MELBOURNE APUG OUTING No. 3: NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

It was great to meet you all!
Sorry for leaving without saying goodbye but missues was a bit cold and there was no way I was going down and up this hill again!

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Bloody Good Tour!

Boots and me got back to Sin City at 10.30pm after a late munchi-stop in Cranbourne, and I was shortly on the road back to Geelong arriving 11.30, and in my cot by midnight! Excellent timing.

It was a marvellous day out, and a revelation: I have never previously been to Phillip Island in hot weather, so the huge crowd at Magiclands (Woolamai) was a surprise. The fact remains the weather conditions conspired against us, but this in no way is a slight against the success of the day. A lunch detour at relatively peaceful Rhyll filled us up with fish n chips.
It was great to be at the Cape after a long absence, the company was most interesting and educational and the drama of the seething sea kept me rockhopping in anticipation of being swamped any moment.

Some other places we explored leading up to the APUG meet: Kitty Miller Bay and Pyramid Rock. There is a wreck of an old steamer visible at low tide at Kitty Miller (access via Kitty Miller Road). The latter has significant scenic merit, but the terrain is quite rough and steep (away from the boardwalk); I deduce from seeing people on the rocks far below that is must somehow be possible to get down to the water from the lofty perch. The diversity of colour (the stunning turquoise hue of the water was eye candy at its best), texture and dramatic visual splendour made quite an impact on me — enough to have me contemplate the sublime scene over a conveniently stashed (and liquified) Mars Bar.

Having got that one out of the way, the only question I have now is, "When's the next one?"



Thanks Lachlan for the fifth Mars Bar for the day. And the beer too!

Top day; at least I don't have RSI from pressing the button!

Anyway, here's as good a group shot as I could manage.

Hope to catch up with y'all again soon.

LJH said:

Top day; at least I don't have RSI from pressing the button!

Anyway, here's as good a group shot as I could manage.

Hope to catch up with y'all again soon.

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Strewth! That is wiiiiiiiide! :confused:

Meanwhile, what could have been if the weather had cooperated: http://www.harrynankin.com/primages/pr1_28.jpg

Maybe I'll launch a solo sortie down there... In the meantime, I'll have a few studies of coastal pigface and lichen-encrusted rocks to clamour over.

Yep have a great day, good to meet with you all, Cheers for beers LJH.
Scan of a 8x10 paper negative shot, displaying typical chalk and soot tonal range.

Smashing photos Lachlan & Shane. Sounds like a great day!

Marc!

Thanks Lachlan for the fifth Mars Bar for the day. And the beer too!

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Had I known there was going to be chocolate, I might have tried harder to get there!

I agree with Marc, awesome photos Lachlan and Shane - very impressive.
Hopefully the next one will be somewhere and somewhen that all of us can make it to together (or at least at a time when I'm not being so stupid lazy!)

I hope you all enjoyed the day. I'm looking forward to seeing more photos. Do we have a gallery set up for all of these outings? I'm aware of four of these gatherings over the past three years - only made it to two - and would love to see a collection of the images made at each of them.

Not sure what you mean by a gallery, in terms of type, Molli. The group shots are very pedestrian (and often in B&W); it is the scenes that individuals have committed to film in whatever size, type or description, that transcends the awkward "group shots" — and the Cape Woolamai pics are far from artistic; they're the sort of pics one takes when the tonic is taking effect...

Perhaps a shared DropBox gallery where APUG members have posted images up, and others admitted by sharing invitation, can log-into and freely look at the images. The idea of a gallery does have merit with many people not having shown anything of recent trips (I'm still waiting to see a few others' interpretations of the Noojee and Cape Schanck outings...).

Garyh, I was thinking of the (there was a url link here which no longer exists) - but your idea is a lot better, particularly for non-subscribers who can't access the galleries at all. You're also correct with regard to artistic merit (specifically thinking of my "group shots" and the like!).
Posting "snapshots" into the applicable thread and/or linking to flickr/photobucket etc. uploads would be good, also. It just seems that not many of us do that for whatever reason.

