Wombarra Headland and Wombarra Rock Pool, NSW.

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

A short series of images from Wombarra in the Illawarra, NSW.

Wombarra Headland 2AM-009394

Wombarra Headland 2AM-002817

Wombarra Headland 2AM-009406

Wombarra Headland 2AM-009408

Wombarra Headland 2AM-002847

Wombarra Rock Pool 2AM-009706

Wombarra Rock Pool 2AM-009712

Wombarra Rock Pool 2AM-009725

Cheers.

Bushfire at Maddens Plains in the Illawarra Region of NSW. – October, 2015

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

A bushfire on Maddens Plains in the Illawarra Region of NSW.

Maddens Plains bushfire 2AM-003758

Maddens Plains bushfire 2AM-003544

Maddens Plains bushfire 2AM-003623

Maddens Plains bushfire 2AM-003887

Maddens Plains bushfire 2AM-003901

Maddens Plains bushfire 2AM-003909

Austinmer, NSW.

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Some images from Austinmer in the northern Illawarra area of New South Wales, Australia.

Austinmer 2AM-000069

Austinmer 2AM-000076

Austinmer 2AM-000072

Austinmer Sunrise 2am-003460

Austinmer Surfers 2am-009661

Cheers 🙂

Stormy light at Iluka, NSW.

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

A recent overnight visit to Iluka and we were presented with a considerable storm system and some fantastic, and rapidly changing, light.

Cheers 🙂

Weather – an East Coast Low and a low pressure trough approaching Australia’s eastern seaboard.

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

A very powerful weather system is impacting a considerable portion of the east coast of Australia this weekend. Here is the Bureau of Meteorology link and the ABC link.

Here are three images: the first is an aerial image (drone) at Scarborough showing clear weather conditions before the system began to directly impact this section of the Illawarra Coast, and the remaining two images from Bald Hill show the first wave of weather making its way to the coast.

Here’s to hoping the farmers and graziers get good rain where needed.

Days 5 and 6: Moeraki and Dunedin, New Zealand – December 2015.

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Days 5 and 6 – Moeraki and Dunedin.

Just outside the coastal town of Moeraki there are numerous large concretions, exposed and highly visible, lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach. I thoroughly recommend reading more about them (here is a Wikipedia link).

Here are a series of images captured during our brief visit.

Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000526. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000500. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000496. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000517. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000533. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000549. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000538. ©Andrew McInnes

After a thoroughly enjoyable dinner washed down with a local amber ale at the Moeraki Tavern, I took these shots of the nearby harbour. We had hoped to also eat at the famed Fleurs Place restaurant another night but, alas, it was closed for a while over the Christmas break.

Fleurs Place – Restaurant 2AM-000598. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Bay 2AM-000599. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Bay 2AM-000593. ©Andrew McInnes

Moeraki Bay 2AM-000595. ©Andrew McInnes

A little further south is the city of Dunedin, where I have family heritage. We had a joyous visit with a cousin and her family, and she accompanied us on a lovely hike to see the Organ Pipes. “The Otago peninsula was formed entirely by volcanic activity and the tall polygonal columns featured on this walk are remnants of this past. As molten lava cooled slowly beneath the hardened crust, it contracted and formed geometrical cracks which propagated downwards as the mass cooled.” (source: NZ Tramper website).

The Organ Pipes 2AM-000567. ©Andrew McInnes

The Organ Pipes 2AM-000576. ©Andrew McInnes

The Organ Pipes 2AM-000577. ©Andrew McInnes

The Organ Pipes 2AM-000578. ©Andrew McInnes

After the organ pipes we wanted to visit the world’s only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross so we ventured out to Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula. Unfortunately we did not see any albatross, but there was a rather active colony of gulls. Whilst wandering along an observation path, we heard, then saw, quite an aerial commotion… upon further observation we saw a Black-backed Gull being harassed by several smaller gulls – the larger gull had apparently “kidnapped” a chick and was heading off with it. For those who may be a bit squeamish about natural history, the following two images may concern you.

Black-backed Gull 2AM-004861. ©Andrew McInnes

Black-backed Gull 2AM-004882. ©Andrew McInnes

Looking down the steep cliffs of Taiaroa Head I was entranced by bull kelp (Durvillaea species) as it seemingly twirled and shimmied in a whimsical tango with the ocean.
Rimurapa - Bull Kelp 2AM-004857

Overlooking the spit within Otago Harbour – our lunch spot on our way back to Moeraki.

Harrington Point 2AM-000580. ©Andrew McInnes

Back to Mouraki, we were thrilled and fortunate to observe, up close, a few Yellow-eyed Penguins (Megadyptes antipodes)! These New Zealand endemics (native) are purported to be among the worlds rarest penguin species.

Yellow-eyed Penguin 2AM-004739. ©Andrew McInnes

Yellow-eyed Penguin 2AM-004780. ©Andrew McInnes

Thanks for visiting – I hope you enjoyed these images.
Cheers 🙂

Thunder and lightning – Wombarra and Austinmer, NSW.

