Last-minute 29-hour road trip to the Southern Downs

I know everyone is so time-poor with work and family and ….life…..but honestly, make the time!! I just spent 29 hours, that’s just over ONE whole day and overnight in the Southern Downs, an area south of Toowoomba in Queensland. Rich with farms, crops, old buildings and the odd cowboy, I highly recommend it, especially if you are a city girl (well, a coast girl) like me. We left the Sunny Coast and travelled inland and then south (note: it’s a 3.5 hour drive non-stop), where we stopped at the gorgeous Back Plains church, a privately owned historic Catholic church. We respected the owner and the fence and did not enter the area but took some photos from the fenceline. It’s a gorgeous old timber church with so much character! We were on a bit of a mission to find sunflowers but ultimately we didn’t even care in the end because we found so much more!

Now, of course, a good road trip requires SNACKS and good company. Nicky was in charge of both, AND she did all the driving, which is very awesome for me as I would always prefer being a passenger/navigator. We ended up at Duchess Farm Stay, a really sweet cabin on a farm near Nobby with oh my goodness. GOATS of all things, they were just adorable. And not just goats but Misty the dog, and some small cows and sheep and even chickens right outside our door. We did, in fact, find sunflowers and the timing could not have been better to get Nicky into a dress and put her ribboned hat on and we had a hilarious time taking photos outside of the crop (again….we did not enter the crop at all….we respect farmers here, and private property, and the associated bio-hazards. PLEASE always show the same consideration).

We also saw the most incredible sorghum crops, fiery red in the afternoon light, and silhouettes of horses and trees, and and and the beauty of the rural area really shone through. And of course….silos…windmills and things we find interesting….it never stopped! When we finally went to bed around 10pm Nicky noticed the sky exploding with a bajillion stars and so we had to get up and go outside and take more photos. It really was fantastic, with the dark country skies showing the most amazing sight. In the morning we went back to the sunflowers and the sorghum and then slowly made our way home, stopping in Kilcoy for lunch. What a fun trip! What do you think….worth the trip or not? Please comment below!

10 tips for photography from a helicopter

Having flown in many helicopters over the years in Vancouver, the Kimberley, Sydney, Uluru and Kata Tjuta, the Fraser Coast and more, I’ve picked up a few tips along the way to get great shots from above.

  1. Ask for DOORS OFF! This gives you a clear and unimpeded view of the outside world around you. Shooting through sometimes scratched and dirty perspex glass is not the easiest thing to excel at.

  2. Communicate with your pilot. Be clear about what kind of shots you want, where you might want to fly, and do this before the actual flight if possible. On the flight you will have a headset and microphone so you can also chat while flying, but unless you’re a millionaire, chances are you have only booked a flight for less than 30 minutes so, time matters.

  3. A clear day is best as clouds cast shadows on the land below, and are to be avoided if possible. Over ocean and rivermouths, low tide yields the most amazing designs and patterns.

  4. If you are flying over the ocean on a sunny day, I recommend using a CPL filter - a circular polarising filter on your lens. This can help cut the glare and also show more clarity in the water.

  5. Whatever gear you are using, it must be secured well - so wear a camera strap or a hand grip.

  6. Take care that nothing can fall off your lens such as a lens cap (put it away before the flight) as this can have unwanted consequences if it falls off……….(I will leave it at that).

  7. Don’t change lenses during the flight. I generally take one camera and lens, a Canon 6D and Tamron 24-70mm lens. I prefer not to bring 2 cameras but that is an option if you wish to use several different lens lengths. Note that using a super wide angle will most likely get the rotor blades or the bottom rack in your shots!

  8. Be aware that the heli is constantly moving - so you want a fast shutter speed. I find that using Auto ISO and AV (aperture priority) mode set at f2.8 is a great start. You may want to adjust these settings as you fly, so check your camera to make sure it’s working for you.

  9. You will probably have a friend or a few other people on your flight, so keep in mind that you are not the only person who matters - this is good to communicate before the actual flight to make sure you all get the shots you want.

  10. Remember all your standard composition rules for photography, and keep your horizons straight if you include the sky/horizon.


    ENJOY your flight and please leave a Comment below if you enjoyed reading this!

