The Kingdom of Bhutan

I will be escorting a 2 week photographic tour of Bhutan later this year.  This will be a fantastic opportunity to see this amazing country at the best time of year with an experienced local guide to show us the sights you would never find by yourself.  And of course i will be along to ensure everyone gets the best shots of this fabulous mysterious country, a place where they dont judge wealth with GDP (gross domestic product), but with a NHI… a National Happiness Index!

The national happiness index

The tour will be 13 nights/14 days departing Perth 24th October 2012, with a total cost of only $4785.  This includes all your flights (taxes, transfers etc), transport, accommodation, all meals in Bhutan, guides and of course expert photographic tuition from me.  I reckon for 2 weeks of once in a lifetime experiences thats a bargain.

We will be having an information evening Thursday 23rd February over in Leederville, where we will explain the whole itinerary and how its all going to play out, along with a couple of slide shows (short ones…).  If this sounds like something for you and you would like to come to the information night, give Maxiema a call on (08)9382 5049 or you can email maxiema@intour.com.au

To give you a bit of a taste of what to expect here are a few images from George Booth, who organises the whole tour and his friend Ullrich Kunzmann (in fact all these images are from these 2 fellows), neither of whom are professional photographers. Don’t forget to click on the images to get a bigger view.

Bhutanese dancer at one of the many festivals

Behind the scenes at the festival

Scenic prayer flags, typical sites of the countryside

A Friendly local

Another friendly local

Im definitely showing signs of improvement, with 2 posts in two weeks!  This is another shot from my latest trip to the Kimberley last year.  I haven’t been into Geikie Gorge for quite a few years, as its near Fitzroy Crossing just off the main road and if i’m going that way the Gibb River Rd is my preference.  Camping around Fitzroy Crossing is a bit scarce, unless you want to stay in a camp ground in the town, which i don’t, as it’s not really my favourite town… though in saying that, it does appear to have improved in the last 10 years, which was the last time i stopped there.

Geikie Gorge Twilight reflections

Geikie Gorge National Park is part of the King Leopold Ranges, the same ancient Devonian reef that incorporates Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek.  It was formed about 400 million years ago by ancient lime secreting algae (pre-dating coral) and ranges from 50-200 metres high.  Quite a spectacular sight really, especially as the last of the sunset reflects off the walls, or, as with this shot, the after sun twilight.

I took the boat tour the morning before, and whilst its a great way to see more of the Gorge and hear the interesting commentary, its not a great place to shoot images.  I did however spot the location for this shot on the boat tour and came back later that afternoon to hike into it.  It was a magic evening with the wind dropping right off to nothing just on sunset showing this magic reflection.  The long walk back in the dark (about 1.5 hours) along the sandy creek bed (hard work!) was eerie with the Gorge walls towering over me.  Amazing place and well worth the effort of walking.

This is a digital composite shot made of about 18 exposures (no bracketing) well after sunset.  Shot with the Canon 5D Mk II  and the 24mm f1.4 L lens

It’s half way through January and i still have my gallery Christmas opening hours up as my last blog post… so much for new years resolutions!  Oh well, i can only move on from here and hope i can do better.  With that in mind i have this great image from Ivanhoe Crossing just out of Kununurra, in the East Kimberley Region, that i took back in July of last year.  The water is still raging after the huge wet season, and as you can see, the road is still closed…  I just love the irony of this actually being a road.  I think its something only someone who has been to the North of Australia would fully appreciate.  I’ve driven my car across this crossing before (not this trip!) and i have fished for Barramundi out in the middle of it (unsuccessfully unfortunately), but i don’t think i’d be wading out there now.

Road Closed...!

Its taken me this long to get this image up because of the sheer difficulty of it.  Doesn’t look very difficult i know, but thats the idea, it shouldn’t.  If it did it would look very constructed and thats not the objective at all.  Why was it a difficult image?  Its actually shot on large format film, on the Linhof Technorama with the 72mm Schneider Kreuznach lens, and its 3 separate exposures for the sky, shadows and water (so three separate pieces of film with three complete images).  But unlike digital capture, scanned images don’t register one on top of the other, somewhere in the scanning process the scanner introduces its own distortion, but differently for each image.  Its only slight, very slight.  But at the size of these scans (980Mb… 1.8m native size) its only got to be slight to make blending of exposure layers a very frustrating experience!

