Vision Landscapes: Australia

Sydney, Australia - Friday, 5 October 2007

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 08:00:41 GMT

This afternoon, I visited some of my favorite spots in the city. I started by riding the subway into town, and then walking over to Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour is home to the Sydney Aquarium, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Convention Center and many other attractions. It seems to be a spot where tourists and locals alike come to relax, enjoy the cafe scene and just enjoy the things this vibrant city has available.

This image is of the city skyline from Cockle Bay at Darling Harbour. In the foreground is a floating restaurant, and in the background the Sydney IMAX Theater and city skyline.

After leaving Darling Harbour, I rode the Monorail around the city, passing through the China Town area, finally getting off at city center. From there I walked along Pitt Street, back to Circular Quay.

Later, I took what has become one of my favorite walks within the city. It starts at the entrance to the area known as "The Rocks", wonders past some of the oldest pubs and hotels in city, to the Ken Duncan gallery, then backtracking a little and taking the walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and back.

As I walked across the bridge, I noticed a number of people out for their daily run. I can't help but be a little envious of them, being able to cross the the bridge spanning, what is undoubtedly the most beautiful harbor in the world, as a matter of daily exercise. I'm sure that the weather probably only allows this during only a portion of the year.

I'm not really much of a city person, but I've grown to love Sydney. The wealth of its history and architecture are evident everywhere I look. The little out of the way coffee shops and pubs make relaxing every day of the week part of the culture. Whenever I leave, I long to return.

del.icio.us Tags: Australia, Sydney, Travel

Return to Sydney - Friday, 5 October 2007

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 06:00:37 GMT

My time in Victoria is over, and I must begin the long trip home to Hawaii. Before then however, I'll spend two more days in Sydney, then three days in Fiji. It seems amazing that despite all the rain we have had in Victoria the past week, since I arrived, there are major fires raging further north, near Sydney. Truly, this is a country of extremes.

del.icio.us Tags: Australia, Travel

Australian Spring - Tuesday, 2 October 2007

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 03:42:05 GMT

It is spring time here in Australia, and to top it off, the sun is shining brightly. It has been raining since I arrived last week, and this is a welcome change. I took the opportunity to take an early morning drive through the historic township of Wandiligong.

Here is an image from this morning as I was driving around.

del.icio.us Tags: Australia, Victoria, Travel, Photography

Beechworth, Victoria, Australia - Sunday, 30 September 2007

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 23:38:47 GMT

The weather is still a bit unsettled today, with a bit of light rain and overcast skies. Yesterday it rained all day - quite hard at times. According to the weather report, the weather should be back to normal in a day or so.

This afternoon, I visited the historical town of Beechworth. Beechworth is one of Victoria's best-preserved gold rush towns. With over 30 buildings listed by the National Trust, Beechworth has a remarkable architectural heritage, from imposing hotels, churches and government offices to miners’ cottages and the gaol where bushranger Ned Kelly was imprisoned.

Ned Kelly (1855-1880), outlaw and folk hero of the Australian bush, was tried for murder, at the courthouse in Beechworth. being aware of the story of Ned Kelly, it was obvious that a visit to the Beechworth Historic Courthouse was a good place to start. The Beechworth Courthouse was built in1858 of local honey colored granite. In this building, Ned Kelly was tried, as were other members of the Kelly gang, including Joe Bryne and Dan Kelly (Ned's brother). Ned's mother, Ellen, surviving brother Jim and various cousins also appeared in the Court at various times.

After visiting the Courthouse, I decided to walk through the town and look at the historical buildings.

del.icio.us Tags: Australia, Travel, Victoria

Milawa, Victoria, Australia - Friday, 28 September 2007

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:37:04 GMT

Australia is in the midst of a major drought, but it has been raining for most of the past two days. While it makes photography hard, I understand that the country badly needs the rain.

This afternoon, the rain lightened up a bit, so I took the opportunity to visit the Milawa Gourmet Region, located in the Ovens & King River Valleys of North East Victoria. This Region is known for it abundant agricultural land and includes wineries, mustard, olives and lavender fields among other crops grown here. Also located in this region is the Milawa Cheese Factory, which produces many varieties of cheese. This is one of my favorite spots to visit, which I do whenever I am in Victoria.

The first image was taken inside the Brown Brothers tasting room in Milawa, and shows the selection of wines that are available for purchase. The selection varies from year to year, based upon the quality of the harvest. Family owned Brown Brothers, is one of Australia's largest wine producers, having been established over 100 years ago.

The Image below is of the Milawa Mustard shop in Milawa. This shop has an excellent range of mustards and other local products. For example, I purchased a very nice Sundried Tomato & Capsicum Pate and a Chili & Tomato Pesto, both of which are local products from the King Valley.

I also visited Milawa Cheese Factory Bakery & Restaurant, but unfortunately, the cheese tasting was closed as they were preparing to close for the day. I may be able to return later during my visit.

