Standing Tall

High And Mighty, In The Last Hour Of Daylight

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It was just one of those days when you never know what the light is going to do next. It had started out as a fairly cold morning, no more than a chilly four degrees before sunrise. Then daylight took the sting out of the wind and by the time I got to the river’s edge late that evening, it was positively balmy.

There was only about half an hour between the time I shot the first image in this series and the last. Strangely enough (no, it wasn’t planned) the very first and last shots were taken within a few metres of each other.


To start with, I noticed that the sun, about forty-five minutes away from the horizon, had thrown some interesting light over the Rialto, the second-tallest building in Melbourne. That’s when I shot the first of these images. Then I meandered around the area of Flinders Street and Federation Square for about half an hour, before making my way back towards where my car was parked.

The sun was long gone, but the mottled sky had a few flashes of silvery-gold. I could not resist the chance to switch the camera back on and take one last image for the day.


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Tower Power

Just Keep Working Those Angles

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I shot these images early two weeks ago, in the city. There was a smattering of light cloud across a clear blue sky and even though it was only the fourth day of the Australian spring, the caress of the morning sun brought unaccustomed warmth.

I just happened to look up to gauge the cloud cover and this view just stopped me in my tracks. It might not have been the most arresting skyscape in terms of colour, but as far as perspective went, it was pretty special.

The silhouettes worked in my favour and the unmistakable lines of a couple of cranes on building site nearby just gave me a bit of extra reference. And just in case you were wondering, these are two separate buildings, on opposite sides of a street!


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Up, Up And Away

I Feel The Need, The Need For Speed

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It was a very murky dusk when I shot this series of images of a US F/A-18 Hornet as part of a sequence at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon in March this year.

These are all uncropped images. Aviation photography can be very testing, because you seldom get a second chance for a shot. But in the top left-hand corner of the image below, you can see the slightest hint of a cloud wisp.


The bad light really tested me that evening, because the weather conditions deteriorated very quickly. The next day, however, it rained constantly, so I guess I was very lucky to get any shots at all!


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True Grid

John Wayne Might Have Liked To Ride Here

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I shot this series of images under moody, sullen skies last weekend – the final weekend of the Australian winter. I was just in my shirtsleeves, but it was not a sensible dress code, because the wind bit into me as it whistled down this exposed valley.

But I wanted to shoot this serene paddock, used for grazing horses, against the backdrop of a familiar sight in any countryside – towering pylons and power lines. Why? Just because of the symmetry of the scene, and the symbolism of power supply across rolling green paddocks.

A few months ago, this area was hit hard by a sudden, fierce bushfire that raced through on a savagely hot day when the howling north wind carried burning embers several hundred metres ahead of the real firefront, igniting the crowns of towering gum trees that seemed to explode in sudden combustion.


The fire stopped just short of this valley, as the water-bombing helicopters flew endless missions in support of the ground crews. Just at the crest of this hill, there is still a scarred landscape, with burnt trees that have not grown back.

But from where I stood, just beyond the fringe of where the fire was finally conquered, there is no evidence of Nature’s savage fury on that day, 30 January.

Down here, it’s lush and green, with plenty of grass for the horses that roam these undulating paddocks. There’s bales of hay in the back of the ute – and lots of water in the trough. Sorry, did I say "trough"? I meant to say "old, discarded bath tub".

There’s no end to inventiveness and innovation in the bush!


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Blue Dawn In Muskoka

Pier Pressure? Nope, There's No Pressure Here

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Maybe it's because I'm curious. Maybe it's because I never want to miss anything. Maybe it's because I'm thorough. Maybe it's because I have this desire to size up every aspect of a situation before I judge it.

Or maybe it's just because Nature fascinates me.

The truth of the matter is, no matter what I'm photographing, whether it's a stunning sunrise or an amazing mountainside, I always make it a point to look all around me, just to make sure I haven't missed out on any sight that would otherwise escape my attention.

Sometimes you have to look away from your main subject to find unexpected beauty.

This shot was taken in September 2005, while I photographed sunrise at Canoe Lake in Canada’s Algonquin Provincial Park in Muskoka, Ontario. I followed my own simple rule and looked left, right and behind me just to ensure I wasn’t missing out on Nature’s beauty – and I was rewarded with this tranquil scene that was positioned to my immediate right.

The silver-blue dominates the scene, even to the soft light playing across the wooden pier and on the hulls of the upturned boats on the lake’s bank on the right of the image.

Can you the slightest hint of red in this shot? It’s the red-and-white buoy which is barely discernible as it bobs just above the longest of the piers.