Monk Art Photography Gallery will be closed over the Christmas & New Year period until January 10th (2012), when Normal trading hours will resume.  All of us here at Monk Art Photography wish you a Merry Christmas, and a safe and prosperous New Year for 2012.  We look forward to seeing you soon.

Illegal activity at JPP ©Nigel Gaunt 2011

Amazing News for all Western Australians (except Colin) and in fact all in the world who care about James Price Point and the future of the KImberley Region.  The State Governments recent underhanded stance of threatening compulsory acquisition unless the Traditional owners of JPP handed over their land for industrial rape and pillage has been declared illegal by the Australian High Court.  Its back to square one for Woodside and their pocket politicians.

This is a major Victory against the might and political power of corporations and their ability to simply buy what they want regardless of any environmental, cultural and moral rights, and it brings to light in very plain terms the sheer incompetence of the current WA state Government.

Read on for more details…

STATEMENT ON 6/12/2011 FROM CHALK AND FITZGERALD AND THE PLAINTIFFS Neil McKenzie and Phillip Roe from Broome on the Dampier Peninsula in The Kimberley on hearing news of the decision by Chief Justice Wayne Martin that the compulsory acquisition notices issued by Premier Barnett’s government are unlawful and any decisions made since the notices to take the Land at James Price Point and extinguish Native Title there, are also unlawful.
“This decision is a step towards the protection of part of a song cycle of immense cultural importance.  “As a legal case, the Court decision is important for all people who own properties in WA.  “In a true sense, it is a Castle moment where the Court and the Law stand as the guarantee for the rights of ordinary people in the face of huge political power and economic resources,” said Andrew Chalk, lawyer for the plaintiffs.

All people who have Land taken by a Government, need security. The Court says whilst the Government does have the power to take these rights away, it can only do it on the terms laid down by the Parliament.

In the present case, the Government issued notices covering a larger area than that which was required. This is something the Court decided was not allowed. The Land Administration Act requires the Minister to issue a notice that contains a clear description of what they want.
Description of the land that is required and Notices in this case, didn’t comply with that requirement.

“All law is a technicality but it’s also the only guarantee of people’s rights.

“The agreement which was negotiated with Woodside was done entirely in the shadow of the threat of compulsory acquisition, Those voting on that matter were told that if they didn’t agree to the proposal the Government would take the Land anyway,
“There are world class values at this site that will be trampled on without due consideration.

Mr Chalk says the deal struck to surrender the Native Title is now ineffective in light of the decision “it’s now a paperweight in light of this decision.”
“It’s back to square one as far as obtaining the rights to James Price Point and beyond.
“The records from the 80s and 90s clearly show that much of the proposed gas precinct would need digging up and thus they would need to destroy a large part of the site in order to build their precinct. It’s massive. Kilometres long and wide.

Mr Chalk said the Senior Custodian for this area “ has never shifted his option on the importance of this area.”
“He has been consistent. It is a position he’s inherited from his grandfather Paddy Roe who was equally determined to protect the significant heritage. What’s rare here, is it’s all been documented by anthopologists and the Government but then ignored by the State Government.
“It’s an important judgement, good judgement important not just for aboriginal people but any property owner in west Australian. It means the state can’t take your land without telling you what it is they’re going to take.

Goolarabooloo traditional custodian, Joseph Roe in response to the decision said from Broome:
“This is an opportunity for the Government and the gas companies Shell, BHP, BP, Chevron and of course, Woodside – to reconsider where they process Browse Basin
“If this gas precinct goes ahead our cultural heritage will be destroyed .in fact anywhere along the coast here on the Dampier Peninsula.
“This is something that those with cultural responsibility have been telling the Government and Woodside since 2005. And, much longer than that. In the Courts before now..
“It’s a songline that connects the people to their Country.
“It carries the law.
“It carries their understanding of the Cosmos in the form of song and ceremony.
“And relates it to places all along that Coast.”

Andrew Chalk explained that “The critical heritage approvals have not been given and will be subject to further proceedings and the heritage that is most critical here is the song cycle but which has been ignored throughout the process to date.
“We have written on behalf of the senior custodian to Woodside providing clear details about the location of that site. The real question is why Woodside has not been provided with these details by the State Government and KLC who have known the location of the song cycle in that area for 20 years.
It is misleading because the most critical bit of information has not been disclosed to the Federal Government. By the State and the KLC – the bodies charged with advising the Commonwealth on the significance of the area (as part of that Strategic Assessment Process). The Federal Government has received the draft report from WA and invited comments.

