Robert's Ramblings

As the sun sets on Section Bank, its beautiful sandy beach turns to gold.
A treat for not only the pelicans, but also for my eyes in the evening sky.

A lovely way to end another gorgeous day.

#Goldenhour #ocean #sunset #beach #pelicans #aerial #sectionbank #outerharbour #mycommute

Of all our gorgeous Southern Australian marine critters there are few as beautiful as our Southern Blue Devil.

Timid, elegant, graceful and a dazzlingly iridescent blue, their grumpy expression seems at odds with their vibrant colour. They are a fish that always make me smile when encountered on a dive.

Normally a shy and reclusive fish, I struggle getting close to blue devils. They are are never far from some deep ledge or cave and almost always retreat back into the gloom when approached.

Imagine my shear delight on a recent night dive on the wreck of the ex HMAS Hobart where I counted at least ten of them roaming the sunken growth encrusted decks. I’d never seen so many on a single dive and never out in the open like then.

That amazing dive left me grinning for days and will always be remembered as the night I dived with the beautiful blue devils.

#animals #critters #diving #exhmashobart #hobart #wreck #fish #bluedevil #night #ocean #photogenic #portrait #scuba #diving #underwater #Paraplesiopsmeleagris

It was a churning, swirly night dive under Port Noarlunga Jetty. The seas were breaking over the reef creating confusing eddies. Even my compass seemed to have a mind of its own.

The white light from our torches turned the undersea world into a milky haze like swimming through swirling fog. Pretty soon it became all too bright so I changed to red light and Jess turned off her torch completely to immerse herself in the soft ambient glow from the jetty lights above.

Diving with only red light takes a little getting used to but is a wonderful way to approach critters without alarming them. This little gurnard perch was more than happy for me to nestle down alongside, admire its stoic pose and capture a few images.

I’m looking forward to more red light night dives from now on.

#animals #critters #portnoarlunga #fish #gurnardperch #jetty #life #macro #marine #night #ocean #photogenic #portrait #scuba #diving #underwater

Expansive vistas are hard. Looking out over a landscape that takes your breath away and trying to articulate to someone else why is the realm of poets. It’s not easily expressed.

It’s easy to see why you say; “just look at it, out there, at all of it!’ And that’s it right there, the ‘all of it’. That’s a tall order to share with someone not standing beside you.

Sometimes, in amongst the ‘all of it’, there’s an idea, a theme, a novelty that draws me in. A simple geometry, a minimalist interpretation, a rendered narrative, or an expanse of negative space might be just the thing that inspires me to share.

The sun descending in the west, a landscape in silhouette, and a hint of the ocean beyond an industrial vista is only a tiny part of ‘all of it’ but tonight it took my breath away.

#BarkerInlet #landscape #aerial #silhouette #goldenhour #mycommute #torrensisland #gardenisland #southaustralia

This serpentine landscape has probably lay here unseen, unnoticed, unadored. Perhaps someone keen on Google Earthing may have noticed as they explore in the digital realm.

For me its a wonderful discovery as I fly over this landscape on my way home. The more I discover about the Barker Inlet wetlands the more I love.

#BarkerInlet #Gilman #landscape #aerial #serpent #mangroves #goldenhour #mycommute #southaustralia

You could be forgiven for thinking the Delorean hit 88 mph and landed you back in the 50’s, especially given the authenticity of Bell’s Milk Bar.

Bell’s Milk Bar is not themed, it just never changed being one of Broken Hill’s longest running business.

We ordered soda spiders, milk shakes in aluminium cups and for an hour or so we imagined another time and another place.

#Bellsmilkbar #brokenhill #nostalgia #1950s #50s #icecream #milkbar #milkshakes

The temperature climbed to 40 degreesC today and with 38 degrees predicted for tomorrow.

For now the Gilman wetlands have plenty of surface water with hundreds of waterfowl taking respite from the heat. It will however be interesting to watch this place change over the coming summer months.

For now this Gilman cluster of pelicans are just happy to be in the water.

#sunset #minimal #pelicans #waterbirds #cluster #mycommute #aerial #gilman #southaustralia

The heat’s back and our local beach was jumping this evening.

Social distancing seems to work in the open spaces like on the grassy picnic areas or down on the sand. Those in the water even better.

#sunset #monochrome #summer #beach #jetty #henleybeach

Looking out over the Mundi Mundi plains the allure of the Australian outback is palpable. The vista is breathtakingly expansive, the remoteness liberating.

