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It was around four o’clock and I was on the road heading North from the majestic Buchan caves. I had looked at the map before leaving and figured I’d head for Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains. It didn’t look that far and I thought I could make it before it got too late and get a cheap motel room. I just wanted to be somewhere comfortable so I could get rid of this migraine that had been haunting me all day. Not to mention I still hadn’t found a shower anywhere.

As I wound my way through the foothills, I started thinking about the food I’d purchased earlier in the day. I figured the lamb chops I got for dinner would probably last in the fridge bag til the next night. I really wasn’t in the mood for eating as I could feel my pulse throbbing in my temples like they could rupture at any moment. If I could find somewhere to stay the night I figured I could get an early start and find a nice spot somewhere to set up and cook the bacon and eggs I had for breakfast.

That’s when it hit me. I’d bought the bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes but had forgotten the eggs. I looked at the map on the GPS to see how far away the next town was. There was a string of small towns that looked close by, Murrindal, W Tree and Butchers Ridge sounded inviting. I glanced at the clock. Four thirty. I hoped I could make it as so many of these small town shops can shut early.

I continued on, winding through the country road following my little blip on the GPS screen as it got closer to the first town, Murrindal. Then I got a sinking feeling as blip passed the town and I hadn’t seen it in the real world. There was nothing. Not even any houses that I could see from the road. That’s alright, I thought, There were still a few more towns ahead... Wrong! They were all the same. Towns marked on the GPS and nothing but trees and the odd driveway in the real world.

I began to wonder if I even had enough petrol in the car to make it all the way to Jindabyne. It was at that moment I turned a corner and my eyes locked on a hand painted sign reading “Last stop for petrol 120Km”... No not that one... “Fresh Eggs!” I couldn’t believe it.

I pulled into the driveway of what I could only describe as the oddest service station I’ve ever been to. There were old cars and junk scattered all across the property that looked like the end scene in ‘From Dusk Til Dawn’. The name of the place didn’t help matters either “Seldom Seen Service Station”. In the middle was a single petrol pump, a house and the promising sight of chickens running around all over the place. Things were looking good but I couldn’t help but wonder if my car would be part of the property by the next morning.

I got out and walked up to the house just as the intimidating form of a mountain man stepped out in his jeans and flannelette shirt.

“Yeah” was all he said in a deep gruff voice...

Photographed by WarrenH

Are you kidding me? could it be any more ‘Hills have eyes’. I said G’day and told him I was after some eggs and fuel. When he realised I wasn’t a traveling sales man, he warmed up and we got chatting. It turns out Dave was a real nice guy. He invited me inside and me stories of how he’d survived the bushfires back in 2003 and he and most of the community had lost everything. He even pulled out a photo album to show me the devastation and what the property looked like before. All of this while he was scrambling around looking for some eggs.

As printed in the Bairnsdale Advertiser Feb 03, 2003

After getting me to sign his guest book, he told me how he was just about to close up and visit his girlfriend who “had the best tits in the county...” I swear I’m not making that up. After all that though, he didn’t have any bloody eggs, even with fifty chooks roaming around. He said they were just finishing their malt and wouldn’t start laying again for a few weeks. I told him of the glorious breakfast I had planned at which he was kind enough to give me one of his own stash that he “borrowed” from one of his neighbors. I looked around. There were no neighbors as far as the eye could see. I thanked him, wished him a good time with his girl and got back on the road.

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Not far, the road split and my GPS had picked the perfect time to spaz out. I stopped to pull out the ‘old school’ map and noticed some amazing cloud formations outside and a beautiful view across the foothills. I took a moment to jump out and take a few shots. With my head feeling like it was being crushed, I didn’t stick around long to enjoy it.

The afternoon pressed on and the shadows grew longer. The road narrowed and became unsealed and my head got worse. The road twisted round and around and up and down. The constant twisting and turning got me feeling quite sick. I realised I wasn’t going to make it to Jindabyne tonight. I had to stop before I painted the dashboard.

I pulled off the road just before darkness set in and found a wonderful place to make camp. Away from the road and right next to a babbling river. Very soothing. I pulled out the fold up chair, put my jacket on (I was definitely nearing the Alpine region) and slumped down, spent of energy. I sat still for an hour in a migraine induced daze, as the mountain air worked it’s magic on me. I was amazed. This was the first time I had gotten rid of a migraine of this severity without some pretty serious drugs. Not only that, I felt totally re-energized. It wasn’t long before my appetite returned either.

