Robert's Ramblings

Out there, to the west, silhouette by a shrouded sunset, four ships make their way south.

I have no idea what cargo they carry, the souls on board or the nations they herald from.

Life at sea is not as hard as it once was and a little part of me anchored to dry land wishes it were somewhere out on that horizon.


#semaphore #horizon #ships #aerial #sunset #goldenhour #southaustralia #ocean #seascape #silhouette

When it comes to creating a moody image you just can’t beat that time of the evening known as the ‘Golden Hour’. I should add that there’s Golden Hour in the morning as well that most often goes unnoticed.

As those last rays of sunlight are bent through out atmosphere they are stripped of violet, indigo, and blue and cast this beautiful golden hue on the world, creating a mood unlike any other time of the day.

It’s just after 7pm in the evening, the sun is setting on the Semaphore Palais and the world is bathed in gold.


#semaphore #palaishotel #semaphorepalais #aerial #sunset #goldenhour #southastraila #urbanlife

Crabs might not be the most exciting of critters unless you are a foody, a marine biologist or a scuba diver.

Most crabs are really quite cool and collected critters that just go about their business picking their way through aquatic carrion oblivious to everything going on around them. This makes them ideal subjects to just watch, observe and ponder.

Perhaps not exciting but certainly cool and I’ll always take the time to capture these critters.


#decoratorcrab #dof #thebarge #glenelg #nightdive #critters

It’s 8 kilometres off-shore and 60 feet below waves reflecting a midnight sky. Sleepy critters hang in the watery darkness tolerant to the terrestrial visitor in their midst.

I am on my own down here and my strobes have just failed, … again. It is a recurring problem I’ve not gotten to the bottom of yet (sorry for the pun). Still all is not lost.

By firing up my backup torch and stopping down to f/1.4 I am still able to capture this Southern Flathead resting on the deck.

At this aperture and behind a domed port not much is in focus except for that beautiful jewelled eye at the centre of the frame.


#Flathead #fish #dof #thebarge #glenelg #eye #jewel #nightdive

The Adelaide Fringe is over but the songs from Celtic Sounds still linger in my head.

Angela and Casey’s ‘Black is the Colour’ remains a daily ear-worm that often finds me softly
humming to myself in my day job.

And that’s absolutely fine by me.


#adlfringe2023 #performingarts #singing #song #dance #performance #violin #cetlticsounds #gluttony

Well the Adelaide Fringe has come to the end and what an amazing time we all had. Hundreds of performers shared their art with us and now all that remain are images and memories.

Watching this graffiti artist at work was like being at one of those Fringe shows. His art offered from nowhere, performed in the moment, and like the Fringe, soon gone. All that remains now is a clean brick wall, images and memories.


#arts #graffiti #paint #ironlak #adelaide #ephemeral

How hard can it be? Just play with the sliders until the performance sounds great. Easy, right?

Over the last month and a dozen shows I’ve developed a deep respect for the guy or girl driving the sound desk. Faced with changing shows every day and often several different shows in a single day the sound person has to deal with diverse instrumentation, vocal setups including microphones on stands and headset microphones and often difficult venue acoustics.

Complicate things further with fold-back placement and moving performers with unpredictable feedback risks and that sound engineer is not just technical resource but an active performer in the show.

Despite our strong visually oriented perception of performance it is sound that critically underpins a show. Bad sound distracts and makes us more critical of everything, amazing sound makes us forgiving of even the ugliest performance hiccups.

Dialling in the sound is hard and every sound girl or guy sitting behind those sliders is as much a performer as the artists on the stage and deserve all the credit they hardly ever get!


#performingarts #soundengineering #adlfringe2023 #gluttony #celticsounds #yamaha #yamahaql5 #mixingdesk

I am so proud to be part of ‘Celtic Sounds: Reimaginings’ Adelaide Fringe show this year.

Again, if you are a local and have not yet seen this show then please consider supporting us and coming along so see while you have a chance.