As that fiery orb sets over the Bimbowrie Conservation Park, bringing a relieving coolness to the day, I’m reminded why we call her a sunburned country.

#Sunset #outback #vista #landscape #sun #mundimundi #bimbowrie #australia #southaustralia #minimal #goldenhour #sunburn

One of the most iconic images of automotive history, the Rolls Royce Spirit of Ecstasy, a symbol of opulence and wealth, carries with it a hint of another a story. A story of forbidden love and of tragedy.

Here she sits, no longer being driven, under a carport in outback Broken Hill. Her last steward, with us no more. I wonder what Pro Hart thought of her as he drove her around adorning his own Rolls Royce Corniche?

The work of artist Charles Robinson Sykes, she’s known as ‘The Silver Lady’ or ‘The Flying Lady’ and sometimes as ‘Eleanor’ after Eleanor Thornton, mistress of Baron John Montagu of Beaulieu. It is strongly believed that Eleanor was Sykes model and inspiration.

In 1913 Sykes created ‘The Whisperer’, styled on the ‘Spirit of Ecstacy’, to adorn the bonnet of Montagu’s Silver Ghost. The four inch tall figurine with flowing robes and a finger pressed to her lips belied the secret love affair. Tragically Eleanor drowned two years later when she and Montagu were sailing through the Mediterranean, their ship torpedoed by a German U-Boat.

I’ll never look at a Rolls Royce quite the same again especially one with the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ adorning her bonnet. That statement of wealth and opulence will always be there but now I’ll see a human story too.

#spiritofecstasy #mascot #ornament #charlesrobinsonsykes #rollsroyce #sculpture

There are no shortages of gorgeous sunsets here is Adelaide and tonight’s was nothing short of extraordinary as we enjoyed it from our garden.

I captured this beautiful image however from the Garden Island dolphin sanctuary last week just before we were sent into lockdown.

The mangroves, the yachts, the power station and the industrial skyline all lit in gold as I savoured the view.

#aerial #barkerinlet #Gardenisland #goldenhour #industrial #powerstation #sunset #torrensisland #twilight #yachts #mycommute

There is nothing like being out on the sea with an unblemished sky above and the mysteries of the ocean below. I love it.

Sometimes she’s calm and gentle, inviting, caressing.

Sometimes she’s indifferent throwing her weight around to remind me not to get complacent.

Sometimes she’s a real challenge, scary, pushing my limits, keeping me focused, rewarding my skill and attention.

And sometime she’s in such a fury you just don’t go there.

No matter her mood, I love the ocean.

#aerial #drone #boating #ocean #sunset #reflections #silhouette #semaphore #sea

The end of a perfect day.

The wind has calmed and the seas have smoothed at least for a while.

In a few minutes the sun will be gone and the azure blues of twilight will replace the golden glow of sunset.

Until then a fiery spotlight holds us in a silhouette as we gaze out toward the western horizon.

The end of a perfect day.

#aerial #drone #goldenhour #landscape #ocean #seascape #sunset #reflections #silhouette #semaphore

What could be more appealing to a dirt bike rider than a pristine layer of salt left from evaporation.

Like like fresh powder ripped to shreds by a back country skier, that veneer of salt never stood a chance as witnessed by the artistic aftermath.

#Gilman #aerial #abstract #dirtbike #patterns #texture #mycommute

Mexican artist Antonio Nava Tirado's sculpture, 'Bajo El Sol Jaguar' is just one of the beautiful works created in the Broken Hill Sculpture Symposium.

Here in the Living Desert Sanctuary, twelve sandstone sculptures share the sunrise with the birds, the animals of the bush and the sounds of nature while the sunset is shared with humans and the quiet chatter of contemplation.

#AntonioNavaTirado #sculpture #BajoElSolJaguar #sunset #contemplation #brokenhill #livingdesertsanctuary #brokenhillsculpturesymposium #newsouthwhales

The Pink and Grey Cockatoo, or simply 'Galah', is probably Australia’s most ubiquitous and well known cockatoo. They are not particularly revered for their intelligence however and being called ‘a galah’ is never a flattering gesture.

We first set out on our hike, in South Australia's ‘Deep Creek’ conservation park, with hands and arms free and everything in our backpack. After several missed photo opportunities I decided that the backpack was not the place to keep the camera!

I ended up carrying my camera for the next 4 hours as we hiked to the coast and back. Swapping the camera regularly from right hand to left to balance the burden did not make it any easier. It stayed heavy regardless but at least it as always ready.

