Australian seascape and landscape photography

Australia

At the Edge of the Ocean

November is a great time of year on the Mornington Peninsula back beaches. The warming water signals an explosion of bright green seaweed on the rocky plateaus all along the coast.

Turbulence - Sorrento beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia

Ebb - Sorrento beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia

Pool - Sorrento beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia

Plateaus at Sorrento - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia


Rock pools at the back beach – Sorrento

Following are a couple of shots of the beautiful rock pools available to explore at Sorrento back beach during low tide. In these images I’ve used an ND400 filter to smooth the background waves and a polarizing filter to remove the sky’s reflection from the surface of the pools.

Sorrento rock pools - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia

Sorrento rock pools - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia


The Dell – Clifton Springs

Jetty remnants at The Dell at Clifton Springs in Victoria, Australia.

The Dell - Clifton Springs - Jim Worrall - Australia


A Morning at Sorrento back beach

Firstly just a quick note to let you know that I’ve updated the blog to give it a whole new look and most importantly it will now allow me to display larger images on the page. Screen sizes and resolutions have changed dramatically since I first started the blog several years ago. I’m sure you’ll agree that larger images is a step in the right direction.

The following images are from a morning trip down to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula.

Sorrento back beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia - long exposure

Sorrento back beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia - long exposure

Now for some fun shots. The two images below were taken by my friend Stephen.  He managed to catch a couple of golden moments in time where the waves got the better of me.

Jim Worrall hit by wave - photographer - Stephen Pretty

Jim Worrall hit by wave - photographer - Stephen Pretty


Corinella Sunset

Corinella Sunset - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - Australia

Sunset at Corinella. Taken near the French island ferry docking point.


Cat Bay and Ventnor, Phillip Island long exposures

It was a fine day with fluffy white clouds scooting along on the breeze. It didn’t take long for me to convince myself to go down along the coast and play with some dark ND filters.

Below – The old jetty remnants at Cat Bay, Phillip Island.
Cat Bay jetty - Phillip Island - Jim Worrall - nd400 long exposure

Below – The old jetty remants at Cat Bay, Phillip Island.
Cat Bay - Phillip Island - Jim Worrall - long exposure -nd400

Below – Summerlands beach, Phillip Island. I was lucky to catch this one with no footprints near it since this is a popular stretch of beach for the locals to wander on.
Summerlands beach - Phillip Island - Jim Worrall - nd400 long exposure

Below – Red Rocks beach, Ventnor, Phillip Island.
Ventnor beach - Phillip Island - Jim Worrall - nd400 long exposure

Below – Red Rocks beach, Ventnor, Phillip Island.
Ventnor beach - Phillip Island - Jim Worrall - nd400 long exposure

Below – Red Rocks beach, Ventnor, Phillip Island.
Ventnor beach - Phillip Island - Jim Worrall - nd400 long exposure

Below – Some old jetty remnants at Grantville beach, shot at dusk on the way home.
Grantville jetty remnants - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - nd400 long exposure


Balnarring Beach Groynes

The groynes at Balnarring Beach serve to reduce erosion at the water’s edge. Most of the groynes are simply a line of posts connected together by planks creating a straight sea wall.
I was struggling to find something interesting on the beach then stumbled across this baby zig-zagging out into the bay.

Balnarring Beach - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - Australia - long exposure - ND400

Below – The usual straight groyne.
Balnarring Beach - Jim Worrall - Groyne - Western Port Bay - Australia

Below – The making of Zig Zag.
Using ND400 to simplify an image - Jim Worrall


Tenby Point – The Jetty and the Mangroves

We had arrived just in time. The high tide was starting to recede giving us easy access to the beach yet there was still enough water covering the base of the jetty posts.
If you arrive at this destination at the wrong time you’ll find sticks in mud.

Below – Two images of the Tenby Point jetty remnants.
Tenby Point Jetty - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - Australia - storm clouds

Tenby Point Jetty - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - Australia - ND400 - long exposure

Pictured below – On the way back to the car park the water had receded enough to reveal the tangled root system on this Tenby Point icon.

Tenby Point - mangrove -Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - ND400 - long exposure

Tenby Point - mangroves - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - ND400 - long exposure


Rye back beach – The Dragon’s Head and the Pod

A few images of the rock formations at the Number Sixteen beach at Rye.

