Location photographer. Getting behind the scenes. Showing off the secret, and not so secret, treasures of the world.
West Beach Parks
I have been working with West Beach Parks (formerly Adelaide Shores) for over five years. We have done multiple shoots for the rebrand, when renovations are completed, new accommodation is built, or for a new campaign.
Images: Lifestyle, interiors, exteriors, activities, staff profiles.
Love: The fun involved in photographing kids and adults enjoying the park facilities, especially the pool area where I can get the kids to jump in a number of times.
Not so much love: Making some of the budget, tiny (super skinny and long) bathrooms look inviting. But hey, we did it!
Images are used for a variety of purposes, including website, marketing material, social and corporate.
Some of my fave images from my shoots with West Beach Parks…
Flinders Ranges - why I love it.
Why go to the Flinders Ranges? Here’s a couple of answers…
Why Flinders?
With interstate border regulations changing daily, I'm looking at different ways to get my adventure and discovery fix locally. I always love the beach, but being in the big wide open spaces also pulls me.
In recent years I have travelled to the Flinders Ranges quite a few times for work. I used to go camping with family and relatives as a child too. I am amazed at how many people haven't been, missing out on such a unique area. It's such a special place, close to Adelaide and very doable as a weekender.
I asked people what stops them from going? The main stop signs were...
I don't have a 4WD
I don't like camping
I don't know what to do out there
Well, here are my answers to those points.
I don't have a 4WD
I have done it in my VW Golf! But taking the Mitsubishi Outlander and Pajero Sport made it easier and a little less 'bumpy'.
There are many sealed roads, and even the unsealed ones (that we went on) are pretty good. An SUV will get you even further. We went to Bendleby Ranges, a station known for it's four-wheel drive tracks. The tracks are varied, so check where you can go before tackling any. Being a novice 4wd'er, we did do a handful in the Mitsubishi with no problems.
Yes, you can't go everywhere, but hey, don't you want to do some hiking anyway? That's where you get the real immersion.
I don't like camping
I do like camping, but I'm also known as a bit of a hotel buff. And Flinders Ranges has the variety. Bush camping right through to luxurious digs. There's also eco tents, fly-in luxury camp stays and shearers quarters on stations for some real life.
Check out www.flindersandoutback.com.au and www.stationstayssa.com.au for some of the options ready for you.
I don't know what to do
Well... there's hiking, biking, flying, 4WDing (and mere driving), eating, drinking... and a vast landscape that is in constant change. The feeling I get when in the Flinders is like a surrender: peace and strength, a reset button. There is a spiritual presence in this ancient place that I always feel.
My fave things (so far)...
Flying over Flinders Ranges - by helicopter or plane (I’ve been up with Wrights Air and Arkaroola)
Strzelecki and Oodnadatta Track drives
Prairie Hotel food and sundowners
Flinders Bush Retreats Eco tent and Homestead stays
Bike riding in Melrose
Tour at Holowiliena Station
Eating at Flinders Food Co
Have you been? What can you add to this?
Two hotels: a few nights in Brisbane...
Ok, so many travels are being put on hold, but we can start planning. I always am. Let's talk hotels...
I'm a sucker for a nice hotel room - but never splurge too much on them. I like bang for buck. ;)
And these two Brisbane hotels didn't disappoint.
Pros - funky, great restaurant downstairs, rooftop pool area, huge room and bathroom, basic kitchen in the room, big windows for natural light.
Not that I got to use the pool - it was raining and not enticing enough the entire time I was there. And as for the kitchen - no, I don't cook while away on my own. But if I had the kids, it would have been handy.
Cons - old, fridge made noises
It also would have been handy to have a minibar price list in the room - just in case I wanted a glass of wine or paint an art piece.
Pros - great location in CBD, beautiful old-world style hotel including lobby, halls, bathroom and bedroom, an excellent coffee shop in the lobby
Cons - weird smell in lobby, dark room facing onto pool courtyard
Again, I didn't use the pool. The water was cold, and it was raining - it has to be hot, hot, hot for me to get wet without a wetsuit.
I loved the grandness from another era of the lobby.
Check out the pics to see what I’m talking about…
CLIENT: South Australian Escapes
Want to have a holiday by the beach? Just steps from the Middleton surf is this beautiful home…
A couple of weekends ago I went to photograph a brand spanking new holiday rental for a client in Middleton. I had no idea what to expect. But there were just a few wows as I went through. I'd love to stay here... and will (when I can trust my kids not to damage anything ;))
My client wanted the photos to put up on her website so she could get guests booked in for the Christmas period - all before she leaves on her own holiday in a week or so. So, it was a quick turnaround shoot. Retouching was kept natural and pics uploaded in web and print sizes for her.
