Autumn colour, toadstools, and a train station in the Blue Mountains, NSW.

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

This past weekend I spent a brief couple of hours photographing near Mount Wilson and Katoomba in the Blue Mountains area of New South Wales, Australia.

Although it is the end of the season, remnant autumn colour abounds at Breenhold Gardens. I went looking for colour and fanciful toadstools on a brisk and breezy dusk and was fortunate to find both.

Autumn Leaves 2AM-008205 © Andrew McInnes

This quintessential toadstool, Amanita muscaria, is commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita. I looked hard but unfortunately I failed to find any gnomes or fairies 😉

Amanita muscaria – Toadstool 2AM-001323 © Andrew McInnes

A bit more colour…

Autumn Colour 2AM 8175-8177 HDR © Andrew McInnes

Autumn Leaves 2AM-008172 © Andrew McInnes

Pink Spider Lily 2AM-001341 © Andrew McInnes

More fungi – clumps of mushrooms.

Mushrooms 2AM-001314 © Andrew McInnes

On the way home after dark I stopped in Katoomba as the train station caught my eye. The first two images were on the way to the platform…

Katoomba Railway Station 2AM-008226 © Andrew McInnes

Katoomba Railway Station 2AM-008229 © Andrew McInnes

This is the view of the Katoomba train station that enticed me to stop and photograph on what was fast becoming a bloody cold evening.

I hope you enjoyed this very limited discovery of a portion of the Blue Mountains.

Cheers 🙂

“OMG – Mine Your Food Bowl?” Open-cut coal mines on the Liverpool Plains?

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

I recently conducted a 36 hour reconnaissance drive up to Breeza and Caroona on the Liverpool Plains area of NSW to examine the area where several open-cut coal mines have been proposed – at least one of which, the Shenhua Watermark mine, is foreign-owned. The Liverpool Plains a highly productive region of Australia with vast acres in production of barley, chickpeas, faba beans, sorghum, sunflowers, soybeans, maize, wheat and cotton, plus grazing of beef cattle and sheep. I concur with the protesters slogan of “Wrong mine, wrong place.”

On the drive up I hoped to photograph the extensive raping and scarring of the land through the Hunter Valley but opportunities are not prevalent from the roadside due to significant concealing of operations and the resultant ramifications. I am not against mining, per se, however I do have issues with “the commons” being over-extracted for the profits of a few whilst the landholder has little recompense for the invasion, and the people of this nation see very little direct financial benefits.

The following two signs are in close proximity, located alongside the Kamilaroi Hwy, near Breeza.

Should they be able to mine this…

and turn it into this?

Here is a warning sign to the public (the same public who paid for the road) that as a result of mining activity in the Hunter Valley the public infrastructure is likely compromised…

Let’s Lock the Gate “to protect our common heritage – our land, water and communities – from unsafe or inappropriate mining for coal seam gas and other fossil fuels.”

To wrap this blog-post up here are several images capturing a very small portion of the scenery, productivity, and lifestyle of this magnificent agricultural region. I am very grateful to the property owners for their time and the access to their properties.

These first four images were captured as I arrived just prior to dusk at “Rossmar Park” near Caroona.

The next morning, along Coonabarabran Rd, near Caroona.

“Breeza Station” – Breeza.

“Drayton” – Breeza

Cheers 🙂

ANZAC memorial statues and the ANZAC Bridge – Sydney, NSW, Australia

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the ANZACs – the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac Day – 25 April – is one of Australia’s most important national occasions; it marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. For further information click here.

In Sydney there is a fabulous bridge named in honour of these brave heroes. At the western end of the bridge stand two bronze statues – one an Australian and the other a New Zealander. Each supporting structure has atop it a flag, one is that of Australia, the other of New Zealand.

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”

Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors, Sydney.

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

As part of the 2015 Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year (the Year of the Sheep), the famed “Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors” by Chinese artist Xia Nan are currently on display at Dawes Point, Sydney. These fabric and wire structures were originally created for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors 2AM-007768

Lanterns-of-the-Terracotta-Warriors-2AM-007794---Copy

Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors 2AM-007773

Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors 2AM-007775

Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors 2AM-007781

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Special Operations Team – Ambulance Service of NSW

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Members of the Special Operations team (within the Ambulance Service of New South Wales) during a training exercise on the face of the sandstone cliffs at The Gap, Watsons Bay – New South Wales, Australia.

Recent swell on the N.S.W. coast – images from “Boneyards” and Sandon Point.

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Images from the recent largish swells on the New South Wales coast – January 30, 2015.

These first two images are from “Boneyards”, near Kiama.

Boneyards 2AM-000022

Boneyards 2AM-009990

The remaining images are from Sandon Point, Bulli.

Analysing before launching…

Sandon Point 2AM-000048

Sandon Point 2AM-000222

Here we go…

Sandon Point 2AM-000302

Ripping it…

Sandon Point 2AM-000505

This youngster is on an express…

Sandon Point 2AM-000662

Rising up…

Sandon Point 2AM-000207

Largish…

Sandon Point 2AM-000132

Nice…

Sandon Point 2AM-000094

Cheers 🙂

Morning fog in the Capertee Valley – NSW, Australia.

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Early morning fog envelopes a bluff on the boundary of Wollemi National Park and a rural pocket near Glen Davis in the Capertee Valley, NSW.

Cheers 🙂

Murphy’s Haystacks – Streaky Bay, South Australia.

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Near Streaky Bay, South Australia, there is a farmer’s field containing numerous pink granitic rock formations – known as inselbergs (or monadnocks for those of you in the U.S.A.) and are located between Streaky Bay and Port Kenny on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.

Both of these images are light paintings.

For this first image I wanted to create a look of Aboriginal rock art being illuminated by fires in the recesses between the boulders. This is a stacked image.

Murphy's-Haystacks-2AM-6674-6675and6678-6679

For this second image I wanted to create the look/feel of a giant wave breaking over a boulder on a beach (hence the use of the blue gel on a flash) – the light-painting was a duo effort, one with an orange lights, one with a LED light.

Nullarbor/Bunda Cliffs – South Australia

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

A spectacular stop along the Nullarbor Plain and Eyre Peninsula in the very western parts of South Australia- we rested here for a night and enjoyed being surrounded by lightning storms and their associated thumping thunder.