For this photography blog I at first had no idea what my images were going to focus on. So as an international student in a new country for four months I did what anyone would do; I took photos of things that I thought were cool, beautiful or just inspiring. It was when I was finally able to go back and look through all of my photos to try and find a common theme that I found one. I saw that many of my photos have been focused around the natural environment I have seen here in Australia and even more so around all the different forms of water I have seen. So throughout this photography blog you will see ten photos that I have taken up and down the east coast of Australia, from Byron Bay to Fraser Island to Noosa Heads to Arrawarra. While these photos were taken in many different places, the order I am putting them in is a little more significant. I took these photos at many different times of the day starting with one of the most beautiful sunrises that I have had the pleasure to see while here in Australia.
This first photograph was one of many that I took in Arrawarra during the sunrise. What I really like about this photo is that it is broken in a way that you can see the sunlight coming in to chase away the dark in the foreground of the photo. Another aspect of this photo that I like is that the water is acting to be almost reflective in places.
This next photo was at Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island at about 10am. I have a few different photos from this lake and each one is a little different. I chose this photo because I enjoyed how the picture was divided into thirds. The sand and planks of wood make an interesting attention grabber in the foreground, and the color of the water in the middle fade in a way that almost connects the sand to the sky in the background. Overall I think the effect of this shot is very appealing to the eye.
My one and only panoramic photo that I took while on Fraser Island I think is one of my favorite photos that I have ever taken. I used the same directions to take this photo as I did in class in week eight when we also did panoramic shots. By overlapping the photos I took and then merging them in photoshop, I was able to create a stunning photo of one of the most beautiful places on earth with the crystal blue water of Lake McKenzie.
The final photo I have here from Lake McKenzie is one I found to be very striking once I had learned more about Fraser Island. Fraser is the largest sand island in the world, so this little tree that I photographed in the water is growing purely in sand. Another part of this photo that I like is that the shutter speed of my camera was fast enough to capture the ripples in the water from the wind during the early morning.
This picture here was also taken on Fraser Island at a place called the Champagne Pools. These pools are right next to the ocean and are protected by the rocks seen in the photo, however, the waves will sometimes go over the rocks and fill each pool with fresh saltwater. I decided to choose this photo because I was able to take the photo when the wave just hit the rocks and before the water went into the pool. The photo is also interesting because the water in the foreground is calm still and we can distinctly see the sea foam that is resting on the top of the pool of water.
What I really enjoy about this photo is the lighting that came through the trees. I took this photo when I was at Protester Falls a little after midday and saw this little stream and decided that with the lighting and background the shot may be very fun and show a serene environment that hasn't been touched by human involvement.
This is one of my favorite photos in this project. I took this in the Noosa Everglades a in the late afternoon and I was so excited to see that we were able to see such amazing reflections in the water from the trees on the embankments. Some of the other photos I took of these reflections did not show the colors in the water quite as well as this one, but this one turned out so well and makes people looking at the photo need to think about where the reflection ends and where the real trees are in the photo.
After going through my photos, this one really struck me as interesting. I took this photo at a shipwreck on Fraser Island right before sunset, and I like this picture because while the shipwreck is interesting on the right side of the picture, it's the incoming tide that I like. The ocean in the background of the photo doesn't appear to be coming in, but when looking in the foreground we know that is not the case since the sand is wet and shows a layer of water. Another aspect of this photo I like is how the lighting is. Parts of the photo are dark and show the oncoming night in the right side of the photo and it's the light on the water and left side that shows the fading of the day.
Of all of my photos that I have taken at night, this hands down is my favorite. In Byron Bay one night the moon was huge when we were watching it rise and I decided to change a setting on my camera to sunrise/moonrise and it changed the colors shown in the picture to this purplish color. I really love this photo because not only can we see the moon and the surf, but we can also see a small bit of the moon's reflection and I was also able to capture the waves and sea foam in the foreground. Overall the whole photo is pleasing to my eye with how I framed the shot with all the the different aspects to it.