#Celticsounds #adlfringe #fringe2023 #gluttony #performingarts

Charmaine Jones and her GOSPO Collective are putting on this amazing show titled ‘Whitney’ at this year’s Adelaide Fringe, a tribute to Whitney Houston and a showcase of the incredible talent of the GOSPO performers.

We experienced the show last night and were blown away by one of the slickest and polished show of the Fringe.

Charmaine to her credit has choreographed and produced an extraordinary showcase of the talent of the GOSPO performers. I only wish there had been a little more Charmaine on here own bringing back the Whitney we all loved and miss.


#Whitneyhouston #CharmaineJones #GOSPOCollective #gospo #adlfringe #fringe2023 #gluttony #performingarts

Newry Gals

These young performers from the Newry Studio of Irish Dancing make a spectacular addition to the already wonderful performance of Celtic Sounds: Reimaginings at this year’s (2023) Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Not only do I leave after a performance singing in my head but dancing well into the evening and next day too!


#newrystudio #adlfringe #fringe2023 #gluttony #irishdancing #celticsounds #performingarts

‘The Choir of Man’ is a great show. The performers are talented, have amazing voices, stage presence and thoroughly entertained their enthusiastic audience.

Yes I enjoyed the show and of course it’s about men but I really missed the feminine balance. At times I found it just a little too ‘blokey’.

I soon got over my ‘blokey’ thing, let my feminine side fill in the gaps and settled back to enjoy the show for what it was, ‘The Choir of Man’.


#choirofman #adlfringe #fringe2023 #gluttony #thejungle #beer #pub #performingarts #blokes

Life on the Fringe

The western parklands are teaming with life; even more so during the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Fruit bats in the sunset sky and possums in the dark of night share Gluttony and the Garden of Earthly Delights with a different kind of wildlife.

Happily they all habitat this space amid the music, the noise, the frivolity and the craic that is the Adelaide Fringe.


#possum #adlfringe #fringe2023 #gluttony #animals #wildlife

Tucked away in an out of the way corner of Gluttony is a little door into a the curious world of charismatic creatures, pretentious portents and enchanting entities.

I did not see her at first, this exotic mermaid reclining atop a vintage chaise longue. When I did she emerged fully formed in my mind the way a leafy seadragon emerges from its camouflage of weed and algae.

To my surprise I found her engrossed in a story written more than 200 year ago about a Swiss family bound for Australia only to be marooned on an uninhabited tropical island.

Do mermaids read Wyss? Well this exotic beauty seems as engrossed in the story of us as was Disney’s Little Mermaid with her Prince Eric. I hope she finds happiness in this curious and whimsical place.


#Mermaid #clubcurious #adlfringe #fringe2023 #gluttony #swissfamilyrobinson #JohannDavidWyss

I’ve been privileged this Adelaide Fringe season 2023 to be part of this wonderful group of performers and their show ‘Celtic Sounds: Reimaginings’.

Their talent, commitment and hard work leading up to these shows has been inspiring to witness and rewarding to be involved.

If you are a local and have not yet seen this show then please consider supporting us and coming along so see while you have a chance.

I promise, the music will continue in your head long after the show is over.


#Adelaide #fringe #fringe2023 #celticsounds #gluttony #ireland #dance #irishdance #celtic #performingarts #singing

One of southern Australia's most exotic fishes is the South Blue Devil. Even though they are quite common on along the greater Adelaide coastline I still experience great delight when ever I come across one on a dive.

Firstly let me say they are the grumpiest looking fish I know! Juxtaposed with that scowling face is the most amazing iridescent blue and flowing body. Combined it creates a uniqueness uncommon in fishes of South Australia.

Grumpy, gorgeous, exotic and local. I am happy to dive with these guys any time.


#bluedevil #southernbluedevil #paraplesiopsmeleagris #thebarge #night #scuba #diving #underwaterphotography #portrait #glenelg #southaustralia #fish