Ed Hurst
Well-known member
As I have shown in some recent pictures, Sydney's Middle Harbour represents a varied and surprisingly wild area. It's surrounded by suburban and urban sprawl, but this haven is extensive as it snakes its labyrinthine way through quite deep gorges, bushland, national park and little hollows. The millions who live around are often surprisingly unaware of what's there. It takes some effort to trek down into the area, but so worth it... And you end up far away from lights, roads, houses...
Getting this tranquil scene was a bit of an adventure. Due to home-schooling going on right now in Australia, my partner and I are experiencing quite a load at home - we both work full-time and our boys (5 and 7 years old) need a lot of attention at the same time to keep them working and supported. It didn't seem wise to suggest to her that I wanted to do this trip alone - because I wanted to arrive while it was still light, that would have required her to handle dinner and bedtime alone, after a very tough day of work with the kids around. So I decided to do it with them and make it an adventure, leaving my partner in peace at home. We three boys had an evening/night bush walk and picnic. They did very well. It required a big walk both in and out. Then perhaps three hours of hanging around (setting up, waiting for it to get dark, shooting the trails, doing a long [low ISO] exposure of the scene, packing up, etc.). Not to mention the younger one coping with the near-pitch darkness. There was some complaining but really not too much. Thank goodness for Netflix on my 'phone to keep them amused (I just had enough reception down there), which I resorted to after games and dinner got a bit much for them. I did feel rather guilty at how tired and bored they looked before we started the walk back, but they kept their spirits up well and ended up revelling in what an adventure we had had together.
The hardest technical thing about this shot is that, despite being miles in-land, the water is tidal and was coming in during the lengthy shoot. There is no clear vantage point near the water on solid ground (that was all hidden by trees) so I had to shoot on the sand. When I set up, it was light and I had to put the tripod well away from the water's edge because I knew it would end up getting much closer during the shot. The goal was to keep the tripod dry and stable (not undermined by the sand getting wet with the tide) but still finish the shoot close enough to the water's edge for the reflection of the trees and stars to work. I had to guesstimate had much the water would come up in a couple of hours and monitor its progress in the dark, while keeping the boys occupied and avoid their light getting in shot (I set them up some distance away, with a clear line-of-sight to the camera, with their lantern hidden behind my camera pack, then walked back and forth hundreds of times to make sure that they and the camera were ok) . All the time knowing I'd have to get the boys up out of the valley and home, by torchlight, well after their usual bedtime... Good job they are such wonderful boys.
The pic looks peaceful and contemplative. Taking it wasn't!
Pentax 645Z with 25mm DA
Getting this tranquil scene was a bit of an adventure. Due to home-schooling going on right now in Australia, my partner and I are experiencing quite a load at home - we both work full-time and our boys (5 and 7 years old) need a lot of attention at the same time to keep them working and supported. It didn't seem wise to suggest to her that I wanted to do this trip alone - because I wanted to arrive while it was still light, that would have required her to handle dinner and bedtime alone, after a very tough day of work with the kids around. So I decided to do it with them and make it an adventure, leaving my partner in peace at home. We three boys had an evening/night bush walk and picnic. They did very well. It required a big walk both in and out. Then perhaps three hours of hanging around (setting up, waiting for it to get dark, shooting the trails, doing a long [low ISO] exposure of the scene, packing up, etc.). Not to mention the younger one coping with the near-pitch darkness. There was some complaining but really not too much. Thank goodness for Netflix on my 'phone to keep them amused (I just had enough reception down there), which I resorted to after games and dinner got a bit much for them. I did feel rather guilty at how tired and bored they looked before we started the walk back, but they kept their spirits up well and ended up revelling in what an adventure we had had together.
The hardest technical thing about this shot is that, despite being miles in-land, the water is tidal and was coming in during the lengthy shoot. There is no clear vantage point near the water on solid ground (that was all hidden by trees) so I had to shoot on the sand. When I set up, it was light and I had to put the tripod well away from the water's edge because I knew it would end up getting much closer during the shot. The goal was to keep the tripod dry and stable (not undermined by the sand getting wet with the tide) but still finish the shoot close enough to the water's edge for the reflection of the trees and stars to work. I had to guesstimate had much the water would come up in a couple of hours and monitor its progress in the dark, while keeping the boys occupied and avoid their light getting in shot (I set them up some distance away, with a clear line-of-sight to the camera, with their lantern hidden behind my camera pack, then walked back and forth hundreds of times to make sure that they and the camera were ok) . All the time knowing I'd have to get the boys up out of the valley and home, by torchlight, well after their usual bedtime... Good job they are such wonderful boys.
The pic looks peaceful and contemplative. Taking it wasn't!
Pentax 645Z with 25mm DA
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