Implicit in the Chief Justice’s judgement is that as much as politician and companies might like to take short cuts, they can’t, it’s unlawful.
It’s not for Native Title claim groups or companies or even the Government to put themselves outside the operation of the Aboriginal Heritage Act. Its purpose is to protect the sites wherever they are, whatever anyone says. If they are a site, they are protected.

As Goolarabooloo traditional custodian Joseph Roe has said earlier this year: “They have been asking the wrong people.”

James Price Point looking North from the Gas precinct... clearly a place of no significance

The Exhibit for James Price Point held up in Broome recently was a huge success, due to the hard work of those involved, Nigel Gaunt, Helen Bailey, Rod Hartvigsen to name just the three i know of… I know there were many more as it was a huge venture.  You can watch a video of the opening night shot by Rod right here.

Hopefully this exhibition will travel down to Perth and then onto the rest of Australia, the more people who see it the better.  The only reason this abhorrent gas proposal has gotten this far is the isolation of the Kimberley and that not enough people realise what we will lose.

The battle is not over, but we are winning.

The exhibition is up on the wall, the programs are all printed and its only 3pm, i’ve got time to spare… so i thought i’d share what i’ve put on the wall at the beginning of the images.  I’m sure i’ll offend somebody, but, some people are just easy to offend.  lets see.

Download the pdf here

James Price Point looking South towards the Gas Precinct... This is where they want to put it!

The Kimberley – A Photographic Exploration

The Kimberley gets into your blood with the red pindan, it simply becomes a part of you, and you become a small part of it.  It is a difficult place to leave and it will always call you back. Read the rest of this entry »

The clock is ticking on the opening for the Kimberley Exhibition and i’m almost there.  If  you haven’t seen the invite you can check it our here.  One of the images to feature big in the exhibit will be this one of Mitchell Falls, Mitchell Plateau National Park from the last trip through the Kimberley.

Spectacular big sky at Mitchell Falls

I spent a total of 3 months travelling through the Kimberley this time, and just after the biggest wet season on record.  Many roads were so badly damaged by the immense amount of water that they were shut well into the dry season as the road crews struggled to clear away the debris and fill in the holes.  The Kulumbaru Rd and thus the track to Mitchell Falls was one of those that remained closed, until right when I arrived at the turn off, which you can read about here.

This image was shot when I choppered into the falls from the campground on the last flight for the day at about 4.30 pm and was dropped off there.  It saved a lot of walking with heavy camera gear and large torch in bag.  This sounds very slack on my part, but since I’d already walked in and out from the campground to the falls 3 or 4 times I thought I could justify the laziness.  The helicopter took the last of the days visitors out, so I had the whole of Mitchell Falls to myself and thats gotta be worth the walk back out in the dark (hence the big torch).

As it happened the weather really turned on a great show for me with fantastic clouds and beautiful light, it was very hard to leave at all really, I would have loved to just camp right there and listen to the water all night, truly an amazing place.

This image is only 74 separate shots, a double row with bracketed exposures for the Sky stitched with PT GUI Pro.  The layer blending was done manually to increase the dynamic range, and just for the record, the sky is absolutely real.  Shot on the Canon 5D Mk II using the 24mm f1.4 L lens.

Cathedral Gorge Amphitheatre in the Bungle Bungles

The  Kimberley exhibition (see previous post) is in 2 weeks, and i’m madly working on new images, i thought this would be a good opportunity for a preview.  I just printed this image of Cathedral Gorge in the Bungle Bungle Ranges of Purnululu National Park 2 metres long. Thats as big as i can print it on my printer, and i reckon it looks awesome.

zooming in on the top image

Its difficult to judge the sheer size of Cathedral Gorge from such a small version of this image as there is nothing to compare the scale with… or is there?

This image is a small piece from the one above, and then the one below is a zoomed in piece from that.  That is my wife sitting by the waterhole, and no, she is not a midget, its just a awesomely huge space.  So now go back and compare these images to the one at the top of the entry. Don’t forget to click on the images to get a bigger version.

So you see now why you should come to the exhibition opening at Little Creatures on Thurs the 20th of October?  If for nothing else, you can see this image 2 metres long.