I finally captured this pair launching themselves from the grass as we approached near the end of our long and tiring hike.

#birds #galah #cockatoo #Australian #deepcreek #wildlife #animals #flight #nature

When you turn onto the Arkaroola road out of Yunta you are greeted with several warnings about heading north-west.

Aside from reminding you about the dangers of heading into remote locations it proclaims the road being suitable for four wheel drives and heavy vehicles only.

Metal roads (from the latin ‘metallum’) with many creek crossings, require lots of looking after, especially after heavy rain. This road crew, with heavy grader atop a semi-trailer, has their work cut out for them keeping this 300 km stretch of outback road serviceable.

#Aerial #Arkaroolaroad #waukaringa #dust #truck #grader #semitrailer #landscape #sunset #goldenhour

Lefevre Peninsula

I really could not call this image anything else.

For years I’d driven up and down and around this north-south spit of land north of Port Adelaide and not realised how thin a strip of land the Lefevre Peninsula really is.

You’d think looking at Google maps or some other schematic description of the lay of this land would have given a sense of it but no, not even them.

It took the combination of two things, my daily commute and eye in the sky, to put it all into perspective and finally get a sense of this industrial transitioning to residential landscape.

To the left we have the Adelaide Submarine Corps, to the right the Pelican Point power station. With the stark white of the Viterra grain silos and the giraffe-like cranes of Outer Harbour, the row of Norfolk Island Pines on the western shoreline stand as sentinels of residential life.

This is indeed a dynamic, interesting and industrially beautiful part of Adelaide.

#Aerial #LefevrePeninsula #landscape #sunset #goldenhour #outerharbour #southaustralia #mycommute

Last Drinks at the Waukaringa Hotel

I wonder when that last call for drinks really was? I suspect that back in its heyday there never was a last call, just the ushering of patrons out the door.

Back in 1873 the discovery of gold here transformed an inhospitable region of the South Australian outback into a nearly 500 strong community resulting in the township of Waukaringa being proclaimed in 1888.

The Waukaringa Hotel first advertised itself the following year though perhaps had been operating unofficially from the early years of the discovery of gold here.

With the waxing and waning of other gold discoveries in the area in the early 1900s and the dependence on rain for the grazing of livestock, the town of Waukaringa declined then disappeared completely. After years of checkered trade the hotel ceased operation and was abandoned in the early 1960s.

As we sat out watching the sun set on the distant Flinders Ranges, bathing the ruins in amber light, we could only imagine what it might have been like having a drink at the Waukaringa Hotel.

#Desert #outback #bush #southaustralia #waukaringa #hotel #ruins #decay #goldrush #history #remote #travel

As we came up out of another creek crossing, Trevor with his eagle eye spotted this ancient eye staring back at us from atop a large flat rock.

The heat from the day radiating back out from the rock slab would make this a cosy Bearded Dragon resting place for a few hours yet.

This thorny scaled reptile might not be as old as any of us but in this ancient arid landscape it certainly looks the part inheriting its DNA from a time when dragons ruled all.

#Pogonavitticeps #beardeddragon #dragon #reptile #lizard #outback #southaustralia

Tucked in behind the Torrens Island Power Station with its two huge chimneys is a tiny new power station called the Barker Inlet Power Station.

At a glance you’d think it was part of the larger power station infrastructure but note the two brightly yellow lit stacks over to the right with their 6 stainless steel exhausts each and you realise that it’s an entirely different station.

For the geeks, the Barker Inlet Power Station’s 210MW capacity is powered by 12 Wartsila 50DF reciprocating engines. These reciprocating engines can seamlessly change between natural gas and fuel oils at full load and are significantly more efficient and versatile than the ageing gas turbines being decommissioned nearby.

This power play will take some time but I think we will eventually see the end of those iconic Torrens Island chimneys as South Australia moves toward renewables augmented with highly demand responsive generation plant like the Barker Inlet Power Station.

#Barkerinlet #powerstation #torrensisland #powerstation #gardenisland #SouthAustralia #sunset #goldenhour #clouds #twilight

I was originally photographing a gorgeous Outer Harbour sunset when I happened to looked behind and saw this.

#Cosco #shipping #outerharbour #southaustralia #aerial #drone #goldenhour #landscape #containers #ship

It's while after sunset now. The iPhones with their attention spans long since turned from sunset to social no longer observe the western sky.

Through twilight, the sky transitions through layers of orange and yellow and green before a deep blue heralds the first evening stars.

This is a special time when seabirds skim the border between sand and sea to their night time roosts and just a few witness the end of another perfect day.