I'll just be happy with seeing people's images at the next gathering

Hi everyone. Was great to meet you all. It was a real eye opener for me to see all those different types of camera's. That pinhole camera shot is really impressive! It was a long ride back to the western suburbs and my arse was pretty sore by the time I got home but it was all worth it. I reckon I've got some pretty nice shots on the old Canonet so the hunt is on for a decent scanner so I can share them on APUG. Anyway it was a great day. When is the next one scheduled for ?!?

Jonno888 said:

When is the next one scheduled for ?!?

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Just a thought:

What about a NYE fireworks shoot?

Perhaps someone knows a Building Supervisor that would give us some rooftop access somewhere overlooking the Yarra?

Access/security can be a PITA.

As I wrote - just a thought...

Many thanks again to Lachlan for transporting a couple of us down and back with refreshments provided. Just the car trip alone provided some valuable insights into solution properties from Andy and Lachlan, years of knowledge with those two.

This was my first trip to the Cape, and while the weather didn't keep its end of the bargain up, the scenery was worth the effort of lugging body and equipment over what seemed like ten miles of tricky boulders. I wasn't being anti social when I spent most of my time at the top of the cliff, I just preferred the elevated view with that unco-operative light.

For the next trip I wouldn't mind doing something industrial, can you get access to the Melbourne ports?

My thanks also to Lachlan for being driver for the day. Really appreciated. My B&W films are processed. My colour ones are yet to be done. Thanks to Gary for helping me frame the image. I feel they all worked out very well. Shame I cannot get the scanner to represent the image as I know I will get on paper. Damn electronics and software.

Pictures to follow

Oxleyroad said:

My thanks also to Lachlan for being driver for the day. Really appreciated. My B&W films are processed. My colour ones are yet to be done. Thanks to Gary for helping me frame the image. I feel they all worked out very well. Shame I cannot get the scanner to represent the image as I know I will get on paper. Damn electronics and software.

Pictures to follow

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I will be interested to see the image that eventuated Andy (however which way you wrangle it!), though I remain largely flat, uninspired and to a predictable degree, disappointed by the prevailing conditions on the day. I had a niggling feeling in the carpark that we should have stayed at the Pinnacles when that firey sunset arose — that was a telling development: a bit of judicious spot metering of a fairly pedestrian outlook would have created quite a scene, and I'm not thinking of silhouetting the rocks. For what it's worth, I reckon the images of Coastal Pigface I made en route The Pinnacles will have more appeal.

Working through image slowly, colour is ready to pick up. But this one is pinhole at 250mm on Shanghai 100 film in Xtol and a 12 sec exposure.

That's awesome, Shane. I'm very jealous that I missed the outing.

Kevin Caulfield said:

I'm very jealous that I missed the outing.

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Given the light on the day, you should only feel jealous, not very jealous!

Anyway, I have thought some more about the day, and would like to put the suggestion forward that we perhaps try another day there?

Given those who hadn't been there now have, there could be value in looking to get there again early next year. We'd know what to expect and what to take (more beer, Mars Bars for Gary and snow shoes for the sand…)

I'd also suggest planning to get there as the tide's going out, so as to be able to spend some more time on the western side of the Cape (the rock pools etc).

Anyone else got any thoughts on this?

LJH said:

Given the light on the day, you should only feel jealous, not very jealous!

Anyway, I have thought some more about the day, and would like to put the suggestion forward that we perhaps try another day there?

Given those who hadn't been there now have, there could be value in looking to get there again early next year. We'd know what to expect and what to take (more beer, Mars Bars for Gary and snow shoes for the sand…)

I'd also suggest planning to get there as the tide's going out, so as to be able to spend some more time on the western side of the Cape (the rock pools etc).

Anyone else got any thoughts on this?

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Mars Bars for moi! LOL! I must come on more of your trips!!

Yes! Yes! Another trip please, ASAP! We missed the sunset. And was it one to get all hot and bothered over...!