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I set up my gas cooktop and whipped up those delicious Lamb chops with mushroom, onion and tomato. Ummmmmmm, delicious. After eating, I kicked back and looked up at the stars with a nice cuppa tea.

A perfect way to end the day. At least until I had to clean up. Why don’t they make camping dish-washers?

I packed everything up and then spent at least another hour or so just sitting in the dark watching the stars. They didn’t do much. Just hung there twinkling. Just the way I like them.

Today is Australia Day and although I would like to just celebrate, drink beer, have a BBQ and chill out, I thought I’d take a moment to raise your awareness of a darkness that is sweeping the nation. An infection, a curse that is threatening the Australian way of life.

There isn’t much that is more Australian than the good ol’ Aussie sausage sizzle. Where, for a buck (or three these days) you can get an overcooked sausage in a slice of unbuttered, highly processed, white bread, covered in soggy onion and drowning in tomato sauce all in the name of a charity or local school or organisation. And who would want it any other way? I know I certainly wouldn’t. But it seems there are people who are intent on infiltrating and destroying this great Aussie staple and I for one am speaking out against it.

It all began some years ago when I noticed that on occasion, there was also the option for a plain burger, also with the onion and sauce, between two bits of bread. At the time, I didn’t have a problem with it. It was exciting and gave more variety, even though I personally always chose the sausage (it is a SAUSAGE sizzle after all). But it seems that this was just the beginning of some very unsavory and unAustralian behavior.

Several months ago I made the traditional Saturday lunchtime pilgrimage to my local Bunnings Hardware store (this is where many of the sausage sizzles are held each weekend) and eagerly waited in line to get my Aussie goodness. “I’ll have two sausages with onion please” I ordered. Promptly I was handed two sausages wrapped in bread and held in a serviette.

On a side note, we should come up with a new name for “serviette”. It sounds so puncy and french.

But I digress. I smothered my sausage in sauce and began to eat. WTF! I examined closer and was disgusted to find that the onion had been mixed with cabbage and celery. I was in a good mind to shut down the stand and make a citizens arrest. Seriously? Cabbage and celery? What the hell were they thinking?

Photo courtesy of www.windana.org.au - © 2010

Now I don’t want to sound racist, especially considering that I too am an immigrant to this great nation. But the people who were running the stall, were foreigners. I have no idea from where and quite frankly it is irrelevant. The point is that adding cabbage and celery to the onion at a sausage sizzle is unAustralian and once done, a line has been crossed. There are just some Aussie traditions and staples that you just don’t mess with. EVER!

I wish this were a one of occurrence, but unfortunately it is not. At another sausage sizzle, I was served some weird gourmet sausage. I think they completely missed the point. If we wanted gourmet anything, we’d go to a fancy restaurant, or uppity cafe, or just make it ourselves. There is an expectation that goes along with a sausage sizzle that all you’re getting is a plain BBQ sausage with plain onion on plain bread. And damnit that’s all we want.

And while I’m on this rant, allow me to take it further. If I’m at an Aussie sausage sizzle the last thing I want to see is American mustard. This is Australia not America. Let’s be having Australian mustard please. And get rid of all your other fancy sauces too. Good ol’ fashioned Tomato sauce is the way. At a stretch, BBQ sauce and Australian mustard. But take your fancy dressings, chili jams and chutneys back to where they belong. Which quite frankly, is anywhere but a sausage sizzle.

And now all of this ranting has exhausted me. Time for a cold one I think. So happy Australia day to all. Today is the day for each and every person in this great land, true Aussie, immigrant, or just a visitor, to be like an Australian and celebrate everything that is great about Australia, the Australian people and the awesome Australian culture. So everybody, down a six-pack, fire up the barbie, chill out, down another six pack and pass out on the lawn.

Toowoomba Floods QLD - © 2011 ABC - Courtesy of ABC.net.au

To donate to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal, visit
http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

Never before has a natural disaster been so hard to watch. I’ve always seen them on TV with a sense of detachment. Possibly as a result of watching way too many Hollywood disaster movies.

“Wow, check out that tsunami, isn’t it amazing...”

“Holy crap, that volcano is spectacular...”

“Man, those tornadoes are so mesmerizing...”

“Gees, that looks like a scene out of Armageddon...”