Zoom detail 2

This image shot with the Canon 5D Mk II and the  24mm f1.4 L lens.  Its a manual HDR  stitch of  114 images shot in 3 rows…

Have you been wondering what all the fuss is about in the Kimberley?  Where is the Kimberley anyway?  Isn’t it just an empty place of no special significance?  If you would like to know  the answer to these questions come down to Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle at 6.30pm on October the 20th, sample a brew and take a quick tour through the Kimberley.  That way, you can see and judge for yourself.

The Kimberley is a very special place to me, it gets into your pores with the red dust and changes the way you look at the world.  This exhibition of new work from my recent 3 months spent rambling around the Kimberley is a taste of why the Kimberley is so special.

Click on the image to download a pdf with all the details

Kimberley Exhibit Oct 2011-web

I’m back… Back from the Kimberley, and back in Blog land.  I’ve actually been back in Fremantle for a month now, but i’ve been so busy catching up with everything that had been put on hold, that time to write on the Blog never materialised… also, i am a great procrastinator, possibly one of the best, and anything to do with writing is what i’m best at procrastinating about, thus the lack of Blog entries.  I guess i just got out of the habit during the last 3 months of almost no internet access.

No internet, and actually no mobile phones, or any phones… is a wonderful sensation, especially when you’re out in the middle of absolutely nowhere, which is where i was most of the last 3 months.  Life really changes focus and becomes much more about the present moment and all the sensations that go with it.  I found when i would arrive in a town, or even a roadhouse for fuel that i would have trouble remembering where i had put my wallet, as i hadn’t used it in several weeks.

That sensation of being present in the moment is difficult to hold onto back here in this version of reality, running a business is so much about juggling possibilities about what could happen, what should happen and what you want to happen, that its easy to get lost in all that and forget about what is actually happening.  The other side of that is the living in the past while editing and cataloguing literally thousands and thousands of images from a 3 month journey (with no destination).  Each image has a whole raft of memories attached to it that are instantly activated simply by looking at it, not just the visuals, but the sounds, the smells and the textures of what was going on at the time.

I think there is an irony there, photography is in many ways the ultimate way of being in the moment, as that’s the only way you can really capture (or perhaps borrow is a better term) that moment with true feeling, but then viewing the images is about constantly reliving those past moments, usually in very vivid intense detail.  For me, each image i have instantly reactivates all the dormant memories of what was going on the time, both around me and for me personally, even when i shot those images 30 years ago.  Its a way of reliving parts of my life that would have been long forgotten without the magic of photography.

There will be many images from this journey through the Kimberley, and probably many more observations like these, but for now i’ll leave you with this borrowed moment from El Questro Station

Borrowed Moment at The Chamberlain River at dusk

Technically, this is a 68 image, double row HDR stitch, shot on the Canon 5D Mk II, with the 24-105mm f4L lens set to 85mm.  The HDR merge was done manually with layers

The fight for  James Price Point continues.  The police have now begun arresting the protesters for what they call an illegal action… ie: getting in the way of the woodside bulldozers.

So the protesters are being arrested for illegally stopping Woodside from clearing land  they have no approvals to clear…  The democratic process in action, seems like Woodsides vote is worth more than mine.

Colin Barnett has told the protesters to move along, because, they have made their point and now its time to let Woodside get on with the job…  If the protesters have made their point it seems Colin may have missed it.

Below is an image (courtesy of Wil Thomas) of  from the air of what Woodside have achieved with a bulldozer in only one day of clearing.  and all this without any  developement approvals at all.  I wonder if they would let me take a Bulldozer up there and clear a bit of land, Maybe for another gas plant i’m thinking of building…

This is merely exploration...

Mitchell Falls from the chopper

I just dropped into Kununurra for a couple of days of repairs and restocking after about 3 weeks on the Gibb River Rd and the Kulumbaru Rd in the middle of the Kimberley.  I’ve got so much new stuff to show that i barely know where to start, and i’ve run out of time now, so i’ll have to just put a couple of favourites and leave the rest til the next internet zone…

The Mitchell Falls opened this year only a day ahead of me on the Gibb, so i was able to get up there after thinking i would have to skip it this year.  The road was so badly damaged it took the road crews months to make it passable again after the biggest wet season on record… ever!

Lower Mitchell Falls

I was very keen to see Mitchell Falls with this much water, so i was very happy when the road opened just about the same time as i arrived at the turn off.  Excellent timing really, and excellent work by the road crews in very difficult conditions.