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Last week (early December, 2015) we witnessed a wonderful series of lightning storms in the northern Illawarra area of New South Wales, Australia. Surrounded, but not underneath any particular cell, the light and drama at Austinmer and Wombarra was spectacular!

Here is a panorama of one of the lightning storm cells bathing Austinmer Beach in amazing light.

Austinmer 2AM 9850-9852 Panorama © Andrew McInnes

Stormy light over the Pacific, incorporating a little of Keswick House.

Keswick House 2AM 9854-9856 HDR © Andrew McInnes

Just a little further north is the village of Wombarra, from where the following three images were captured.

Wombarra Headland 2AM 9864-9866 Panorama © Andrew McInnes

Wombarra Headland 2AM 9867-9869 Panorama © Andrew McInnes

Wombarra Headland 2AM 9887-9888 stack © Andrew McInnes

The final two images include the Wombarra rock pool.

Wombarra Rock Pool 2AM 9900_9903 stack © Andrew McInnes

Wombarra Rock Pool 2AM 9913-9914 © Andrew McInnes

’twas a wonderfully dramatic sky, with quite the lightning show that was ongoing for quite some time. I hope you enjoyed these images.

Cheers 🙂

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.

Nullarbor-Cliffs-2AM-6526and6529copyand6543copy

Posting #3 of my road trip from Fremantle to Kununurra, Western Australia.

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

This post contains images from my express visit to Coral Bay and Exmouth, Western Australia.

Ah, the tropics 🙂

These next three images are from Coral Bay – a stunning and simple place.

The front of the image is shallow water over a sand substrate; this then abruptly drops off into a deepish lagoon which is protected by Ningaloo Reef (Australia’s “other” reef) in the background. © 2014 Andrew McInnes.

Unfortunately I only spent about 8 hours in Exmouth which is nowhere near sufficient. Nevertheless, here are some scenes of this fascinating area.

A light-painting of the retired (non-functioning) Vlamingh Head Lighthouse – Exmouth. The evening air was thick with moisture from the Indian Ocean as it pounded Ningaloo Reef so I thought I’d make an image to suggest how the light from the lighthouse may have appeared to mariners of yore. During the 30 second exposure I mimicked a beam of light from the lighthouse by aiming my spotlight on the structure for a few seconds, allowing the moisture in the air to appear as a beam.
This image includes the Southern Cross (and pointers), along with a portion of the Milky Way.

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Star trails caress the retired (non-functioning) Vlamingh Head Lighthouse – Exmouth, on a blustery and balmy autumn night. This is a stacked image consisting of 61 images (each image f4 for 30 seconds at ISO 800). © 2014 Andrew McInnes.

More posts from this road trip to follow this.

A few quick photo shoots in Halifax and surrounds – Nova Scotia, Canada.

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Andrew McInnes Photography

I recently undertook an express visit with my wife to visit friends who were staying in Halifax for a period. I only managed to get out and photograph on a few occasions but was enamored of the area. Magnificent vistas, abundant maritime history, so ripe with scenery and scenes; I would have thoroughly enjoyed more time exploring and photographing. Nevertheless, here is a sampling of images from the very few times I was able to go walkabout. I hope you enjoy!

This is the first image I captured – I love the posture, gait, and apparent enthusiasm of the youngster; the dog’s tail; and the fact that the father had a bright red sweater on (excellent for ‘pop’ of people out in nature).

Halifax 2AM-000802
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f4.5 for 1/800 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

A chicane of sorts …

Halifax 2AM-000834
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f5.6 for 1/2000 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Although we witnessed some glorious fall color, it was the same old situation of “you should have seen it last week!” 🙂
the next two images include a birch tree – the bark and patterning thereof fascinated me.

Halifax 2AM-000851
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f8 for 1/800 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Halifax 2AM-000860
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f8 for 1/400 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Definitely much color still available around the area, even if the leaves had fallen.

Halifax 2AM-000887
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f4.5 for 1/1600 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Early in our visit our hosts took me out for a brief but wonderful excursion to Herring Cove. Although very overcast and gloomy, the light was lovely for scenes that didn’t include much, if any, sky. After this mini-hike it was time for lunch so we stopped in at “Now We’re Cookin’!” where I had the superb gastronomic pleasure of a dozen perfectly fried and ultra-delicious “Digby Clams.”

Here are a series of images from the Herring Cove Provincial Park Reserve from that visit:

I call this image “The Admiral” – hopefully you can deduce why 🙂 I captured one of our hosts overlooking a temporarily tranquil Atlantic Ocean – it was a fleeting opportunity to get the shot, so I did not have time to adjust the camera settings, hence the very slow shutter speed for a hand held shot. Thankfully I managed to be stable enough for a sharp image.

Early into the gorgeous walk I found this scene and liked the various elements so much – hence this image to capture it 🙂

Loved these rosehip berries!

Same general scene, different interpretation. My photographic mentor drummed into me to shoot and shoot and shoot a scene from numerous angles/interpretations, with a strict caveat that each composition/interpretation must be appealing to me, not just shooting a bunch and ‘hoping’ one of them will be ‘good’.