The route last weekend was a bit had going out, but at least the tide was out (coming in on the return walk). We could of course have taken the inland route to eliminate the tedious plod across that strange granitic sand that afforded very little grip or stability, and the tortuous rock-hop that made me feel like a washed up Adélie penguin, but of course the inland route would have meant a frightfully speedy bum-skid-clunk down the gully (Scene on the clifftop, dramatis personae: "mummy, look at all those 8x10 cameras strewn around the rocks..."), on a par with the terrible discomforture of Fractured Hip Track down to "once-pretty" Upper Sabine Falls in Great Otway National Park. I might take 15m of rope with me to descend that gully next time, but I can't be sure how long the gully is — 10, 15, 20m?? And what should I attach it to? If to a boulder, what if the boulder moves? :confused:

Lachlan I like the idea of a return trip. I'll only take 2 cameras at most this time, or if I have to take more they'll all be in one backpack.

Oxleyroad said:

Lachlan I like the idea of a return trip. I'll only take 2 cameras at most this time, or if I have to take more they'll all be in one backpack.

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After trudging the 7x17" all over that god-foresaken, bird-infested granite version of Cranbourne, I'm thinking that I might taking a single small format camera next time - my soon-to-be-built 8x10...

Right. Everyone's now sorted their equipment.
Let's go — this week!

It certainly is worth another visit to that spot. The rock hopping was no easy feat, but there were some interesting spots along the way and with the tide out maybe even more to see. I am interested to see Shane's pigface shot, and Gary's, they definitely had good prospects. I'll get to work on my shots taken from above some time during the week.

Andy, I'm confident the Coastal Pigface images will be the best I can manage with Velvia. Boots will have done the scene on the 8x10, but not sure if it was in colour of B&W. I credit him with stumbling upon the quite lively outcrop of Pigface blending in with native grass. But RVP was arguably not the best choice for the Pinnacles shots; I mulled a few times about sacrificing 5 frames of Velvia and loading ACROS in, but persisted and wandered about photographing draping Pigface on the rock ledges and studies featuring the lichen-encrusted boulders with the smaller Pinnacles rising boldly behind — a scene that bore a startling similarity to the rocky coastline of Eddystone Point on the NE coast of Tasmania. Other than these explicit applications suitable for colour, it was a location best suited for mono work in those prevailing conditions (but not always!), which is what I'm keeping in mind for the next visit, though ready to switch back to Velvia for that magical time before, during and after sunset.

For now, I'm heading back into the myrtle glooms of the Otways rainforests to revisit Wild Dog Falls on Sunday.

Poisson Du Jour said:

Andy, I'm confident the Coastal Pigface images will be the best I can manage with Velvia. Boots will have done the scene on the 8x10, but not sure if it was in colour of B&W. I credit him with stumbling upon the quite lively outcrop of Pigface blending in with native grass. But RVP was arguably not the best choice for the Pinnacles shots; I mulled a few times about sacrificing 5 frames of Velvia and loading ACROS in, but persisted and wandered about photographing draping Pigface on the rock ledges and studies featuring the lichen-encrusted boulders with the smaller Pinnacles rising boldly behind — a scene that bore a startling similarity to the rocky coastline of Eddystone Point on the NE coast of Tasmania. Other than these explicit applications suitable for colour, it was a location best suited for mono work in those prevailing conditions (but not always!), which is what I'm keeping in mind for the next visit, though ready to switch back to Velvia for that magical time before, during and after sunset.

For now, I'm heading back into the myrtle glooms of the Otways rainforests to revisit Wild Dog Falls on Sunday.

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You need to buy another P 6X7 that way you can have B&W loaded into one and V50 into the other...

I just wanted to fit in with you all..

Oxleyroad said:

A great time was had by all. The sky did not perform as was hoped, but many fine instruments of image capture were out available for ogling.

Oh and Bob, yabbies or prawns are what are thrown on the barbie. Shrimp are just too small, and too fiddlely to shell.

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