ramblings and photos from a grumpy 'ol man!: night

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Astrophotography


how do photogs start a campfire?? with aerosol cans of course!

well that's one weekend i won't forget in a hurry! decided to buy a bigger car to run around town in and one that could go the distance when i leave the city and head out into the country and not feel like i just finished work for the day! the laser, while cheap around town was not liking the extended trips inland, so a change was needed, so i hunted around for some upmarket luxury cars about 1988 or so (only cause there cheap as!) looked at a few Jag Sovereigns and beemers but ended up getting an '88 300E Mercedes, fairly light on the electrical do-hickeys but still comfy and good for touring. which was good cause i bought it on the Saturday morning and basically put some fluids in it, filled it with bedding and camera gear and took off to a place about 200klms into the bush that I've never even heard of before! even left my phone at home because i was running late!
Yornaning Dam is about 20klm north of Narrogin on the Great Southern hwy, the usual basic camp site you find all over the place, by the time i got there (which was about 7:30pm) the rest of the crew were sitting at the fire having a quiet drink, until i rocked up ;) then we were ready for the reason we came to this cold remote area....Astrophotography!! Stephen Humpleby runs "Ozlightjunkies" and runs night workshops doing all sorts of magic photo stuff including using LED lights and flashes and torches to make really cool photos that aren't your average puppy or kid shots. plus long exposures of the night sky, which is why myself, Karen, Darren and his bro-in law were there, to get away for the long weekend and do some sky shots. and i'll tell ya what... jeez the stars are bright and plentiful out in the dark cold country parks!!! Although rain was forecast we only got the odd light drizzle but the clouds did roll in on Sunday night to end proceedings by 11pm, bugger.

This is the first time i've actually got a decent shot of the milky way, and learn't that foreground is just as important as the stars themselves, i'm pretty impressed with what i got and will definitely go bush again to do it some more and try different scenes and structures to add to the photos.

and with a non eventful trip home i must thank steve and karen plus all the others who couldn't show up but organized this trip for a brilliant few days away from town and showing us another reason to keep a camera handy where-ever we go!

now for some of the photos!!


fire over dam


monday morning fog


man, i'm on fire tonight!


LED's over dam


daytime scouting

day scouting spots

another good spot


north end of the dam


wweeeee!


i'm hot tonight!


freaky man


stars at the campfire!


what was i doing again??

photos copyrighted by myself and Stephen Humpleby..

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Hot Summer Nites #2

Hot Summer Nights #2, presented by the Cranksters hot rod club is looking to be the main cruise meet for any pre 78 car/van/truck/bike for the start of ther new year! not that we have a lot here in Perth, but this is definately the way to get the new year up and running. The Venue, as is was last year, is a great wide open sports field that has a bar and kitchen in the main club bdlg that was a hive of activity due to the cool drinks and warm food (even if the wind started to get cold by late evening) and a fenced off area for the family gatherings and blanket brigade, which when coupled with the live rockabilly bands that were playing made for a cosy atmosphere! Ice cream and coffee were trading well as were a few of the stalls around the fence line.

last year there was around 150 cars that turned up, this year saw that swell to just a tad over 270 cars so definitely worth the drive north (well for me it was!)
and there was a huge mix of standard resto's, customs, and rods that shows that Perth, although miles from any other city, is not to be outdone with the quality and variety of rides around the place.
So if you have a liking for older cars/bikes etc and dont mind the rockabilly music and people having a chat, then whack this on your calendar for next year. i may even have paint on mine by then!