But as the floods take out town after town in Queensland, I can’t help but feel a deep sadness. This time the pictures on the news are of places I’ve visited and love. Brisbane is my favorite of all the cities I have visited in the world and I have contemplated making it my home on many occasions. The strange thing is, I feel more affected by this disaster than I did when my own home was threatened by the bushfires a couple of years back.

It’s doesn’t feel right to be sitting in my house in Melbourne and feeling completely helpless. I want to jump in the car, make the two day drive and help, somehow. But the reality is, I would be just as powerless to help if I was there. In fact my presence would probably be more of a hinderance.

Thankfully the people I know that live in these areas are in safe zones but there are more than one hundred missing, at this time ten have lost there lives and seventy five percent of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone.

As I watch the news, they are now giving New South Wales and Victoria severe storm warnings which will bring the threat of flash floods. I wonder what tomorrow will look like for eastern Australia. The irony is that over in the west, they are suffering bushfires.

I remember sitting with a friend about three years back. We were talking about how depressing it was that it didn’t rain any more. I recall making the comment that;

“I give this drought a few more years, then it’s gonna end with an almighty deluge of rain. You watch, our damns will fill overnight, there’ll be floods all over the place, crops will be destroyed. When the rains finally comes, it wont be a happy time...”

Well they’ve arrived and unfortunately my prediction was right.

My heart goes out to all those that have been affected. The best way that I can help right now is to raise awareness and direct you all to the “Flood Relief Appeal” where you can donate to help where some families have lost everything.

To donate to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal, visit
http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

It's been a while since I've posted anything but thought I'd drop by to wish all of you a very happy new year. I hope 2011 brings each of you the very best of what life has to offer.

So why have I been away for so long?... Well there's been some exciting development happening in my life lately which have been eating up a lot of time. It appears that the Universe has decided that I've taken enough time away from the world of film making and it's time for me to jump back into it. Of course the Universe doesn't really know how to do subtle so it looks like I have two movies to edit, one of which I'll be producing the visual effects for as well and a possible third towards the end of the year.

Just to add to the workload, I've decided that after these flicks are made, it's time I jumped back into the very very deep end and direct my own feature film. It'll be eleven years since I last did that and I think the memories of all the pain and turmoil I went through have finally dissipated enough to do it again. Just by making this decision has resulted in a flood of inspiration and a cool apocalyptic story is evolving.

So where does this leave this web site? Well there are going to have to be some changes and compromises as time is well and truly working against me on this. To try and keep up with all the story and photography side of things just wont be possible. So I'm thinking of scrapping the detailed story writing side of things and focusing on the photography and digital artwork and just writing a little bit about each picture I post.

Hopefully I'll still be able keep the site interesting for you all to come visit.

Anyway, enough jibber jabber for now, I've got some celebrating to get ready for. Now where did I put those party poppers and silly string?...

Have a great time with your celebrations and stay safe.

James

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Fifteen years after first hearing about them, I was finally on my way to visiting Buchan Caves. I left the pretty town of Lakes Entrance and headed North towards the foothills of the Snowy Mountains.

As I drove, I was actually getting excited at the idea of seeing these caves and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why. You see, I don’t have a great deal of fears. I’m not a fan of heights and spiders give me the creeps but that’s really the extent of it. Until you mention caves that is.. The thought of being somewhere with millions of tones of rock and dirt hovering above my head is not what I’d call my happy place. Combine that with small spaces and the heartbeat starts to rise.

My mind wandered back to the last time I had to deal with a cave. It was while I was filming my science fiction film Lost:Black Earth. For some dumb-arse reason, I had written a scene that takes place in a cave and the day had finally come to film it. I got to the set four hours early so that I could force myself to go inside it and get used to it before the crew arrived. I couldn’t allow myself to look like a wuss in front of them.

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The fact that it was 2am didn’t help matters either. I turned on the flashlight and made my way inside, one tiny step at a time. I used all my strength to fight the feelings of panic and keep pushing forward. It took about half an hour to make it to the back of the cave about thirty meters in. I sat on the ground and kinda meditated until I was somewhat comfortable with the surroundings. I even turned out the flashlight and sat in complete blackness for a while. Oddly I found that less distressing as I couldn’t see the walls any longer.

Eventually I walked out of the cave and waited for the crew to arrive. For me it was an uneasy day of filming. Thankfully, I don’t think the crew caught on to just how freaked out I had been just hours earlier.