About a week later, when I saw her next, she said she had it booked out to two different people already over that period.
WOW! Now that's how photos can work for you. I know it's busy season, but without photos, the chance of booking is much less. And good photos that show the space properly makes a massive impact on people and their decision to book or not.
Here are the pics... house pics shoot was about an hour then some time for some stock pics of the local area (plus a couple I had already taken over time).
TigerAir, Airbnb, Uber... where is Qantas, Hilton and the taxis?
Travelling with new options. Taxi V Uber. Hotel V Airbnb. My experience.
The communal pool in the first Airbnb property in Southbank, Brisbane. A great area with BBQs, pool, spa, sauna and gym
Today I saw a post on Facebook, it went along the lines of... 20 years ago we were saying 'don't talk to strangers', 10 years ago we were saying 'don't meet someone from online alone' and now we are saying 'go find some random online and pay them to take you somewhere in their private car'.
It made me think about my recent trip.
I took my Mum and kids away. We went to Brisbane and Moreton Island. And I completely blew my Mum away with the use of Uber and Air BnB. Even TigerAir. Being more of a road trip and caravan traveller, she'd never heard of them.
Going to sleep with this view from FV by Peppers in Fortitude Valley
It used to be travel agents, hotel bookings, Qantas and taxi services. How things have changed. Now we can stay in peoples homes - whether it is a full-time holiday rental or a room in their home, use our phone to book a ride with someone who is using their own car to make money and book flights without the frills of yummy aeroplane food (haha) to cut costs.
It was the first trip where I have relied on mostly Airbnb and Uber. How did it go?
Well...
Uber works great. All the drivers I rode with were helpful, drove safely and got us where we needed to go on time. I like seeing where they are (even though that in itself can prove frustrating when they show up just around the corner but still take 5 minutes or longer to get to me), I can see a photo and find out about the driver before they arrive and at the end of the trip I can say thank you, goodbye and get out. No need to wait around for credit card payments.
Airbnb. It's hit and miss. I've had some great experiences with them - staying in some very cool Melbourne pads on previous trips. On this trip, I booked two apartments. The first was great - very good communication prior, during and after the stay, neat and clean and a nice vibe. The second wasn't so good - a lovely apartment but too dirty to stay in. I contacted the owner but her response was not to come clean (it seriously looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a few weeks with dust, mould, food bits, sticky stuff on the floor, soap on the shower floor) but to say that with what we paid she could not present the home 'impeccably clean'.
FV by Peppers, Fortitude Valley
Air BnB was very helpful. They communicated between myself and her and ended up giving me a refund. So, although I ended up having to book another apartment for that night at a higher cost - we had clean beds to sleep in and felt comfortable.
Would I use Air BnB again? Yes, I would. But I'd check reviews and communicate my standards a bit better before arrival. Booking through a hotel gives me more assuredness of some sort of cleanliness standards.
TigerAir performed well for us too. On time, friendly and, unlike previous trips, I was prepped for the bag weight checks at the gate (no more frantically layering of clothes). If only I had realised before standing in the boarding lineup in Brisbane that I had to go get my bags weighed and stickered first. After waiting for about 5 minutes another passenger told me. Oh well, we are all going to arrive in Adelaide at the same time, it doesn't matter what order we board.
Do I like the new way of travel? Yes, I like the options it gives. More choice. More convenience. And with more cost options, it opens up travel for more people. Or for people to travel more.
And I do believe that travel is the worlds best classroom. For all ages.
A little note from the world that never goes astray
Summer holidays...
Summer holidays. Where I expect sun and warm weather, but get rain and grey skies. Moreton Island and Tangalooma Resort is still fun.
When I booked an island holiday in Queensland, I just presumed it would be sunny and warm. After all, it was going to be October. And coming from Adelaide, even mid-twenties would be a treat.
So, grey skies, rain and 18 degrees was a bit of a shock. So much for the summer holiday to Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island. Where are my relaxing afternoons lazing on the beach after touring around? Instead, we are scrambling around for umbrellas and ponchos and venturing about the resort when the rain subsides a little. We don't even get to see outside of the resort. Something that annoys me - I love to know where I am and go discovering when somewhere new.
But, we adapt. We grab the umbrellas and ponchos and wander. Ashton wades through puddles. Belle cartwheels across the lawn. They both build a fort with their umbrellas on the beach. They even get me in the pool once. Brr.
