gifts.

Serendipity

Serendipity is such a great word and one that all photographers relate to I think!
Driving around the backroads anywhere but especially in Tasmania, you come across little gems like this tractor. Old and probably very rarely used,if at all, he seems to be peering eagerly out of his shed.
You can almost hear him thinking “Just give me one more chance! I’ll show these new tractors a thing or two!”
I can’t decide which I like better, the version above or the one below.
Anybody have an opinion?

Uluru (Tassie style)

Does anybody out there have a favourite place such as a river,valley or landmark that you never tire of looking at? Well this mountain is one such place for me.
Mt. Roland is a mountain that always affects me whenever I look at it. I have never been to the top of it, (yet) I have circumnavigated it many times and it draws me like a magnet whenever I am in it’s vicinity.
It is deeply entwined in my family history, my great-grandfather carved a farm out of the Tasmanian bush in it’s shadow, my mother’s ashes are part of it, as will my father’s one day and possibly mine as well!
I don’t know of any mountain that dominates its surroundings like this one except for perhaps Uluru and from certain angles it even has a similar profile.
I still havn’t found the perfect location to shoot this mountain from and that can change with the time of the year. I think it is in the middle of one of the local farms, may have to do a dawn raid one day……