Photo: Geoff Ellis By Geoff Ellis
A BLUSTERY Saturday in January. I sit snugly in the car monitoring the darkening clouds as I tick off the mental checklist: camera, coffee, raincoat, scarf, jacket, thicker jacket, tripod, towels. I send a text message to confirm my departure so there is no turning back.
Somewhere west of Wonthaggi I max the heater to VERY HOT. The next 40 minutes are a kaleidoscope of bright sunshine and black clouds dumping the odd sheet of sleet. The only constant is the strong winds and the traffic. A few minutes after 1pm I turn into the carpark at Mussel Rocks near Cowes, where Faith Stanes directs me to an empty parking spot.
Faith is the convenor of this outing, the first of the year for the revamped Bass Coast Camera Group, part of the Bass Coast Artists Society, which, like everyone else, is emerging from hibernation.
A BLUSTERY Saturday in January. I sit snugly in the car monitoring the darkening clouds as I tick off the mental checklist: camera, coffee, raincoat, scarf, jacket, thicker jacket, tripod, towels. I send a text message to confirm my departure so there is no turning back.
Somewhere west of Wonthaggi I max the heater to VERY HOT. The next 40 minutes are a kaleidoscope of bright sunshine and black clouds dumping the odd sheet of sleet. The only constant is the strong winds and the traffic. A few minutes after 1pm I turn into the carpark at Mussel Rocks near Cowes, where Faith Stanes directs me to an empty parking spot.
Faith is the convenor of this outing, the first of the year for the revamped Bass Coast Camera Group, part of the Bass Coast Artists Society, which, like everyone else, is emerging from hibernation.
And then there are two of us, looking at the sky; waiting, not knowing what to expect as the weather is more than a little up and down. But we stick it out and Mother Nature is kind. We finally have a long stretch of blue sky, sunshine and no rain!
We head down the steps to the beach front to have a look at our surrounds. The tide is on the higher side and rising. The wind gusts are strong. Faith points out that this presents an opportunity for great long exposure shots so we set up tripods and cameras on a higher aperture of F22. Faith attaches a neutral density filter designed to cut out a number of stops of light which allows you to expose the image for longer periods of time.
We choose the old pier sticks as our point of interest and open the shutter for anywhere between three and 10 seconds. This gives the water a creamy movement look.
We head down the steps to the beach front to have a look at our surrounds. The tide is on the higher side and rising. The wind gusts are strong. Faith points out that this presents an opportunity for great long exposure shots so we set up tripods and cameras on a higher aperture of F22. Faith attaches a neutral density filter designed to cut out a number of stops of light which allows you to expose the image for longer periods of time.
We choose the old pier sticks as our point of interest and open the shutter for anywhere between three and 10 seconds. This gives the water a creamy movement look.
Mussel Rocks. Photo: Faith Stanes
After spending some time at Mussel Rocks we drive a short distance to Red Rock Beach and take some more long exposure photos that have that ‘wow’ factor.
There is a lot of fun to be had dodging the squalls while setting up tripods and honing nascent photography skills. We share some great conversations though some of the words are lost to the wind. A gas tanker heading for the open sea is a stark reminder of the threats to these precious environments.
The day ends with fish `n` chips by the beach with some great company discussing options for our next outing. The BCAS Camera Group has a strong social component and includes people of all skill levels and various equipment levels.
New members are welcome. Email bcascameragroup@gmail.com. Our next outing will focus on Loch on Saturday February 20. Details on the BCAS Camera Group Facebook page.
There is a lot of fun to be had dodging the squalls while setting up tripods and honing nascent photography skills. We share some great conversations though some of the words are lost to the wind. A gas tanker heading for the open sea is a stark reminder of the threats to these precious environments.
The day ends with fish `n` chips by the beach with some great company discussing options for our next outing. The BCAS Camera Group has a strong social component and includes people of all skill levels and various equipment levels.
New members are welcome. Email bcascameragroup@gmail.com. Our next outing will focus on Loch on Saturday February 20. Details on the BCAS Camera Group Facebook page.
Photo: Geoff Ellis