SS Speke shipwreck – Phillip Island
A long exposure image from the remnants of the SS Speke shipwreck at Kitty Miller Bay on Phillip Island.
This image is available to purchase as a print in many forms and sizes here.
Exposure details – 5 secs, f/14, ISO50.
Cowrie Beach – A View To The Nobbies
A long exposure image from Cowrie Beach looking towards The Nobbies on Phillip Island.
Tech stuff – 30 secs, f/8, ISO50, 10 stop solid filter + 4 stop soft grad filter.
This image is available to purchase as a print here.
Pictured below – A short exposure showing the waves slamming into the rocks at Cowrie Beach, Phillip Island.
Tech stuff – 1/6 sec, f/20, ISO 50, 4 stop soft grad filter.
Cowrie beach – Phillip Island
A long exposure image of surf crashing onto the rocks at Cowrie beach on Phillip Island. Cowrie beach is located a short distance north-east of the Nobbies tourist centre.
Tech stuff – 25 sec, f/8, ISO100 using a 10 stop solid filter and a 4 stop soft grad filter.
The image above is available to purchase as a print in many forms and sizes here.
The Pinnacles – Cape Woolamai
A long exposure image from down on the beach at The Pinnacles, Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island.
Technical – 25 seconds, f/14, ISO50, using a 10 stop solid and 4 stop soft grad ND filter.
The image above is available to purchase as a print at my Redbubble site.
SS Speke shipwreck – Kitty Miller Bay
A long exposure image from the SS Speke shipwreck at Kitty Miller Bay on Phillip Island.
Technical – 120 secs, f/18, ISO50, using a 10 stop solid and 4 stop grad filter.
The image above is available to purchase as a print here at Redbubble.
The Pinnacles – Cape Woolamai – Phillip Island
A long exposure shot from the beach at The Pinnacles rock formation, Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island.
Technical stuff – 30 secs f/10 ISO50 using an ND500 filter.
The image above is available to purchase as a print in many forms and sizes here at Redbubble.
Cowrie beach – Phillip Island
Cowrie beach sits alongside The Nobbies, a popular tourist attraction on Phillip Island. The beach is home to lots of penguins and other sea birds, and is a beautifully rugged piece of coastline.
Pictured below – The view from Cowrie beach looking towards The Nobbies. This image is available to purchase as a print here.
Tech stuff – 5 seconds f/11 using an ND500 filter.
Pictured below – The rugged rocky coastline of Cowrie beach, looking away from The Nobbies. The image is available to purchase as a print here.
Tech stuff – 2 seconds f/9 ISO100 using an ND500 filter.
….and finally for some Christmas fun. The great thing about long exposure photography is that you never quite know what you’ll catch. 🙂
Cat Bay Jetty Remnants – Phillip Island
Pictured below, a couple of long exposure images of the jetty remnants at Cat Bay on Phillip Island.
Cat Bay is located close to the western tip of Phillip Island, near the Nobbies Tourist Centre. The beach is home for several species of birds including penguins. Penguin burrows can be found scattered all over the sandy dune areas just back a bit from the high tide line.
* Note: …..no those aren’t penguins sitting on the old jetty in the photos. 🙂
Tech info for the above image – 3.2 secs f/10 with an ND400 filter.
This photo is available to purchase as a print at my Redbubble site here.
Tech info for the above image – 13 sec f/16 with an ND400 filter.
This photo is available to purchase as a print at my Redbubble site here.
Return to Pyramid Rock – Phillip Island
Pyramid Rock is another location I’ve returned to numerous times. To me it almost looks unreal, like something from a fairy tale. To visit Pyramid Rock, drive to the car park at the south end of the aptly named Pyramid Rock Rd. There’s a very civilized boardwalk that takes you to an observation deck for a nice view of the rock and some of the surrounding coastline.