I drove on through the small township of Buchan and turned off at the sign pointing to the caves. About a kilometer up the picturesque road and I pulled into the car park. I walked up to the information centre and asked about the caves. The lady behind the counter informed me that there were two different caves but I only had time for one of the tours before they closed. After many questions about which one was better, I decided on the Royal Cave Tour, the Fairy Cave would have to wait til I returned (hopefully sooner than another fifteen years).

I purchased a ticket and headed back to the car to fetch the camera. I flicked it on to check the settings and after a second it turned off again. Huh... I flicked it on again. This time nothing... Oh crap, the battery was flat. I couldn’t believe I’d done this. I hadn’t thought to charge my second battery either. What an idiot. This migraine I’d had all day had turned my brain to mush. I was soo pissed at myself.

Wondering what to do, my eyes wandered to the little Sony Cybershot DSC-W30 instant camera. My stomach churned at the thought of using this, this... This amateur camera... (yes, I can be a camera snob). But the snobbery was about to be beaten out of me. I had never actually used this little camera before and had “borrowed” it from my Dad “just in case...” Well, “just in case...” had just happened. I turned it on and within a minute was taking some fully automatic shots. At least it was easy to use.

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I locked up the car and headed towards the meeting area near the entrance of the cave. I met the guide and a family of four who were also doing the tour. Six of us was a nice sized group. The guide opened the gates that led into the cave. I let everyone else go first so I could quietly panic out of sight to all.

The narrow passageway led down quite a way and got narrower and narrower as it went. I could feel my stomach churning. Every part of me wanted to turn around and run back to the surface. I fought on, my arms brushing against the walls of the cave. The panic demon was about to burst out of my head screaming for freedom, when suddenly, I stepped out of the passageway and into and large open cavern.

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Instantly the panic was replaced with a state of awe. The cavern was filled with hundreds of different coloured calcite decorations and crystal clear pools of water. It was like something out of a fantasy movie. I pulled out the little Sony camera and started snapping shots of everything. I had no idea if they would even turn out as it was so dark.

The guide led us on and fed us with plenty of information about the history and geology of the caves. I found it fascinating to the point that I didn’t once stress about being underground again throughout the tour. There were some truly amazing displays of nature that almost looked alien.

We eventually made our way out and back to the information centre where we said our goodbyes. I returned to the car and flicked through some of the shots on the camera’s screen. I was surprised to see how well the little flash had worked. I packed it away and put the batteries for my Canon SLR camera on charge. I started the car and pulled out of the car park. I was heading North, towards the mountains.

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Can you believe there used to be a time when the price of fuel wasn’t a huge issue? It wasn’t that we were all rich. It was before we realised oil was running out and the oil companies decided to exploit this news by jacking up the prices in search of astronomical profits. But that is an argument for another post on another blog. This post is about finding the cheapest possible fuel when your needle is gasping for its last breathe. The irony of this tip is that I didn’t discover it til I returned home from my big trip around Oz. Oh well, I take plenty of advantage of it now and not half an hour before writing this post, I was able to save a whopping 20c a liter while filling up.

So how do I do this? I hear you scream...

The answer is MotorMouth.com.au and no, that’s not the online forum for the local mother’s club meeting group. And yes, it is an Australian site for Australian fuel prices. Sorry rest of the world... The aim of the website is is to alleviate motorists’ frustrations with fuel price variations by providing a twice-daily ‘snapshot’ of fuel prices. And for the most part, it’s spot on.

The web site itself offers a variety of services for motorists, mostly in the form of links to car rentals and sales web sites, explanations of the various fuel types and their very own page of fuel saving tips of which one tip states “use public transport”... Really not a helpful one. But it is by far the “Price Search” tool that is gem stone here.

To use it is pretty straight forward. Just go to www.motormouth.com.au. On the front page, you’ll be present with the option to set up an account which, among other things, offers the ability to select favorites and have email alerts send out. This is great if you’re not traveling around the country and in a different town every day but if you are, or just don’t feel like signing your online life away to yet another web site, you can skip this entirely and jump right on to the search tool.

All you have to do is click on “Price Search” in the left hand sidebar. The first choice to make is to go with a “Map search” or an “Advanced search”. With the map search you select the state you are in and then to the right of the map you’ll be given the regions to choose from. I find this to be a bit too general, so like to use the Advanced search so I can really focus in on where I am.

For both types of searches, you must choose what type of fuel you’re looking for. You are also given the choice of which brand to look at or, as I do, keep it on all brands. You can then have three possible searches.

