The beautiful Koonya beach at Blairgowrie. A favorite spot of mine to sit and watch nature at it’s best.
The image is available as a print at my Redbubble and Zazzle websites.
January 16, 2013 | Categories: art, Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, excursion, filters, images, landscape, landscape photos, long exposure, mist, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ND filters, ND400, photo website, photographer, photography, pictures, prints, sea, seascape, Sigma 10-20mm, travel | Tags: art, Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, images, landscape, long exposure, mist, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ND filters, ND400, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, pictures, rocks, rockscape, seascape | Leave A Comment »
18 months after releasing my first book I’m pleased to announce that I’ve finally finished my second book and published it through Blurb.
Intervals of Time – front cover.
The 40 page collection explores Australian land and seascapes using long exposure photographic techniques to capture textures and patterns hidden in fluid motion.
The book is printed on Blurb’s premium lustre finish paper.
Intervals of Time – rear cover.
If you’d like to thumb through the book with a virtual preview of all it’s pages go here.
July 19, 2011 | Categories: art, Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, flinders, HDR, jetty, landscape, landscape photos, long exposure, low light, mangroves, mist, monochrome, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ND400, Phillip Island, photographer, photography, pictures, pier, Port Phillip Bay, prints, sea, seascape, Sigma 10-20mm, Sorrento, travel, Westernport Bay | Tags: art, Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, book, god rays, grantville, HDR, landscape, long exposure, mist, monochrome, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ND filters, ND400, ocean, ocean beach, photo book, photographer, photography, photos for sale, pictures, pier, rocks, rockscape, seascape, Sorrento, westernport bay | 2 Comments »
Winter has suddenly struck with a vengeance in Melbourne and it’s surrounding areas.
The reduced temperature of the Bass Strait water combined with chilling winter winds now makes wide-angle shooting amongst the crashing surf fairly unbearable.
On my most recent trip to Koonya beach, the chill of the winter water running across my lower legs caused my teeth to ache, ….well almost. 
Below – Woolly and Wild – wild winter conditions at Koonya beach, Blairgowrie.
Until the weather warms up a little I’ll be using the mid-range zoom in an effort to keep my feet drier and warmer.
No more long exposures standing in the surf, …..bbrrrrrrr !!
Sadly, when I was just about to publish this post I learned that my mother in-law has passed away after a prolonged struggle with illness. You’ll be deeply missed by us all Margaret. Rest in peace. 
June 9, 2011 | Categories: art, Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, filters, landscape, landscape photos, long exposure, mist, monochrome, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ND400, photo website, photographer, photography, pictures, sea, seascape, travel | Tags: art, Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, Jean Margaret Tocknell, long exposure, Margaret Tocknell, mist, monochrome, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ND filters, ND400, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, pictures, rockscape, seascape | 6 Comments »
The following long exposures were taken during daylight hours using an ND400 and ND8 filter stacked together on the front of my Sigma 10-20mm lens. The combination of these two filters attenuates so much light that peering into the viewfinder reveals an inky blackness even during bright daylight conditions.
It’s therefore necessary to compose the image BEFORE screwing the filters onto the lens. It’s also necessary to adjust the focus manually since the auto-focus system has no chance of working under such conditions.
*** (Update October 2012) The introduction of “live view” to many DSLR cameras means that is’s no longer necessary to compose and pre-focus with the dark filters off the lens. I shoot all the time now using live view to peer through the combined darkness of an ND400 and ND8. The filters now stay on the lens which means there is a lot less fiddling around. If you’re looking for a guide to show you how to use an ND400 have a look at my recent blog post here.***
I found that if I set the ISO as low as possible, and set the aperture very small (i.e. a high number), then it was possible to obtain a shutter duration of about 3 minutes. Such long exposures during daytime create some interesting images. I’m looking forward to experimenting more with the ND400.
Crevasse
Dancing with Scissors in My Mouth
Lapping at Tight Spaces
Down by Mother’s Trough
Planet Number Three
February 28, 2010 | Categories: art, Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, filters, images, landscape, landscape photos, long exposure, mist, monochrome, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ND filters, ND400, photo website, photographer, photography, pictures, rock pools, sea, seascape, Sigma 10-20mm, Sorrento | Tags: art, Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, filters, how to, images, landscape, long exposure, mist, misty waves, monochrome, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ND filters, ND400, NDX400, ocean, ocean beach, photo filters, photographer, photography, photos for sale, pictures, rocks, rockscape, seascape, Sorrento | 3 Comments »
A snapshot of a fellow RedBubble photographer catching “last light” at Blairgowrie beach.
