photography

A Winter’s Day in Perth

/ Christina B / 6 Comments

In between the grey and rainy winter’s days Perth spoils us with the most beautiful weather sometimes. We are very fortunate to have these blue sky days and I love being outdoors on a day like this. If it’s over the weekend, so much the better. While I was driving the other day, I heard the radio announcer say that it’s really beautiful out at Lesmurdie Falls at the moment. I’ve never been there so I thought it would be a great idea for an outing.

Today dawned crisp and clear – a perfect day for a little drive. Armed with my Thermos coffee flask and camera I set off to Lesmurdie – about a 40 minute drive southeast in the Perth Hills. My husband was off mountain biking and the kids all had other plans for the day which meant I could take my time dawdling and taking as many photos as I like without wasting anybody else’s time.

I walked around for about an hour, taking in the beautiful scenery, enjoying being out in the sunshine and of course, taking lots of photos. The falls are in the Swan river catchment area. The views towards Perth and the coast are breathtaking, and there were lots of wildflowers out. An added bonus was that I got to see my first bandicoot (a small, usually nocturnal, marsupial) in the wild. There are a few hikes out there, which we’ll definitely go and do some time (preferably in winter because it will be too hot in summer). My husband joined me for a quick coffee from the flask after his ride, since he was close by. I had a great time, relaxed and enjoying nature and the beautiful weather with my camera in hand – a perfect day!

The top of Lesmurdie Falls with view towards the coast
The top of Lesmurdie Falls
Lesmurdie Falls
Wildflowers
Wildflowers
Lesmurdie Falls National Park
Lesmurdie Falls National Park
Cascades above the Lesmurdie Falls
Wildflowers
Wildflowers
Bandicoot (small marsupial)
Wildflowers
Cascades above the Lesmurdie Falls
Bandicoot
Wildflowers
Lesmurdie Falls National Park
My attempt at a panorama with my iPhone. Pity about the light. Lesmurdie Falls with view towards Perth city and the coast.
View towards Perth city and the coast

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Treat

/ Christina B / 7 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Treat.”

Coffee is as much a treat for me as it is a daily essential. Especially that first cup in the morning sets the tone for the day. When we go camping I always pack a coffee filter and ground coffee to be able to have my delicious cup in the morning, and it gives me so much pleasure to sit back and start the day slowly while sipping that coffee.

Camp coffee being made at Brandberg bush camp, Namibia

Camp coffee being made at Brandberg bush camp, Namibia

If I happen to wake up to views such as these while camping and drinking my morning cup of coffee, it’s pure bliss.

Early morning at Brandberg bush camp, Namibia. A blissful start to the day: drinking coffee and taking photos.

Early morning at Brandberg bush camp, Namibia. A blissful start to the day: drinking coffee and taking photos.

Connected with cables and the people of Perth: The Giants – Photo Challenge

/ Christina B / 7 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Connected.”

The Giants came to Perth in February 2015 as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. They were connected to cranes and trucks with cables and their every move (made possible by a manifold of handlers who were in turn connected to the giants) was mesmerizing but it was the way they connected with the people of Perth, brought the crowds out in their thousands for three days straight, the way the people of Perth connected with each other as a result as well as The Giants’ connection to Australia and New Zealand’s Anzac history during the year we celebrated the centenary of Gallipoli that made for a quite indescribable experience.

The quality of my photos aren’t brilliant as we saw them for a brief time only (about 2 minutes max from the time they came into our view) and I had to make the most of the opportunities available, but it’s the experience that’s stayed with me. (I prefer the tiled gallery to the mesh that I used previously because I hadn’t worked out how to display the portrait style photos properly in a mesh gallery.)

Their full story can be read here: The Giants

(and there’s a mention in one of my previous posts).

I hope the gallery can do justice to their story, I find it touching to work with the photos but hard to convey the emotion.

The Diver and Little Girl will soon awaken, their sleepful breathing can still be heard
The Diver, close-up
The Little Girl and The Diver are coming along the road
The Little Girl is now in our view
Close-up of The Little Girl
The Little Girl approaching
Looking around, connecting with the crowds
One last glance our way
And then The Diver came into full view
Measuring over 6 metres every movement of The Diver requires a legion of lilliputians
Hard work by the lilliputians connected to The Diver
And some acrobatics as well
Glancing the other way
And then he’d passed us
Some more acrobatics
And that was our last view of The Giants as they made their way towards their boat waiting on the Swan River