Great Ocean Rd, Another Ramble

Day One - Tuesday

Once again I'm on what is known locally as the GOR, the Great Ocean Road which stretches (arguably) from Torquay through to Point Nelson in the states west. Officially it's shorter than that but in reality it keeps going into South Australia for ages.

My goal this trip is to get shots of Wreck Beach that I'm happy with, I've never come away with shots that make me properly pleased with the results.

On Friday morning I'll be on the beach before dawn... but in the mean time I'm camped out at my usual base and trundling around exploring and shooting.





The setting sun highlights the amazing harsh coast line where the Southern Ocean slowly makes Australia smaller. Many ships were wrecked along this forbidding line of tall cliffs. This is shot from the end of one of the many dirt tracks that take the intrepid away from the bus loads of tourists and the city drivers who can't stand the idea of a dirt track. This view shows Lochard Gorge and the 12 Apostles (well about 8.5 of them) in the distance. f/16 1/13th of a second ISO 50 on a 50mm prime.





This is the same location as the previous shot but somewhat later after the sun had gone and with slightly different framing but the same 50mm lens f/16 30 seconds ISO 50. For best results keep your ISO low and expose for the surroundings. This long exposure really captures the might of the ocean as it slowly beats Australia into submission. Even sitting here in my van typing this blog I can hear the waves crashing on the beach over 1km away from me. The Southern Ocean is not to be trifled with. Even in calm weather like today these waves broke half way up the cliff.





Even after dark there are still shots to be had. This is a crop at 1:1 of a very small area of the image showing the sea mists back lit by the sky still slightly glowing from the setting sun. As +Lady Fran W put it this is like a pirate movie. I can see her point, you can almost expect the fulsom figure of the carved wooden maiden adorning the bow sprit of a tall ship to come into view as she rounds the rocks heading in for a secret rendezvous for the purposes of smuggling. 85mm f/16 13 seconds at ISO 125.

On reviewing my shots today I could see the results of coming here so many times. I shot only a few and of those I'm happy with all of them. I'm coming to know this area well and know what I want before I shoot and I've learned over many trips how to get the outcome I'm looking for. On this trip apart from Wreck Beach on Friday morning where sunrise, weather and tides all come together at the right moment I have no plans and will take each day as it comes.

Finishing up these images and this blog entry while I wait for my back up to finish I listen to the rain falling on the roof of my van and think of the other Melbourne photographers camped nearby in their tents. Keep warm folks. It's an early start on Gibsons Steps tomorrow to capture the early morning light on the nearby Apostle and hopefully catching up with a local.

Day Two - Exploring

Naturally visiting the 12 Apostles has to be done sooner or later when visiting the #gor - best seen in the early or late afternoon for the best light minimising the contrast between sky water and rock to allow normal exposures.

12mm fish, 1/160th f/11 ISO 100

The little things matter. While climbing back up Gibson's Steps I noticed this little bush growing on the rocks backlit by the sun. A heavy sea mist in the air made for some nice flaring.

1/600th f/4 85mm ISO 400

While exploring around the timber railway trestle bridge (now rail trail) near Timboon I found this small waterfall on a creek that runs parallel to the former railway. Worth getting the feet a bit wet for this scene.

12mm fish f/11 0.5s ISO 50

Still standing after some TLC from Puffing Billy Railway the railway trestle at Timboon stands proud supporting the rail trail.

12mm fish, 1/30th, f/11 ISO 50

The serenity of the Australian rural scene is often amazing and breathtaking. It's worth pulling over from time to time when you spot something. Everyone fanned out looking for their shot. This one is mine.

