Sunday 29 January 2012

Dawn Launch

Lake Eppalock boat launch for a few hours fishing. Note the images taken at the same time one into the sunrise, the other with the light behind.
 iPhone 4
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iPhone 4
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Saturday 28 January 2012

Home Garden Pictures

Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f3.2, 1/320 sec
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 Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f3, 1/100 sec
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 Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 450, 105mm f3.2, 1/80 sec
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 Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f3.2, 1/100 sec
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 Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f3.2, 1/320 sec
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 Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 280, 105mm f8, 1/80 sec
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Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f3.2, 1/400 sec
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Thursday 26 January 2012

Australia Day 2012 Jan 1st or 26th?

The Australia Day national holiday on the 26th of January only started to be celebrated nationally from 1935 and not until 1994 consistently as a public holiday on that date. The challenge of making the 26th of January a day all Australians can accept and enjoy is the fact that the 26th of January originated to mark the beginning of British occupation of Australia by British pioneering settlers, symbolised by the raising of the Union Jack and later the Australian flag which bears the British flag. This gives rise to Aboriginal Australians referring to it as 'invasion day'. Maybe the same spirit of the current Australia day could be achieved by changing it to January 1st and focus more on celebrating Federation, when Australia became an independent nation on 1st January 1901. Anyway happy Australia Day.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 200, 35mm f2.2, 1/500 sec
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Sunday 22 January 2012

Gong Hey Fat Choy - Xin Nian Kuai Le - The Year of the Dragon 2012

Moonambel

We took the ute on a 4x4 trek today. We went from Redbank to the town of Moonambel via The St Arnaud Range National Park and the Redbank Nature Conservation ReserveMoonambel is situated in a sheltered valley in the heart of the Victorian Pyrenees. Victoria's Pyrenees District is a wine region centred on the Pyrenees ranges located in Victoria, Australia near the town of Avoca. See our track mapped here on the MotionX-GPS site. I use MotionX-GPS on the iPhone.
 Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 13mm f8, 1/320 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f8, 1/400 sec
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Sunday 15 January 2012

Q. Where are your Buccaneers?

A. under your buccan hat. Our Elephant Ear plant is flowering, a rare event by all accounts. Must be the master gardener at work. Alocasia is a genus of broad leaved tuberous perennials from the Family Araceae. There are 78 species normally occurring in Tropical or Subtropical Asia and Australia. I think this one is a Alocasia brisbanensis. its common name is native lily or cunjevoi and has large, spade shaped leaves on long, fleshy stems. The flowers are a perfumed, greenish-cream colour that is similar to an arum lily. Red fruits follow the flowering. We will see.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 360, 105mm f3, 1/80 sec

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Fotoshop by Adobé

I'm pretty sure anyone who uses Adobe Photoshop or reads magazines will find this video amusing.
 
Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.



Saturday 14 January 2012

Bountiful Harvest

We have our first crop of grapes since planting two vines for shade on the back deck 18 months ago. We got 6 small bunches of one vine. We also have nectarines and peaches coming on. Update will follow . . .

Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 200, 50mm f1.4, 1/640 sec
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Thursday 12 January 2012

Flinders Ranges Part III

On the first section of Sky Trek, as mentioned in Flinders Ranges Part II, all you really need is the ground clearance of a 4WD. That is until you start ascending the mountain range where you need a proper 4WD with low range to tackle as the terrain is very steep in places. Sky Trek is a 60km loop where you will find yourself using low range more often than not in the final 30km as you traverse up and down the ranges. In terms of scenery and some of the best 4WD driving the Flinders Ranges ranks right up there with some of the best 4WD destinations in the country and Sky Trek is the most famous of several private property tracks that will get you views and experiences you will not get in the National Park alone. From the top of Mount Caernarvon Trig Point you get the best perspective of the Flinders Ranges and an almost birds eye view of Wilpena Pound from this vantage point.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 220, 35mm f22, 1/80 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/125 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/125 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/125 sec
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Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 400, 35mm f22, 1/80 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/200 sec
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Wednesday 11 January 2012

