It’s been a hot start to 2013 here in Melbourne…..
It’s been a very hot start to the New Year and I’ve been following some of my New Year resolutions already – the main one being to stop taking so many hundreds of photos which are taking so much time and energy to review and/or edit.
I have also started culling some of my mediocre photos whilst being stuck at home with the extreme hot weather (41C or 106F today, for example). From now on, I’m going to make a concentrated effort to take fewer photos, spend more time on trying different angles or camera settings, and only keep the ones that require little or no editing.
Talking of different angles, I actually sat on some rocks with the camera to my eye aiming for some low down shots (hard for me with a stiff & painful lower back) and very nearly got cut off with the incoming tide to take the shot below.
When I arrived at St Kilda beach earlier this week, the wind was not only cool, but very gusty, and I had trouble standing still enough to take ANY photos.
In the end, I extended my lightweight tripod to about 15″ high and sat on the boat slipway trying to take a photo of a lonely cormorant amongst the many seagulls which lined the rusty slipway – no luck.
I knelt on the sand to try to get some shots of seagulls playing in a shallow pool with some lovely reflections in the water – no luck – all those shots were too blurred (even with sharpening the focus in editing).
Out of the 130 photos I took, I only kept 10 and they were mostly mediocre at best. I spotted what looked like a couple of Hoary-headed Grebes in the distance, but my 18-200mm wouldn’t reach far enough to capture them. Shame about that as they are one of the birds I’d like to have in my Australian Bird photo folder.
A cool change is forecast for tonight, so if the wind will die down a bit, I might get out tomorrow for a short walk (for the only the second time in about 10 days). But as my fridge is empty it will be a toss-up between my insatiable desire for a walk and photo opportunity OR my real need for some fresh food.
One of the things that struck me on Tuesday was the number of bottles that lay on the beach and in the shallow incoming tide – remnants of New Year’s Eve no doubt.
I cringe when I see these thoughtless and unwanted additions to our beautiful beaches, but also worry about the broken glass and accidental cuts they might cause.
The bottle below wasn’t broken, but it still made me cringe and feel angry at the thoughtless disposal (when there are dozens of rubbish & recycling bins lining the beaches and esplanade).
Agreed about the bottles, Vicki – ticks me off to see some of the stuff people leave on the beach.
I’m in Melbourne too, what a stinker it was today! Always love your photos when you get down by the beach.
Thankyou Jackscrap. I’m not a beach person per se, but I love the sound of the sea and the waves rolling onto the shore. I also love that fresh sea air smell which sometimes actually reaches me in the inner Melbourne suburb where I live (if the wind is blowing the right way). I sat on the shady side of the St Kilda pier kiosk and had some of their amazing hot chips while watching the seagulls hover & soar through that gusty wind – it was heavenly and very relaxing.
Just checked the weather report – 38 degrees (around 100F) is forecast for Monday – looks like another hot week. Hope you have air conditioning or able to stay cool with your family.
Hey Victoria, it sure has been pretty hot. Great excuse to go to the beach. Great shows, can’t tell that you were shaking. I agree the photograph of the bottle is infuriating….
Hi Rayya, I imagine it’s even hotter inland where you live – hope your doggies aren’t sweltering too much in these high temperatures.
(I deleted all the 120 images where I was wobbling in the gusty wind. The images above are out of the 10 photos I kept, which was all I had to show for the afternoon outdoors).
Take care in this heat – I imagine your vet clinic is air conditioned?
I understand completely, Vicki. I am back on my own PC again. Be on the look-out for pics. My T3i/600D is on the way! I could not get the 18-200. I got the 70-300mm and the “kit” 18-55 though. Still rocks!!!
Sounds fantastic Steve.
I’m sure you’ll be happy with the 600D. Better still you might be able to get some bird shots with that 70-300mm.