12mm fish, 1/125th, f/11 ISO 100

After enjoying a lunch with friends at Timboon we parted company with Kathryn and headed back to our camping at Princetown. It was great to meet another g+ person +Kathryn van Nieuwkerk . In this image are back row - +Paul Pavlinovich +Trace McLean Stef +Peter Sherriff +Kathryn van Nieuwkerk and +Shari Mattox

We had lunch at the distillery and I can't say I recommend it. The service was good. The food was ok but the prices were high for what was essentially pub food. They may aspire to higher foodie paradise but they don't quite make it. Oh and their whiskey? I'll stick with my usual I think. Very expensive ($125 for 500ml) and nothing to write home about.

On the way back the evening light became interesting and we paused several times on our journey to explore and photograph our surroundings. This grass seed silhouette intrigued me. I played around with the landscape in this area but was not happy with the shots. They don't feel quite right. I'll come back to them later.

85mm 1/640th f/11 ISO 100

We headed along part of the Old Ocean Road in Princetown along the Gellibrand River. We found this amazing white bird. I had to push up the ISO to capture his flight in the fading gentle evening light. It's always worth getting off the tourist drag of the main road. There is MUCH more to be seen in this area by simply hitting the dirt.

85mm 1/400th f/5.6 ISO 800

Finally at the end of the day, the sky put on a magnificent show over the flood plains and wetlands alongside the Old Ocean Road in Princetown.

I've seen this area well and truly inundated - the camp ground is on this plain but it's elevated slightly so it's unusual for it to flood but I've seen the road in and much of the grounds wet and sloshy in the past. This usually only happens if the mouth of the Gellibrand gets closed off by a storm.

12mm fish 1/4s f/11 ISO 50

What will tomorrow bring? Well you know that as much as I do. No plans, I'll just jump in the car and go someplace. Something will jump out and magic will happen.

I might explore a bit more around Timboon and the Otway National Park.

Day Three - A few waterfalls and a smashed fishie

Today started like any of my photography trips, up early hunting for images. I found these kangaroos on the hop right outside of the door to where I'm camping.

On the hop in the early morning light in the paddock adjacent the camp ground. There were hundreds of them today. 

400mm 1/250 f/9 iso 2500

In search of mossy rocks and falling water I trekked down to the Elliot River where it runs into the Southern Ocean. Up stream from the mouth reached by good old fashioned bush bashing was a small but magic waterfall. I had to wade through the river to get close enough for the final images of the falls.

12mm fishie 0.5 seconds f/16 iso 50

Onwards and upwards to Mariner Falls. These falls are currently "closed" but the sign said public "should" keep out. Well, that's not a no in my book. That leaves the decision to me and I decided to go. Very well worth the trek and apart from needing to cross the river by wading from time to time an easy walk. The falls are in a natural amphitheatre bowl.

12mm fishie 1 second f/16 iso 50

Near Mariner Falls I waded into the river on a few occasions to capture mossy rocks. I like mossy green rocks in nice natural light. No idea why, I just do.

12mm fishie 1.3 seconds f/16 iso 50

On the road from Apollo Bay to Beech Forest is a California Redwood Sequoia grove. They were planted in the 1930's as an experiment and they are truly magnificent today. Even though these are giants they are but babies compared to some I saw in their natural home. There is no sound at all in the forest. It's simply silent.

12mm fishie 15 seconds f/22 iso 50

The final stop for the day and the last shot that this fishie will ever take before it is repaired. This is Hopetoun Falls. I had hoped to get here last trip but the storm tore up the joint and there were police keeping people away at the road entrance. This time round I make the climb down the stairs and made it all the way to the falls. While out there I slipped and fell. The camera and the fishie hit a rock. The camera survived with nothing more than a new battle scar but the fishie, well it kind of exploded. I've managed to put it back together for tomorrow with glue and tape. It's now jammed about f/11 or so until I can get it properly repaired.

12mm fishie 1.6 seconds f/16 iso 50

Tomorrow Wreck Beach and who knows what else. The last full day of the trip.

Day Four - Getting Wrecked

I met up again with +Trace McLean and Stef early this morning on Moonlight Head to make our way down to Wreck Beach. Well, actually they got there an hour early and went without me... We met on the beach and did a mad dash in and out of the waves to capture the anchors and surrounding rock formations. 