Reception has board games, we play a few games of pool, and visit the marine centre where we learn about marine life. I am shocked at how dolphins and sharks have been slaughtered. I never knew that sharks were caught for their fin and then chucked back in the sea to die.
I'd definitely like to re-visit with the sun and warm weather. Moreton Island looks magical, and the resort itself is a little haven of relaxation and chill.
A surprise at Two Emuz, Kangaroo Island
A little surprise for me. What a beautiful location...
Whenever I go away, it's normally me organising everything. This time though, it is different. I'm heading to Kangaroo Island with Fleurieu Living Magazine for some shoots. And I'm told we are staying at a B&B at Emu Bay. I was in for a surprise on arrival as to what to expect.
Well, first we got lost. Our phone lost reception and with it went our directions. Luckily, an attentive local who we met on the ferry saw us stopping, turning and stopping and wandered over to help. She knew everyone in the area and could point us in the right direction within minutes.
Beyond the farm gate, down the rubble driveway, sits the accommodation and owners pad. A lovely limestone and cedar building. But the real highlight is stepping in and seeing the view from the living area. I stop in my steps and stand with jaw open. I'm not just saying that - I really did.
Outside, beyond the sunloungers and green grass is the vast ocean. There is nothing between us and the sparkling blue water except the rolling hill down to the beach (that can only accessed by a couple of homes that sit next to us). A private beach (basically). I will be wandering up and down that in the morning before we leave.
Our host, Rob is just as amazing... we sip gin and tonics with him while watching the sun set and his beautiful Dalmation greets us after our morning walk along the beach. It makes me feel very comfortable and 'at home'. The gourmet breakfast supplies including Illy coffee, crusty bread, eggs and range of teas set me up for the day before I leave too. Mmm.
Can I go back? Please?
www.tuemuz.com.au
Whenever I go away, it's normally me organising everything. This time though, it is different. I'm heading to Kangaroo Island with Fleurieu Living Magazine for some shoots. And I'm told we are staying at a B&B at Emu Bay. I was in for a surprise on arrival as to what to expect.
Well, first we got lost. Our phone lost reception and with it went our directions. Luckily, an attentive local who we met on the ferry saw us stopping, turning and stopping and wandered over to help. She knew everyone in the area and could point us in the right direction within minutes.
Beyond the farm gate, down the rubble driveway, sits the accommodation and owners pad. A lovely limestone and cedar building. But the real highlight is stepping in and seeing the view from the living area. I stop in my steps and stand with jaw open. I'm not just saying that - I really did.
Outside, beyond the sunloungers and green grass is the vast Southern Ocean and Bass Straight. There is nothing between us and the sparkling blue water except the rolling hill down to the beach (that can only accessed by a couple of homes that sit next to us). A private beach (basically). I will be wandering up and down that in the morning before we leave.
Our host, Rob is just as amazing... we sip gin and tonics with him while watching the sun set and his beautiful Dalmation greets us after our morning walk along the beach. It makes me feel very comfortable and 'at home'. The gourmet breakfast supplies including Illy coffee, crusty bread, eggs and range of teas set me up for the day before I leave too. Mmm.
Can I go back? Please?
www.tuemuz.com.au
Exploring close to home...
Exploring close to home - casual but fun.
Explore your backyard. We have all heard it. But I seem always to find more interest in exploring far away places. Wrong, isn't it? Especially since I love my backyard and champion its beauty whenever I can.
Well, this years October long weekend marked the fourth year in a row of holidaying at Port Elliot Caravan Park. After spending many summers there as a child and living in the neighbouring town of Victor Harbor for my teenage years - I finally decided to discover some new things.
Here are some of my fave places...
Beaches...
Instead of heading to Horseshoe Bay, we veered left and wandered along the Coast path to find ourselves on an untouched, semi-deserted beach. We spot a little (4-5ft) shark playing in the shallows. Watching for five minutes, we saw it twisting and turning before disappearing, only to reappear in another spot and repeat. Swim? Not today, thanks.
There are rocks to the right of the beach, at the headland, where a man is shark fishing. And there is a surf break called chicken run right there - which I'm told only breaks in a large swell. I do see some surfers, and the wave is nice. I wonder why it's called Chicken Run? Playing chicken with the sharks is my guess.
I continued walking up towards Middleton, on my left, is Bashams Beach, or as my dad likes to say, Lewis beach. He's re-named it after the land he owns just back from the shore - just not sure if anyone else knows. A man can dream.
Go further, and you hit Middleton, my fave surf spot. This long stretch of beach is popular for surfing but beware of rocks under the water level while swimming, bodyboarding or surfing.