Many many more images to come…  I just need more time or a sallelite internet connection.  Then i could sit under a tree by the banks of a beautiful Kimberley River and blog all day…

All images shot on the Canon 5D Mk II and a selection of excellent Canon Lenses…

Mitchell Falls at twilight

Crab Creek sunset

Tomorrow we set off across the Gibb River Rd on the way to Kununurra, so there probably wont be any posts on the blog for a couple of weeks, so i’ll leave you with some pictures of Crab Creek that i took last night on the low tide.

Mangrove tree at low tide

Crab Creek is a beautiful beach on Roebuck Bay, just a little outside of Broome.  Its a spot that is usually deserted but for the odd fisherman, so its a great place to come for some peace and quiet and to watch the light change

Crab Creek twilight

All images shot with the Canon 5D Mk II and the 24mm f1.4 L lens.  The last image is a stitch of 12 images, and the bright light in the sky is actually the full moon rising…

Lake Argyle is currently at record flood levels, again due to the massive wet season, and the water flowing out of the overflow spillway is enough to fill Mundaring Weir in Perth (one of Perth’s major water supply damns) every 8 minutes… which doesn’t mean that is actually a viable option for getting water to Perth, it is 2500 km after all… that’s a long and expensive way  to make a pipeline.

Spillway Creek in Flood, Lake argyle Damn in Kununurra

Shot on the Canon 5D Mk II with the 24mm f1.4 L lens and a 10 stop neutral Density Filter,  It’s a 10 shot panoramic stitch.

Pindan Cliffs of Gantheaume Point

While i was staying with Nigel Gaunt after the 7day Bungle Bungles photographic adventure tour in Broome Dave Bettini dropped in for a few days on his way through to many points East and North.  The 3 of us spent a few days Philosophising together about photography over a couple of Matso’s Ginger Beers, taking pictures around Gantheaume Point and hassling Dvid about his latest purchase, a 60 megapixel Phase One… of which Nigel and I are extremely jealous!

Gantheaume Point twilight

Mud flats on a falling sprint tide 1

Just for a bit of fun we chartered a helicopter out of Broome and flew south round the coast of Roebuck Bay in the late afternoon just as the tide was going out. what was supposed to be an hour charter turned into 1.6 hours as we each wanted another look at many spots.

Mud flats on a falling sprint tide 2

Mudflats on a receding Spring tide 3

Mud Flats on a receding spring tide 4

A few more shots from the Bungle Bungles Journey, don’t forget to click on the images for a bigger view.

Striations carved out of solid rock by eons of water in Piccinini Creek

And some more reflections from the waterholes of Piccinini Creek from the long gruelling walk in…

Piccinini Creek waterhole Reflections

Piccinini Creek waterhole Reflections

Still up in the tropical paradise  that is Broome enjoying the hospitality of Nigel and Helen.  My wife is flying up today for the second stage of the Kimberley adventure, so i’d better have a shave and change my shirt… after i put up some images from the recent  7 day Bungle Bungles photographic adventure tour that we returned from a few days ago.

Piccinini Creek and the Bungle Bungles, Purnululu National Park

Bungle Bungles reflections

The massive wet season that has just concluded has affected Purnululu National Park as well, with the road in only opening up a few weeks ago, and the second campsite and half the gorges remaining closed still.  This meant we couldn’t make it into Echidna Chasm or the Mini Palms Gorge, cutting down some of the sights and lookouts we could get to within the park.

livingstonia Palms 100m up a sheer cliff face

To balance this up we went on a gruelling (but also stunningly beautiful) full day hike into Piccinini Creek Gorge.  Ironically, the one  who suggested the hike up the Gorge decided not to come in the end.  He missed out on some beautiful locations, but he also missed out on really sore feet that took 2 days to recover from!

After the Piccinini Creek hike came the chopper flight around the Bungles.  This is the absolute best way to see the scale of the Bungle Bungle ranges and to really understand just how massive are the formations.  We could also see from the air just how small a part of the park we are able to explore, with many secluded palm filled gorges being totally inaccessible, and to this day unexplored by anybody but the indigenous traditional owners.

Bungles Aerial 2

Bungles Aerial 1

We then headed back  into Kununurra  for some shooting around Lake Argyle and a sunset boat tour, which provided some lovely mirror reflections of red rocks and green spinifex.