• The first is a “Postcode search” which is the choice I would recommend if you know the post code of where you are. If not, it’s worth trying to find out for the best results.
• The second is a “Suburb search” which is basically a drop down menu version of the “Map search. Although it is slightly more detailed as you select State and Suburb as opposed to State and Region.
• The third choice is “Street search” where you get to enter the State and a street name, or part of. I guess this would be useful if you are looking for the prices of a specific service station and know what street it’s on (or a rough idea).

Once entered, it only takes a few seconds to deliver back the results of your chosen area. A list of service stations is presented along with their address, fuel price and the date and time the price was collected. With fuel prices being able to jump 25c a liter or more in a matter of hours, this is good information to know.

I have now gotten in the habit of checking this web site every time I need to fill up, just to make sure I’m getting the best price available, or at the very least, the daily average price. My only complaint is that they haven’t wrapped the service up into an nice, easy to use, iPhone app. But who knows what the future holds. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t on the cards.

Do you have any great fuel saving tips to share?

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Behind the Shot

It’s been quite some time since I last created any new digital fantasy or sci-fi art. I seem to have been focusing my time more on the straight landscape photography. But I guess you just can’t change who you really are and I am a person that loves science fiction, fantasy, the mystical, mythical and the magical. I do love my landscape photos too, but I guess it was just a matter of time before I started blending the two together.

I had wanted to do something spacey for quite a while but hadn’t found the right image to work on. I knew I didn’t want to create an image totally from scratch like I did with J.O.T.T.P.O.I as I always feel my work turns out best when I start with a photographic base (my way of saying I can’t draw).

I had spent the day writing and processing photos for my blog post about Lakes Entrance. The base photo of this image, I had planned on being the featured image of the entry. It wasn’t long however, before I did what I really do seem to do best and got distracted looking at web sites. This is when I found myself back at the Hubble Telescope web site (a regular hang out spot for me).

As I loaded up the various images of distant spacescapes and phenomena, my mind drifted into deep thought. Concepts and understanding of the Universe floated in and out of focus. Thoughts I knew would escape me once safely returned to normal consciousness again. I began to think of other worlds and the amazing views that may be had while looking up at their skies.

Eventually, normal consciousness did return with that ever present inner voice screaming “Back to work!”. And as predicted, all the knowledge of the Universe I had unlocked, trickled away (Or should I say gushed away in a flash). However I was left with the overwhelming desire to create this otherworldly sky.

Of course the image I had just been working on jumped out at me as a fantastic photographic base to begin with. I remembered how the location, Lake Tyers Beach near Lakes Entrance, had almost felt otherworldly when I was there. For starters, because of the lake, the beach seemed to be on the wrong side of the water. And the colours of both the lake and sky were this majestic turquoise.

Photo Processing

To really push the image into the sci-fi realm I wanted to put something in the sky that was totally alien to us here on Earth. I wanted to use a real space phenomena to give extra credibility. Maybe this was just an excuse to keep on scouring the Hubble web site. But this time it was in the name of work so I could keep that nagging voice at bay.

As soon as I laid my eyes on the image of the Sombrero Galaxy, I knew this was what I wanted hanging in the sky. I downloaded the high resolution version and dropped it on top of the lake image in Photoshop. It was going to work perfectly.

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So I set about blending the two images together by fading it into the real sky and masking it behind the skyline of trees and shrubs. Once the galaxy was hanging perfectly in the sky, I realised that the water of the lake no longer looked right. It took me a few moments to figure out that it was the lack of reflection from the bright galaxy. I didn’t think this was going to be an issue as the original reflections in the water were heavily blurred and hidden behind the surface ripples.

To fix the problem, I duplicated the galaxy image, flipped it vertically, stretched it and positioned it to where the reflection would lay. I then blurred it beyond any recognition although the basic shape remained. I created a selection from one of the colour channels and then used the curves tool to brighten that area of the water. It was a subtle touch but all that was needed to sell the illusion.

With a few other little tweaks, my alien landscape was complete. I’m not sure where the name “Lake Resonance” came from but it popped into my head and felt right. Can you imagine waking up to this view every morning? Would you get bored with it like so many that take the sight of the Moon rising in our own sky for granted? Or would it always be a magical vision to inspire the connection of your mind to the greater Universe?

Photographic Prints

This image is available as either a metallic or lustre print, mounted on 3/16" rigid gatorboard. Or it can be printed on fine art quality paper, then mounted onto a rigid, masonite board and set in a glassless wooden box frame with a choice of either black or chocolate stained wood.

