Robert's Ramblings

At least once in the meanderings of experimental imaging, a photographer will stand or even lay in the middle of a train line to experience one of the most cliched forms of visual perspective, vanishing tracks.

The more adventurous might even have waited for an oncoming train to provide both context and action. The sensible ones will have used a tripod and a radio controlled shutter release just to be on the safe side.

I’ve visualised this shot for nearly 8 years from when construction of the Onkaparinga Valley Bridge construction commenced. As cliched as it is, I never thought it would ever be realised.

#Viaduct #onkaparinga #river #bridge #trains #tracks #railway #perspective #vanishing #electric #aerial #drone

Tidal creek mangroves cast elongated shadows across the low salty marsh of Garden Island in the last light of the day.

These salty rivulets, now full during one of the highest tides of the season, will in a short time begin draining back out to sea.

#aerial #goldenhour #landscape #mangroves #marshes #nature #pristine #salt-marsh #southaustralia #torrens #torrensisland

It’s cold in the water down down here but there is no shortage of colour on the hull of the Seawolf and every reason to keep on diving through the South Australian winter.

One thing the cold does is to keep our dives quite short. Not long after reaching the sand and beginning the swim around the hull I’m already starting to check my time. Not checking my time in case I’ve been down too long but hoping I’ve been down longer than I think.

The cold aside. Cold water is full of life and the colours on our wrecks and reefs are just amazing.

#ascidians #diving #portnoarlunga #scuba #seascape #Seawolf #shipwreck #sponges #wreck

I wonder the leagues of ocean she’s traversed.
I wonder the storms she’s braved.
I wonder the lives transformed through her employ and the goods she’s delivered.
I wonder the crews she’s kept safe at sea.
I wonder if she still sails in dreams.

#santiago #shipwreck #southaustralia #dolphinsanctuary #Gardenisland #highkey #wreck

There was a big tide this evening and I was eager to see just how much of Garden Island became submerged.

From my limited vantage it was really hard to tell. If I were to offer a guess I’d say two thirds of the swampy landmass was underwater.

Garden Island continues to intrigue, delight and inspire me. So beautiful and so wild a place so close to home is like a secret garden oblivious to its industrial boundary of shipping wharfs, power stations and shipyards.

So inviting was the view of this garden in flood that I’m inspired to paddle in here in a kayak and to experience this close up.

#Gardenisland #mangroves #sunset #goldenhour #landscape #outerharbour #southaustralia

The colours on the sunken hull of the Seawolf off of Port Noarlunga are are just stunning. But at 15-20 meters down without bringing your own light you might be disappointed in the almost monochrome blue green landscape.

In the light of my strobes or a super bright torch you’ll see reds, and purples, and oranges, and yellows. Like a colourful spring garden tended by an aquatic gardener.

#Seawolf #portnoarlunga #wreck #shipwreck #ascidians #sponges #seascape #scuba #diving

Is there such a thing as being lucky? I’ve heard from seasoned boaties that every now and then a sea turtle, normally a tropical creature, finds its way down to the southern coastline of Australia.

I’ve listened to these stories over all my diving years with a grain of salt and a handful of scepticism; content to imagine, maybe, but something I never expected to see.

Today, out on a local Adelaide waters dive site in about 20m of water, Andy and I rounded the stern of the wreck and there he or she was. In my 30 years of diving in South Australia, including hundreds of wreck dives, the last thing I ever expected to see was a hawksbill sea turtle.

Was this really our lucky day, year or decade? or just a happy coincidence of time, effort and persistence?

I feel so privileged to have seen a sea turtle while diving in South Australia – an experience I will never forget.

#hawksbill #turtle #seaturtle #rare #SouthAustralia #scuba #diving #underwater #photography #wreckdive #wreck

Here’s another biscuit star from Sunday’s dive at Rapid Bay.

This little guy was as obvious as a red giant in a dark sky. Its bright orange stood out from the edge of my vision only to become so much more vivid in the white light of my strobe.

Not much colour variation here, just and lots and lots of orange!

#Rapidbay #starfish #seastar #critters #biscuitstar #SouthAustralia #scuba #diving #underwater #photography

The number of and variety of seastars we saw at Rapid Bay on Sunday was just wonderful. The biscuit stars alone were both numerous and incredibly varied in their colours and patterns.

This little biscuit star perched atop an old pylon stump could not have found a better place to get its portrait taken while munching on lunch.

#Rapidbay #starfish #seastar #critters #biscuitstar #SouthAustralia #scuba #diving #underwater #photography

After a week of cold, overcast skies and rain the sun finally came out and made our trip to Rapid Bay Jetty to dive with Jess and Andy all the more delightful.

The visibility was pretty good in that milky non-committal way that we all know and love about Rapid Bay. Here rough weather will leave gypsum particulates suspended for days making the visibility look tantalisingly good from the shore only to discover the real state once in the water.

Still, four meters of visibility is not bad and was plenty good enough to enjoy the dive and all the amazing fish and critters we encountered.

I’d captured a few shots of ‘Shaw’s Cowfish’ before Jess unexpectedly rounded the pylon so, photo bombed or not, I decided to go with this one.

#Rapidbay #jetty #shawscowfish #fish #critters #cowfish #SouthAustralia #scuba #diving #underwater #photography #Aracanaaurita #paintedboxfish

Her life was so short, not even ten years since her timber hull and six proud masts came together in the shipyards of Portland, Oregon, USA.

She never fell victim to tide nor reef nor storm and in 1929 dutifully delivered her last cargo of oregon pine to South Australia.

She had fallen victim to the great depression. The owners had ran out of money and her captain and crew were forced to abandon this once proud 80 meter schooner in the docks of Port Adelaide.

Eventually the US consul repatriated the crew and the Dorothy H. Sterling was towed away to rot in the ship’s graveyard of Garden Island.

#SouthAustralia #shipsgraveyard #gardenisland #DorothyHSterling #shipwreck #aerial #drone

While my dive buddy was busy wrestling her GoPro back from an eleven armed seastar this little guy was swimming around her content it was hiding in plain sight. It was being as cute as it was being ridiculous.

On a typical southern coastline dive you will often come across a pygmy leatherjacket hiding next to a stalk of kelp or algae. For while it will sit there looking nervous but pretty soon it will slowly edge its way around to the other side.

In its quest to remain hidden the pygmy leatherjacket will just keep on circling its stalk of kelp, or some conveniently distracted dive buddy.

#SouthernPygmyLeatherjacket #PygmyLeatherjacket #Leatherjacket #fish #scuba #diving #critters #southaustralia #portnoarlunga #night #underwater #photography