Those who don’t mind a little bit of mountaineering might try for an even closer view by going off the beaten track past the observation deck. (Although I’m not sure what the park guidelines might say about that.) 😉
Pictured below – A long exposure image of Pyramid Rock. **Technical stuff – 160 seconds, f/2.8, using an ND400 and ND500 stacked together.**
This image is available to purchase as a print at my Redbubble site.
Pictured below – A close-up view of the rock. What a surreal spot! 🙂
Return to the SS Speke shipwreck – Phillip Island
I’ve visited the SS Speke shipwreck numerous times now. It’s a magical place at high tide with the rusty remnants of the wreck poking up through the surface of the shallow water. When the tide turns, the water quickly recedes and the wreck becomes fully exposed revealing it’s harsh rocky resting place.
To visit the SS Speke, park your car at the south end of Kitty Miller Rd. When you arrive on the beach turn left and walk around the point. The easiest way around the point is over the top and along the grassy cliff tops. There’s a well worn path to guide you to the Speke. The descent down the side of the cliff to the beach can be a bit slippery in wet conditions, ….which just adds to the adventure. 🙂
Picture below – The SS Speke shipwreck at high tide. **Technical stuff – 8 seconds, f/13, using an ND400 filter**
The image is available to purchase as a print at my Redbubble site.
Picture below – SS Speke at high tide **Technical stuff – 20 seconds, f/16, using an ND400 filter**
This image is available to purchase at my Redbubble site.
Pinnacles Phillip Island – An Expectation of Seeing Dinosaurs
A long exposure view looking down from the clifftop towards the Pinnacles. 13 secs f/20. Available to purchase as a print in many forms and sizes at my Redbubble page.
Prehistoric Sunshine.
A long exposure from down on the beach at the Pinnacles. 15 secs f/16.
Available to buy as a print here.
Explosion at Cowrie Beach – Phillip Island
A wave explodes against rocks at Cowrie Beach on Phillip Island. 1/60th second at f/8.
The image is available to buy as a print at Redbubble.
SS Speke revisited – Kitty Miller Bay – Phillip Island
A series of long exposure images from the SS Speke shipwreck at Kitty Miller Bay on Phillip Island.
The image below is available to purchase as a print here.
The image below is available to purchase as a print here.
Below – A long exposure from Kitty Miller Bay, Phillip Island.
SS Speke Ahoy!
A 155 second exposure of the SS Speke shipwreck at Kitty Miller Bay on Phillip Island. The image was taken during daylight using ND400 and ND8 filters stacked together to give about 12 stops of darkness.
The image is available to purchase as a quality print at Redbubble.
You can see more long exposure images of the SS Speke shipwreck here.
Cape Woolamai – Phillip Island
Pictured below, long exposure images of Bass Strait waves crashing onto the rugged coastline at Cape Woolamai on Phillip Island.
SS Speke Shipwreck and Kitty Miller Bay
Following are a couple of long exposure images of the SS Speke shipwreck at Kitty Miller Bay on Phillip Island.
The first image was captured using an ND400 and two ND8 filters stacked together to achieve an exposure time of 195 seconds on a bright afternoon. Such a long exposure allows blurring of both the ocean waves and the moving clouds.
The image below is a 13 second exposure. This shorter exposure allows misting of the waves but leaves the moving clouds only slightly blurred.
Pictured below, a 10 second exposure of surf washing over the dark rocks at Kitty Miller Bay.
Below, a 2.5 second exposure of waves crashing onto the beach at Kitty Miller Bay.
Finally, a 0.8 second exposure of a large wave slamming into a rock on Kitty Miller beach.
If you’re new to long exposure photography using dark ND filters then you might like to check out this page for some tips to get you started.
Pyramid Rock – Phillip Island
Images from the beautiful Pyramid Rock on the rugged south coast of Phillip Island, Australia.
You can reach the Pyramid Rock car park by driving to the southern end of Pyramid Rock Road which is located just west of the Grand Prix racing circuit.
It’s just a short walk along an elevated wooden path from the car park to the viewing platform. Yes,very civilized. 🙂
Below – A long exposure image of Pyramid Rock. This image is available to buy as a quality print at Zazzle or Redbubble.
