Photographing Australia from Coast to Coast – Color Palettes and the OM-1 OM SYSTEM Mirrorless Digicam
In terms of trusty sidekicks within the outback, you need loads of water, a hat and dependable tools that may deal with the weather. As somebody who isn’t an enormous fan of tenting, squirms on the thought of spiders inside 100m and might’t change a tyre (I do know!), I did a whole lot of analysis to make sure I’d survive driving into the centre of Australia.
Regardless of travelling to among the world’s most distant areas, from glaciers and deserts, Greenland to Chile, there’s one thing about my residence nation of Australia that all the time makes me fear about what may go improper, regardless that the vacation spot is all the time well worth the effort and prep required!
One factor I didn’t must stress about was my digicam gear. Having used the Olympus system since 2017 (see my International Ambassador profile + gear data right here), travelling with the E-M1 MKII, E-M1X + E-M1 MKIII, I used to be excited to make use of this journey round Australia to check out the brand new OM-1, the brand new OM SYSTEM digicam since their rebrand. I knew primarily based on the earlier fashions it could deal with the climate and a little bit of bush bashing, so had loads of waterfalls, dusty deserts, dunes and salty shores scheduled to go to.
To share a little bit of background into this journey, initially I used to be attributable to go to varied places round Australia for a e-book venture in 2020, and everyone knows what occurred that yr with border closures and indoor time! The places and landscapes I had listed to {photograph} lined all states and territories, from east to west and north to south. As an alternative of slowly visiting them all year long as I’d deliberate for 2020, I created two itineraries and two slightly huge street journeys for 2022.
The primary was from Brisbane to Hobart, protecting outback NSW, the Victorian coast and an entire circuit of Tasmania. Departing in late summer season, my associate Ryan (of The Soundscape Studio) and I packed every little thing into my automotive. After I say every little thing, I imply every little thing as we left our rental and crammed the automotive to the roof (with a tiny gap for the rear imaginative and prescient mirror!) with the intention of staying long run in Tasmania…however that’s a narrative for an additional day. This a part of the journey ended up taking three months, returning to QLD in early April to spend a while enhancing.
The second half of the journey was the most important, from Queensland throughout to Western Australia in late September. Once more, we packed the automotive, however this time with minimal belongings as we have been going additional and didn’t need the trouble of repacking each cease. A suitcase every, digicam bag every, 4 x extensive brim hats (as a result of I’m recognized for by chance crushing them), and about 50L of water as a result of I had it caught in my thoughts that there’d be nowhere to hydrate at any level…in fact petrol stations have water, I simply had this imaginative and prescient of us being stranded on the aspect of the street in the midst of nowhere. Fortunately that didn’t come true, ha!
So, slightly than recount the journeys cease by cease, I needed to begin by sharing some highlights of each the panorama and digicam options. The locations I cherished, the settings I used most and a bit of peek at among the images captured. Extra pictures can be revealed as soon as the e-book is launched in late 2023, and I’ll even be sharing snippets of the adventures on The Wandering Lens and by way of the publication (join right here if you happen to haven’t but!) over the approaching weeks and months.
Reside ND Filter + Mount Subject Nationwide Park, Tasmania
In case you’ve been studying The Wandering Lens or following me by way of @the_wanderinglens on Instagram, you’ll know the way a lot I exploit the interior Reside ND Filter on my OM SYSTEM/Olympus cameras.
Blurring water, watching reside because the scene is reworked right into a shifting surprise has impressed me a lot over the previous two years, and I like discovering alternatives to click on over to this characteristic.
With Tasmania recognized for its nationwide parks and pure magnificence, one location I had marked for this journey was Mount Subject Nationwide Park, positioned beneath two hours north-west of Hobart.
Residence to among the world’s tallest eucalypt forests, an array of wildlife and alpine peaks, there’s additionally plenty of cascading falls, the right alternative for some Reside ND experiments.
It was the waterfalls I used to be planning to {photograph} and timed our arrival for the late afternoon to keep away from any direct daylight on the water. Patchy gentle creates contrasting highlights and darker areas throughout the water, and I needed clean, constant tones for my pictures and the encompassing greenery to be actually lush within the late afternoon gentle.
The whole Three Falls Circuit path, which incorporates Russell Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Girl Barron Falls takes the typical walker roughly 2.5hrs to cowl the 6kms. Throw in two photographers, some sound recording and excellent circumstances, and all up we spent 5hrs mesmerised by these landscapes making it out on darkish.
Take a peek beneath at among the pictures captured with the Reside ND filter and the OM-1. I photographed every picture hand-held as a result of the mix of inner filters with the 7.5 stops of stabilisation enabled me to shoot lengthy exposures with out the necessity for a tripod.
Outback Aerials – Uluru, Northern Territory
Aerial pictures has all the time been a serious ardour of mine, I’ve been hooked since I first flew over the Nice Barrier Reef again in 2009. Gazing down upon the patterns and color palettes from above has impressed so a lot of my favorite images, and this Australian street journey included three scenic flights, a couple of lower than supposed attributable to climate circumstances.
