Photographing Australia from Coast to Coast – Color Palettes and the OM-1 OM SYSTEM Mirrorless Digital camera
Relating to trusty sidekicks within the outback, you need loads of water, a hat and dependable tools that may deal with the weather. As somebody who isn’t an enormous fan of tenting, squirms on the concept of spiders inside 100m and may’t change a tyre (I do know!), I did plenty of analysis to make sure I’d survive driving into the centre of Australia.
Regardless of travelling to a few of the world’s most distant areas, from glaciers and deserts, Greenland to Chile, there’s one thing about my dwelling nation of Australia that at all times makes me fear about what might go flawed, despite the fact that the vacation spot is at all times well worth the effort and prep required!
One factor I didn’t must stress about was my digicam gear. Having used the Olympus system since 2017 (see my International Ambassador profile + gear data right here), travelling with the E-M1 MKII, E-M1X + E-M1 MKIII, I used to be excited to make use of this journey round Australia to check out the brand new OM-1, the brand new OM SYSTEM digicam since their rebrand. I knew primarily based on the earlier fashions it could deal with the climate and a little bit of bush bashing, so had loads of waterfalls, dusty deserts, dunes and salty shores scheduled to go to.
To share a little bit of background into this journey, initially I used to be as a consequence of go to numerous places round Australia for a e-book venture in 2020, and everyone knows what occurred that yr with border closures and indoor time! The places and landscapes I had listed to {photograph} coated all states and territories, from east to west and north to south. As an alternative of slowly visiting them all year long as I’d deliberate for 2020, I created two itineraries and two slightly huge street journeys for 2022.
The primary was from Brisbane to Hobart, masking outback NSW, the Victorian coast and a whole circuit of Tasmania. Departing in late summer season, my associate Ryan (of The Soundscape Studio) and I packed every little thing into my automotive. After I say every little thing, I imply every little thing as we left our rental and crammed the automotive to the roof (with a tiny gap for the rear imaginative and prescient mirror!) with the intention of staying long run in Tasmania…however that’s a narrative for an additional day. This a part of the journey ended up taking three months, returning to QLD in early April to spend a while modifying.
The second half of the journey was the largest, from Queensland throughout to Western Australia in late September. Once more, we packed the automotive, however this time with minimal belongings as we had been going additional and didn’t need the effort of repacking each cease. A suitcase every, digicam bag every, 4 x huge brim hats (as a result of I’m identified for by accident crushing them), and about 50L of water as a result of I had it caught in my thoughts that there’d be nowhere to hydrate at any level…in fact petrol stations have water, I simply had this imaginative and prescient of us being stranded on the aspect of the street in the midst of nowhere. Fortunately that didn’t come true, ha!
So, slightly than recount the journeys cease by cease, I wished to begin by sharing some highlights of each the panorama and digicam options. The locations I liked, the settings I used most and a bit peek at a few of the images captured. Extra pictures might be revealed as soon as the e-book is launched in late 2023, and I’ll even be sharing snippets of the adventures on The Wandering Lens and by way of the publication (join right here when you haven’t but!) over the approaching weeks and months.
Stay ND Filter + Mount Area Nationwide Park, Tasmania
For those who’ve been studying The Wandering Lens or following me by way of @the_wanderinglens on Instagram, you’ll understand how a lot I exploit the interior Stay ND Filter on my OM SYSTEM/Olympus cameras.
Blurring water, watching reside because the scene is reworked right into a shifting marvel has impressed me a lot over the previous two years, and I really like discovering alternatives to click on over to this characteristic.
With Tasmania identified for its nationwide parks and pure magnificence, one location I had marked for this journey was Mount Area Nationwide Park, situated below two hours north-west of Hobart.
House to a few of the world’s tallest eucalypt forests, an array of wildlife and alpine peaks, there’s additionally numerous cascading falls, the right alternative for some Stay ND experiments.
It was the waterfalls I used to be planning to {photograph} and timed our arrival for the late afternoon to keep away from any direct daylight on the water. Patchy gentle creates contrasting highlights and darker areas throughout the water, and I wished easy, constant tones for my pictures and the encircling greenery to be actually lush within the late afternoon gentle.
The whole Three Falls Circuit path, which incorporates Russell Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Girl Barron Falls takes the typical walker roughly 2.5hrs to cowl the 6kms. Throw in two photographers, some sound recording and ultimate situations, and all up we spent 5hrs mesmerised by these landscapes making it out on darkish.
Take a peek beneath at a few of the pictures captured with the Stay ND filter and the OM-1. I photographed every picture hand-held as a result of the mix of inside filters with the 7.5 stops of stabilisation enabled me to shoot lengthy exposures with out the necessity for a tripod.
Outback Aerials – Uluru, Northern Territory
Aerial pictures has at all times been a serious ardour of mine, I’ve been hooked since I first flew over the Nice Barrier Reef again in 2009. Gazing down upon the patterns and color palettes from above has impressed so a lot of my favorite images, and this Australian street journey included three scenic flights, a couple of lower than meant as a consequence of climate situations.
