Bruny Island - Tasmania - Stunning

I had a chance to go to Bruny Island a few weeks back. Having been to Tasmania more times than I can remember this was a great chance to see a part of the state I had never been to.

Bruny Island is only a short distance from Hobart but because it involves a ferry, boat or plane it (like many island communities) is less popular than the main island, which is also its appeal.

My trip was a quick (overnight) work related one, so it made sense to fly in from Hobart airport on an island hopper.

Bruny is separated into 2 by a narrow "neck" seen above. The airstrip is gravel but these planes are made for them.

Included in this trip was a boat ride around the southern part of the island. It's a rugged coastline and can be very rough. But we had perfect conditions including for dolphins and seals.

What struck me was the variety of scenery. From calm lagoons to crashing waves, sandy beaches to rocky cliffs, farmland to forests - Bruny has a lot to offer and well worth a visit.

Hand luggage needed to include the 1Dx but with weight limitation I only took the 24-70L f2.8 and 70-200L f2.8 and no tripod.

My best 4 shots are here.

This one is is a taster.

Just driving past

We recently did a trip to South Australia. It was one of those occasions where finally you get a chance to do something on your bucket list.

Robe South Australia was on the bucket list and with a spare day of annual leave together with a long weekend we had 4 days. Using our Camps 6 guide we found the bush camping site in Southend so booked ahead.

Nice spot near the beach.

Wanting to drive along the beach we headed off for Robe along the beach and then onto the main highway. Robe is a Noosa wannabe town. Nice but the standard of cafe and shops has a little bit to go.

I found a great spot for taking some pics so while mrs G went shopping I sat trying to capture the waves.

Here's the best one.



But the special pics was on the way back. (Well we went to Kingston SE first)

Ripping down the highway at 110kph we came across this old building marked "ruin" on my GPS map.

Made me feel a little bit like Ken Duncan.

Happy New Year - Melbourne Fireworks

Last night was New Years eve and, coincidentally, our friend's wedding anniversary. So we had a double celebration in Melbourne.

Our friends were married on the water near Victoria harbour so after dinner it seemed fitting to stay and watch the fireworks and to try to get some pics.

I knew a spot that I hoped wasn't well known enough that we should get a great view and be able to park nearby.

So with 10mins to spare before 12:00am we arrived and got setup.

The trick with fireworks is to get the shutter speed right. Too fast and all you get is dots in the sky, too slow and its just a mess. My best shots are between 1 and 5 secs. So a tripod is essential.

Melbourne fireworks are big so a wide angle was also also called for, so I fitted the Canon 16-35mm for the job.

Happy with the results.

Here's a link to the best 5.

... and here's my fav.