Lake argyle Reflections

All these Images shot on the Canon 5D Mk II.  More later…

Full Moon and Boabs, Jarlmadangah

Back in lovely Broome after a long drive of 1000km from Kununurra after the completeion of the 7day Bungle Bungles photographic adventure tour with myself and  Nigel Gaunt.  Time now to take stock, do the washing, download some pictures and write a blog entry or two.  Firstly a quick recap of the 7 day Kimberley photographic adventure tour which concluded in Kununurra a little over a week ago.

Initially we intended to go across the Gibb River Rd from Broome to Kununurra on this 7 day tour, camping in many of the scenic locations along the way to photograph and swim in tropical waterholes.  That was plan A.  But, the record biggest ever wet, which has filled all the waterholes to overflowing, has also destroyed all the dirt roads making many of them still impassable.  Even Windjana Gorge, one of the most popular scenic spots in the west Kimberley, was inaccessible and shut until only a few days ago.

Twilight view from Saddleback Ridge, El Quetro Station

Fortunately we had a plan B (and indeed even a plan C), and as it turned out plan B proved to be an amazing experience that was unique and vastly differant to what most people would ever experience in the Kimberley, one i’m sure we will all remember.

Photographing the Cockburn Ranges

Since the Gibb River Rd was not an option we headed South East out of Broome and straight to Jarlmadangah Aboriginal community where Nigel has been developing a friendly relationship (based on trust and mutual respect) with some of the mob out there for over 3 years now.  We really saw the benefits of that time spent on his behalf on this trip when TJ and Sarnold from the community acted as our guides for the time spent there.   They showed us many beautiful locations on their country and shared some of the stories and cultural significance with us all teaching us some of the importance that country has for Aboriginal people, perhaps planting the seed for better understanding between us. (Pictures from the previous blog entry are from Jarlmadangah)

Photographing the Cockburn Ranges

After  2 nights at Jarlmadangah we took off on the main road and drove all the way round to the other end of the Gibb River Rd, which was open for a part of the way, to El Questro Station, one of my all time favourite locations in the Kimberley.  We remained camped at El Questro for  3 days, and i think we could really have stayed longer.  El Questro has an enormous number of beautiful locations and is a photographers paradise.

To read a full review of this Kimberley 7 day Photographic tour written (much better than i can) by one of the participants click Here.

All these images were shot on the Canon 5D Mk II, and there are many more to come…

Sitting here in a caravan park in Kununurra, just finished the first of the 7 day Kimberley photographic adventure tours yesterday and leaving for the  7day Bungle Bungles photographic adventure tour early tomorrow morning. I dont have time to write a proper review of the tour just yet, that will have to wait til i return from the Bungle Bungles next week, so i’ll just put up a couple of pictures from the Kimberley tour last week.

Boab trees lit by the light of the campfire at Jarlmadangah Community in the Kimberley, WA.

Old drill bits in a deserted shearing shed, Jarlmadangah Community

Old shearing shed at Jarlmadangah Aboriginal Community, Kimberley WA

The fireplace from the first shot. Beautiful spot

Old outdoor toilet with Boab tree at Jarlmadangah Community

More in a week or so when i get back from the Bungles…

I’ve spent the last 2 weeks weeks running around madly getting organised for the upcoming trip to the Kimberley, for the 7 day Kimberley photographic adventure tour and the 7day Bungle Bungles photographic adventure tour that i’m running with Nigel Gaunt this month.  It’s amazing how much needs to be put in place to tear myself away from the gallery and all the business aspects that entails, let alone coping with a mad bathroom renovation in the middle of it!

As a result of all this my blog postings have suffered substantially over the last month or so, as you can clearly see…  I’ll have lots of new images to share from the Kimberley soon though, so i hope that will make up for it.  I did come across this image the other day while i was organising some folders, i think i had put it away for further consideration, then promptly forgot about it!

Stunning Sunset on the Fitzroy River, Mornington Station

This place is called Sir John Gorge…  I think its a silly name for a magical place, who is Sir John anyway?  why is this place name d after him and why does he deserve it?  I think it requires a majestic name that conveys the grandeur and the majesty… Majestic Gorge, or Red Rock Canyon… something like that.

Anyway, this is Sir John Gorge on Mornington Station, which i find to be one of the most beautiful parts of the Kimberley.  I plan to spend some time there shortly.

Shot on the Fuji GX617 with the Fujinon 90mm f5.6 lens

A while back i posted a new pano stitch image of the Pinnacles Desert at Cervantes in the North West of WA.  I made a 1.5m print of that image  a couple of days ago and next week (when i’m in the Kimberley) it will be on the wall in the gallery.