And in case you're wondering what exactly was the main focus of my attention that morning, it was simply a sunrise across the lake, as you can see below .....


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I'll Huff And I'll Puff

And I'll (Almost) Blow Your House Down

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These shots were taken just after 7am last Sunday, during the storm that lashed Victoria, bringing down trees and taking roof tiles off houses. The state had been buffeted by gale-force winds for more than twelve hours and even after daylight arrived, there was no sign of conditions abating.

I had just realised that the tarpaulin cover for our backyard barbecue had been blown off, so I went out into the garden to try and replace it. But the storm made a mockery of my efforts. Even as I tried to replace the cover, the storm continued to lift it, so I just gave up, put the cover away and decided to come back to it later.

No big deal, you're thinking. Maybe not. But before Mrs Authorblog bought me this new barbecue, our old one had a heavy steel cover that snugly embraced the appliance. And during some storms, we'd find that the wind had picked up the cover and flung it around the back yard.

Storms that were nowhere near as savage as this one!

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My Personal Learning Curve

In A Roundabout Sort Of Way

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

How do we know the world is round? For most of humanity, we’ll never get the chance to go up on a NASA mission to see Mother Earth from outer space. But if you have a wide enough vista of clear sky, just watch a commercial jet and you’ll actually see that while it maintains a straight, undeviating course, the earth’s curvature actually makes it look as if the jet is turning.

This shot was taken on the Easter weekend this year. The Authorbloglets and their friends were out and about near the sea – and a couple of camera buffs were shooting the coastline and other familiar scenes.

At one stage, I walked over to a nearby bench to change lenses. Unable to resist watching the condensation trail of an airliner high overhead, I happened to notice the contrail beginning to form an arc.

I instantly forgot all about changing my lens to the zoom I had in my camera bag. Instead, I stuck with my normal lens and shot this second image (below) while practically lying on my back.


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Draught Dodger

What? A Beer, So Early In The Morning?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

All right, I know you all think that Aussies are great beer drinkers, so I guess it’s fitting that beer should be the theme of today’s contribution to the Sky Watch Friday theme.

These images were shot in March this year, as I waited at Richmond station for a train to Flinders Street. Was that really a flying beer glass I could see on the horizon? Surely I wasn’t imagining things.


Then I realised it was a unique hot-air balloon. Yes, it was a foaming glass of Carlton Draught beer, but it was being well flown over the horizon. I could have swapped lenses and got some interesting close-ups, but I decided to stick with my Sigma 18-125mm lens and compose some shots that included normal station silhouettes as well.


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Sign, Along The Dotted Line

The Concept Is Up In The Air

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These two shots weren't really planned. They were shot a couple of weeks ago when I was walking towards Southbank in the afternoon. I was squinting up at the bright sunshine, to see which way the cloudbanks were moving.

As I did so, I noticed that I was on the "wrong" side of this giant sign above the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, so of course I had to take a shot because the quirkiness of the lettering appealed to me.

And in case you're wondering, this is what the sign looks like if you're on the "right" side looking up at it.


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Tall Story

Taking The Wind Out Of My Sails

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These shots were taken exactly a week ago, at lunchtime last Friday. I’ve been wanting to do something different for this theme for a while and I realised that if I took a long walk past the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, I would be able to get some unusual sky shots with the rigging of a genuine sailing vessel.

The Polly Woodside is a great Melbourne landmark. She was a 19th-century vessel built in Belfast, Ireland by the shipbuilders Workman Clark & Co Ltd. The story behind her name is interesting, because the Irish owner, William Woodside, named her after his wife. But here’s an interesting twist. His wife’s name was Marian, although her nickname was Polly, hence the vessel’s name.


In the early Seventies, she was restored to be a museum ship for The National Trust. As I approached her from a distance, I was struck by the thought that I’d never photographed an actual sailing ship before. Modern vessels, yes. Yachts, yes. Ocean liners, yes. But sailing ships that actually operate under wind power? Make that a big no.

However, these shots proved slightly more challenging that I first thought. I had forgotten – or perhaps I just did not know – that the vessel was actually in dry dock. For starters, this meant that you couldn’t just rock up, walk around and take a number and walk aboard. I was restricted to shooting outside the barriers, of course, so I had to be creative with the way I interpreted the sight through my lens.

The winter sky was mainly grey, but there were some strong patches of sunshine, which made for very interesting light conditions. These shots were taken from the beautiful prow, looking back over the main mast.


I guess in retrospect it’s an interesting view because the sails were not actually hoisted – which in turn means that the rigging is the central focus. There was no shortage of perspective, because the main mast is estimated to be as tall as a 10-storey building.