Pictured below – The Dragon’s Head rock, initially named by a local with a fertile imagination.
Dragons head rock - Jim Worrall - Rye back beach - Australia - Mornington Peninsula

Below – The Pod, ….well I had to call it something since all of the good names like Dragon’s Head had already been snapped up.
The Pod - Jim Worrall - Rye beach - Sixteen - 16 - Mornington Peninsula - Australia

Below – Water flows off the rocky plateaus returning to the ocean.
Click to enlarge.
Rye - Number Sixteen beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia

Below – A couple of images of my friend lining up his gear for the money shots.
Rye - Number Sixteen beach - 16 - Jim Worrall - Stephen Pretty - Mornington Peninsula - Australia

Rye - Number Sixteen beach - 16 - Jim Worrall - Stephen Pretty - Mornington Peninsula - Australia


Sorrento – A Mornington Peninsula Jewel

Some afternoon long exposure images from Sorrento back beach on the Mornington Peninsula, Australia. The foreground rocks are submerged at high tide and are gradually revealed as the tide goes out. A long exposure time is used to smooth out the ocean waves into a mist.
Sorrento beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia - ND400 - long exposure

Sorrento beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia - long exposure - ND400

Sorrento beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia - long exposure - ND400


The Pinnacles Facebook Excursion – Phillip Island

In mid July I tried something new. I arranged a photography excursion to the Pinnacles at Phillip Island and posted the idea on Facebook as a public event. By August 4th, the day of the excursion, there were 16 people confirmed as going and a few more “maybes”.

Mist in the Pinnacles - Jim Worrall - Phillip Island - Australia - long exposure - ND400

I had a realistic expectation that perhaps half of those who had confirmed would actually show up on the day. Imagine my surprise when all who had confirmed actually DID show up at the meeting place.
It was the start of a wonderful excursion with like-minded people, most of whom I had never actually met before and I only knew via Facebook.

Pinnacles - Jim Worrall - Phillip Island - Australia - long exposure - ND400

We couldn’t have asked for a better day in the middle of a Melbourne winter. Both the weather and tides worked in our favour and all of the participants seemed to come away from the day pleased with the experience.

Pinnacles - Jim Worrall - Phillip Island - Australia

Following are snapshots of some of the participants enjoying the day at the Pinnacles beach. If you have a Facebook account you can view more images from the event here.

Pinnacles excursion participant

Pinnacles excursion participant

Pinnacles excurion participants

Pinnacles excursion participant

Pinnacles excursion participant

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A Sunset at Tooradin

A couple of images taken as the sun disappears below the horizon at Tooradin foreshore, Western Port Bay.

Pictured below – At high tide a mangrove sits semi submerged in the foreground as day gives way to night.
Sunset at Tooradin foreshore - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - Australia

Below – A view from the Tooradin jetty looking back upstream towards town.
Tooradin foreshore sunset - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay - Australia


Catching the Instagram Train

The photography community seems to be polarized over the use of phone cameras and associated filter programs such as Instagram.
I must admit to being slow to travel down the “phone and filter” path and have only recently decided to give it a go to see what all the noise is about.

Since giving it a trial run I must admit that the use of Instagram and other similar programs has reintroduced a fresh and fun aspect to my photography.

Pictured below – Rye Pier.
Rye Pier - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Instagram

I find it refreshingly simple to just pull out my phone, click, process and even publish the image so quickly.
I also enjoy being forced to rethink my compositions into a square format after being conditioned by years of using a 3×2 SLR format.

Pictured below – A foggy morning at Tooradin foreshore.
Foggy Morning at Tooradin - Jim Worrall - Instagram

Admittedly I’ve had to resist the urge to “pixel peep” at the noise and visual anomalies created by some of the clunky filters.
This will never replace my SLR photography but I reckon it will complement it nicely. Phone photography has definitely introduced a fresh fun aspect to my photo life.

Pictured below – Mt Martha beach.
Mt Martha beach - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Instagram


Thunder in the Air – Outdoor Dunny

This is an image I captured during an excursion through northern Victoria quite some time ago. At the time I didn’t bother to post it in my blog because I didn’t think there would be much interest in it.
Boy was I wrong, …this is currently one of the best selling images on my Zazzle site.

Who would of thunk it?

Thunder in the Air - outdoor dunny - toilet - latrine - thunder box - Jim Worrall


Storm at Powlett River

On the way back home from a recent excursion to Cape Liptrap we stopped off at the mouth of the Powlett River.
I had just enough time to catch this image before the rain started to pour down hard.

