Torrens River precinct. Used new "rangefinder" a Fuji X100

Just north of our lovely Adelaide Oval

more > http://forum.fotki.com/merlin99/general/folder--album-description/gwfbqtrrfqf/

One day I will go in Spring.

Another foray with my little photographer mate - quite enjoyable time with him - I just need to remember to give a little guidance.

Trying out my new point and shoot - a Fujix100. It looks like an old rangefinder and has a fixed 23mm (assume 46mm in 35mm terms) F2 lens. A bit quirky but great control over aperture, shutter and under/over exposure. I just wish they would include ISO in dials. ISO goes up to 12,800 (stuns me even though others even higher now). ISO 6400 can generate quite reasonable results and was one of the main reasons for purchase.

Lots of contention about a proposed development of this beautiful oval - hence these photos even though from a P&S at night.

To get Aussie Rules back to this oval the SA Government is willing to contribute over $500m. There is debate whether this appropriate especially in these tight times. On top of that the development could easily wreck this iconic cricket ground if the development is extended to give a bigger capacity. Current development proposal means it is smaller than current inadequate AFL stadium (very very strange).

My good friend John went on a bush bash with his wife's family. He has given his permission to put up some of his photos. I have touched them up a little but only a little. They did 6000km in 2 weeks, which illustrates the distances involved. I have created 6 albums to cover the 6 main areas involved and to allow geocoding. Do use FotkiMap to drill down - quite interesting to get birds eye view of the places.

Other albums from trip: Coober Pedy, Gammon Ranges, Kings Canyon, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Wilpena Pound.

Taken by good friends on their geological trip. Edited by me. It helps to fill in detail about Australian locations.

About 660km SE of Adelaide. Prosperous town founded in gold rush days.

some miscellaneous shots along the way

Journey encompassed Horsham, Natimuk, Mt Arapiles, Ararat and the Grampians.

A major duck hunting preserve -

Our friends John & Colleen took a trip to Ceduna and the Australian Bight to look at whales. They have kindly given their permission for me to include some of their photos. I take full responsibility for any of the editing (cant help myself).

Every year we zip upto the Clare Valley to partake of the food and wine tastings with our friends.

About 450km NNE of Port Augusta on the Stuart Highway on the way to Alice Springs. Opal Capital of the world. First opal found in 1915.

Temperatures often reach 45C with ground temperatures of 65C. Harsh landscape has featured in Mad Max3, Pitch Black and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

"Corny Point Lighthouse and the beach below where the “melted granites and the black basalt etc. were. We saw crystalline basement rocks on the shore west of the Lighthouse. Geologists still disagree about the sequence here although many visit and the disputes continue….There is calcrete, coarse grained pink pegmatite with pink potassium feldspar and grey quartz. There is Amphibolite which may be Tournefort Metadolerite and another intrusion which may be ….other stuff is said “appears to be a cross-bed” You get the picture. It is the sort of place that has geologists tear their hair and come to blows with their little hammers ... "

Another must do if you visit Perth. Freo is a busy port with lots of old buildings - it hums on the weekends. We took the ferry down to Freo (very pleasant) and then the quick, convenient and comfortable trip back to Perth. Enjoyed the excursion through and old submarine.

Looked around HMAS Ovens an oberon submarine. Crew of about 50 - must have been quite crowded - submariners must be a bit of a different breed to live in such close quarters for long periods.

A very rugged and isolated part of the northern part of the Flinders Ranges.

This park is on the coast about 20km south of the Adelaide CBD.

It is a well developed area of significant geological interest. It is a basin scoured out by glacial action 280 million years ago (Permian Age). It is a dynamic border between land and sea and has been formed by erosion.

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~littoral/hallettcove/geology.htm

From our intrepid friends on their geological excursion. I did the editing and I am using it to fill in part of the picture of SA. My own photos go back to APS days and poor scanning.

Inneston was a company town from 1913-1930. Gypsum was mined here and taken to Stenhouse Bay by a horse drawn train for shipping. Most of the stromatolites are hollow being composed of a delicate shell of finely laminated aragonite (calcium carbonate) trapped by filamentous mats of cyanobacteria (blue green algae). This is one of the few places in the world where they occur because the area is too saline for invertebrates which would graze on them. About 7,000 years ago Marion Bay was an inlet of the sea. Eventually this area was isolated from the sea which resulted in the deposition of gypsum as the water evaporated and the halite and gypsum was precipitated.

Located in south parklands of Adelaide CBD. Opened April 1985 in conjunction with sister city, Himenji.

Fairly small but can easily be seen on satellite map. It is quiet, private and relaxing.

Photos come from a good friend who I have assisted with photography. She uses a very compact camera the Canon iXus60 & she gets lots of great photos.

