Blue on Blue

It's the beginning of winter here and we're having the most gorgeous weather. It's sure to change and the rain and wind will come, but until it does I'm enjoying the outdoors and the beauty all around me, today I went for a lovely walk and this is what I saw.

King George Sound on the Southern Coast of Western Australia is the entrance to the Port of Albany. The ships come around Bald Head into this glorious expanse of water which is often dotted with ships waiting to come into Port, but today it was empty.

Blue sky and blue water .... a very calming sight to greet the many people who walk or drive around this area every day.

Taken with my Olympus TG5

Hunting for a Winter Spider Orchid

When I find out that an orchid I've never seen is flowering and I'm going to be nearby it's quite reasonable to say I'll be on the hunt to find them.

This orchid doesn't grow around where I live and as I was traveling to the City to see family it was a good excuse to find out as much as I could about where it was, and how to get there.

Collecting a lovely gourmet picnic lunch from Glen Forrest Gourmet I set off across the hill to Toodyay. Not too far, but I did forget to fill up with fuel before I left, so had to keep an eye on the gauge!

I had good directions from friends where to find these little treasures and was soon pulling off the road onto the track as instructed, I only had to walk about 50m and there they were on the side of the track just like I'd been told. So tiny and difficult to spot amongst the leaf litter, but there they were and I must say I did a little happy dance and was very careful where I put my feet as I didn't want to stand on any of them.

Winter Spider Orchid

"Caladenia drummondii"

 Taken on my Olympus TG5

@glen forrest gourmet @toodyay
#wanativeorchids #westaustralianbush #visitwesternaustralia #australianbushorchids #winterspiderorchid #wildflowers #adayinwa 

Maybe it is the "Best Sunrise Ever"?

The sunrise at this time of the year is truly amazing, and going through my photos I found a folder called - Best Sunrise Ever - it just happened to be 6th May 2017. Yes, two years ago today.

These photos are from RAW files saved to an external hard drive which I have edited in Cyberlink PhotoDirector with the horizon straightened where necessary.

Reflections and the range of colour are quite beautiful and maybe they are "the best sunrise ever".

Photos were taken with my Sony Nex6 Camera between 6.24am and 6.57am on 6th May 2017 from the south-western side of Princess Royal Harbour, Albany, Western Australia.

#sonynex6 #cyberlinkphotodirector 

The Colours of the Morning

As the days get shorter it's much easier to get up for a sunrise and a few days ago I got up just after 6am, I thought it would be in time for the best of the pre-dawn magic, I was nearly too late and as I looked out the window I saw the glorious bright colours fade to the softer shades  in these photographs. I need to do this more often as every day is different.

The edge of Princess Royal Harbour on the South Coast of Western Australia is quite wonderful to photograph at any time of day, but I love the early morning magic! The colour reflects on the water of the Harbour, and it's quite wonderful watching the changes, I hardly have time to adjust the settings on my camera as the sun gets closer to the horizon, then pops over to brighten the early morning sky.

Looking directly east I see the bright light of the pre-dawn reflecting off the clouds and looking north I see the soft hues of an autumn dawn magically reflecting soft pinks in the clouds and on the water.

 

Taken with my Sony Nex6 and edited in Cyberlink PhotoDirector8

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Fish and Chips .....

On the edge of the Harbour at Emu Point is a Fish and Chip shop: "The Squid Shack" it's a lovely place to meet up with friends and family and enjoy a meal, have a walk in the sunshine, and take some photos.

There's an abundance of things to photograph; the jetty and moorings, fishing boats old and new, fishermen coming and going in dingy's and if your lucky one of the larger fishing boats coming into moor at the jetty and offload its catch, and always a few Pelicans looking for an easy meal.

Today there's a soft breeze blowing gently over the water resulting in some crinkly reflections and ripples which is effective in the photo. The blue sky and water are almost one, with only the interruption of things put there by the hand of man and the bit of mother earth behind it! But I don't mind "things" or "mother earth" they make it an interesting visual!

Taken with my Olympus TG5

The Orchid Hunter

As the nights get longer and the days get shorter here in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia we're going into Autumn, the leaves on the Eucalypts and the Peppermint Trees don't change colour or fall but when I walk near the beach or in the bush I'm reminded things are changing; the native orchids are appearing, and it's a very exciting time of the year for an Orchid Hunter! I find that my walks take longer as I look carefully to see if I can find an elusive little native orchid alongside the sandy tracks.

These are just the beginning, it's so exciting to find them in the bush, most are quite small and they're often hiding in the most unlikely and hard to get at places.

 Bunny Orchid 

 Leafless Orchid 

Taken with my Olympus TG5 Camera

Pink in my garden

Getting up close to the pretty flowers in my garden with a Macro Lens on my camera is like seeing into their little world and capturing the best of it. I still need lots of practice as I'm a bit shaky, but I'll keep trying and taking pictures as close as I possibly can.
The garden has plenty of pink at the moment; I walk out my back door and see pretty pastel colours bouncing in the breeze.
Here are some of my pretties for you to enjoy .......

Fuschia

                           Begonias

Alstromeria

Petunias

(very pretty perennial - don't know it's name)

Taken on my Sony Nex6 Camera with a Sony E3.5/30 Macro Lens