Trip report – Photography Walk, 21 Jan 2012
Party: Adrian Dries, Sveta Golego, Tharani, Chee Wong, Trang Pham, Parastoo Saharkhiz, Mark Stevenson, Elizabeth Mora, Elisabeth Jonas, Terence Nhan, Nichol Hill, Megan Tran, Albert Chetcuti, Peggy Huang
Often when you go bushwalking in amazing places, you’ll want to take photos that truly capture the beauty of the scenery. That’s where the idea of a photography walk came from. To bring together people who share an interest in bushwalking and/or photography. And to help people take better photos of their experiences in the bush.
We meet at Circular Quay at 10.30am (except for Chee and Elisabeth who meet us at Manly). Luckily, the meet up at both locations was drama free with no one coming late. However, we did have 3 no-shows. The 12 of us caught a ferry to Manly (for some it was their 1st ride on a ferry)
On arrival to Manly wharf, I was surprised to see that Chee and Elisabeth (who had never meet, somehow found each other).
Peggy (to Chee and Elisabeth): Hey! How did you guys find each other???
Chee: (Pointing up and down Elisabeth with 2 open hands) Well, it wasn’t very hard.
Peggy: (looks at Elisabeth, spots the back pack with pack cover, Kathmandu shirt, volleys…thinks…oh, what a stupid question. SUBW members are pretty easy to spot!)
It was raining heavily, but we decided to begin the walk anyways. “Press on Regardless” is the clubs traditional motto. (However, the phrase “DO IT! JUST DO IT!! DO IT NOW!!!” which originated from Kosta is starting to become more popular these days. But you need to say it in the correct way: fiercely…with a German accent)
Due to the rain, we were all very protective of our expensive cameras. No one took their cameras out for a long time, until we reached the waterfall at the southern end of North Harbour Reserve. The view was so spectacular it was worth the risk. A few of the participants had done this walk before, but they had never seen the waterfall as heavy and as spectacular as it was today. And this was the first lesson of the day “to take good photos, you must be at the right place at the right time”. And it turns out we were.
At the half way point of the walk, we stumbled across a secret track which led to the coast and some huts. We took a detour to explore.
It wasn’t long till we reached Tania Park, which would be our lunch spot and the location of another photography tutorial. After a good feed, everyone got out their copy of the tutorial and we covered topics such as composition, shutter speed, ISO, white balance and metering.
After lunch the rain totally cleared up and we continued towards the Spit. On the way we stopped to admire several Water Dragons and the Grotto Point Engravings. This included rock engravings of a large Kangaroo, fish and boomerangs by the Gayamagal or Cammeraygal clan.
We soon arrived at the Spit Bridge, just in time for a bus back to the city where we all parted. Some stayed to enjoy a nice coffee and cake at QVB.
Overall, it an awesome day with a great group of people. We all learned a thing or two about bushwalking and photography.
Thanks to the many club members who gave great advice on potential tracks to hold this walk, to the walk participants for making it as enjoyable as it can be, and to Albert Chetcuti for preparing lesson handouts and giving the photography tutorials.
Photos:
Photos from Peggy (photos 1-60), Elizabeth Mora (61-71) and Terence Nhan (72-83):
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150506687626587.368195.643321586&type=3&l=fe461db5d4
Albert Chetcuti:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55108699@N00/sets/72157628964735921/with/6735343997/
Regards,
Peggy