Below – Basalt Beach.
A long exposure image of waves crashing on the the dark basalt rocks on the beach near Pyramid Rock.
This image is available to buy as a quality print at Zazzle or Redbubble.
Below – This is my friend “Wally”. He was following me around the cliff tops at the beach.
He was curious yet still cautious enough to keep a safe distance between us.
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.
Below – The old jetty remants at Cat Bay, Phillip Island.
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.
Below – Red Rocks beach, Ventnor, Phillip Island.
Below – Red Rocks beach, Ventnor, Phillip Island.
Below – Red Rocks beach, Ventnor, Phillip Island.
Below – Some old jetty remnants at Grantville beach, shot at dusk on the way home.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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Exploring the Pointy End of Phillip Island
I’d been to this part of Phillip Island on previous occasions but I loved it so much I thought I’d revisit.
That’s one of the joys of photography, you can visit the same location on several occasions and come away with completely different images each time.
Pictured below – Old wooden remnants at Cat Bay, Phillip Island.
Pictured below – The beach at Right Point, Phillip Island, located between Cat Bay and the Nobbies. The violence of the ocean waves smoothed by the use of long exposure.
Trolling around under bridges and piers
On excursions where I’m near a bridge or pier, my inner troll has a tendency to take control and drag me under.
Sometimes the results are quite pleasing. Strangely enough I often find the underside to be more photographically pleasing than the top side.
Below – “Gateway” the underside of the San Remo bridge.
Below – “San Remo Bridge” the gateway to Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia.
Below – “Dromana Downunder” the underside of Dromana pier. No trolls under here!
Incorporating HDR tonemapping techniques with long exposures
The following images were experiments using HDR tone mapping techniques combined with the effects of long exposure times.
Each image was constructed from at least 3 separate exposures using in-camera auto exposure bracketing. In my case, being a Canon shooter, I used 3 exposures of -2,0 and +2 simply for convenience. I believe Nikon shooters have a bit more flexibility in this area.
The images were all taken during daylight hours so it was necessary to use some heavy ND filtering in order to increase the exposure times and achieve a nice misty look to the water. In my case I used an ND400 and an ND8 filter stacked together to achieve this.
With the camera set to aperture priority mode I adjusted the aperture and filter combination (sometimes removing the ND8) to achieve an exposure of 8 seconds. When the shutter button is depressed the camera would then give me 3 exposures at 8 seconds, 2 seconds and 30 seconds (which is close enough to 0,-2 and +2). My particular camera doesn’t let me expose for longer than 30 seconds unless I go to bulb mode and use a remote timer, so out of laziness I tend to limit many of my exposures to 30 seconds. 🙂
The exposures were then combined and tonemapped using HDR software and tweaked in Photoshop to achieve the end result.
Despite all of this sounding a bit technical it’s really quite simple and I encourage you to try it. The results are often very rewarding.
BELOW – Jurassic Afternoon – Sunlight and waves break through a slit in the prehistoric Pinnacles rock formation on Phillip Island.
BELOW – The Mist of St.Pauls – A long exposure at St. Pauls beach, Sorrento, Victoria, Australia.
BELOW – Prehistoria – An image from The Pinnacles, at Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia.
BELOW – Swimming with Dinosaurs – Down amongst the prehistoric Pinnacles rock formations at Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia.
A morning at The Pinnacles, Phillip Island.
After a long pre-dawn walk along tracks through the tops of the coastal cliffs I arrived at The Pinnacles in time to see the sunrise. Access to the Pinnacles beach area here is via a steep (slippery when wet) track running down the face of the cliff area.
Unfortunately it turned out to be a dud sunrise so there wasn’t much colour in the sky but after getting down to the beach the view of the rock formations was wonderful. An interesting feature of this beach is the large round rocks covering the ground, great for photos but a challenge to navigate at times.
Photography by Jim Worrall 