In the early light I did some long exposures to capture the anchors appearing out of the spooky "mist" .

24-105 @ 105mm f/22 with black glass 30 seconds ISO 50

The anchors are welded into the rock by the force of the many storms, the first of which jammed them in there. They both sit within circular holes. A line of holes lead to the most prominent anchor. These circular holes are always the ones that are most noticeable in Wreck Beach photographs. They used to have a brilliant verdant green moss growing on them but it wasn't there this time. The rocks seem to have been scrubbed clean.

50mm 1/250th f/11 iso 50

I diced with the Southern Ocean many times before just giving up and letting it soak me while continuing to photograph. This made it much easier and more productive and I need new boots anyway since these ones had started to fall apart. They'd done a lot of km and will do some more yet but this will be one of the final nails in their coffin. One day I'll just go there in shorts and crocks. Wet up my balls in the sea on a photo expedition... what a surprise.

50mm 1/80th f/10 iso 400

Once the sun comes up properly and highlights the anchors they're much less creepy but no less poignant as they symbolise the loss of life on what is known locally as The Shipwreck Coast. Many vessels were smashed to pieces along this coast. Generally when this happened all souls were lost except in a few very lucky cases.

50mm 1/6th f/22 iso 50

Once the sun came up Wreck Beach got less interesting not to mention the tide was on the way in and I was wet enough. Off back to camp ground via the Old Ocean Road. I'm sure I've mentioned when on the GOR that you should take every opportunity to get off it to escape the tourists. They drive really slowly and really badly. Following the Old Ocean Road isn't quicker but it's soothing and much nicer to look at.

12mm fishie (repaired, sort of) 1/100th f/11 (I think) iso 50

While off the road you'll see many coastal rural scenes including the ubiquitous windmills. These beasts creak and strain as they spin in the breeze to pump up water from the wells or in this case the nearby creek. In this area there were major local makers in Warrnambool and Colac both very nearby so it's unusual to find not one but many Queensland made Southern Cross mills in abundance. The local dealer must have made great deals with the farmers to get so many of them out there despite the local competition.

12mm fishie 1/80th f/11 iso 100

This has to be the creepiest road of all time with those trees bending over to try and get you. I could only imagine what it would be like in the early dawn light especially if there was a light mist at ground level. Spooky. 

12mm fishie 1/160th f/11 iso 640

After lunch I went for a cruise to Ayre River (or is it Aire River?) anyway... I didn't have any plans as I'd hit my target sites for this week, not to mention my boots were still soaked so I needed places I could go in Ug Boots without getting laughed at. Turns out that's about everywhere around here. Down by the two camp grounds that are separated by a bridge and personality (bogans with massive fires, guns, music and loads of booze on one side and the families and quieter back packers on the other side) I found a couple of girls going out for a paddle. Well they would but they were simply going around and around in circles while their dad yelled "encouragement" to them from the bridge.

400mm (200 + 2X extender) 1/400th f/16 iso 1000

On the way back up the hill I stopped to chat up this beautiful bird who was showing off by the side of the road. I was pretty lucky to get this shot hand held resting on the door sill.

400mm 1/80th f/16 iso 1000

Even hideous English Bracken (why did those dick heads bring so much stuff that has invaded and destroyed so much of this land?)  looks good back lit with a ray of sunlight shafting down through the overhead canopy.

330mm 1/500th f/5.6 iso 2500

Leaving the river I decided to shoot some bull with a local man who was working in his field. The diversity of the farming around here is phenomenal they have both kinds. Cows and sheep.

400mm 1/500th f/9 iso 400

After a while I thought I'd take in a lawn bowls match being played by giants on the green of the pitch alongside the river along The Old Ocean Rd near Princetown.