KI is about 155km by 55km (4,405 sq km) and has a population of around 4,300. It is a premier tourist location in SA. About 1/2 the island is natural scrub and national park. It has a long coastline and some magnificent beaches.

Approximately 150km NNE of Uluru (road distance a lot lot longer).

This reservoir with a capacity of 21,000 megalitres was commissioned in 1979 at a cost of $11.5million. It doesnt have much of a catchment area and is largely a balancing reservoir for off-peak pumping from the River Murray. It is the last major reservoir constructed in SA.

About 30km boundary. Bounded on the south by suburb of Greenwith and on the north by the township of One Tree Hill. About 20km NNE of Adelaide CBD.

Marble Hill was the summer residence of the South Australian Governor and was destroyed by fire in 1933. Only partly restored but you can see the grandeur of the old building. Some beautiful vintage cars in the car park.

My main camera failed during this trip - sticky shutter. Quite irritating because I was hoping to take full advantage of it high ISO capability. Trusty old FZ50 came to the fore.

Our intrepid friends (Frank & Margaret) went to this remote area on an astronomy/geology jaunt. They kindly allowed me to put up the photos. I did a lot of selecting and editing.

Some links:
(Mt Ive Station)
http://www.mtive.com.au/index.htm

Search the Blue Gum Pictures website
http://www.bluegumpictures.com.au/search/search.php?pageno=1&_searchterm=gawler ranges&counter=2

Beautiful gardens just 20km SE of Adelaide UBD. Rhododendrons in full bloom. At the bottom level there was a very strong aroma of maple.

Alerted to the quality of this garden by a Victorian during a flying visit through his town of Hamilton. Linda and I are very glad we followed up on his encouragement.

http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/botanicgardens/mtlofty.html

Hot day which made transversing steep slopes physically demanding - had a very good companion though - eager, enthusiastic, energetic ...

One of our largest country towns and on the route to Melbourne yet we have never detoured in to have a look around. NIce warm day and had a very pleasant cruise on the PS Captain Proud.

I feel I almost know the area now but I still havent used the long drop toilet at the mouth.

I find exposure tricky. Very, very low light so high ISO. Some bright lights so big fiddle with underexposure. Using flash hopeless - washes out all colour.

Part of the Beachport trip

Historic village at Tailem Bend. Consists of hundreds of old dwellings and buildings - most moved in from other country towns.

Day was very hot and light very contrasty.

The new Sony P&S stitches about 20 photos together in camera to create panoramas upto 270 degrees. Creates some distortion but adds a wonderful dimension to the context of other shots. They look pretty good on a large monitor.

Only a short visit. It is a lovely city but it is long way from anywhere (the most isolated capital city in the world?) - about 3 hours flying time from Adelaide. Easy to get around CBD using the free bus services. It had not rained for over 6 months prior to our arrival.

Great park overlooking Perth CBD. Only spent a few of hours looking around but could have spent lots longer if time and feet allowed it. A 'must do' if you visit Perth.

Like many cities our port area has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. Ships have got much larger and the inner docks have fallen into disuse and the areas are ripe for redevelopment. However also a source of old buildings and with the wish to preserve the heritage can slow down development.

Its easy to imagine some of these photos were taken in the red heart of Australia however Redbanks is just 50km north of Adelaide CBD.The sandstone is old as is the erosion.A photographer friend took many of the photos on the second day.

Includes some photos from journey but predominantley from Renmark and close surrounds.

Just went for a sunday drive to a local metropolitan beach and took the camera without any great expectations. Weather very ordinary, changeable, windy and cold. I was quite surprised at how some of the photos came out. More than one photo of the jetty from different angles and in different light. Conditions meant few people on the beach & almost gives the impression of small coastal town.

Opposite side of the bay from Beachport. I would have thought the more open side but it also had more fishing boats. Overcast on our day. One of the surprises the shells on top of the cliffs (probably about 10m high).

Taken by good friends on their trip with the geological club. Selected and edited by me and uploaded to give a more complete picture of South Australia.

Picturesque small town on the way to Milang and Goolwa. It has lots of antique shops.

Lighting was bright but a bit awkward. Also it was very busy so hard to take time to get right angle and light. However great place to visit & much bigger than expected. I will do it again given the opportunity & hopefully will have more opportunity for considered shots.

Nearly didn't lodge these photos. I mucked up the ISO of both cameras. Lighting varied and I simply forgot to reset for new conditions. ISO800 for FZ50 definitely not good - it would have been better to go for slower shutter speed.

Great place but we may have killed it

Uluru - the world's largest monolith is in the Kata Tjuta National Park ~ 450km SW of Alice Springs. Nearby are The Olgas, 36 domed rock formations rising to 500m. Both give rise to great colour hues.

Lovely beach geared to surfing and fishing not swimming.

A natural amphitheatre of 90 sq km, 200m above the surrounding plain