A good selection of merchandise is available too. From photo puzzles to mahogany desk organizers. All made to the highest quality with close attention paid to the picture reproduction.

To purchase this print, simply click on the link below and then click on the "Buy" button located directly above the image.

All of my images can be used in the creation of custom designed cards. There are heaps of customizable templates available for either 4”x8” flat or 5”x7” folded cards. To create your own cards, visit the image in its gallery, click on the “Buy” button directly above the image and choose “Create a card” from the drop down menu.

Don’t see the product you want? That’s fine, get in touch and let me know. There’s a good chance it’s available but not listed on the order page in an attempt to keep things neat and tidy. There are literally hundreds of products and variations available. Bay Photo and EZ Prints handle all the printing and their complete range of products are available. Just click on the names to be taken to their product catalogs.

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Licensing

I'm fairly easy going when it comes to licensing my work. If you want to use this image in any kind of commercial work, click on the above "Purchase Image" link, click on the "Buy" button and choose "Downloads" to see the options. If you want to use this image for non-commercial reasons, such as using to enhance an article you have written or are blogging about or you want to use it as an element within your own artwork, please send me a note outlining what your plans are and I'll more often than not give you a license to use the image in return for a back-link and credit along with the image sized and compressed to suite your needs.

Feedback

Feedback is always welcome. I love hearing what people think of my photographs, what memories, feelings and stories they evoke. All feedback is good feedback, even the negative stuff. Learning what people like and don't like is all part of how we improve as creative professionals.

Credits

Sombrero Galaxy image courtesy of NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA)

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I was back on the road and the paranoia from the gas bottle was waning, as was the stench of the stink pit lake. Then I noticed that gas of a different kind was also waning. The fuel gauge on the car was starting to look pretty sorry for itself. I pulled up the GPS and saw that the next town wasn’t too far away.

Half an hour later and I approached Sale. I thought about getting some breakfast but still wasn’t overly hungry. I don’t know why I’d become obsessed with the idea of having breakfast as I never usually eat it. I stopped to fill up the car and was actually surprised that the fuel prices were comparable to those in Melbourne. I had expected to pay way more in the country towns. I filled the details in the spreadsheet I’d created to keep track of all my car stats. I had only done 414Kms. For some reason it had felt a lot further. Not that it mattered.

I headed off and fifteen minutes down the road came to the small town of Stratford. As I made my way along the main street, a big bakery sign called out to me. I pulled over, headed in and picked up a beautiful loaf of bread. Next door was a butcher. I figured I’d grab some meat to cook my own dinner after the previous nights effort (or should I say lack of). A short walk down the street and into IGA for some ham, cheese, tomato, onion and beef jerky.

Okay, so a few years back I was living and working in Albury on the border of Victoria and New South Wales. I was hired to produce television commercials for WIN TV. For a whole bunch of reasons, this was a really miserable time in my life. However, there was a little fruit & veg store around the corner from where I was living that also sold packets of Jack Link’s Beef Jerky for only $1. It was one of the few good memories. I loved the Teriyaki and BBQ flavors and they were great snacks to keep in my desk drawer for the many long hours I was working. Needless to say, I became quite hooked and was buying them a box full at a time.

After returning to Melbourne, I was less than happy to find the price up over $4 a pack. My addiction was cured but I still love the stuff. However I felt it was the perfect food to carry on a road trip; it was dried and didn’t need refrigeration, would last a long time, had good amount of energy and protein and tasted damn good. I got several packs.

I made my way back to the car and packed the groceries away. I had originally planned on having a car fridge with me and borrowed one from my Aunt & Uncle who have done a number of 4WD trips over the years. However, once I started packing things in the car, it became obvious that there wasn’t going to be room in my little X-Trail. Instead I had a couple of fridge bags. Not the same but they would keep food fresh for at least a day or two which is all I really needed.

I set off once more. To be honest, the migraine I was suffering from was putting a real downer on the day. It hadn’t gotten any worse but hadn’t gotten any better either. There were roads I passed and areas that looked interesting that I would possibly have stopped to explore if I didn’t feel so bad. I just wanted to curl up somewhere dark and cold and sleep through it. As a result, I passed through Bairnsdale without stopping and kept driving til I reached Lakes Entrance.