One flight took my breath away.
Departing Yulara Airport earlier than daybreak, we flew throughout the desert panorama of Australia’s Purple Centre as gentle gently filtered in from the east. An enormous financial institution of cloud on the horizon meant the preliminary few moments of dawn wasn’t seen as we flew above Uluru, however when it did seem, the glow was immense, assembly a thick fog and creating one of the spectacular scenes I’ve witnessed.
Circling above Kata Tjuta to the west of Uluru, the sunshine was extremely photogenic with sturdy rays shining between the domes of this sacred Anangu Aboriginal web site. You’ll be able to learn extra in regards to the Anangu tradition right here. Onward additional north, the dawn was permitting the various colors of Lake Amadeus to be revealed, with the biggest salt lake within the Northern Territory offering the prospect for some minimal aerial panorama pictures.
Pairing the OM-1 with the 40-150mm f2.8 professional lens for element pictures, I additionally had the E-M1 MKIII and the 12-40mm f2.8 professional lens round my neck as we flew in a doorways off helicopter. I by no means wish to miss a chance when flying and at all times have two digicam our bodies + 2 x lenses to make sure I can cowl a wide range of focal lengths in a single flight. This gear is right for low gentle situations along with being good and compact so I can simply alternate between the 2 cameras mid-flight.
Sand Dunes – South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula
Sand dunes are a panorama I might {photograph} for the remainder of my profession and be one very completely satisfied gal. Having photographed the Namib Desert in 2019, I wasn’t anticipating to be wowed by the dunes on my checklist in Australia, however wow was I flawed.
The South Australian coast is huge, remoted and suffering from pockets of probably the most stunning sand dunes. Whereas I had a couple of nationwide parks on my checklist, we really skipped these and as a substitute opted to wander down any street that led to our Google Earth discoveries.
Whereas driving from Port Lincoln to Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, we might see dune peaks within the distance and pulled over to see what we had been near. A fast Google Earth search revealed Sheringa Seashore, the place dunes are nestled between a lagoon and the seaside. The perfect half? We had the complete place to ourselves.
Wearing denims and a jumper, I didn’t wish to change and miss the daylight, so we went exploring with no concept they’d proceed for miles. Just a little tip, sand dune and denims aren’t an excellent combine!
Anyway, again to the purpose, I spent two hours mendacity within the sand, getting as shut as doable to the textures with the OM-1 to make sure I might compose the scene earlier than me and do it justice.
As soon as we arrived in Streaky Bay, one other set of dunes had been on my radar, the Yanerbie Sand Dunes, simply 10mins from city. I’d deliberate to go to for sundown and so they didn’t disappoint. With the same setting to Sheringa, we spent the primary hour flying the DJI Mini 3 Professional, then captured pictures of the pastel sky with the OM-1.
Sandstone Patterns – Broome, Western Australia
When mapping out places to incorporate on this e-book venture, the Western Australian coast was second on my checklist to Uluru and the Purple Centre. I’d beforehand photographed from Perth to Exmouth and knew how beautiful and numerous the surroundings and color palettes had been, however the far north had at all times intrigued me.
The Kimberley Coast and landscapes of Broome are identified for his or her vibrant colors. From pink sands and desert scenes to turquoise tropical seas and sandy inlets, it’s like a tropical island however one aspect is ocean and the opposite desert…endlessly.
Whereas I chartered a helicopter to seize the landscapes from above (which had been stunning!), it was the sandstone rock patterns at Gantheume Level that stored me occupied for hours at sundown, three days in a row!
Often called probably the greatest places to see dinosaur footprints, the purpose options vibrant pink rock cliffs and layers of sandstone, some damaged up and jagged, others flat and revealing some unbelievable patterns.
One space, tucked nearer to the ocean behind the primary viewing spot, had me completely satisfied dancing once I noticed how the photographs had been turning out. Losing no time, I switched the OM-1 to handheld high-resolution mode and set about taking 50MP pictures to make sure I captured as a lot element inside every picture as doable.
*Simply to notice, when you’re utilizing a tripod the high-resolution mode is 80MP, however as I’m at all times preferring to shoot tripod free, the 50MP handheld pictures are so wonderful and greater than sufficient!
Take a peek at a few of the loopy colors and patterns hidden throughout the sandstone layers.
I’ll be sharing extra insights and imagery from my time travelling round Australia quickly. It’s been such an journey to see a lot of my dwelling nation in such a brief area of time and it’s taking some time to kind and get my head round simply how a lot we’ve seen and photographed!
Lisa 🙂
Whats up! I’m the founder and photographer behind The Wandering Lens.
With 17+yrs expertise as knowledgeable journey and panorama photographer, all recommendation discovered on this web site is from my private expertise on the street. I hope it’s helpful on your personal travels and would love to listen to within the feedback about your journeys and experiences around the globe.