A portion of the walking trail.

More of the meandering walking trail and a very typical scene of this splendid coast.

’twas a very blustery gloomy day and the smart one here (that would be me 🙂 ) decides to take a multi-hour exploratory walk around the Halifax waterfront to take in some of the history of this place. When I say it was blustery, it was really blowing! There is a bit of a tale from my home country that goes something like this: “Tie a brick onto a long piece of line and hang it so that it is free to swing. If the brick/string is vertical, there isn’t enough wind to go sailing; If the brick/string are horizontal, then perhaps there is a little too much wind for a sail; Anywhere in between = just right for a sail.” Well, the brick would have been darn near horizontal whilst I wandered around that particular day 😉
This block and blue line appealed to me as they hung and swung, suspended above the dark cold water. Hope you enjoy it too.

I find the marine flora and fauna of cold water habitats fascinating, and Nova Scotia in early winter did not disappoint me.This image, and the mussel image following it, were taken on a bucking and rolling floating dock that was doing its non-level best to ensure that either I fell in the cold cold water, or dropped the camera into said water, or fail to get a sharp image of the subjects that were interesting me. I am very thankful that the 5D Mark III handles high ISO noise so bloody well!

Some scenes need capturing, despite the quality (or lack thereof) of available light; I thought this public art installation the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk to be such a scene. This public art installation is a collaboration between Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg. One of the lampposts (at rear in this image) is peeing in the ocean. The other two are on their way home after drinking too much – the closest has stumbled and fallen, the other is bending over to check if all is okay with the fallen one.

Boardwalk boards (and nails)

Whilst she isn’t particularly old, this yacht is reminiscent of a time apparently long gone, when vessels actually had lovely lines! Plus, what’s not to like about bowsprits, jib-booms, bowlines, and vertically seamed sails with stitched lines along the leech?

A new day, and, well, there were some trees still shedding their colorful leaves, and a stunningly sky, so why not?

Dusk was rapidly descending on a bloody chilly day when I happened upon this lovely little yawl at rest on its mooring in a secluded and tranquil inlet.

Sometimes “hard to figure out at first” is intriguing – to me at least 🙂

A revisit to Herring Cove because the light was “cleaner.”

A little ‘overflow’ creek from Powers Pond to the Atlantic Ocean (via Herring Cove).

To me these next two images typify coastal fishing hamlets.

To my eye, when strolling around town, this image was very appealing. Initial concerns about it being “too busy” rapidly dissipated – likely due to the location of the colored elements, the reflections, and the leading line of the dock. Perhaps I am mistaken?

Speaking of reflections… here are two more from the walking trail at Herring Cove Provincial Park Reserve.

A stunning blue sky, granite, and grass.

My final image from Herring Cove showing one side of the entrance to Herring Cove; the great blue yonder is the fabled ornery Atlantic.

On the coldest day of the winter thus far (it having snowed the first snow of the season the previous night), we ventured on a quick trip down to Peggy’s Cove – a gorgeous sunset, some ice in the rocky depressions of the granite headland, and it was blowing stink, and we were right on the edge of the Atlantic. Not blowing quite strong enough for there to be whitecaps in the toilet, but darn near!
The following images were all captured within roughly one hour, and again, I present 4 images with the lighthouse in it, each sufficiently appealing to me.

There were some strange light behavior happenings last evening during dusk at Peggy’s Cove – one with my lens glare (this image), the other some neat atmospherics (the next image).

The three of us who were there together all were mesmerized by the vertical shaft of light – normally I expect to see crepuscular rays, but this instance had only the vertical element. As it was developing I was scampering around trying to find any element for foreground interest. “Beam me up” or perhaps a “batman-like beam.” 😉

Peggy’s Cove 2AM-001485
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/8 second at ISO 400.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

And to wrap up this visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia – Canada, here is a light-painting of the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove – the primary purpose of the quick evening trip to Peggy’s Cove. I hope you enjoy this light-painting image – is was certainly the most difficult to make: my wife and our host said I looked a bit like a mountain goat running around over the rocks and boulders in the dark whilst painting the scene with my trusty Q-beam II Million power flashlight.

A light-painting – Peggy’s Cove 2AM-001515
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f5.6 for 30 seconds at ISO 400.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Andrew McInnes Photography

Imagery © Andrew McInnes

Tag Archives: coast

Wombarra Headland and Wombarra Rock Pool, NSW.

Bushfire at Maddens Plains in the Illawarra Region of NSW. – October, 2015

Austinmer, NSW.

Stormy light at Iluka, NSW.

Weather – an East Coast Low and a low pressure trough approaching Australia’s eastern seaboard.

Days 5 and 6: Moeraki and Dunedin, New Zealand – December 2015.

Thunder and lightning – Wombarra and Austinmer, NSW.

Nullarbor/Bunda Cliffs – South Australia

Posting #3 of my road trip from Fremantle to Kununurra, Western Australia.

A few quick photo shoots in Halifax and surrounds – Nova Scotia, Canada.