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I’d always wanted to see Lakes Entrance but never found the time to get there. As I approached, I stopped at a lookout point on a hill that overlooked the whole area. Perfect blue sky and a beautiful turquoise ocean and lakes, little houses dotted around whited sandy islands. It was a wondrous site. I took a few photos before realising that hunger had finally crept up on me. Not really surprising considering it was now lunch time and I hadn’t eaten yet.

I broke out the bread and made a ham, cheese, tomato and onion sandwich. I figured I wouldn’t be kissing any girls today, so raw onion would be fine. A secret pleasure (some may say sickness) I like to indulge in when I know I’m not going to be around other people.

After feasting, I made my way down the hill and into the town. I explored the area and delightful little town before finding a big old tree with a park bench under it’s cool sheltering branches. I figured it was the perfect place to setup the laptop and catch up on some emails and writing.

Just my luck, a moment after sitting down, a pretty girl approached me and asked if I’d be interested in doing a survey about my thoughts on the area. Totally self conscious about my raw onion breathe and the fact that I still hadn’t found a place to shower, I agreed and she sat beside me to go through it. I couldn’t have been more uncomfortable. I mean seriously, she couldn’t at least have sat the other side of the table?

I’m sure the girl would have picked up on my body language of leaning away and putting my hand over my mouth to talk. She seemed happy enough though and even laughed at my muffled attempts at humor.

I finished the survey, of which I knew nothing about, having only arrived at the town less than an hour earlier. The girl seemed to think it was ok and that my opinion mattered anyway. She thanked me and left in search of her next participant.

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While I had the computer in front of me, I opened up Google Earth to have a look what was around the area. It was then that I noticed I wasn’t far from Buchan Caves. I first heard about these caves at least fifteen years ago and had wanted to visit them ever since. I had even planned a couple of trips at various times, but for one reason or another, they had all fallen through. Not this time. I was heading to Buchan. I packed up the computer and headed back to the car.

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Behind the Shot

Drowning solitude is one of my oldest and still one of my favorite pieces of artwork. A small boat floats towards disaster as an apocalyptic sky threatens annihilation.

Way back in 2006 I spent a day at Mount Dandenong, one of my favorite places around Melbourne. I went for a hike in the forest, taking lots of photos. Eventually I came to a clearing with a completely unobstructed view, looking towards Melbourne city about fifty kilometers away. Not thinking I would get a view like this, I had left the telephoto lens in the car (lesson learned). I snapped a few wide shots off, thinking they wouldn’t turn out particularly good and continued on the hike.

When I eventually got home and saw the shots, I wasn’t particularly impressed. The city was too far off in the distance, and because it was an overcast day, the whole image was flat and lifeless. I filed it away, with no intention of using it.

Weeks past and I managed to get some free time on my hands. I wanted to create something but wasn’t sure what. I started flicking through my photos to see if any of them would inspire me. Sure enough I came to that crappy photo of the view and instantly saw a vision of apocalyptic proportions.

I’ve always had a fascination (actually it’s probably more like an obsession) with the apocalypse. Something draws me to that genre and I don’t know what. I love the feeling of impending doom. The melancholy that comes after a civilization is lost. I even made a post-apocalyptic movie called Lost:Black Earth back in 2000 (I really should release that one day...)

Photo Processing

I started to build the picture. I replaced the sky and created tornados, then flooded the whole area up to the city (sorry for those who live in Ferntree Gully. It was nothing personal...) The final addition was the boat. It just needed that little something for a focal point. I toned the whole image in a deep sepia to create the sense of menace and doom.

I couldn’t really tell you where the name came from. It just popped into my head and stuck. I often wonder if the boat is called ‘Solitude’ and it is about to be drowned. For someone who has deep thoughts, I rarely have them about my own artwork. For me creating art is all about feeling rather than thinking. I do what feels right even if it isn’t. And there is plenty that isn’t right with this image.

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For instance, take a look at the water. It is so still and reflective. With such a storm thrashing above, I doubt that this is possible. Where is the reflection of the lightning in the water? The scale of the boat is all wrong. I’m sure there are other things that defy logic or reality too.

But I don’t care. All of these things were done the way they were because they felt right at the time and still do now. When the image was completed, I was stunned at how the photo that I had all but written off, had turned into something I was quite proud of.

It’s also interesting to note that this was a very early piece of art that I created before I really knew how to use Adobe Photoshop particularly well. When I look at the project file now, I cringe at the terrible techniques I was using at the time. I guess this is proof that all that matters is the end product and not how you got to it.