Flinders Ranges Part II

Skytrek is a 4WD self drive tour on Willow Springs Station Flinders Ranges in South Australia. Willow Springs Station is located around 450km north of Adelaide, or just over 1000km from Bendigo Victoria. This trek takes approximately 6 hours and is an exhilarating 4WD experience that takes you up to Mount Caernarvon, at 921 Metres its the highest points of vehicle access in the Flinders Ranges. The track starts fairly sedately through huge Red River Gum lined creek beds, aboriginal etchings, groves of native pines and black oak and bluebush plains in the mountain valleys. There are plenty of historic points of interest along the way like windmills, mustering yards and an old shepherd's hut.


Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/100 sec
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Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 200, 35mm f16, 1/0 sec
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Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 200, 35mm f8, 1/200 sec
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Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 200, 35mm f8, 1/320 sec
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Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 200, 35mm f16, 1/320 sec
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Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 200, 35mm f16, 1/200 sec
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Tuesday 10 January 2012

Flinders Ranges Part I

The Flinders Ranges and Wilpena Pound are located in South Australia around 450km north of Adelaide, or just over 1000km from Bendigo Victoria. The first day here we went to see the ranges from Moralana Scenic Road. A 130km round trip from Hawker up the Wilpena (Binman) Rd to the Moralana track, an easy outback red dust track except for some creek crossings. It skirts along the South and West side of Wilpena Pound across to Barndioota (Parachilna) Rd where we circled back to Hawker.




Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 200, 35mm f2, 1/3200 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/160 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/100 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/160 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/160 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 220, 11mm f16, 1/80 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f22, 1/125 sec
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Sunday 8 January 2012

Millewa Community Pioneer Park in Meringur

On the way to the Flinders Ranges we stopped at Meringur, a farming settlement to the west of Mildura. It is located at the end of the Red Cliffs-Meringur Road towards the South Australian border. Meringur has a population of 20 and the only business still operating is the Meringur Post Office. While in Meringur we visited the Millewa Pioneer Forest and Historical Village open air museum. The Pioneer Village which has many original buildings and artefacts from the Millewa pioneers. Well worth a trip to see. We found the original Werrimull Railway Station building where my Mum actually worked as the Station Mistress for a short time in 1955 when Dad was a Ganger on the Victorian Railways and he was based in Werrimull, a few Kms East of Meringur.


Shadows of the past . . . . 
 Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 250, 16mm f16, 1/80 sec
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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f2.8, 1/60 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 220, 16mm f16, 1/80 sec
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Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2D @ ISO 1600, 35mm f2.8, 1/60 sec
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 Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 1600, 11mm f5.6, 1/30 sec
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 Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 1600, 16mm f2.8, 1/60 sec
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Friday 6 January 2012

A Wild Dog or Not?

Speaking of wild dogs from the previous post (here) this fearsome beast came screaming out of the saltbush and dust at us while we were stopped for a cuppa at a rest stop near Orroroo South Australia.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f5.6, 1/160 sec
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Hmm she thought it was pretty funny . . . . . . 
Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f5.6, 1/80 sec
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Lookout at Orroroo
Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 16mm f16, 1/125 sec
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Thursday 5 January 2012

Dog Proof Fence

Heading to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia we stopped briefly at Wycheproof, a small regional town in the centre of the Shire of Buloke, in North Western Victoria. Mount Wycheproof is a mountain located in the town. Standing at 43 metres (141 ft) above the surrounding terrain, Mount Wycheproof has the distinction of being the smallest registered mountain in the world.

iPhone 4
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43 Kms further North West on the Calder Highway, near Culgoa is a historic marker for the dog proof fence  (Click text to view in Google Maps) This marks the site of the dog netting fence which crossed the highway at this point. Part of the fence is included with the memorial. The fence stretched approximately 325 kilometres from Tyntynder on the Murray River to the South Australian border and was intended to prevent wild dogs and other vermin entering farmlands to the south.
 iPhone 4
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iPhone 4
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