Tasmania

Tasmania, a small island state at the bottom of Australia, who knew it was so full of natural beauty, friendly locals and crazy weather? I was just there in April, doing a whirlwind road trip around a big circle (not nearly big enough) of Tassy, enjoying rainy moody weather (east coast), snow and sideways driving rain (Cradle Mountain), sunny days and cold mornings, and beautiful sunset skies. Here’s the thing - on PAPER, Tassy looks like a tiny place, but once you start driving the winding, curving roads, and stopping every five minutes because OH A JETTY! and OH RED ROCKS! and OH REFLECTIONS! and highland cows and lone trees and ………….you get the picture. Leave a lot of time to drive from A to B, okay?

As a photographer, I love to explore places, and get away from the cities and the buildings, and it’s easy to do that in Tassy. The environment is so different - you’ve got the west coast around Strahan with still water and timber jetties, and then in the mountains with curving roads and a mining-devastated landscape (although beautiful in its own way), there’s sea stacks and big rocks and crashing ocean waves, and who could ever go past the stunning Bay of Fires, with turquoise waters, white sand and orangey-red rocks.

I feel like Tasmania is like a mini-New Zealand in a way, so much to photograph, and so much to do: hiking, walking, camping, all of the things i love to experience with nature as a backdrop. In fact I love it so much, i’m now sharing it with photographers - running photography workshops down there (check out info on my next trip under Workshops). xx

GEAR TALK

I seem to be amassing large amounts of gear, but it’s all used regularly, trust me!! I shoot my landscapes and portraits with a Canon 6D - I keep meaning to upgrade to a 5-series actually, but my camera really cops a lot of salt spray and corrosion and dampness, every single day, so I’m not sure I need to upgrade just yet. I’ve already had the insides removed and replaced due to salt corrosion, so it will keep me going for a while yet! I also use a Canon 7D, a crop sensor body. I use that for action, surf, sports and wildlife mainly. My lenses cover a wide range. I will list them here, and let you know what I use them for:

  • Canon 100mm f2.8L - macro lens (flowers, tiny things) and portraits

  • Canon 16-35mm f4L - my main landscape lens, wide angle

  • Samyang 14mm - super wide angle, i only use this for astro photography

  • Tamron 24-70mm - such a sharp lens, a perfect all-rounder. I can use it for landscapes as well as portraits, and great for street photography!

  • Canon 70-200mm f2.8L ISii USM - the most AMAZING lens I own! gorgeous bokeh for portraits, incredible sharpness

  • Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L ISii USM - perfect for surfing and wildlife shots.

Can I tell you guys……it’s taken me quite a while to figure out what I want and need in lenses. I tried a Canon 17-40mm (didn’t like it). I tried a Canon 50mm (didn’t like it), I tried a Canon 85mm (didn’t like it). Lenses are such a personal thing and it depends on what you use them for. There are companies around who rent out lenses. I suggest you try to rent one before you invest in buying one!! Also, invest in the BEST glass you can afford. I saved up for the 70-200 for ages before I could afford to buy one, and it will never leave my possession. it’s that good, so it was worth the wait!

I use Sirui tripods, the W-series. They are waterproof and carbon-fibre. They are fantastic at being constantly in salt water and sweltering in the boot of my hot car. I’ve got my regular one, the W2204, and recently I acquired a W1204, it’s a little bit smaller in size and lighter, so i use that for travel.

I made the investment into NISI filters a couple of years ago, and I use them almost every day. I use the v5 square system, a selection of Neutral Density (ND) filters: a 3-stop, 6-stop and 10-stop, plus a few graduated filters, and Circular Polarising filter, and a Natural Light filter. Interestingly, filters are the number one thing my students want to learn, so I teach how to use them, and how to get the best out of them.

What else do i have …..hmmm well I have a GoPro Silver Hero4 which is fantastic when I go stand-up paddling, and I fly a DJI Mavic Pro drone whenever I get the chance (I’ve posted some images in my gallery, check them out!).

I use a LowePro Flipside 400AW backpack. When I travel….hmmm depends where I’m going and my needs when i get there, but sometimes I fill the backpack and then it fits perfectly INSIDE a hard shell carry-on case, so it’s then on wheels (best thing ever). Sometimes I just carry the backpack on my back, pretending it hardly weighs a thing (tip for getting through at airport check-ins). It doesn’t fit ALL of my gear but I pack according to what I’m going to need! Tip: bring a non-photographer with you when travelling so they can carry some of your gear ;)

As most photography-related brands come out with new gear all the time, unless you are sponsored by the brands and given the use of gear as it updates, it’s hard to keep up, and frankly, quite expensive. I would rather spend my money on travel (so far i’ve travelled to 7 continents…Antarctica was my absolute fave!).

Anyway, i’m always around to answer any questions you may have about my gear, just flick me an email! x