February 12, 2010 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, camera, HDR, landscape, landscape photos, mornington peninsula, motion blur, photographer, photography, seascape | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, landscape, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, portrait, rockscape, seascape, summer, sunset | 1 Comment »
The following images were taken on an evening excursion to Spray Point / Montforts beach, Blairgowrie.
I’m never really sure where one beach ends and the other begins. 
Tidal Trickle (below) was taken just prior to the sun dropping below the horizon giving some nice pinks in the sky.
Friends and Fatalities (below) is a long exposure shot taken just after the sun had dropped below the horizon.
The extended exposure time makes the moving water take on a misty appearance and blurs the clouds whilst the foreground rocks remain in focus.
The Unpredicted (below) is a long exposure shot showing water flowing off the rock plateaus after sunset.
Despite the deceptively calm appearance of the image this is really a potentially treacherous area with unexpectedly large waves occasionally sweeping across the plateaus.
February 8, 2010 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, landscape, landscape photos, long exposure, low light, monochrome, mornington peninsula, motion blur, night photography, photo website, photographer, photography, rock pools, seascape | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, landscape, long exposure, mini waterfalls, mist, monochrome, montforts beach, mornington peninsula, motion blur, night photography, ocean, ocean beach, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, seascape, Spray Point, summer, sunset, waterfalls | Leave A Comment »
The following three images were taken on an excursion to the rock shelves of Montforts beach, in Blairgowrie.
It’s an interesting place to be during the transition from high to low tide, as the water on the expansive rocky plateaus cascades over the sides on it’s return to the ocean.
Whilst here it’s important to be aware of which way the tide is going and also keep an eye out for occasional large rogue waves that sweep across the shelves. Prepare to get wetter than you expected here.
Montfort’s Cascades
Slide
Montforts Beach
The image below was taken at the neighboring Sorrento beach.
It’s a long exposure taken after sunset giving the oceans surface a deceptively calm and smooth appearance.
Blue Monolith
January 25, 2010 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, landscape, landscape photos, long exposure, low light, mornington peninsula, motion blur, photo website, photographer, photography, rock pools, seascape, Sorrento | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, landscape, long exposure, mini waterfalls, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ocean, ocean beach, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, seascape, Sorrento, summer, sunset, waterfalls | 3 Comments »
These images were taken on a recent dusk excursion to Koonya beach on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia.
Dusk is my favorite time of day for shooting, ……it’s certainly MUCH more user friendly than that other time of day, …….what do they call it, ….”dawn” or something like that.
Koonya Blue
Reflections
December 8, 2009 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, camera, landscape, landscape photos, long exposure, low light, mornington peninsula, motion blur, night photography, photo website, photographer, photography, seascape, sunset, Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, Koonya beach, landscape, long exposure, mist, mornington peninsula, motion blur, night photography, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, seascape, sunset | Leave A Comment »
This is a reworked version of one of my first images posted to Redbubble. I’ve finally had time to tweak it the way I way I like it.
It was a taken on the beach at Blairgowrie as a storm was rolling in from the ocean. It was an amazing storm to see, …dark swirling clouds, lightning, halos formed by the sun shining through sheets of rain, ….marvelous stuff !
Tempest over the Ocean – Blairgowrie
Tempest over the Ocean is available as a high quality print at my Zazzle and RedBubble websites.
October 6, 2009 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, landscape, landscape photos, mist, mornington peninsula, photo website, photographer, photography, seascape, storm | Tags: art, Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, clouds, cloudy, Crepuscular rays, god beams, god rays, halos, HDR, images, Koonya beach, landscape, mornington peninsula, ND filters, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, pictures, rocks, rockscape, seascape, storm, sunbeams, sunlight streaks | 1 Comment »
This sunset image taken at Blairgowrie beach, Australia, turned out to be much softer than I expected but I like the final result. The softness of the image is due to a build up of ocean salt spray on the lens filter.
April 3, 2009 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, filters, landscape photos, low light, mornington peninsula, motion blur, photographer, photography, seascape, sunset | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, mist, mornington peninsula, motion blur, ocean, ocean beach, photo filters, photographer, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, seascape, sunset | Leave A Comment »
A sunset taken at Blairgowrie beach, Australia.
I never get sick of visiting this ocean coastline along the Mornington Peninsula. The rocky landscape remains as a constant, however the continually changing sky and tide never fail to create a new captivating scene.
Generally the best time to visit this area are when the sunset corresponds with a low tide.
This image is available to purchase as a quality print here.
