The Grantville Goal Posts
Captured below, a long exposure image of the incoming tide starting to submerge the concrete boat ramp at Grantville on Westernport Bay.
Due to the long shallow nature of the ramp the “goal posts” are used as a guide by boat owners to help prevent boat trailers from being driven over the sides or end of the ramp and into the mud/water.
Below – “Moving the Goal Posts”
Below – The boat ramp fully submerged with the Grantville jetty to the left and the sun shimmering on the foreground water.
At the end of Seaford pier.
This excursion to Seaford pier was a second visit. My goal was to capture an image that I’d had in my mind for some time but wasn’t able to quite capture on the first visit.
The subject of the image was a wonderful old wooden bench seat located at the end of the Seaford pier.
Pictured above – “The Silent Partner” is available as a print here.
I chose to use a long exposure here to smooth out the waves on the water and soften the clouds in the sky. This has the desirable effect of making the image less busy and draws the viewers attention to the wonderful grain and smooth worn texture of the wood.
Conveniently the lines of the bench also draw the viewers eyes into the image and towards a swirling cloud in the background providing a second point of interest.
Pictured below – “Observer” is available as a print here.
This is the image I took on the first visit. I like this image but it wasn’t the vision I initially had in mind. A local resident paid me the ultimate compliment by purchasing a framed print of this one.
Exploring the Mordialloc pier.
A series of long exposure images exploring the Modialloc pier and it’s surroundings.
Below – Pier Group Pressure available as a print here.
Below – The Mordi Run available as a print here.
Below – “Troll” available as a print here.
Below – “Markers Three” available as a print here.
Grantville – the pie and pier photography tour.
My excursions are never entirely about the photography. Often they’re about the escape, ….often they’re about self exploration, …….every now and then they might even result in a nice photographic image. Well, nice to me anyhow. 🙂
On previous visits to Grantville I’ve tended to concentrate on trying to capture an inspiring image or two from the mangroves dotted along the coast here. The mangroves are a fairly easy target for photography purposes. At high tide it’s possible to visually isolate them between the water and the sky which works to simplify the image by excluding potentially distracting background elements. On calm days the water can also act as a fantastic mirror for capturing reflections, particularly when doing long exposures.
This particular visit to Grantville was all about capturing the pier though, so here it is.
In the black and white image above I’ve deliberately over exposed the image to blow out the sky and increase the contrast between the pier and the background. I personally like the contrasty result here, but I know this style of image is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Pictured below – “The First Days of Sun” which is available to purchase as a print here.
This image from the pier was created from 3 exposures using HDR tone mapping techniques to maintain details in both the bright sky and the dark shadows.
Pictured below – “The Promise of Warm Days” which is available to purchase as a print here.
Another 3 exposure HDR shot converted to black and white and processed with a bit of dodging and burning in Photoshop.
Now for some serious business. I’ve discovered that the cafe on the corner of the Bass Hwy and Grantville Glen Alvie Road in Grantville sells excellent homemade meat pies made with flaky puff pastry. The coffee is pretty good there too.
(Disclaimer – I have no connection with this cafe at all, I just enjoyed the pie so much I felt the need to share it with you.)
Slowly submerging in Tooradin
The coastal village of Tooradin is located on the shores of Westernport Bay, Victoria, Australia.
Since I live fairly close to Tooradin I often pick up a hot pie and a cappuccino from the wonderful bakery here and drive down to the jetty area for a relaxing break.
Tooradin has two jetties right next to each other. One jetty is of a floating pontoon design which rides on the surface of the water, rising and falling as the tides change. The other jetty is the usual kind consisting of a raised platform fixed to sturdy wooden pillars.
An interesting thing about the fixed platform jetty is that the platform gradually disappears below the surface of the water as the tide rises. This provides the photographer with some interesting possibilities.
Below – the rising tide starts to envelope the platform.
Standing on this jetty makes one feel like a captain going down with his ship.
Below – “Channel” which is available to purchase as a print here.
The platform is just a few centimeters below the surface.
After taking a few long exposures at the jetty mother nature decided to give me a nudge. The thick black storm clouds opened up and sent down a barrage of hail to chase me back to the car.
Below – Run from the Hail