One flight took my breath away.
Departing Yulara Airport earlier than daybreak, we flew throughout the desert panorama of Australia’s Purple Centre as gentle gently filtered in from the east. A giant financial institution of cloud on the horizon meant the preliminary few moments of dawn wasn’t seen as we flew above Uluru, however when it did seem, the glow was immense, assembly a thick fog and creating some of the spectacular scenes I’ve witnessed.
Circling above Kata Tjuta to the west of Uluru, the sunshine was extremely photogenic with sturdy rays shining between the domes of this sacred Anangu Aboriginal website. You’ll be able to learn extra in regards to the Anangu tradition right here. Onward additional north, the dawn was permitting the numerous colors of Lake Amadeus to be revealed, with the biggest salt lake within the Northern Territory offering the prospect for some minimal aerial panorama pictures.
Pairing the OM-1 with the 40-150mm f2.8 professional lens for element photographs, I additionally had the E-M1 MKIII and the 12-40mm f2.8 professional lens round my neck as we flew in a doorways off helicopter. I by no means wish to miss a chance when flying and all the time have two digicam our bodies + 2 x lenses to make sure I can cowl a wide range of focal lengths in a single flight. This gear is right for low gentle circumstances along with being good and compact so I can simply alternate between the 2 cameras mid-flight.
Sand Dunes – South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula
Sand dunes are a panorama I may {photograph} for the remainder of my profession and be one very glad gal. Having photographed the Namib Desert in 2019, I wasn’t anticipating to be wowed by the dunes on my record in Australia, however wow was I improper.
The South Australian coast is huge, remoted and affected by pockets of probably the most lovely sand dunes. Whereas I had a couple of nationwide parks on my record, we really skipped these and as an alternative opted to wander down any street that led to our Google Earth discoveries.
Whereas driving from Port Lincoln to Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, we may see dune peaks within the distance and pulled over to see what we have been near. A fast Google Earth search revealed Sheringa Seashore, the place dunes are nestled between a lagoon and the seaside. One of the best half? We had the whole place to ourselves.
Wearing denims and a jumper, I didn’t wish to change and miss the daylight, so we went exploring with no thought they’d proceed for miles. A bit tip, sand dune and denims aren’t an amazing combine!
Anyway, again to the purpose, I spent two hours mendacity within the sand, getting as shut as potential to the textures with the OM-1 to make sure I may compose the scene earlier than me and do it justice.
As soon as we arrived in Streaky Bay, one other set of dunes have been on my radar, the Yanerbie Sand Dunes, simply 10mins from city. I’d deliberate to go to for sundown and so they didn’t disappoint. With an identical setting to Sheringa, we spent the primary hour flying the DJI Mini 3 Professional, then captured photographs of the pastel sky with the OM-1.
Sandstone Patterns – Broome, Western Australia
When mapping out places to incorporate on this e-book venture, the Western Australian coast was second on my record to Uluru and the Purple Centre. I’d beforehand photographed from Perth to Exmouth and knew how gorgeous and various the surroundings and color palettes have been, however the far north had all the time intrigued me.
The Kimberley Coast and landscapes of Broome are recognized for his or her vibrant colors. From pink sands and desert scenes to turquoise tropical seas and sandy inlets, it’s like a tropical island however one aspect is ocean and the opposite desert…endlessly.
Whereas I chartered a helicopter to seize the landscapes from above (which have been lovely!), it was the sandstone rock patterns at Gantheume Level that stored me occupied for hours at sundown, three days in a row!
Often known as among the best places to see dinosaur footprints, the purpose options vibrant pink rock cliffs and layers of sandstone, some damaged up and jagged, others flat and revealing some unimaginable patterns.
One space, tucked nearer to the ocean behind the primary viewing spot, had me glad dancing after I noticed how the pictures have been turning out. Losing no time, I switched the OM-1 to handheld high-resolution mode and set about taking 50MP pictures to make sure I captured as a lot element inside every picture as potential.
*Simply to notice, if you happen to’re utilizing a tripod the high-resolution mode is 80MP, however as I’m all the time preferring to shoot tripod free, the 50MP handheld photographs are so wonderful and greater than sufficient!
Take a peek at among the loopy colors and patterns hidden inside the sandstone layers.
I’ll be sharing extra insights and imagery from my time travelling round Australia quickly. It’s been such an journey to see a lot of my residence nation in such a brief house of time and it’s taking some time to type and get my head round simply how a lot we’ve seen and photographed!
Lisa 🙂
Good day! I’m the founder and photographer behind The Wandering Lens.
With 17+yrs expertise as an expert journey and panorama photographer, all recommendation discovered on this website is from my private expertise on the street. I hope it’s helpful to your personal travels and would love to listen to within the feedback about your journeys and experiences all over the world.