For some a trip begins when they leave home, start travelling or arrive at their destination. My trip to Port Stephens began well before any of this when I was first inspired by some
images from the area, inspiration which then turned into hours and hours of research on the Hunter region planning out my trip.
After a long week and a forecast that the weather could go either way, I began to wonder if I should postpone my trip for ‘safer’ conditions. However after a final look at the forecast I decided to take a gamble and make my way up from Sydney.
My alarm sounds at 2am Friday morning and it’s not long before I am making my way up the motorway, bound for the Central Coast where I would stop to shoot the sunrise. I was excited to finally be shooting at this location so as I arrived in the dark I couldn’t wait to see what was ahead of me. I grabbed my torch and went and discovered a photographic gem.
Thrilled with what I had come across I raced back to the car, grabbed my gear and continued to set up. Soon first light came and with it a pretty heavy downpour of rain. Absolutely shattered with what was happening I stuck it out, my camera and I beginning to get pretty wet, in fact so wet that my camera began to play up (No live preview, or image playback).
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Behind the Scenes at
Berkeley Vale. |
The rain slowly eased off as the sun made an appearance through a crack in the clouds just above the horizon. My trusty Canon ended up coming through despite the soaking it received and importantly was there to capture the scene that stood before me. I must say that my Berkeley Vale image would not be what it is without all the elements that were in play. The rain that I once dreaded meant that the water surface was flat, giving perfect reflections whilst also dampening the jetty, making it too reflect the sky’s fiery colours.
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"Berkeley Vale" by Jack Coghlan
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Standing amongst the dunes after
shooting the afternoon light. |
From finishing up on the Central Coast, I continued on my way to Port Stephens on a car trip with the radio loud and me singing to myself to pass the time. It doesn’t take all that long to get there from Sydney, you can understand I was early so I drove around the peninsula checking out some of the locations I had seen so much of on the internet. I managed to find all the spots I wanted to shoot except for one.
After checking in to my room the time for sunset seemed to arrive quickly so it was back in the car bound for Anna Bay and its rolling sand dunes. Through my research I had found an access point which was away from the main entrance and most importantly, got me away from dunes covered in foot prints. I can’t explain the feeling of walking up 30 ft dunes, standing at the top and seeing a never-ending series of them with no sign of people. It’s truly a mesmerizing experience.
The sun set along the beach which made the dunes cast beautiful shadows on one another, showcasing their true forms and the naturally stunning scene.
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| "Stockton Dunes" by Jack Coghlan |
As a Landscape photographer I tingle after a day like this, and it’s almost the most nervous I ever get, hoping that I haven’t done any thing wrong and nothing goes wrong, so for safety I backed up everything twice.
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Amongst the ferns from Emerging Gums
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Another early start for sunrise, I headed out into heavy rain. There was no break in it this day so I had to cut my losses and headed back to the warmth of my room.
I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to get out and make the most of the conditions and while driving I came across a beautiful but subtle part of nature.
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| "Emerging Gums" by Jack Coghlan |
From the “Emerging Gums” location a short drive got me to the bottom of Tomaree head. It was a decent walk to the top and I struggled to find a composition that could do the beautiful coastline justice.
I walked around the top and was beginning to get frustrated as there was no clear viewpoint absent of a tree or another obstacle getting in the way of a good photo opportunity. Scenes like this are what separate a beautiful view from a stunning photograph.
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On top of Mt Tomaree looking over Zenith Beach and
down the pristine coast. |
I remembered a few possible opportunities from the walk up so I headed back down to check them out. It wasn’t far until I came across this wider section in the narrow pathway that was like a perfect platform for my tripod.
Again it was a bit of a wait for the right light to come but when it did it made the walk all the more worthwhile.
The beautiful sunset lit up the higher
clouds while the lower ones developed
a fierce look about them.
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| "Tomaree Head" by Jack Coghlan |
The next morning I went to go and shoot one of the locations I was most looking forward to being able to photograph on this trip, Little Beach. This point, covered with the most amazing formations was a great place to see. Unfortunately, faced with some tricky conditions I couldn’t really come up with the image that I wanted.
Later that day I was determined to find one particular location. It was the spot that had really attracted me to the area and even been the inspiration for some of my earlier composition work. I looked at the map where this spot was and went to check it out, but it did not make sense to me, it looked inaccessible. I started to walk up Tomaree head to see if there was another way down but failed to find one.
Whilst walking I bumped into a very friendly lady with a strong accent that I couldn’t quite pick. We had a little chat and she told me some thins that showed me how special Tomaree Head was to her. It truly made me think about how I had photographed this location, how special this location must be to her and that every location is potentially special to someone. This changed my perspective as a Landscape photographer. I create art but I must give justice to every location I shoot.
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The single location that made me pick Port Stephan's
for this trip over a few other options. |
I ended up finding my way to this location and it’s one of those things that I feel stupid writing because it was right in front of me the whole time, I had just assumed that this pathway led to another place. Built up with enthusiasm I managed to get there about two hours before sunset. Sitting on the grass, on the waters edge on a sunny autumn afternoon for a while didn’t bother me much though. Sunset came and it was lovely as the clouds pushed over the horizon following the sun going down. This meant that the stars started to emerge from the night sky while the suns warmth remained hovering just above the horizon. I was so thrilled with what was going on in front of me that not even the millions of mosquitoes trying to get everything they could out of me could wipe the smile off my face or knock the butterflies from my stomach.
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| "Sticks & Stars" by Jack Coghlan |
That was the sunset on my last full day for this trip and I had a decision to make…one more sunrise to shoot and a few possible locations. I think I tried to fight it but I was always going to go back to Little Beach.
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Facing tricky light conditions
at Little Beach. |
Faced with similar conditions to the day before I was in for a challenge. I knew I wasn’t going to get amazing colour from the sun so I focused on the objects. The rocks on the shoreline have a beautiful form about them and I noticed that this was somewhat echoed by the land in the background, which happens to be Tomaree head. Just as I began to pack up an old man came hobbling around the corner in only a shirt and speedos, braving the cold water for a few minutes before starting the long walk back to the car, just as he had done the day before when I had seen him there. I was reminded of how amazing it is that a simple place can be so special to someone.
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"Little Beach" by Jack Coghlan
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Thanks for reading,
Jack
