Sunset over Westgate Bridge

On Wednesday evening, a friend invited me with to shoot in the city.  We managed to get down to Docklands for the sunset.  The colours the night before Thursday’s storm were spectacular.

 

 

This little boat was just too cute not to photograph!

A little more of Berwick

The farmlands are full of interesting things for a city girl to see.  It is a little hard to get close though, since there is a lot of barbed wire around.

 

Thank goodness lots of flowers were growing along the side of the road, making it easier to get some shots.

Everywhere signs that these are hardworking farms.

   

Nice to know we can live in the city, but still have this nearby.

Farmlands surrounding Berwick

We took a drive through the farmlands around Berwick and Beaconsfield, looking for buildings for the architecture part of my portfolio.  It is amazingly beautiful out there.

We found a dilapidated old tram hidden amongst some trees.

Lots of farm animals…

 

The normal farm scenery of hay bales and trucks were also around.

And I got a lot of possible photos for my portfolio.

 

This is my favourite photo of the day though.  I can’t believe I managed to get so close to such a huge animal.

Slip sliding away…

My daughter absolutely adores the slides at the playpark.  (She called it a WHEEEEEE! until about two weeks ago, how quickly they grow!)  Last week we quickly popped down to the park after walking the boys to school.  It was a cooler day, As you can see by the sweater. (Where oh where has the cold weather gone?)

She got into a little routine.  She climbs up, swings on the bars…

Then drops down to the slide and whizzes down.

And then she does it all again.  Life can be full of such simple pleasures!

Dragonfly

On the last day of our holiday, we were all lamenting the fact that we would have to go home the next morning.  No-one was looking forward to it.  The long weekend had just been so wonderful, with friends, love, laughter and relaxation.  In the middle of the night I woke up to a bang.  The wind had come up, stormy and wild.  A few tents were in trouble, so everyone helped pound in tent pegs in the middle of the night. (We were proud of ourselves,  the only ones of our tent that came undone were the ones we tripped over.)

Next morning, people were packing up at speed.  Guess we had complained too loudly the previous evening!  Everyone was ready to go home.  With the wind still gusting quite strongly, I found this dragonfly clinging to the grass, trying to to get blown away.  Its wings looked like cut glass, so perfect.

I moved it to a more secluded spot so there would be less chance someone would step on it when running to the bathroom.

After a gorgeous time away, it was time to go home…

Sunrise from The Bluff, Barwon Heads

My last chance to take sunrise photos came on the Monday.  I had been using my mobile phone as an alarm and the battery was on its last legs.  My daughter got restless at 5:10am, so I decided to just get up. The timing couldn’t have been more prefect.

I walked to the top of the bluff.  This is the view from the top, from first light to full sun up.  In the distance you can see Mornington Peninsula.  You can also see Queenscliff and Sorrento, where the ferry crosses.

 

Some definite advantages to getting up early when on holiday!

 

PS I got the new website up and running: http://whiteforgephotos.com.au

Thanks to my wonderful husband for putting it all together for me.

The Wreck of the W.B. Godfrey

One of our stops along the way was at the wreck of the WB Godfrey.  Not much was left, but a part of the mast and a canon. 

We got there at low tide, so we had a beautiful view. 

The kids of course just loved being able to get out of the car and play on the beach. 

The rock pools always have tons of fascinating things for the kids (and adults) to look at.

The crab caused the biggest excitement.

This funny sort of bamboo is underwater in a shallow rock pool.  Just loved the contrast with the little snails.

   

No-one died when the ship ran aground, but 5 (including the captain) lost their lives during the salvage operation.  The grave was apparently moved when the Great Ocean Road was built.

I am going to be a little quiet over the weekend.  I am trying to get my website up and running, so I need to finalise my portfolio.  Also need to finish processing a family shoot, so between the photos and the house hunting, I am being stretched a bit thin.  Hopefully by Monday I will have everything up and running.