Robert's Ramblings

An expression I have not heard in years, 'nightfall' came to mind this evening and got me wondering, just when does 'night fall'?

It is easy to describe moments along the way.

The moment the sun dips below the horizon.
The emergence of the very first stars.
The moment a feature on the horizon is lost in the darkness.
When all the night-sky's stars become visible.

All these moments are grey transitions until you realize you are left gazing into starry night's sky.

So when does night fall? All I can be sure of it that it just does!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Nightfall', 1/60s f/11 ISO160 13mm

My good friend Simon likes coffee. I just did not realize how much he likes his coffee until last weekend when we visited him and his wife Emma in Canberra.

"Would you like a coffee?" he offered as we were welcomed in. What a great way to kick off the afternoon I thought as he led us to his little barista grotto.

There before me was a sight that just might make coffee lovers think they have died and gone to heaven.

The fully manual machine equipped with a myriad of gauges, controls and readouts was spotless and gleaming.

The calibrated grinder took pride of place along side.

Neatly laid out were tampers, handles and filter baskets for perfect extraction along with a diverse set of barista accessories.

The best equipment in the world does not count for much if you can't get the best from it. The proof would be in this pouring.

All my apprehension was swept away with my first sip of the wonderfully aromatic short black I was given.

Thank you Simon for this culinary gift. Without a doubt this was the best shot of coffee I have ever had.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Simon's Gift', 1/60s f/2.8 ISO1000 200mm

Even with the camera sitting on the back seat, after nearly 700Km behind the wheel it seemed like a monumental effort to just pull over and capture this beautiful scene unfolding over the Western New South Wales country toen of Balranald.

Once the decision to pull over had been made all that fatigue slipped away, the circulation returned and we enjoyed the sunset with renenewd admiration.

What better way to take a travelling break on a long Australian road trip.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Goodnight Balranald', 1/3200s f/32 ISO160 75mm

A love apple for Valentines day?

We can thank the South American Aztecs for these red beauties but you really might not like to delve deeper into the story or myth behind the 'love apple'. I dare you to do your own Googling!

Suffice to say, this gorgeous red fruit originally had nothing going for it on the romance front.

Now though there are rumors of aphrodisiac qualities.
There are associations mandrake, with deadly nightshade and sexual rituals.
And perhaps unsurprisingly it was the French who gave them the name 'pommes d'amour'.

So forget the red Valentines' Day roses at $$$ per stem. Love apples abound in every grocery store, are far more practical and just maybe that aphrodisiac rumor is true after all.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Love Apple', 1/30s f/10 ISO800 100mm

Perhaps it's not the energetic performance of Lachy Doley giving this device an internal meltdown at 'The Gov' last Friday night.

Perhaps its owner had just pulled his device from an overheated shirt pocket.

Perhaps he'd just done a fast charge from a battery brick.

Nope, I'm pretty sure it's Lachy's hot performance!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'When You're Hot, You're Hot', 1/400s f/3.2 ISO1600 200mm

There's a little restaurant on the waterfront in Neiafu on the island of Vava'u called Mango.

Instead of by car, patrons here all arrived in little dinghies. Already the landing in front of the restaurant was filling up with the little inflatable boats bobbing up and down in the gentle waters of Koko Bay.

We sat here and watched while drinking from freshly cut coconuts as the sun set in the west and another one arrived.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Mango Arrival', 1/1200s f/2.2 ISO40 4.8mm

Walking past this shop window front just off Hindley Street I was immediately reminded of the Broadway Musical 'Kinky Boots' which is currently playing in Melbourne.

After Melbourne it will be Sydney and as usual Adelaide misses out.

The musical, inspired by true events, tells the story of Charlie Price who having inherited an ailing shoe factory from his father, forms an unlikely business partnership with cabaret performer and drag queen Lola. Together they produce a line of high-heeled boots and save the family business.

I've not seen the show myself but good friends of ours made a special trip to Melbourne recently just for the show and they thoroughly loved it.

This image is for them.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Kinky Boots', 1/50s f/4 ISO640 50mm

It begins looking out over a eucalyptus tree line falling away from the the summit of Mount Lofty, the highest place in the region.

Soon the detailed structure of leaves, branches and trunks transitions to a rolling velvety green of the Adelaide foothills.

Beyond the foothills lie the Adelaide plains, home to over a million South Australians and beyond the plains the ocean glitters in the late afternoon.

Finally this beautiful view ends in yet another gorgeous Adelaide sunset. Aren't we so lucky.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'A View to a View to a View to a View', 1/250s f/7.1 ISO160 15mm

Looking down at the reflections in Henley Square's subtle water feature I have often wondered what a gorgeous sunset would look like seen in this civic mirror.

A half hinted promise of yet another gorgeous Henley Beach sunset faded to a few pastel hues as the sun retreated and twilight took hold.

It's not the colour I had come down here for but beautiful all the same.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Looking Over the Square', 2s f/16 ISO320 14mm

I'd never heard of Lachy Doley before seeing him play live on Friday night at 'The Gov' so I really did not know what to expect.

What I experienced was the most extraordinary mix of manic Hammond Organ keyboard virtuosity, passionate singing, ostentatious showmanship and humility.

I found myself thoroughly entertained! Thanks Lachy.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Lachy Doley' 1/250 f/3.5 ISO1600 200mm

If you know what these little glass bottles are you could be;

a) a musician,
b) a radio frequency engineer, or
c) have been around for quite a long time.

These three little glass tubes are part of the audio amplifier of Lachy Doley's on stage Hammond Organ and many contemporary musicians will attest are at the heart of the instrument's rich warm tones.

Fifty years ago nearly all our electronic equipment from televisions to radios used them. Today they are almost part of legend.

Just for an amusing contrast a modern flagship mobile phone has the silicon transistor equivalent of one billion of these little glass tubes miniaturised in its tiny form factor.

Glass vacuum tubes are still made and used today despite our micro-sized transistor marvels and as long as we have musicians, audiophiles and radio frequency engineers they will remain part of the electronics landscape.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘The Heart of Hammond' 1/80s f/2.8 ISO500 200mm

It had been drab and overcast all day long but in the late afternoon there were a few tell-tale signs that a trip to the beach for sunset might just be worth my while.

When I arrived at 'my local', Henley Beach, there were a few people with cameras ready to witness the sun just peeking out from below the clouds. Five minutes later it was gone again, the sunset obscured by the clouds on the horizon. I noticed more than one photographer pack up and leave.

I waited a while, quietly confident the show was far from over. Ten minutes later it began.

The dark orange glow on the horizon began to lighten and creep upwards. Little ripples in the cloud base took on spidery orange tinges like a textured wall dusted with orange chalk.

A few minutes later the textured cloud base was completely filled with yellows, oranges and reds while the last snippets of the blue sky beyond sneaked through the gaps.

Then I noticed the sea, now transformed into an ocean of volcanic lava washing back and forth leaving the sand a blaze as it retreated from every wave.

Conversations stopped . Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy's transformed from phone to camera. People up and down the beach, surprised by the spectacle, were eager to capture a little of it to take home, to Tweet or to Facebook post.

Inevitably the colours began to fade. The volcanic sea cooled to a dark blue grey and the world became drab again. Only a filigree of deep red tracings remained in the clouds above as a legacy to the volcanic sea.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Volcanic Sea' 0.4s f/11 ISO140 14mm