Off the Beaten Track

Actually you can't imagine a landscape any more beaten than this one. A bit further south from where I have been walking and into the Wyong Shire. I walked into this area on a fire trail with the usual accompanying debris by the side. Washing machines, wheel rims, bottles, paint cans etc. If it can rust or shatter you'll find it in the bush in profusion. Oh and it helps if it is not particularly damaged by fire like the rest of the environment. Even the dumped bundles of newspapers haven't burnt, while all around them is ash.

After walking for a distance I leave the track, something now possible since the fire came through. It's beautiful and liberating to walk through the trees and really feel the slope and curve of the land. None of the pungent prick, the stab and scratch, the spiny barrier the bush usually provides to block free access - there is no bush. The only impediment to my progress across the land is the frequent fallen tree and these are easily circumnavigated.

The thing I begin to notice after a while is an absence of the usual detritus. No rubbish anywhere. In general I cant avoid the rusted metal and broken bottles that litter the landscape. Now I've started to look for it and to my astonishment I find nothing. No rotor from a washing machine. No rusting car body. No soft drink can or bottle top. It's extraordinary and it feels very odd after all I've seen in the past weeks (and years).

The conclusion: no tracks into the bush = no dumping of rubbish. Simple.

I believe I have discovered an area free and clear of any human interactivity. I believe, in a haze of fantasy, that I have stumbled into some sort of bushy paradise. Has any fellow human set foot here before. Am I the first upright walking biped to navigate this zone. All evidence points in that direction. I revel in these notions for a time as I enjoy this experience. It does feels like as though I am an explorer. And perhaps I am one of the first to see the landscape here in this way at this time.

The bush at the moment, may not have the natural beauty we usually associate with our natural environment, but right now is an extraordinary time to go into the bush for a walk.

Odd Man Out

It may appear at first glance that there is indeed an odd "man" out here, but in fact it is not as obvious as you may at first think. Of course it is the darker tree with the blackened bark. Severely burnt to a char. Or is it the tree with the blackened crevice on the side which seems to indicate a hollow. This tree has actually been burnt out completely through its centre. There is nothing but an empty shell, but this tree will continue to grow and thrive in it's own way.

Is the odd tree the third image? They are not all gum trees. This third tree is an Angophora and not a member of the Eucalyptus family at all. These beautiful trees look similar to the gum trees common to the Australian bush. They also share the same habitats as many of the Eucalypts, but on closer inspection they are not in the same botanical classification.

Perhaps the fourth tree is the odd tree out due to the particularly beautiful patterning of the bark. I believe this is a Scribbly gum, it is a member of the Eucalyptus family. It is an outstandingly beautiful tree and shares habitat with all of these other specimens.

If you picked the last of the images then by my classification you would be correct. This tree tree is an outstanding specimen, it has beautifully textured and patterned bark, it has been burnt by the fire but not in an area visible in the image. It is actually an Angophora as well.

No this tree is different to all of the others because it is no longer a living specimen. The fire had gotten into the tree at the base and burnt out the roots, They were still smouldering the day I made this image, some two weeks after the fire had passed through. The tree in the last image is lying on it's side, burnt off at the base. The roots have a reasonable chance of surviving and regrowing a new multiple trunked tree, but this trunk and branches will return to the earth from which they came.

Sad yet still a beautiful and magnificent tree.

 

I pissed on a burning log today

Every day since the fire I have walked in the once familiar bush behind my home and in the surrounding area. There has been no time since I began walking here that I have had this feeling of discovering something new every single day. There is so much that I have never seen before and may never see again. Each day, even each moment, the landscape through which I traverse is different.

It surprises me the resilience of this fire. We were evacuated two weeks ago tonight. The fire burnt through, the flames went away, the RFS mopped up, the days have cooled down, a heavy rain storm hit the area... Every day when I walk in the bush, I find many smouldering tree trunks, red hot coals, wafts of smoke through the once solid and impenetrable bush.

I pissed on a burning log today, as I do everyday. I only wish I had more to give.

