Rodney Campbell's Blog

Heading south on our inexorable journey towards Perth we were briefly stopping in the little coastal town of Leeman. The townsite was originally named Snag Island after a rocky island a small distance off-shore from the town.

Leeman

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/6.3, ISO 200

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

We were only stopping briefly for morning tea and then we’d be off further south towards a location I’d been looking forward to shooting for sometime – the famous Pinnacles of Cervantes.

Snag Island

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/8, ISO 400

Snag Island Pier

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 220

The Greenough Leaning Trees are scattered throughout the Shire of Greenough approximately four hours north of Perth.

Driving along the Brand Highway these leaning tree’s dot the landscape, they appear to be growing perfectly well… just sideways!

The Leaning Tree

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 55 mm, 1/60 sec at f/8, ISO 360

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

This bizarre natural phenomenon is caused by the airborne salt content blown in with the winds off the Indian Ocean. The tree trunks lie horizontal to the ground and have become somewhat of an icon for the area.

Most of the trees are out in private property but you can see many of them as you drive south along the Brand Highway. There’s even a tourist spot dedicated to stopping and viewing this leaning tree right next to the highway.

Heading further south we were on our way towards Port Gregory on the coast and it’s famous pink lake.

Port Gregory lies near the mouth of the Hutt River on Western Australia’s Coral Coast. This picturesque fishing village is encircled by five kilometres of exposed coral reef. However it was the lake (Hutt Lagoon) which draws us here. Like many of its kind in Western Australia, its hue is created by bacteria, which becomes trapped in the salt granules.

Frosty Pink

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 190 mm, 1/200 sec at f/11, ISO 400

My daughter and I knew beforehand that we’d be seeing a “pink lake” but I don’t think we quite fathomed just how large a body of water it would be (it took quite some time to drive around and back up to Port Gregory) and just how colourful it was going to be.

Interestingly my parents said it wasn’t very pink this time around. They reckon they’ve seen the colour much stronger on previous trips. Perhaps it was the time of year or the weather, who knows. Looked pretty damn good to my daughter and I :).

The Pink Lake

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 68 mm, 1/80 sec at f/10, ISO 125

Hutt Lagoon boasts a pink hue created by presence of carotenoid-producing algae Dunaliella salina, a source of ß-carotene, a food-colouring agent and source of vitamin A.

Riting

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 105 mm, 1/125 sec at f/10, ISO 220

Heading further south we visited Mushroom Rock (which frankly was a disappointment) and then on to Castle Cove, the Natural Arch and to Island Rock.

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/30 sec at f/11, ISO 180

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

The public facilities here in Kalbarri National park are top notch. We were very surprised to find these very nice paths and lovely rest areas with amazing views over the coastline. This one quite close to Island Rock. There were also some similarly appointed toilets nearby which were equally impressive.

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/30 sec at f/16, ISO 220

Island Rock

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 72 mm, 1/80 sec at f/10, ISO 100

On our way out we also stopped at The Grandstand lookout before finally leaving Kalbarri National Park and heading south towards Port Gregory.

We worked our way along the Kalbarri Coastal Cliffs to get a first hand look at the rugged and beautiful coastline and the wild waters of the Indian ocean below.

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 200 mm, 1/200 sec at f/8, ISO 450

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

The deep cold greeny blue ocean was amazing and I just loved the patterns the crashing waters made as they whipped in a wild frenzy over the rocks below. This spot was high up on the cliffs near the Natural Bridge in Kalbarri National Park.

Crested

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 160 mm, 1/160 sec at f/8, ISO 450

Wild Surge

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 160 mm, 1/160 sec at f/8, ISO 560

Perhaps this was where my desire to experiment with aerial photography had it’s first seed. That desire to photograph the landscape looking down directly from above. To revel in the mysterious and intricate patterns of nature.

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 160 mm, 1/160 sec at f/8, ISO 500