Storm at Powlett River - Jim Worrall - Australia


Cape Liptrap – the Lighthouse and Beach

Exploring Cape Liptrap turned out to be one of the most physically punishing excursions of recent times. The excitement of climbing up and down steep coastlines and rock hopping around the breaking surf tends to distract one from the punishment that the old leg muscles are receiving.
As I write this blog post, three whole days have passed since the excursion and my legs are still a bit wonky. 🙂

Pictured below – A long exposure black and white image of Cape Liptrap Lighthouse.
On the day we visited the cape, mother nature provided us with a sky full of interesting fast moving cloud, great for long exposure work.
If you’d like to see an alternative colour version you can see one here.
Cape Liptrap Lighthouse - Jim Worrall - Australia

Pictured below – Cape Liptrap lighthouse captured with a 10-20mm wide angle lens. When I was processing the image I initially corrected the wide angle image distortion but then the image seemed to lose something so i decided to leave the distortion in.
Cape Liptrap Lighthouse - Jim Worrall - Australia

Pictured below – A long exposure image of surf crashing onto rocks along a section of the Cape Liptrap coastline.
Cape Liptrap beach - Jim Worrall

Pictured below – A view from along the west coast of Cape Liptrap.
Cape Liptrap - along the west coast - Jim Worrall

And now for some snapshots –

John sitting on the cliff contemplating his next shot.
John Nabben on cliff at Cape Liptrap

Me sitting on the cliff overlooking the pointy end of Cape Liptrap.
Jim Worrall on cliff at Cape Liptrap

CSI officer John investigating the mortal remains of unspecified creature.
John Nabben at Cape Liptrap

Me struggling up the steep banks of the coastline at Cape Liptrap.
Jim Worrall at Cape Liptrap


Lake King, Metung – A sense of Serenity

A few images from the beautiful Lake King at Metung in Victoria.
The silence of the motionless lake waters only occasionally broken by the sound of a cormorant diving for fish.
Serenity at it’s best. I’m coming back here again!

Metung - Lake King - Jim Worrall - Australia

Metung - Lake King - Jim Worrall - Australia

Metung - Lake King - Cormorant - Jim Worrall

Metung - Lake King - Jim Worrall


Dalmeny Beach – Duesbury Headland

Following are a couple of images from Dalmeny beach in New South Wales.

The first image below was captured from the clifftop at Duesbury Headland, Dalmeny.
Dalmeny beach - Duesbury headland - Jim Worrall - seascape - australia - beach

Below, a long exposure image taken amongst the rocks and surf at Dalmeny beach.
Dalmeny beach - seascape - long exposure - Jim Worrall - ND400 - travel

If you’re in the area around brekky time there’s a cafe on Dalmeny Drive called Anton’s just down the road at Kianga. I highly recommend their excellently presented eggs and bacon.
Have a look at this beauty below. Gorgeous isn’t it!


Mystery Bay – Ocean Mist in the Cove

When visiting Mystery Bay in New South Wales I found this wonderful cove full of dark rocks. The cove is open to the ocean and is constantly hammered by incoming waves.
A long exposure here creates a nice contrast of textures between the rough jagged rocks and the softness of the mist created by the motion of the waves.

Mystery Bay - Australia - Mist in the cove - Jim Worrall - long exposure - ND400

Mystery Bay - Australia - Jim Worrall - long exposure - misty - seascape - ocean - beach


Cape Conran beach – the rockscapes and jetty

The beach at west Cape Conran offers an almost alien landscape populated with a huge array of highly eroded rocks. The jetty and boat ramp look out of place in this environment and so they tend to become the feature subjects of photographers who visit the site.
If you cant visit this site at sunset I’d recommend visiting during a day of high surf activity. The large waves crashing into these rocks create a really impressive scene.
I’m definitely going to revisit this location when I get the chance. There’s a lot to explore here.

Cape Conran Jetty - Jim Worrall - seascape - long exposure - ND400 - misty - sea - ocean

Cape Conran Jetty - Jim Worrall - seascape - ocean - misty waves - long exposure - beach

Mists of Cape Conran - Jim Worrall - seascape - ocean - beach - long exposure

Foam at Cape Conran - Jim Worrall - seascape - beach - ocean - Australia


Marlo – Snowy River meets the Sea

A series of images from Marlo in Victoria where the mighty Snowy River meets Bass Strait.
The softening of the ocean waves in the background is achieved by the use of heavy ND filtering.

Snowy River - Marlo - Jim Worrall - Australia - long exposure - ND400

Snowy River - Marlo - Australia - Jim Worrall - long exposure - ND400

Snowy River - Marlo - Australia - Jim Worrall - long exposure - ND400


On the Beach at Narooma

I was fortunate to stay in the town of Narooma in New South Wales for a couple of days on a recent trip up the coast.
Narooma is home to some interesting natural rock formations along the ocean beach. When combined with some great surf the photo opportunities are plentiful.