3 Nights in a Tent

Back home again to the south coast between Sydney and Wollongong. I've written before about distinctly difficult and memorable camping trips. About fears and dangers in the Royal National Park. About that precarious cliff-side drive north from Wollongong. This was the special occasion route on the way to or from the fortnightly visit to my grandmothers home in Wollongong.

Not sure what brought about any of these special occasions, beauty, boredom or belligerence. I've always liked the south coast's rugged and precarious landscape. Coal peeped through the cliff face along which we drove and collected in our swimmers in the surf of many of the beaches. Back to the unscathed small towns I have again started to trek with my girls. This is the simple life.

Three nights in a tent. iPods blazing through the night. Wind blowing non stop. Icy waters and the constant half glimpse of that elusive shark, dolphin or whales fin amongst the white water between sand and horizon. These images collected on the recent visit a fellow image maker alongside, and a sculpture on an early morning walk with the youngster.

Stripes

Praise be to my beautiful, generous daughter again for stepping up to the plate and modelling for me. New stripey trousers and a sense of duty work wonders with this lovely girl.

Thanks you x

Urban Features

It feels as though I've started collecting new things. But I haven't. I've just noticed that I've been collecting these things all of this time, and just not realised. I've called these things 'urban features' because that's what they are. They are the furniture (literally sometimes) that we live with.

I continue to watch the world around me, and I was going to say, crumble away. I don't mean that as a bad thing. Another quote from a young Woody Allen, "I read in the paper that all matter is decaying" Young Woody was trying to use this as an excuse not to do his homework, "What's the point" (Annie Hall)

It's interesting the amount of things that people want and then don't want. The cycle of life and death, decay and recomposition. The things I am drawn to are myriad. I know I'll never have the time to survey them all, but I'm on holidays right now so I'm going to give it a red hot go.

More Friends

Just adding a bit more to yesterdays post. More friends includes some shots I did a couple of weeks ago. More visitors who couldn't say no?

Friends of Friends

My daughters have some lovely friends. Some of whom come to visit and stay over. It's a special time in that I get to see kids of my children's age behaving nicely, politely and with respect. This behavior also has the flow on effect of somehow influencing my own children to adopt a similar approach around the house, at least for the time their friend is about.

There is another benefit that comes from these visits, and that is unending source of models for my photographic experimentation. One such friend new to the modelling world made a recent visit. It is always lovely to have this friend around and, I believe she enjoyed the session in front of the camera as much as I was pleased with the results. Thanks to you FH.

Orange in Black and White

Just last week Clare and I set off on another road trip adventure. South-west into the cold mountain air and the colours of autumn. Perversely I have chosen to render these images as toned Black and Whites. They are toned to a sepia, so the colours are at least slightly heading back to the orange of the title. Here the lady of the manor sits in quiet contemplation wondering, where did I leave my iPhone.

We had five lovely days on the road (less one day off for good behaviour). First we returned to an old favorite town, Bathurst. A visit to the Regional Gallery and some top nosh at the local Angus beef specialist. We had the Barra and the pizza (no cheese which raised the eyebrows on our waitress) starting off with dips, tapenade, olive oil and balsamic and more crostini than I could jump over.

Next stop Orange, where all of these images were taken. We stayed at the the Duntryleague Guesthouse. An amazing colonial home. We had the chapel. Disappointed as the Regional Gallery was in the midst of a changeover, however they still had one gallery operating with an inspiring selection of drawings from their collection. Some wonderful work there including some very fine drawings by John Forrester Clack.

Dubbo was the site of the third Regional Gallery on our list. We had a disappointing beginning in dear old Dubbo. I think we could have just kept on driving but it was getting late. We stayed the night in a brick fortress planning an early start after running through the gallery at top speed. How wrong our plans were to be. The exhibition Dream Weavers was the best show I have seen in a long while. And that was not all, the other two shows were also show stoppers in their own way. Lagau Dunalaig (island lifestyle), Brian Robinson and Joel Sam, two Torres Straight Islanders and excellent Printmakers. The work was spectacular beyond my initial expectations. We had coffee (and nearly toast) in the sun and chatted with the gallery manager and ended up having a very nice time indeed.