See the following link for more information about the Milawa Gourmet Region. http://www4.visitmelbourne.com/displayObject.cfm/ObjectID.0009F7EC-B019-1F83-B35880C476A90000/vvt.vhtml

del.icio.us Tags: Travel, Australia, Victoria

Road to Victoria - Wednesday, 26 October 2007

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:02:07 GMT

Living in Hawaii leaves me with little opportunity to travel long distances by car. So, when I visit Australia I take the opportunity presented me. One of my favorite drives is from Sydney to Northern Victoria, a distance of about 600km. I left at 4am this morning, intending on photographing the sunrise along the way. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't in a cooperating mood, with overcast skies, and a general dreary feeling. Fortunately, by mid-morning, the sky has pretty much cleared up, and the sun shone.

About 300km south of Sydney, the first image of the day presented itself, in a beautiful field of rapeseed (canola). This is a subject I have photographed a number of times, but have never really been happy with. These fields can be quite colorful, in fact, so colorful that it overwhelms the scene. Rapeseed, which is a member of the mustard family, is grown both as feed for livestock and for its seeds, which are used as birdfeed. The seeds are also processed into an oil, known to us as Canola oil.

A lot of people think of Australia being primarily desert, and while this country does have large tracks of land that is desert, parts of New South Wales (where this image was taken) and Victoria are quite fertile. Later this week, I will travel through some other agricultural areas in Victoria, and will visit a couple of the local wineries. I have a few pictures to share from these visits as well.

A major accident caused the main road (Hume Highway) between Sydney and Melbourne to be closed near Holbrook, with southbound traffic being detoured through Waga Waga. This meant at least an additional 50km was added to the trip. Needing to get to Bright, where I would be spending several days, this left me a little pressed for time.

del.icio.us Tags: Travel, Australia, New South Wales, Photography

Sydney, Australia - Tuesday, 25 September 2007

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 07:01:28 GMT

This has been a very long day. It started at the Honolulu International Airport and ended with the sun setting over Sydney Harbor, in Sydney Australia. I arrived in Sydney on a flight from Nadi, Fiji at a little after 12:00pm. After clearing customs, and picking up a rental car from Hertz, I checked into the Mercure Hotel, near the airport. That done, I hopped on the subway and rode into Circular Quay, which is pretty much the heart of the city. I started by visiting Ken Duncan's photography gallery in The Rocks, then over to the Sydney Opera House. I spent an hour just photographing the tile patterns on the roof of the Opera House, then I decided to sit on the steps of the Opera House and wait until sunset. This whole area comes to life after sunset, with the Opera Bar starting to fill up, as patrons order beer and just watch the sunset. Finally, it was time to return to my hotel on the subway system.

Without a doubt, Sydney, Australia is the of the most recognizable cities in the world. In large part, this recognition comes from the iconic Sydney Opera House, with its backdrop Sydney Harbor Bridge. Originally founded as a British penal colony in 1788, today the natural harbor forms the centerpiece of a modern, cosmopolitan city.

Tomorrow, it is onto the southern state of Victoria. Since it is a 600km drive to my destination, I will be leaving around 4am - partially so I will arrive at a early hour, and partly to be able to photograph the sunrise, from the plains south of Sydney.

I'll leave you with a photo of the Sydney Opera House taken this evening.

del.icio.us Tags: Travel, Australia, Sydney

Fall 2007 Trip to Australia and Fiji

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 05:36:15 GMT

I'm off again on another photography trip this coming weekend. I normally take at least one trip a year to Australia, and it has been almost a year since I was there last.

This trip will be a little different from past trips; I almost always try to spend a little time in the Outback, but this year I am going to concentrate on the Alpine National Park - including Mount Buffalo National Park - area of Victoria. This is an area about 300 km north of the city of Melbourne; well known for its vineyards. Snapshot map:

Ovens River Valley

I'll start the trip in Sydney as usual, and drive down from there. It is about a 600km drive, taking most of the day. I don't mind, since it is a very relaxing drive, and long distance driving is an activity that one doesn't get to do much living in Hawaii.

I'll be in this area for about 10 days, then I'll return to Sydney.

From there it is off to Nadi, Fiji to photograph on the island of Viti Levu. I'll be staying in Nadi, and photographing primarily around the towns of Nadi and Suva (the national capitol). I'm also planning on spending a bit of time along the Coconut Coast - more on this later.

I'll do my best to keep this blog updated along the way, assuming that I can find an Internet connection - from past experience, finding one around Bright isn't easy, when you are wanting to use your own computer (using theirs is no problem at the Bright Backpackers Hotel).

To give you a little better idea of how I travel and the type of photography I do, the equipment for this trip includes: Toyo 45AII (primary landscape camera), Nikon F6 (primary travel camera) and a Nikon D200 (backup camera), along with various lenses and a Nikon SB-800 flash unit. I'll be shooting a combination of Fuji Velvia 50, Fuji Velvia 100 and Fuji Provia 400X, and a SanDisk 4GB Extreme IV CF card.

Until later,

Robert

del.icio.us Tags: Australia, Fiji, Photography, Travel