Pinnacles Stormlight 1

On the same day as that pano image i also shot some single frame shots around the Park, and i had a look through those this week and remembered how amazing the light was.  The day had been overcast with very little wind, so the clouds had some lovely shapes in them, but no directional light was getting through, which made a lot of the shapes of the limestone piers of the Pinnacles rather flat and two dimensional. This is lovely light for flowers or portraits (as the light is very even with no hard edges) but not so with a subject like the Pinnacles, which needs something a bit more dramatic.

Pinnacles Stormlight 2

Around about 4.30pm there was a break on the horizon and the sun streamed across illuminating the scene with this magical warm light with the dark brooding sky as a backdrop.

This sort of lighting is called stormlight, because it normally happens only when you have a storm brewing, and it is the sort of light landscape photographers dream about.  The dark sky and the lighter foreground give an almost reverse contrast which brings the colours into stark relief, giving a mystical quality to the image.

This time i was in the right place with a camera and i managed to get a few frames.  This sort of light never lasts very long, usually the break in the clouds closes up or the sun sets, so you have to work fast.

Pinnacles Stormlight 3

These images were shot on the Canon 5D Mk II with the 16-35mm f2. L lens at 16mm.

More aerial images from the Kimberley, this one also from last year.  This is what Mitchell falls, up on the Mitchell Plateau usually looks like in the dry season.  Its a spectacular waterfall that cascades over 4 tiers before dumping into the Mitchell River and flowing out to sea on the North Kimberley coast.

The Mitchell Falls in the dry season after a "normal" wet season.

Detail of Mitchell Falls

In this shot above and at left you can see the tiers of each shelf as the water flows over the edge.  Compare that to this shot by Dave Bettini, shot from a helicopter recently, after one of the biggest wet seasons ever to hit the Kimberley… It’s the same location, but there is so much water you can’t see the tiers on the falls at all, i can only imagine the noise it must be making!

I’ll be heading up to Mitchell falls straight after the Bungles Tour concludes at the end of May, i can only hope there is still so much water.

It’s been a while between blog posts here, i’ve been really busy preparing for the upcoming Kimberley trip (for the 7 day Kimberley photographic adventure tour and the 7day Bungle Bungles photographic adventure tour) and renovating the house, and getting married… you get the idea.

I got a little time this week to sit and play with some images, and since i’m leaving for the Kimberley in less than 2 weeks i thought i’d put up a new Kimberley image… new because i’ve never showed it before, but i actually shot it last time i was up in the Kimberley,  last year.

Tidal River and mud flats

I shot this image out of the window of a plane on the way back from the Mitchell Plateau headed to Broome.  I don’t know the name of the river, but i figure thats not important anyway.  I have many images from that trip last year that have never been seen.  I hope to remedy that in the near future, plus there will be all the new images from this next trip.  I can’t wait!

This was shot on the lovely Fuji GX617 (thats for sale by the way) with the Fujinon 90mm f5.6 lens, on Fuji Velvia 100 of course.  The 90mm lens is the 35mm equivalent to about a 24mm lens.

Another shot from the Margaret River region of the rarely sighted and almost legendary Blackwood River Nymph.  This was shot a few seconds after the previous image shown in this post from a recent foray into the wilderness of the Margaret River Wine Region in WA’s South West.

A fleeting glimpse of the Blackwood River Nymph

Shot on the Canon 5D Mk II with the 24-105mm f4L lens at 105mm

The time has come for me to sell the faithful Fuji GX617 Professional Panoramic camera kit.  It is one of the best cameras i’ve used and i can’t say a bad thing about it… well that would be stupid, as i’m trying to sell it!

Fuji GX617 Complete Kit

• Fuji GX617 body, with 2 Fujinon lenses.

• The Fujinon 90mm f5.6 lens.

• The Fujinon 180mm f6.7 lens with UV filter.

• Centre Graduated Neutral density filter for 90mm (original Fuji).

• Dedicated removable viewfinders.

• Lens sun shades for each lens.

Fugi GX617 & Ground Glass

• Ground glass attachment for through the lens viewing (original Fuji).

• B&W Extra wide stepped Circular Polariser (fits both lenses).

• Original Fuji GX617 bag.

The Complete kit is in perfect condition with no dents or damage, all lens glass is pristine.

