My Photography

I have been taking photos for over 40 years mostly of events, travels and basically a diary of my life. It's only when I moved to Taradale, about 5 years ago that I discovered photography as an art form. I was inspired by the landscape and the historical artifacts within it. I also discovered the rich and diverse art community within the Castlemaine region which gave me the courage to express myself with my photography and to share it with anyone interested with my work.

Black and white photography has eluded me, but with the advent of digital dark rooms with the likes of Adobe Photoshop has made me a convert to black and white processing. A black White images is a pure expression of a subject or scene just based on it luminosity and contrast i.e. light and dark tones.

The American landscape photographer Ansell Adams has also been an inspiration even before I started to take photography seriously. His dictum that "you do not take a photograph you make it" resounds with me . I spend time crafting an image which captures my thoughts and emotions as to why the subject "talked to me".

Images around Taradale

The Colours of Taradale

Classic Yachts

Taradale

Taradale is a small country township in central Victoria, Australia. As a relatively new arrival to Taradale I have been inspired by the landscapes and their historical artifacts. This inspiration has also been fuelled by the creativity of the diverse artistic community in this region.

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Tree Scape 1

These two trees are very dominant in the bare landscape

Gnarly

An old fence in an old landscape. It belongs.

Distant Horizon

The stand of eucalypts frame the distant horizon.

Tree scape 2

Queen's Bithday Steam Train

Every Queen's birthday holiday (mid June) this train passes through my property. Its a glorious sight.

Ruined Cottage

I stumbled accross this cottage while exploring the "outer suburbs" of Taradale

Wrecked

I discovered this scene just behind the ruined cottage.

Broken Bridge

A short drive out of Taradale is a newly built causeway that crosses a tributary of the Coliban River. The bridge is a testament to solid bush engineering.

Holden Museum

A bit of motoring history.

The old Quartz Battery

In the mid to 1800's Taradale was a booming gold town. The quartz gold bearing rock was crushed here.

Dr Spanner

The old Taradale service station

Taradale Viaduct

This is a significant feature in Taradale. It was built in 1862 and trains still use it.

Taradale Station

The train does not stop here anymore.

Disused windmill for water pumping.

The white mound in the distance is "mullock heap" from gold mining operations.

Trinity Church

The church sits atop a hill and overlooks all of Taradale.

The Viaduct

Taken from the east side of the viaduct

The Colours of Taradale

One of the delights of living in Taradale are the dramatic cloudscapes and the changing light they create. In summer you have to get up early to capture some dramatic sunrises. In autumn the there is a kaleidoscope of colour in the deciduous trees, and the sunsets can be spectacular. Winter is the only month when the colours become quite muted. However, the light can be quite dramatic when the sun peaks through the clouds to highlight some part of the landscape. These are fleeting moments and usually happen when a camera is not at hand!

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The Storm Has Passed

Orange Sunrise

This really was the colour!

Making Paella

Taradale hosts a festival every year and the food offerings are very diverse.

Taradale Mineral Springs Festival

The Viaduct

Most images of the viaduct are taken from the other side. This was taken from a narrow gap in the trees.

Autumn Sunrise

You Have Mail

Marg's Frock Shop

This window is part of the Taradale Wine and Produce Store

Storm Clouds Gathering

Winter Sunrise

Golden Willows

This was taken from the Goldfields Track

Autumn Trees

This is a corner of the Mineral Springs Reserve

Golden Fields

Taken from the Goldfields Track

Autumn Trees- Potts Rd

Summer Sunrise

The Anglcan Church in Autumn

Classic Yacht Photgraphy

Classic Yacht Photography

The Challenges of Yacht Photography

It's very hard to take photos of other people's boats when you are sailing your own. When my boat was out of the water for one race I had the opportunity to go out on the 'chase boat' and to take some photos of the yachts.

Photographing yachts is not that simple. You have to know the course being sailed so you can be in a position to catch some action when the yachts are coming up to the turning marks. Having a good boat driver is essential as you do not want to interfere with the race, but do want to get close up to the yachts.

The photo platform is quite low so there is always some spray present even in quiet conditions, consequently you are constantly wiping spray from the camera and lens.

Yacht photography is quite energetic as you are constantly moving around the boat to get the best shots. You cannot really stand up in a rocking boat.

All my sailing photographs have been taken during Classic Yacht Association of Australia (CYAA) events on Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne.

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