Melbourne photography

As some have requested, I've returned from a trip to Victoria. Here is a collection of photos from Melbourne. It's been a while since I've been back to mah hood, and even longer since I've actually been to any attractions. It was nice to go up Skydeck, walk to the MCG and through Southbank:

The photogenic Noodle Markets of South Bank

Wow! I did some research on the Noodle Markets, held for a couple of weeks each year at South Bank, but I didn't expect to enjoy the night as much as I did! The combination of lanterns floating on the walkways and the activity of the Wheel of Brisbane in the background made for some great compositions:

A selection of awesome compositions from the Noodle Markets  

I was also in the right place at the right time and happened to grab this snap from the boardwalk, looking back towards Brisbane's ever-changing skyline:

Sunset reflects the CBD

There were several other photographers out and about, trying to capture some great shots as well. Hopefully I'll be out and about again come Riverfire and the spectacular light shows put on by the city!

Goldie

Heading down to the Gold Coast for a weekend for an exciting umpiring opportunity, I decided to take the time to spend a few days there and take some photos. Here on the beach, getting up early enough to catch the sunrise proved to be difficult!

Gold Coast skyline at sunrise  

The new G:link also provided some good photo opportunities, taking some long exposures and some day-time shots:

Gold Coast's new tram  

I also enjoyed the opportunity to shoot a couple of places of interest on the coast while I was there. The famous lorikeets of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary:

Lorikeets. Squawk!

And the weird and wacky Ripley's Odditorium:

Ripley's

Fogged up

What a difference a bit of patience makes! Having rode all the way to the cliffs at Kangaroo Point in hopes of capturing the sunrise, I was disappointed to see the fog I had seen was so thick you couldn't even see all the way across the river.

Sitting around for a bit over half an hour, I decided to go a bit further along the river to see if there were any better vantage points, and stumbled across a spectacular diffraction effect with light bouncing off one of the CBD's glass buildings a bit further downriver:

CBD light diffraction

After grabbing some snaps there, I headed to Wilson's Outlook to see what effects were to be had from there. While they weren't nearly as spectacular, the ND1000 filter made for an interesting landscape, including a blurred CityCat:

Morning fog from Wilson's Outlook

So the mantra of patience definitely paid off!

Brisbane city lights up for IDAHOT!

For the second year running, International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia advocates managed to get the council to light up the city with rainbow colours. There was a flag ceremony at Brisbane City Hall, but the main attraction was undoubtedly the multi-coloured Story Bridge:

Brisbane IDAHOT celebrations

Another shoot done!

Really excited to be finished with my shoot from the Central Coast. I went down for a few days for work and my other work asked me to take some photos while I was down there! It was really nice to be able to go and see some touristy parts of Newcastle, like the Art Gallery and the Museum, as well as Fort Scratchley and its giant main cannons.

But mostly it was the outdoor attractions in Newcastle that I liked. The ocean baths, in particular, were mind-blowing. The tide would rise about an hour after sunrise and every wave would pound over the edge of the baths and into the pool.

Here's a selection of photos from the trip, you can find a complete collection of the photos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1433693700263810.1073741835.100008695801908&type=1

Highlights from a week in Newcastle