400mm 1/160th f/9 iso 400

This image reminded me of this morning trying to stop my berries from getting wet. Such simple subject becomes quite magic with a limited depth of field and shot up close with a telephoto lens. As I type this entry I can't help but hear the conversation between the two girls in the bongo van camped next to me. One of them is crying and the other is continuing to explain that she doesn't feel "that way" towards her at all and is sorry she ever came along on the trip. I'm tipping an early end or a very awkward few days along the coast for these two.

400mm 1/60th f/5.6 iso 400

As the last of the light started to die in the thick clouds (no nice sunset tonight) I came across this group of swans floating around on the swamp. This same swamp produces the massive mozzies that frequent the rich persons camp ground above where I stay and attack +Peter Sherriff .

400mm 1/640th f/7.1 iso 2500 balanced on a fence post

Every day should end with a little weed. This grass/reed seed was  highlighted from behind with the last of the receding light before the world went grey and I gave up and came back to the van to watch a movie.

400mm 1/500th f/7.1 iso 2500

Landscapes with deep colour and oomph

We live in the wide brown country yes? Well, not everywhere. There are the most amazing variants of colour and texture in the Australian Landscape waiting for us to see them and capture for our enjoyment.

Everyone says to shoot in the golden hour right? Do you know what they mean by that? It is the brief time after dawn which lasts until the sun starts to climb into the sky and again just before and often just after sunset.

Shooting during the golden hour gives you brighter stronger colours with deeper reds and yellows and because the sun isn't right up there the contrast between the ground and the sky is low enough that your sensor can capture both without washing out (over exposing) the sky or dark ground (underexposing). Poor exposure loses information in the image. You end up with pure whites (RGB values maxed out at 255, 255, 255) or pure blacks (0, 0, 0) which almost never really occur in nature. The effect this has is to rob the magic from your image by reducing the contrast and giving us unnatural colours.

The image below is a semi rural scene right on the outskirts of Melbourne's eastern suburbs in Rowville.

Even when we shoot at this time within a couple of hours of sunrise the sun climbs high into the sky. As it climbs it becomes harder for your sensor to cope with the contrast in brightness between ground and sky. While the image above it certainly acceptable it doesn't have much punch. It's a nice image of a grassy swampy field with some farm land in the background. It's nice to look at but it doesn't really capture the attention even though it is properly exposed and the composition follows thirds and has some nice variation from front to back.

So what can you do about it? Well you could post process the crap out of it and bring down the sky and maybe you could improve it. You could probably add some clarity and improve the contrast with your sliders... or you could do what perhaps should have been done in the first place. Add a polarising filter and a graduated neutral density filter to tone down the sky. So many people think I'll just fix it in post. Don't. Your life is too short so why waste it and sometimes you can't. Spend a few seconds and bung on some filters instead of sitting frustrated at the computer for half an hour on the image, unless of course you like doing that!

What a difference between these two images. They're shot one after the other and with a slight delay as I put  the polariser and the ND8 filter into my filter holder. They are the same f/stop they're both shot at f/11. This one at 1/25th of a second and the other at 1/40th. The two filters reduced the light so much the shutter had to stay open longer to compensate.

The two filters together have deepened all of the colours and made the sky more of a spectacle improving the tonal range of the image dramatically. The greens and browns of the foreground have been enhanced. The field grasses in the background have better greens and the trees are green instead of grey and the sky has taken on a wonderful deep blue. Overall there is much more contrast between the two images.

The real story comes from the histograms as seen on the camera back (you do look don't you?) and within my file catalogue manager of choice Lightroom. The first image shows quite a flat set of colours without reaching that magic 18% saturation on a lot of the graph. Both the darker (left) and brighter (right) areas have issues with the darker space being unrepresented and the brighter area of the sky to the right being strongly over saturated in the whites. The second histogram is for the second image and shows good saturation right across the board reaching or exceeding that magic 18% in most of the channels. It has cut back on the white in the image to almost nothing but the blacks now have representation and the other peaks are much stronger in all channels but especially reds.