Images of the grounds at our lodgings in Orange - the Duntryleague Guest House.

New portraits

Not to be out done by her kid sister, Grace dons some fine fashions and steps into the spotlight for a session of itchy, hot clothes and trying not to smile too much or too little.

So happy to have such helpful kids to step up and suffer the glare for their father. Grace's favorite curry tonight is the reward. Olive played the role of stylist (mainly hair) and studio assistant when the need arose.

New Post

Moving forward with this project and finding new things all the time. I'm looking at Edward Muybridge and Sol Lewitt at the moment and there god almighty huge influence in the art world. Take it as bankable that I will be continuing this series with gusto and aiming for exhibition in a gallery space in the future.

Shopping Spree

Some new fashions for the girl. After a day in the shops here is some of the new gear we came home with. I'm thinking that we did pretty good.

Of course any excuse to turn the new flash gear on to get a snap of my girls flash new gear.

Let there be new lights

Oh yeah, just got myself some new lights. The highly acclaimed Einsteins by Mr Paul C Buff.

They arrived on friday and having been playing over the weekend. These lights are a major advance on the old Balcars I've been using for the last 20 years. They do everything I need and more. One of the things that sold me was that they happened to take the same fittings as my Balcar gear. So, my soft boxes, umbrellas, reflectors and grid spots all fit the new lights. Now that's a bargain. Mostly though, they are just really functional good quality lights. Easy to use from scratch, excellent colour stability and an awesome variable power range.

Low Key with Miss Clare

Surveying the vast world

Here is another in the Survey series of images. Does this image capture all there is to know about it's subject? Do I now own the subject of these images? What is the subject?

Destined for greater things than this humble blog.

Survey #2

I'm moving forward with something I believe in.

DON'T TRY

The epitaph on Charles Bukowki's head stone reads 'DON"T TRY'

I read an article about Charles Bukowski this week and discovered this interesting fact. The interviewer recalls a conversation with Linda Bukowski who explained the meaning thus.

"Yeah, I get so many different ideas from people that don’t understand what that means. Well, Don’t Try? Just be a slacker? lay back?” No!
Don’t try, do. Because if you’re spending your time trying something, you’re not doing it…”

Charles Bukowski, the man cuts through the shit with a large knife.

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Red Roses for my Valentine

Couldn't put this in yesterdays post (bit of a clash) and it is Valentines Day after all.

Choose a rose and send it to the one you love...

My City of Sydney

I miss the glow of you..
Is that right. Long time since that piece of musical liquid has slid through my inner ear.

Last weekend. A good one. Just an overnighter, but we packed in the thrills. Galleries, openings, coffees, window (and actual) shopping and the best Sushi salad in town at Jackies in Paddo.

Three images from Paddington....

Night Vision

Perhaps for me one of the great things about traveling is the chance to see something new, or rather to see something, perhaps familiar, in a different way.

It's not always the right time of day for that particular image you are after. Still there are only opportunities out there. You don't just need your eyes open, you need to have your mind open to all the new opportunities that arise from moment to moment and the possibilities to be creative within these opportunities.

Always a big fan of line, shape, form and colour the after dark images make it easy to ignore details and really concentrate on composition and the beautiful ways that colours can be heightened to create a kind of magical landscape of shapes and form. Your eyes can play with the colours, the shapes, and not be distracted by the need to engage with the details.

Some more images taken during my travels on the south coast of NSW with my lovely daughter Olive (who resides in the second image with me).

These images taken in Coledale and Kiama.

A step back in time...

Barely enough time to scratch myself today or any day in the last six weeks (you can't imagine how itchy I've been) I wanted to get another post up before Jan ended, so here it is.

I've been traveling for the whole of the holiday break to places near and far. I want to put up some images from those travels but I honestly don't know where to start. So, I've gone back to the beginning and placed one image that I took just as the holidays were beginning.

I like these images the people are always smiling for me.

There will be much more to come...