The Fuji has been sold

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We had an awesome sunset sky in Fremantle a couple of weeks back, i just thought i would share it with you.

Big Sky at South Beach Fremantle. Click on the image for a better view.

Normally a lovely sky makes a great backdrop to an image, helping to create the mood and adding drama.  I shot this one almost without any foreground as an experiment, i think the sky is spectacular enough to be its own showcase. what do you think?

Shot on the Canon 5D Mk II with the 17mm f4 L tilt shift lens (with no tilt).  This is a mosaic stitch of 65 individual images in two rows in portrait format…  It took ages to put together!

I’ve been wanting to put this image up for a few months now, but there was a little reticence on the part of the model, the Blackwood River Nymph.  It’s a landscape image with a difference for me, it has a person in it.

The mythical Blackwood River Nymph

Shot on the Canon 5D Mk II with the 24-105mm f4L lens at 105mm.

This review of my Fuji GX 617 and my older Fuji G617, was written and Photographed by a good friend of mine, Bob Halligan.  It appeared in its entirety in the Photographic Trader back in February 2006.  The article is kindly reproduced here with the permission of the Author, Bob Halligan, and Nicole Chisholm of the Photographic Trader.

FUJI’S BIG SHOTS.

All words and images by Bob Halligan.

Adam Monk, recently showed me these Fuji 6×17 panoramic cameras at his Monk Art Photography Gallery in Fremantle, and that is how I got my hands on all this gear without winning Lotto.

 

The Fuji GX617 on the left with the Fuji G617 on the right

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When i was in Bahia, in the North East of Brasil, a few years ago i was lucky enough to attend a Candomblé ceremony in one of the local Terreiros (Religious centres, pronounced Te-he-ro) just outside the city of Salvadore de Bahia.

The circle of Initiates of Candomblé

Candomblé is one of the major forms of Afro Brasilian religion found in Brasil. It originated in the city of Salvadore de Bahia, and the surrounding areas in the North East of Brasil, where the African Slaves would cloak their African Animist Religion in a thin veneer of Christianity to fool the Portuguese Slave owners.   The practising of the African religions was strictly forbidden and the Christianisation of the Slaves strictly enforced, so the Slaves adapted. Out of this versatility and will to survive Candomblé was formed.

A new Initiate to the secrets of Candomblé

Candomblé, sometimes called Macumba, holds many similarities to the Afro-Cuban Religion of Santería and the Afro-Haitian Religion of Voodoun (Voodoo) as their origens are from the same regions in Africa, being largely the Yoruba Tribes of West Africa.  In each of these forms of worship the Christian Saints take on the persona of the African ancestor spirits called Oríshas in Cuba or Orixás (pronounced Ori-shaas)  in Brasil, and these spirits will possess the bodies of their worshipers and thus communicate with the living and experience life again.  It’s a religion that requires a lot of participation and involves many hours of ritual and dance with hypnotic african rhythms played on drums throughout the ceremony.

The Initiation Continues

For a few dollars to help supplement income, the ceremony participants are happy to let visitors come to observe and even take a few unobtrusive pictures (no flash of course).  These ceremonies are not done for tourism and there is nothing vaguely commercial about them, they are the real thing.  On the night i attended there were a few of us from a small hotel in Salvadore there, along with many locals and initiates.

It’s a very surreal experience, with the drumming and the ritualised dancing around the circle, this was made even more so when the girl who had been standing next to me – who had come on the same bus as me and was staying in the same hotel – suddenly started to shake and then leapt into the middle of the circling dancers.  She then proceeded to dance wildly around within the circle, not crazy western person dancing, but precise steps to the rhythm in the same African style of the ceremony participants, she had her eyes closed the whole time.  None of the locals even flinched, we had already seen this happen a couple of times during the course of the evening, but it had previously happened to Candomblé initiates, this was certainly a new twist for me.

The final part of the ceremony to become Babalorixá

She danced this way for several minutes before some of the senior women gently lead her away out the back. This happened once more that evening, the next time to a young Spanish or Italian guy, i don’t remember which, who was also staying at my hotel and had come on the same bus as me.   When they re-joined us for the bus trip back they both looked dazed and had no recollection of anything that had happened after arriving at the Terreiro.

These images were shot with the permission of the participants on a Leica RE with a 90mm f2 lens and Kodak Tri-X Pan 400 black and white film pushed to ISO800.  There was of course no flash used.