As always, feel free to comment constructively. I'm always happy to hear from you, especially now that Blogger comments are visible on g+ we can really interact and have a conversation. If you've got a question, please ask because others probably have the same one.

Too Much LIght? Neutral Density May Be The Answer

What are Neutral Density Filters?

Neutral Density (ND) filters are simply a filter that mounts in front of your lens either by themselves or in combination that reduce light over some or all of the frame. They can come as screw mount or as square filters that use a mounting system to hold them. They can be made of plastic or glass. There are many brands. You tend to get what you pay for. Cheap Chinese versions can be had on ebay for a few dollars or you can utilise brands such as Cokin and Lee. The cheaper filters cut the light but introduce colour casts (chromatic aberation) in the resuling image. They can introduce softness too.

They come in various ratings, the most common being one stop ND2, two stop ND4 and three stop ND8. There are others right up to ND400 otherwise described as black glass.

You will noticed in the four images above which are the same composition but with no filter, ND2, ND4 and finally ND8 that the exposure of the sky changes but if left to its own devices the camera will change other areas too as it compensates for the darker area.

Generally speaking the best way to make use of these filters is on manual mode. Yes I know that's scary but it does not have to be. Expose an image so that it's right for the darker foreground, in this case the sand. Then add the filter without changing the exposure. In the examples above I left the camera on AV and as it was using evaluative metering across the frame it over compensated for the dark band of graduation at the top. This is especially noticeable in the right hand image where the sand is quite dramatically whiter and brighter.

Rating	Amount of light passed	f/stops lost
ND2	50%	1
ND4	25%	2
ND8	12.5%	4
ND400/Big Stopper	0.1%	10

Note that the above table is not strictly accurate - especially the ND400 (it's really about 8.75 stops), I've tried to keep it simple so use this information as a exposure guide to find your starting point then trial and error from there.

Full

Full frame ND filters are used where you want to reduce the overall light. They have many uses, but the most common is where you wish to use a large aperture such as f/1.8 on a bright day or bright scene. Choose a full frame when the lighting over the scene is even.

Graduated Hard and Soft

When the scene is not evenly lit and there is a lot of contrast from one area to another a graduated filter can be helpful. Half the filter reduces the available light and the other half is clear. The boundary between the halves can be hard or gradual. Hard edge filters are most useful where the edge itself is hard, in architecture and from sky to sea for example. Gradual filters are better where the transition is also more gradual, such as the forest canopy or a rolling meadow. The filters in the image above are gradual.

Black Glass

Black glass also known as big stopper or ND400 are a special purpose ND. They can allow you to manage a daylight exposure so long you can smooth the sea, eliminate traffic or even see a world without people.

In this image I'm holding my black glass to obscure the sun and it's light trail across the water. The exposure is made for the overall area then I held the filter in place. I felt this was the best way to show the dramatic affect that this black filter has on the available amount of light. It doesn't let you expose the sun properly but it does cut out an enormous amount of light.

How Are They Used?

Once affixed to your camera you use them as though you would use any lens. 

Be aware that in camera automatic exposure software often fails when you have an full ND fitted. Generally you'll have to calculate your own exposure values changing one or more variables of the exposure triangle (ISO, aperture or shutter speed) to increase your exposure by the number of stops of the ND.

For graduated ND you expose for the dark area and let the ND cut down the light in the bright area. 

Be aware that auto focus systems often don't work as you would expect with ND filters fitted. Some cameras and lenses manage better than others. I find that my camera manages a good focus lock with all but the black glass. With that it might work in extremely bright environments.

Use your camera to measure your light and set the focus and change to manual focus then carefully fit your ND filter(s) and adjust your exposure to suit. Note that if your ND is screw in and your focus ring turns the barrel of your lens then you have to be very careful not to accidentally change focus when fitting the filter.