Narooma beach - Glasshouse rocks - Jim Worrall - seascape - beach - Australia

Narooma beach - Jim Worrall - seascape - ocean - Australia

Narooma beach - Jim Worrall - seascape - misty ocean - sea

Narooma beach - Glasshouse rocks - Jim Worrall - seascape - misty - ocean

And finally, a man made rockscape in Narooma, the Wagonga Inlet.
Wagonga Inlet - Narooma - Jim Worrall - seascape - beach - ocean - Australia


Ocean Rockscapes at Mossy Point

Following are a couple of long exposure images from Mossy Point near Broulee in New South Wales.
The images were taken in bright daylight using heavy ND filtering to slow the camera’s shutter speed.

Winter in Mossy Point - Jim Worrall - Australia - seascape - ocean - beach

Mossy Point - Broulee - Jim Worrall - Australia - ocean - mist - seascape


Walkerville South beach – the rockscapes

A few images from Walkerville South beach at low tide.

Walkerville South - beach - Jim Worrall - Australia - long exposure

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Walkerville South beach - Jim Worrall - Australia

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Walkerville South beach - Jim Worrall - Australia - seascape


The View from Bushrangers Bay

The splendid view from Bushrangers Bay looking west just a few minutes before a drenching downpour.
Cape Schanck’s Pulpit Rock is on the horizon near the center of the image.

Bushrangers Bay - Mornington Peninsula - Cape Schanck - Jim Worrall
Click on the image to enlarge.


Cape Schanck – Splendour in the Surf

A long exposure image of the surf pounding away at Pulpit Rock, Cape Schanck, Mornington Peninsula.
This place is always a wonderful reminder to me of the power of the ocean. Visiting the rock shelves here is truly exhilarating.

Pulpit Rock - Cape Schanck - Mornington Peninsula - Jim Worrall - Australia - ND400


Giants in the Mist – Autumn in Cranbourne

A couple of images from an early start to the day.
Autumn in Cranbourne creates just the right conditions for pre-dawn fog.

Giants in the Mist - Autumn in Cranbourne - Jim Worrall - fog - Australia

The moisture in the air causes the power transmission lines to buzz loudly in contrast to the silence and stillness of their surroundings.

Giant in the Mist - power transmission - power - electricity - Jim Worrall - fog - mist - dawn


Tea Tree Creek – Death of the 40D

It was one of those days that I’ll remember for a long time.
Whilst shooting on a rocky plateau at Tea Tree Creek beach at Flinders I carelessly let my guard down.
An unusually high rogue wave struck the face of the plateau and poured down upon me.

Death of the 40D - Flinders - Tea Tree Creek - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula

My workhorse camera, the Canon 40D, had experienced some salt water splash in the past but nothing like this.
Today was the day he ingested way too much salt water. He coughed and spluttered, ….and died.
Luckily my wide angle lens seems to have survived the ordeal with only some minor salt water spots inside the focal range window. The glass inside seems to be clear,…PHEW!

Flinders - Tea Tree Creek beach - Mornington Peninsula - Jim Worrall - Australia - seascape

These images were thankfully retrieved from the camera’s memory card despite it’s convulsions.

Tea Tree Creek beach - Flinders - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia


A Stroll on Shelley beach – Portsea

A couple of images from a recent stroll on Shelley beach, Porstsea, Victoria.
It was one of those great days for photography. The clouds were very heavy causing a nice subdued light.
The threat of impending rain also meant I had the beach to myself, ……nice. 🙂

Safe Harbour - Shelley beach - Portsea - Jim Worrall - Australia - seascape - long exposure

Boat on Shelley Beach - Portsea - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Port Phillip Bay


Queensferry – a contrast of tides

Following are a series of images from Queensferry, on Western Port Bay, demonstrating the area’s vast difference in appearance between high tide and low tide. The high tide images were taken using my 40D with heavy ND filtering.
The low tide images were captured a week earlier (as reference photos) using my phone camera and post processed using an Android app called Retro Camera.

Red Bricks 146
Red Bricks 146 - Queensferry - Western Port Bay - Jim Worrall - ND400

Queensferry - seawall - Jim Worrall - Western Port Bay

Queensferry - Western Port Bay - Jim Worrall - pine tree - high tide

Queensferry - Western Port Bay - low tide - Jim Worrall

Queensferry - Western Port Bay - Jim Worrall - high tide - ND400

Queensferry - Western Port Bay - low tide - Jim Worrall

Queensferry - Western Port Bay - high tide - Jim Worrall - ND400

Queensferry - seawall - Western Port Bay - low tide - Jim Worrall

Queensferry - Western Port Bay - low tide - Jim Worrall