April 1, 2009 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, landscape photos, low light, mornington peninsula, photographer, photography, rock pools, seascape, sunset | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, mornington peninsula, night photography, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, seascape, sunset | 1 Comment »
A sunset at Blairgowrie ocean beach, Australia.
This image is available to purchase as a high quality print here.
March 29, 2009 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, landscape photos, low light, mornington peninsula, photographer, photography, rock pools, seascape, skyscape, sunset | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, mornington peninsula, night photography, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, seascape, sunset | 4 Comments »
A monochrome HDR image taken at Blairgowrie beach, Australia.
The sun struggles through gathering storm clouds.
This image is available to purchase as a print here.
January 25, 2009 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, HDR, monochrome, mornington peninsula, photographer, photography, rock pools, seascape | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, HDR, monochrome, mornington peninsula, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, Rye beach, seascape, summer | 1 Comment »
An afternoon shot, taken at Blairgowrie ocean beach.
This image is available to purchase as a print here.
January 24, 2009 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, landscape photos, mornington peninsula, photographer, photography, rock pools, seascape | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, mornington peninsula, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, seascape | 1 Comment »
The Archway to Yesterday – a seascape shot taken at Blairgowrie ocean beach as the sun drops below the horizon.
This image is available to purchase as a print here.
January 9, 2009 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, landscape photos, low light, mornington peninsula, photo website, photographer, photography, rock pools, seascape, sunset | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, mornington peninsula, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, seascape, sunset | 1 Comment »
Sunset at Koonya beach, Blairgowrie, Australia.
This image is available to purchase as a print here.
December 22, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, landscape photos, mornington peninsula, photographer, photography, rock pools, seascape, sunset | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, mornington peninsula, ocean, ocean beach, photographer, photography, photos for sale, rocks, rockscape, Rye beach, seascape, sunset | Leave A Comment »
A six minute exposure taken at night, aperture f11, iso 100 on Blairgowrie beach.
The long exposure reveals the apparent path of objects around the south celestial pole and also transforms the motion of the rough ocean waves into a soft mist.
This image is available to purchase as a print here.
December 11, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, landscape photos, low light, mornington peninsula, motion blur, night photography, photography, seascape | Tags: Australian, Blairgowrie, long exposure, night photography, seascape | 2 Comments »
An HDR seascape sunset taken at Blairgowrie ocean beach.
This image is available to purchase as a print here.
December 7, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, landscape photos, mornington peninsula, photography, rock pools, seascape, sunset | Tags: Blairgowrie, HDR, ocean, seascape, sunset | 1 Comment »
A sunset on Blairgowrie beach.
This shot is an HDR image made from 3 exposures blended together in “Dynamic Photo HDR” software.
This image is available to purchase as a print here.
December 6, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, landscape photos, mornington peninsula, photography, rock pools, seascape, sunset | Tags: HDR, seascape, sunset | Leave A Comment »
A monochrome seascape shot taken just before sunset at Blairgowrie beach, Australia.
This image is available to purchase as a print here
December 6, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, landscape photos, monochrome, mornington peninsula, photography, seascape | Tags: Australia, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, monochrome, mornington peninsula, seascape | 1 Comment »
A sunset seascape at Blairgowrie beach, Australia.
December 3, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, low light, mornington peninsula, photographer, photography, sunset | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, ocean, seascape, sunset | 3 Comments »
This shot was taken at one of the many wonderful beaches along the Mornington Peninsula, Australia.
It’s a long exposure taken at night looking out at the ocean.
The long exposure smooths out the motion of the oceans rough surface giving it the appearance of a gentle mist. The rocks sticking out of the mist provide a nice contrast of texture.
The reflection of the rocks in the foreground water provides some additional interest.
The background light comes from the sun which long ago dropped below the horizon. When looking through the viewfinder this glow isn’t visible to the naked eye but the camera’s long exposure picks it up without much trouble.
This image is available to purchase as a print – here
November 30, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, black and white, Blairgowrie, landscape photos, low light, monochrome, mornington peninsula, motion blur, night photography, photographer, photography, seascape | Tags: black and white, low light, mornington peninsula, night photography, seascape | Leave A Comment »
This image is available to purchase as a print – here
November 29, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, HDR, mornington peninsula, photographer, photography, seascape | Tags: Australia, Australian, beach, seascape, sunset | Leave A Comment »
A night on Blairgowrie beach.
This image is available to purchase as a print – here
November 27, 2008 | Categories: Australia, Australian, beach, Blairgowrie, mornington peninsula, motion blur, photographer, seascape | Tags: Australia, Australian, night, seascape, sunset | Leave A Comment »
