Australian seascape and landscape photography

mornington peninsula

Out on the rock shelves

The following three images were taken on an excursion to the rock shelves of Montforts beach, in Blairgowrie.
It’s an interesting place to be during the transition from high to low tide, as the water on the expansive rocky plateaus cascades over the sides on it’s return to the ocean.
Whilst here it’s important to be aware of which way the tide is going and also keep an eye out for occasional large rogue waves that sweep across the shelves. Prepare to get wetter than you expected here.

Montfort’s Cascades

Slide

Montforts Beach

The image below was taken at the neighboring Sorrento beach.
It’s a long exposure taken after sunset giving the oceans surface a deceptively calm and smooth appearance.

Blue Monolith


Light and Time at my Ocean Beach

A selection of images taken from two excursions to Sorrento beach.

Return to Primal is a long exposure taken after sunset. The true motion of the waves disguised by the slow shutter speed.

High Tide Sphinx is a slow(ish) exposure taken at high tide as the sun was setting behind the Sphinx rock formation at Sorrento beach, Australia.

Life in the Good Pond is a slow(ish) exposure taken at sunset. A polarizing filter was used to take the reflection off the surface of the rock pool allowing the scene below the surface to become visible. The blurring on the water was caused by the wind rippling the surface.

I Peek Around the Corner is another image from Sorrento where a polarizing filter was used to remove the unwanted reflection of the sky from the surface of the water enabling us to see the wonder below. In the distance on the horizon the Sphinx rock formation is visible.


Around the Sorrento Sphinx

These images were taken while visiting the Sphinx rock formation at Sorrento beach.
It was quite a windy day causing a lot of ripples on the surface of the rock pools so I used a long exposure (several seconds) to smooth them out and make the ripples disappear.

Behind the Sphinx – Sorrento

Sorrento Afternoon


December Hues – a Sorrento sunset

An image taken just after the sun had dropped below the horizon.
I had an ND8 and polarizing filter stacked on the front of the lens to to extend the shutter time and blur the waves giving a soft appearance to the water.

December Hues


Dusk at Sorrento ocean beach – some long exposures

A series of long exposures taken at Sorrento beach, Australia.

The Last Blaze

Aspects of Night

The Thin Green Line

Surge – the pants wetter


A storm rolls over Port Phillip Bay

Following are 3 images taken yesterday at Ricketts Point, Beaumaris, as a storm rolled across the bay.
The apparent power and turbulence of the clouds in the sky is mirrored by the motion and ferocity of the water. It was an invigorating place to be.


Images from Koonya beach

These images were taken on a recent dusk excursion to Koonya beach on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia.

Dusk is my favorite time of day for shooting, ……it’s certainly MUCH more user friendly than that other time of day, …….what do they call it, ….”dawn” or something like that. 🙂

Koonya Blue

Reflections


The Path to Bushrangers Bay

Some more images taken on an excursion to Bushrangers Bay in Victoria, Australia.

Bushrangers Bay

Below – An image taken along the path to Bushrangers Bay.
Rolling hills, farmland and grazing cattle. Very relaxing stuff indeed.

The Bushranger’s Bovine


Long exposures on the Mornington Peninsula

A series of long exposures taken at Sorrento and Blairgowrie beaches on the Mornington Peninsula, Australia.
These images were taken using the Sigma 10-20mm and Canon 17-85 mm lenses with ND8 and polarizing filters stacked on the front in order to slow the shutter speed.
Note – when stacking two filters on the 10-20mm lens the rim of the outermost filter becomes visible in the corners of the images necessitating a little cropping in post processing.

All of these images are available to purchase in various forms and sizes by clicking on their titles.

Blaze – taken at Sorrento beach.

The Glow of Last Light – taken at Sorrento beach.

The Pastel Kiss of Night – taken at Blairgowrie beach.

Welcome the Night – taken at Blairgowrie beach.

Koonya Isle – taken at Blairgowrie beach.


Through Angler’s Eyes
– taken at Blairgowrie beach.


Burrabong meets the Bushranger

This image shows the Burrabong Creek meeting the ocean at Bushrangers Bay near Cape Schanck, Victoria.
Bushrangers Bay is a secluded beach located about one hours walk from the Cape Schanck car park.
The walking track winds it’s way through beach scrub, up and down hills including many stairs, and along scenic clifftops.
I would advise anyone taking this track to wear sturdy footwear as the path is shared with aggressive bull ants for much of the way, and of course there’s always a chance of encountering a snake sunning itself. Oh, and don’t forget a bottle of drinking water.

Burrabong meets the Bushranger.


The Chant of the Pulpit

A seascape image from Cape Schanck in Victoria, Australia.
The image features the well known landmark Pulpit Rock as incoming waves rush across the surface of the surrounding rocky platforms.

The Chant of the Pulpit.


A rockscape at Fingal beach.