Since creating this image, I have produced quite a bit of apocalyptic imagery and placed them in a series I’ve called “Ghosts of a Lost Hope”. I plan on bringing you more of these images down the track and would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this subject.

Photographic Prints

This image is available with either a beautiful metallic print with smooth satin laminate neatly wrapped around sturdy, 3/16" board. Or it can be presented as a magnificent MetalPrint where dyes are infused directly into a specially coated aluminum sheet. The additional luminescence and incredible detail this printing process, adds an extra level of magic to this stunning image. The sizes range from 8”x10” right up to 24”x30” in both styles.

A good selection of merchandise is available too. From postcards to ceramic tiles. All made to the highest quality with close attention paid to the picture reproduction.

To purchase this print, simply click on the link below and then click on the "Buy" button located directly above the image.

Don’t see the product you want? That’s fine, get in touch and let me know. There’s a good chance it’s available but not listed on the order page in an attempt to keep things neat and tidy. There are literally hundreds of products and variations available. Bay Photo and EZ Prints handle all the printing and their complete range of products are available. Just click on the names to be taken to their product catalogs.

Click Here To Purchase Image

Licensing

I'm fairly easy going when it comes to licensing my work. If you want to use this image in any kind of commercial work, click on the above "Purchase Image" link, click on the "Buy" button and choose "Downloads" to see the options. If you want to use this image for non-commercial reasons, such as using to enhance an article you have written or are blogging about or you want to use it as an element within your own artwork, please send me a note outlining what your plans are and I'll more often than not give you a license to use the image in return for a back-link and credit along with the image sized and compressed to suite your needs.

Feedback

Feedback is always welcome. I love hearing what people think of my photographs, what memories, feelings and stories they evoke. All feedback is good feedback, even the negative stuff. Learning what people like and don't like is all part of how we improve as creative professionals.

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Tech Specs

Date / Time - 16/04/09, 7:05:50 AM
Location - Golden Beach, Victoria, Australia
GPS Coordinates - 38,13.8825S, 147,22.6014E
Altitude - 1 metre
Camera - Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL
Focal Length - 135.0 mm
Aperture - f/36
ISO - 100
Shutter Speed - 1/4000

Behind the Shot

I stood on the hill looking out over the ocean as the Sun rose in the morning sky. I loved how the light shimmered and danced as it refracted off the calm, infinite ocean surface. I closed down the aperture and increased the shutter speed in an attempt to close out all but the brightest of sparkling highlights.

Photo Processing

Not a great deal has been done in the processing of this shot. A touch of sharpening to really bring out the sparkles and some localised lens blurring to decrease the depth of field and give a greater sense of how vast the seascape really was.

I was surprised to notice that I had actually captured some very faint details of two cloud streaks directly above the light on the ocean. I thought this kind of detail would have been lost in the darkness. I enhanced them a little to make the clouds more visible. I think this adds a nice, subtle frame to the image.

Photographic Prints

This image is available with either a lustre or metallic finish while mounted onto 3/16" rigid gatorboard. Or it can be mounted onto a rigid masonite board and set in a glassless wooden box frame of either black or chocolate colour. The sizes range from 12”x18” right up to 30”x45”.

A good selection of various merchandise is available too. From beautiful desk organisers, made of solid mahogany to drink coasters. I believe this image would make quite a challenging puzzle.

To purchase this print, simply click on the link below and then click on the "Buy" button located directly above the image.

Don’t see the product you want? That’s fine, get in touch and let me know. There’s a good chance it’s available but not listed on the order page in an attempt to keep things neat and tidy. There are literally hundreds of products and variations available. Bay Photo and EZ Prints handle all the printing and their complete range of products are available. Just click on the names to be taken to their product catalogs.

Click Here To Purchase Image

Licensing

I'm fairly easy going when it comes to licensing my work. If you want to use this image in any kind of commercial work, click on the above "Purchase Image" link, click on the "Buy" button and choose "Downloads" to see the options. If you want to use this image for non-commercial reasons, such as using to enhance an article you have written or are blogging about or you want to use it as an element within your own artwork, please send me a note outlining what your plans are and I'll more often than not give you a license to use the image in return for a back-link and credit along with the image sized and compressed to suite your needs.

Contact me here.

Feedback

Feedback is always welcome. I love hearing what people think of my photographs. What memories, feelings and stories do they evoke for you. All feedback is good feedback, even the negative stuff. Learning what people like and don't like is all part of how we improve as creative professionals. So leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.