Two seascapes from the winter of 2022. Both of the pictures are of Encounter Bay from Rosetta Head (Kongkengguwarr) . This is a headland, 97m above sea level
I pretty much stand in the same location and I'm looking in the same direction east by south east --- the camera is basically looking across Encounter Bay to the coastline of the Coorong.
I've been re-looking at the film archives on the iMac and I came across these photos of Kings Head, Waitpinga. I haven't looked at this particular archive in years. I cannot remember when these two photos were made. They were probably made just before we moved down to live at Encounter Bay on the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula.
A picture from the archives: it is from an early morning poodlewalk in 2022 with Kayla.
The photo below was made on a poodlewalk with Kayla along the Esplanade at Victor Harbor in 2022 with a medium format film camera.
This was one of our regular early morning poodlewalks. We would walk along the beach from the mouth of the Inman River to the Granite Island causeway, then return along the footpath to the car. It took about an hour.
Judging from the negatives that I have scanned so far it looks as if I didn't make many Fleurieuscape architectural photos in 2022. There's not that much of architectural interest along the Esplanade.
During the winter months I have been photographing the clouds and sea of Encounter Bay on the early morning poodlewalks. This photography has generally been before sunrise from the eastern side of Rosetta Head. The clouds usually disappear after sunrise
An example:
These are not just cloud studies nor just light studies as often it is the play of light on the water that attracts me as well as the clouds.
The clouds, light and colours change rapidly between 15 minutes before sunrise and 15 minutes afterwards.
A brief excursion to Parsons Beach in Waitpinga:
It was an exploratory excursion. I have usually avoided going there because it is a surfing beach with access through the Newland Head Conservation Park. So I cannot take the poodles with me.
I have been taking advantage of the recent overcast weather conditions to photograph in the Spring Mount Conservation Park. The park is small (2.79 square kilometres), consists of mature stringybarks (both Eucalyptus obliqua and E. baxteri), and looks as if it provides a good habitat for the yellow tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus). We only see these cockatoos in Encounter Bay when they feed on the pine cones in the late summer/early autumn.
The Spring Mount Conservation Park is on a ridge lying between the Inman Valley (in the south) and the Hindmarsh Tiers Valley (in the north). It is in a high rainfall area and I discovered that it can be raining there whilst it is sunny on the Victor Harbor coast, which is just 15- 20 minutes away by car. I have been mostly photographing on the Inman Valley side of the park, as well as walking along the roads along the edge of the park such as the Mt Alma Rd and the Strangeways Rd.
The photo above was made whilst I was walking along Strangeways Rd with the poodles. This road runs east from Mt Alma Rd then south dropping down through farmland in the valley to Sawpit Rd near the Inman Valley Rd. It's a loop. We only walked a couple of kilometres along Strangeways Rd. I have yet to explore the rest of this road in the car. Nor have I walked along the trails within the park.
This picture is from Mount Alma Rd looking north across some farmland towards the Spring Mount Conservation Park in the southern Fleurieu Peninsula:
The Spring Mount Conservation Park is situated on a broad ridge that stands between the Inman Valley and the Hindmarsh Tiers Rds. The trees in the park are mostly mature Brown Stringybark (Eucalyptus baxteri) and Messmate Stringybark (E. obliqua).
I have returned to making some more photos of the coastal architecture at Victor Harbor on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. This is a break from the daily photos of the bushland and coastal rocks made whilst I am on the morning and afternoon poodlewalks.
Most of the new coastal architecture is cheaply built holiday houses that would probably last only a generation. They don't even have foundations. The builders just plonk a series of concrete blocks in 4 corners. There is no concrete slab.
This particular house is situated on Encounter Lakes is more up market and better built. Encounter Lakes is a new housing estate built around a human made saltwater lake situated along Bartel Boulevard at Encounter Bay.The houses are basically built for retirees: one level and low maintenance. The emphasis is on lifestyle.
Another version of a retiree house, this time one along Franklin Parade in Encounter Bay that is facing the sea. Franklin Parade is seen as a prime location.
The cashed up retirees are leaving Adelaide and moving down to live beside the sea on the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula.
This snapshot was made after returning from a late afternoon poodlewalk in late April. Suzanne had returned from a trip to Eyre Peninsula so I didn't need to walk the two poodles and so I was able to spend more time making photos on the walk, rather than keeping an eye on the poodles. I did a number of cloud studies whilst on the poodlewalk.
There was no one around at the time, which is unusual, as Petrel Cove is a popular tourist location in the late afternoon. I was reversing the car from the car park to drive home and made the snapshot through the windscreen. It was just before I left for the Melbourne trip.