I find that while the filter may claim 1, 2, 4 or 10 stops of light reduction this rarely turns out to be quite so simple. Adding 10 stops either by opening the aperture  increasing the length of the exposure or boosting the ISO by 10 stops usually does not yield a well lit image. If you've lost colour and your histogram is flat and not full width then you have not exposed sufficiently, try again with allowing more light in.

When would you use them?

Full Frame and Black Glass

The most common reason for me to dig an ND out of the bag is to increase exposure time. I use ND for making milky waterfalls, eradicating pesky people from a scene or perhaps creatively adding drama by having your model stand still while everyone else gets blurred.

This image by fellow Melbourne photographer +Trace McLean shows a creative use of the ND. His camera is set for a long exposure and he stands still while the peak hour people stream around him.

This creative use gives an impression of a rock washed by tides that shall not be moved.

Other interpretations include being unchanging in a world of change.

Of course you could replicate this in photoshop but that would spoil the fun of actually standing in the path and getting in the way unmoving.

The image was published on g+ and is used here with permission from Trace and shows the steps of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne under the famous clocks.

The image to the right is a sunset image from the groyne at Mentone near the end of Warrigul Rd.

The use of the ND400 allowed for a very long exposure that would normally not be possible at that time of day. This allows the eye to view the foreground detritus, the groyne itself and the path of light to the sun as the normally distracting wavelets of the sea are gone.

The black glass is also used to remove unwanted distraction and to add serenity to a scene. In the left image below there is a dog by the rock, a number of birds in the air and chop on the surface of the water. In the right image these are simply gone leaving the oily feel of the smooth water leading the eye to the distant shore and pastel sky.

The black glass also lends itself to creating characteristic mist that occurs in long exposures where there is bright light and waves.

All the ND is doing here is allowing for that wonderfully long expoure letting the magic of light and nature take care of the rest.

My final example use is astronomical  in 2012 Venus transited the Sun. The planet crossed between the sun and earth occluding a small area of the sun.

To achieve this shot I utilised two of the ND400's stacked together and my 70-200 at f/64 as well as the 2X extender which eats another 2 stops. This enormous reduction in light enabled me to catch this rare event in bright daylight. That black area of the image was bright blue sky.

I must urge caution when photographing the sun. Ever seen an ant fried with a magnifying glass? Now imagine that heat concentrated onto your camera mirror, sensor shutter curtain and the sensor itself or right into your eye through the view finder. Always use live view on the LCD to avoid blinding yourself.  When shooting the sun I keep the lens and camera covered with a dark towel until I'm ready to shoot. I shoot then re-cover before any noticeable heat build up can occur.

This image created during the White Night festival in Melbourne shows hundreds of thousands of people that have been turned into a brown mist by a black glass assisted long exposure of several minutes. The filter basically made them vanish.

Imagine what you could do with less people? Want to empty Bourke St at lunchtime? Get a clear image of the Flinders St clocks during the day? Black glass and a long exposure is the answer.

Mixing white cap waves with long exposure and good light yields a wonderful misty effect showing where the wave heights are as they come through. You get a base level which is the normal sea level without waves and a layer of mist the height of the waves. Black glass with a long exposure during the day or during the blue (pre dawn) or golden (pre sunset) hours will help you to generate this effect in your images. At the height of the day you may need to stack two or more black glass filters.

As a final image for this blog you can do wonderful things with waterfalls. Even small ones like this at Shiprock falls near Gembrook.

The black glass along with a long exposure develops the water into a white mist which looks so much better than stop motion water. The mist conveys the movement and even the sound of the waterfall to the viewer.

Graduated

I utilise graduated ND a lot. I often use them at the beach and when creating landscapes. I've also used them to reduce the glare off water and to mask bright spots when photographing the interior of a structure with big windows. You can also use them in architecture where you want a blue sky with a reasonably well exposed building.