This final shot was taken from near the stern of the sailing ship. I had the camera slung over my shoulder when I saw the single gull flying towards me. Raising the camera as quickly as I could and without any time to check the settings, I just hit the trigger as quickly as I could.

As you can see, I just about managed to get the gull in the frame and I actually think the low, long silhouette of the building on the left adds an interesting counterpoint to the graceful geometry of the Polly Woodside.


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Summery Hues On A Winter Morning

Despite The Warm Colours, Jack Frost Is Here

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These images might look as if they were shot on a tropical island, at the start of a scorching day – but they weren’t. They are part of a series that I shot right here in mid-winter Melbourne last Friday, exactly a week ago.

Yes, I deliberately used the silhouettes of a group of tall palm trees in the Alexandra Gardens to highlight the strong burst of colour in the sky – and while it was not a frosty morning, it was still a classic winter day.


Yes, the colours are really unusual for chilly weather, but the strange thing about this series of images is that I almost opted not to shoot anything that morning.

I was actually walking along Southbank, thinking that there was no way I’d get any decent shots that morning, when I noticed the smallest patch of orange cloud under Princes Bridge. Time to change plans, I thought. I kept walking towards the Arts Centre, climbed the steps to the bridge and sure enough, a few minutes later I could see that the hues were starting to build as the sun, still closeted below the horizon, threw the clouds into glorious shades.

It was like watching Nature’s version of Joseph’s coat of many colours. The deep red and the vivid orange began to build up in one area of the horizon.


Fortunately, my standard lens is a Sigma 18-125mm, which gives me sufficient focal length to capture one specific area of a landscape. Yes, I had a 70-300mm lens in my camera bag, but I knew I wouldn’t need it. Most of the frames in the sequence that I shot for the next 30 minutes would have been in the range of 80-125mm.

Did I miss any shots? Yes, I was looking the wrong way when a lone seagull literally came flying towards me with the vivid dawn directly behind him. I swung the camera up hurriedly, but missed the shot completely. Instead, I had to make do a few seconds later, when a flock of birds flew over the river with the Melbourne Cricket Ground as a backdrop.


At one stage, I wondered if I could possibly get a slightly different perspective on the horizon, rather than just shooting across the Yarra River. Why?

Because sometimes it is easy to become fixated on a stunning horizon, getting into a comfort zone and ignoring other devices or possibilities in the vicinity. As I looked for a different point of view, I had a broad grin on my face when I realised I was literally standing over a visual gold mine. You see, I was leaning on the edge of the bridge and as soon as I looked down, I realised all I had to do was step back and use it in the frame.

Easier said than done. In this case, I was shooting from the pedestrian walkway on the far side of the bridge, so I walked to the very edge of the kerb to a point where I could kneel in complete safety as traffic whizzed past. Having found a spot (and shutting out the noise of passing vehicles almost within reach!) I was able to quickly shoot three or four frames through the bridge.


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Silently, Across A Blue Landscape

You Never Know What Will Appear At Dawn

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This sequence of images was shot exactly a fortnight ago, on Friday 26 June. They are part of a series that was shot between 7.30am and 7.34 am, looking out over the city towards the blue silhouette of the Dandenong Ranges that girdle the city's south-east.


I shot a few frames, using a 300mm lens and took this random shot of cranes against the pre-dawn sky. I was just putting the lens cap on and preparing to walk away when I noticed another facet emerging on the scene.


Hot-air balloons are a great Melbourne staple, taking passengers up on clear skies on summer flights as well as on frosty winter mornings.


I waited there, because I could see the balloons would pass over the MCG, the giant bowl of a stadium called the Melbourne Cricket Ground, that is such a part of the city's proud sporting heritage.


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Crane Your Neck

Yes, This Is A Winter Sky In Melbourne

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

We get a lot of blue skies during our winters here in Australia - and just to prove it, here are a couple of shots I took two Fridays ago. Let me put it all in context for you, however. The coldest nights produce the clearest days. No you don't have to be Einstein to work that out. Let me explain.

A clear sky at night will produce the lowest temperatures, because there is no breeze or cloud cover to keep the land (or land-based objects) warm. So on mornings when my car is covered in a thick layer of ice that even makes the doors difficult to open, I know that the sky is going to be blue for most of the day.

So last Friday, while most of you were enjoying your balmy temperatures, I was de-icing my car and planning what sky shots I was going to take later in the day. And in case you're wondering about the shot below, I haven't flipped my lid. It really does depict the sky - reflected in the chrome exhaust pipe of a motorbike.


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