#twilight #sunset #goldenhour #ocean #gulls #seabirds #silhouette #seascape #beach #sea #grange #southaustralia

It's been a few weeks now and I am starting to miss being under one of my favourite bits of blue.

Digging back through my underwater images there are a few I'd like to work on but they will take time.

In the mean time here's a little bit above the blue.

#aerial #Isolation #jetty #photography #rapidbay #southaustralia

A few weeks ago we visited the Jam Factory, in Seppeltsfield, and took our time enjoying the work of the various artists and craftspeople being exhibited.

Time and time again I am drawn to glass. I love the way light plays on and through the medium.

Unlike the colours of a painting or sculpture I love the way colours in glass seem to be projected out from somewhere magical place inside.

These hand blown bottles, titled ‘Transition’ by Australian artist Eileen Gordon, were presented so beautifully I felt I had to at least try and capture some of that magic.

Sadly you had to be there!

#Jamfactory #seppeltsfield #art #glassware #glassblowing #eileengordon #gordonstudio #craft #barossavalley #bottles

How would you feel if a face like this emerged from the darkness late into the evening where a gathering had come together to celebrate a ritual rite of passage?

Actually we were all pretty impressed by this amazing cake as we celebrated Rachael’s 21st birthday.

Happy birthday Rachael!

#Dragon #icing #birthdaycake #cake #birthday #medieval #creature

Just an hour’s drive south of Adelaide is a dive location which evokes adventure, mystery, wonder, danger and awe!

Arguably the location of Australia’s most famous shark attack survived by Rodney Fox back in 1963 and the subsequent fatality of Jonathon Lee in 1991.

I have dived here many times and just a little anxious respect precedes each dive. However the rewarding moments I have had exploring this incredible reef structure will always be worth it and are experiences I treasure.

So it was with that same anxious respect we headed down to ‘The Dropoff’ a few weeks ago. After a while motoring back and forth over the reef precipice we finally chose to anchor on top in 6m of water allowing us to both get to the bottom quickly and to shape our dive profile for safety.

Wow, wow, wow! Bluethroat Wrasse and Herring Cale everywhere as well as Queen Snapper, Blue Devils, Longsnout Boarfish and Port Jackson sharks. Gorgornian corals adorned ledges and swim-throughs while huge sponges at 20m dwarfed the ones normally encountered on other local dive sites. Lush dense kelp smothered the entire top of the reef.

At one point in our dive the visibility opened out to more than 12m and the sight from the sand at 20m of the reef reaching up to near the surface face was breathtaking.

We spent over an hour underwater before retreating to the sanctuary of our little boat. Full of exhilaration from this incredible dive I’ll still admit to being just a little relieved being back in the bot again!

#Aldinga #aldingadropoff #scuba #diving #southaustralia #seascape #gorgonian #coral #ocean

Finally the days are getting long enough for me to capture some of the images on my daily commute.

Through winter I drive home in the dark. And well mornings, they’re too focused on other things for me to get my head into it. So now I have light a time on my side my travel home has become so much more enjoyable.

Here’s just one of my favourite spots, the Gilman Wetland windmills.

#Gilman #GlimanWetlands #goldenhour #landscape #silhouette #sunset #wetlands #windmill

That ‘pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’ might just be more than a myth in this freshly watered desert landscape.

The rain now over, snippets of blue appearing in the north and then a beautiful rainbow as the weather’s parting gesture.

It would all be dry again soon so we took note where that rainbow ended so we could head off in search of that gold.

#southaustralia #bush #outback #camping #rain #flood #drought #landscape #flindersranges #rainbow

“I’ve been coming up here most weekends for the last 8 years”, he said, “and I’ve never ever seen any water in these creeks!”.

What are the chances, we all thought? The one weekend we chose to camp out here in the rugged outback east of the Flinders Ranges is the one where 8 years of drought came to an end with 70mm of rain in less than 24 hours.

Our tents got flattened in the strong wind, we were woken at 4am to the roar of a wall of water barrelling down the main creek while another stream flowing under my tent turned it into a water-bed. After a morning spent attempting to dry everything the afternoon brought tent flattening winds again followed by a burst of torrential rain and hail. Another wall of water came down the creak again and hour or so later.

Not being fully prepared, there were some miserable moments in those 24 hours but in hindsight I feel very privileged to have been there and so grateful to witness such a life giving event.

#southaustralia #bush #outback #camping #rain #flood #drought #landscape #flindersranges