Light travels on a motorcycle

I like to tavel light when on a long camping tour, especially if I am to ride on dirt roads. There is no need to bring the kitchen sink and "all" the commodities of back home; I actually find pleasure in making-do with less and adapt. 

 6000Km along the Australian Main Range, from balmy nights to frost in the morning. 

 

Urban motorcycles

I am not a big fan of urban riding with all the stop-go traffic and congestion. But admittedly there are some spots in the city that lend themselves as a backdrop for interesting images.

 

Yamaha XSR700. M.Zuiko 45mm f1.8

Honda CB650R.  Zonlai Discover 25mm f1.8

Yamaha XSR700. Kodak Cine 102mm f2.7

Yamaha XSR700.  Cosmicar 50mm f1.4  (C-mount)

Yamaha XSR700. M.Zuiko 45mm f1.8

Yamaha XSR700.  Cosmicar 50mm f1.4  (C-mount)

Benji. Cosmicar 50mm f1.4  (C-mount)

Dodging fires

The land is parched, it has been a long time since it has seen rain, and yet I hoped to reach some green spots higher on the Main Range.
The forecast was calling for high 30's maybe even 40C but nights could be still crisp.
I headed West with a vague idea of where I wanted to spend a few nights, not sure how the bush will look like.

The smoke from a week old fire was still creeping on a ridge not too far away.



When taking a wrong turn I ended up on a dead-end dirt road where the sides were all blackened, some stumps still smoldering. The local rural fire brigade saved this wonderful timber hut from the flames.



Eventually I found my way out of there and headed South where previously I spotted a great place to spend the night. Away from any highway I was hoping for a stunning view of the lower hills at sunset, but the smoke was veiling the sun giving the place an eerie orange look.



The grass was still thick and green enough to call that my camp for the night. At lunchtime the heat in the valleys reached body temperature, and yet now I was wearing a down jacket just as the night was falling.







Vanilla joined me the following day. We rode some incredibly bumpy "sealed" roads but then were relived to find dirt roads were smoother than the paved ones. The afternoon sun became just too much to be riding in the bush. A great spot on the banks of a rather shrunk river (from the drought) where shade convinced us siesta was a better idea than pushing on. At the early camp we shared the afternoon with the an incredible variety of chatterbox birds, attracted by the flowering trees.






Sadly the temperatures rose even further next day and the wind picked up. The place was a tinderbox and fires flared up turning deadly.
Our planned route to explore some remote forest tracks changed to safer main roads where travelling at speed kept us relatively much cooler than slogging in the bush.


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The afterglow

Sunsets: I have shot at least a couple of thousands. And I never tire of them.
From my very early days doing the mistake to just wait for the sun to come close to the horizon and then point in its direction before it disappears. If I was smart enough, I would have at least a subject in between so I could end up with a silhouette, of dubious quality.
As film could not hold the high contrast too well I then tried to wait for a softer light, post sunset, if my subject was back-lit. Suddenly the colors will start to show up in my slides, way more pronounced that my eyes could see. Little I knew that our eyes adapt to the changing light temperature and what might have looked "normal" with my eyes, film would record as very warm tones as the whole landscape was lit by candlelight.


adapted C-mount Navitar 75mm f1.3 @ f2    1/25sec

With digital photography things change a bit: one can adjust the color setting and the sensor can capture way more details in the shadows than any film ever could. But the soft light remains the same.
I wait, knowing that the real show will happen when people are gone :-)


* and thanks to technology I was able to create this image that otherwise would have been totally blurred in my film days: 1/25sec on a 150mm lens!

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West End markets

On a Friday evening I can't think of a more relaxed social hang-out than the West End markets.
So much less pretentious and more relaxed alternative to the highly polished venues just a street away from here.


G-Lumix 14mm f2.5  1/2sec

Outdoors, with a mix of food stalls and a few trinkets the crowd is more down to earth. One can meet friends, grab a bight to eat, a (socially responsible) drink and relax.
The place is not loud enough to prevent holding a conversation, occasionally heated :-)


G-Lumix 14mm f2.5 1/5sec

Several street performers often play decent tunes with the Spanish guitarist being my favourite.


G.Lumix 14mm f2.5 1/50sec


PS: Sad news. At the end of April these markets will cease, to make room for redevelopment: residential towers...
PPS: Good news: they will relocate up the road :-)

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Spanish guitar

She plays with ease and passion, I find her music really relaxing.


Kodak Ektar 25mm f1.9 (16mm film cine lens)  f1.9  1/6sec 

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Rainforest trees

In the dense subtropical rainforest the trees are overwhelming; I rarely see the whole tree.
The close proximity of the giants keeps my view focused at the base of their trunks, observing the intricate shape of the roots and texture of the bark.


G-Lumix 14mm f4.5  1/4sec

The light is diffused and the moisture allows for vines, lichens and mosses to grow, sometimes creating abstract paintings on their bark.


G-Lumix 14mm f4.5  1/15sec

And the root system is at times rather bizarre, nothing like I have ever seen in a European forest.


M.Zuiko 9-18mm f4.5  1/15sec

Cascade at Spencers Creek

Thousands of years needed to sculpt these stones.


Lumix-G 14mm f9.5  1/15sec

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Spencers creek

A few minutes of the golden hour illuminated the puffy clouds above our camp.


G-Lumix 14mm f2.5  @8  1/15sec to 1/180sec (composite image)

Rocky creek

There was an early summer heat wave and temperatures were exceeding comfortable levels for bushwalking.
We hiked-in at night to avoid the blazing sun and the effort was rewarded: the creek was flowing with clear water, inviting.


Lumix-G 14mm  f11 1/8sec
We spent the weekend swimming and relaxing in the shade of the trees.
The only access to the creek is by a couple of hours walk and that keeps it pristine: we had the place for ourselves.

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Moonless at the rock

We wanted to see the sunset from a high point, right on top of the large granite boulders, and then decided to actually camp there too.
The moon was going to rise late and the stars created again a perfect backdrop for our stage.


Lumix G 14mm f2.5  45sec  ISO1600

There was not enough light from the stars to illuminate the large boulders so a headlamp helped create this photograph, painting the rock while (long) exposing the image.


Lumix G 14mm f2.5  45sec  ISO1600

Starry night

A cloudless and moonless night still bears a lot of light.
Once I turn my headlight off and I look into the sky stars come into view like in the city never can.


Lumix G 14mm  f2.5  60sec (no tripod)

Silky waterfall

Limestone carved by a glacial stream in upper Austria.


M.Zuiko 9-18mm  f18  1/4sec (handheld)

Late sunset in Åland

After a day of rough seas, pulling into this little natural harbor was a real relief.
I called it the Japanese Garden, where ponds and low vegetation is arranged in almost a made-made form. The small gentle waves were only a reminder of the big seas earlier in the day.


M.Zuiko 14-42EZ  f4.5  1/6sec (handheld)

The sun seemed to never set, just skirted to horizon, hiding behind the light clouds
We were tired and half asleep when the light outside the tent changed and started to glow.