After a short hike through the “Fingal forest”, see previous post, I arrived on the beach with the sun high in the sky.
Of course this isn’t the best time of day for photographing this kind of environment.
Landscape and seascape images are best captured around dawn or sunset when the scene is always less contrasty.
In the image below I was attracted by the shimmering, sparkling highlights on the surface of the water as the sun managed to poke its way through a break in the clouds.

Fingal beach.
fingal-beach


Through the Fingal Forest

These images were taken on a recent excursion to Fingal beach, near Cape Schanck, Victoria, Australia.
The long track from the carpark to the beach is lined with twisted and gnarled trees creating an interesting viewing experience.
Visitors to the beach also experience the joy of navigating the hundreds of “awkwardly spaced” steps along the path. It’s not so bad going down to the beach but the return uphill journey is certainly a good test of your general fitness. Of course the ideal solution is to take along a strong, sturdy friend who can carry you back up the hill.

The images below were all taken using the Lumix LX3 camera.

Through the Fingal Forest
P1010156_bw_small_watermarked

P1010152_small_watermarked

P1010155_bw_small_watermarked

After traversing the Fingal forest I managed to take this image.


Tempest over the Ocean – Blairgowrie

This is a reworked version of one of my first images posted to Redbubble. I’ve finally had time to tweak it the way I way I like it.
It was a taken on the beach at Blairgowrie as a storm was rolling in from the ocean. It was an amazing storm to see, …dark swirling clouds, lightning, halos formed by the sun shining through sheets of rain, ….marvelous stuff !
Tempest over the Ocean – Blairgowrie
Tempest Over the Ocean - Blairgowrie - Jim Worrall - Mornington Peninsula - Australia

Tempest over the Ocean is available as a high quality print at my Zazzle and RedBubble websites.


Flying Solo – exposure after sunset

This image was taken at Sorrento beach shortly after the sun had dropped below the horizon.
The long exposure (30 seconds) smooths out the motion of the waves and gives the ocean a smooth, almost cloud like appearance. The pink hue is a remnant of the sunset.

This image is available to purchase as a high quality print here.

flying-solo


Twilight Surfer – Sorrento

A surfer takes advantage of the last light of day at Sorrento to paddle out and catch one more wave.
This image is available to purchase as a high quality print here.

twilight-surfer


Glide – the salt spray effect

This sunset image taken at Blairgowrie beach, Australia, turned out to be much softer than I expected but I like the final result. The softness of the image is due to a build up of ocean salt spray on the lens filter.
glide-blairgowrie


Sirens – magic of sea and sunset

A sunset taken at Blairgowrie beach, Australia.
I never get sick of visiting this ocean coastline along the Mornington Peninsula. The rocky landscape remains as a constant, however the continually changing sky and tide never fail to create a new captivating scene.
Generally the best time to visit this area are when the sunset corresponds with a low tide.

This image is available to purchase as a quality print here.

sirens-blairgowrie1


Spellbound – a Blairgowrie sunset

spellbound

A sunset at Blairgowrie ocean beach, Australia.
This image is available to purchase as a high quality print here.


Neptune’s Playground

A monochrome sunset shot taken at Sorrento ocean beach.

This image is available to purchase as a print here.
neptunes-playground-sorrento


The Shudder of the Touch.

A glorious sunset taken at Sorrento ocean beach, Australia.

This photo is available as a print here.
the-shudder-of-the-touch-sorrento


Afterglow Sorrento

A sunset shot taken at Sorrento ocean beach, Australia.
This is one of my favorite areas to photograph when the tourist season has finished.

This image is available to purchase as a print here.

afterglow-sorrento


West of Mind

A monochrome HDR image taken at Blairgowrie beach, Australia.
The sun struggles through gathering storm clouds.

west-of-mind
This image is available to purchase as a print here.


January Prime

An afternoon shot, taken at Blairgowrie ocean beach.
january-prime
This image is available to purchase as a print here.


The Archway to Yesterday

The Archway to Yesterday – a seascape shot taken at Blairgowrie ocean beach as the sun drops below the horizon.
the-archway-to-yesterday

This image is available to purchase as a print here.


Eclipsed

Eclipsed – a black and white seascape taken as the sun was setting at Rye ocean beach, Australia.
eclipsed
This image is available to purchase here.


Koonya Sunset

Sunset at Koonya beach, Blairgowrie, Australia.

koonya-sunset

This image is available to purchase as a print here.


Wishful Thinking

A monochrome sunset photo taken at Rye ocean beach, Australia.

wishful-thinking

This image is available to purchase a s a print here.


Southern Rendezvous

A six minute exposure taken at night, aperture f11, iso 100 on Blairgowrie beach.
The long exposure reveals the apparent path of objects around the south celestial pole and also transforms the motion of the rough ocean waves into a soft mist.

southern-rendezvous

This image is available to purchase as a print here.


Space Time in Reflection

An HDR seascape sunset taken at Blairgowrie ocean beach.
space-time-in-reflection

This image is available to purchase as a print here.