Retro Vibe Cafe - a casual cafe decked out in, you guessed it, retro furniture and furnishings. It's near the train line and quieter than the main Victor Harbor to Goolwa drag. There's a kids corner too to keep the little ones entertained while you enjoy your coffee. A trip down memory lane is inevitable.
Too much indulgence? Bike ride through the backstreets and headland near the caravan park for a bit of exercise. Or if you are feeling more energetic, cycle the Encounter Bikeway that runs from Encounter Bay to Goolwa. It's 30km long, reasonably flat and well made. Do as much, or as little, as you like.
Of course, there is much more to do, but that is the beauty of the Fleurieu. You can do as little or as much as you like.
CLIENT SHOWCASE: Flinders Bush Retreats
Time to get away from the rat race? Get some space at Flinders Bush Retreats. I loved my time up there - nothing but open landscape surrounding me.
Billy tea and scones by the campfire in the Gorge
How old are the Flinders Ranges? I don't know, but apparently, some of the worlds oldest fossils have been found here.
View from the property
I used to camp up at the Flinders Ranges with my grandparents and family as a child. We’d set up camp by a creek, sit around campfires at night, hike during the day and construct gravestones for the baby rabbits accidentally caught in my Grandpa’s traps that day. We’d name them, bury them, have a ceremony and put a headstone on top.
Mt Scott Homestead kitchen
Twenty years later, and a few visits in between, I’m back. But this time I’m not camping, I'm staying in a three bedroom home complete with indoor fire, fire pit outside and bath overlooking the gorge hills. There is even a coffee machine. Luxurious. There is a water trough out the back which emus come and drink. Each day I take a bath mid-afternoon, so I can laze back and watch the sun play hide and seek with the stormy clouds while the emus slurp away. I laugh as sheep come running to the trough and scatter the emus one afternoon. I wonder who rules the roost?
Mt Scott Homestead
The Quarters
Eco tent
Eco tent
Flinders Bush Retreats is a working station about 10 minutes out of Hawker. There is a range of accommodation. Bush campsites, Eco tent, The Quarters (which are quite luxe shearers quarters) and where I’m staying, Mount Scott Homestead. Something for everyone, I’d like to think.
Getting hands on and learning in the shearing shed
I love the isolation of Mount Scott Homestead. Five minutes drive from the nearest house through paddocks. I hear nothing but the wind, birds and occasional creak from the trees. I sit at the breakfast bar and see the outback farm for as far as my short sighted eyes can see. Adventuring up into the hills of the Willow Waters Gorge, I am comfortable knowing if I get lost I only need to head west, and I’ll see ‘home’.
Walking through the Gorge
I am alone, but I can imagine having a few nights away with friends or family. Willow Waters Gorge, the gorge on the property is old. Very old. Boringly old apparently. So the scientific folk said when they came to survey the area. But it is perfect for wandering. It’s small enough not to get lost but big enough to walk for a few hours each day. I climb up to a peak one chilly morning and get a 360-degree view of the gorge. It’s a little utopia amongst the barren farmland over the other side of the hills.
One of the campsites
Another day I climb up the hills, losing the track I'm meant to walk up, but find my way around on the goat and kangaroo tracks. I get over to the gorge side of the hills, but rain and wind lash in. I retreat, slipping down the hill on the scree. Just as I get back to Mount Scott Homestead, the sky opens and a storm rolls in. The wind makes a song as it hurtles across the farmland and through the gum trees lining the front of the house. I’m glad I turned back when I did. The hills were steep, and I can imagine the wind picking me up and throwing me somewhere further down if I’d been up on top still.
Meet and greet with the farm animals
Sharon and Allen McInnes are working farmers. They live nearby with their children and have a farm of animals for guests to meet. Mini ponies, geese, chooks, sheep, pigs, cat, dogs… City kids (big and small) will be amazed. Unfortunately, due to weather, I missed out on shearing, but at the right time of year, guests can get involved with farm chores too.
The Eco tent view
A day in the Tarkine, North-West Tasmania.
The Tarkine in North-West Tasmania is a place l fell in love with. It ruined Eastern Tasmania for me.
Belle discovering the Tarkine.
Wow, this is an amazing part of the world. And to see the damage the 2016 bushfires made is sad, but it also gives hope with all the new growth colouring the charred trunks.
I attempted this in a day, although, if you are doing lots of walks, I'd recommend two days. I knew I wouldn't be doing too many hikes with the kids so chose carefully and drove a lot. It is a long day of driving, but so entrancing.
Thin winding roads lead the way to the Tarkine.
The drive there is fun too - thin bitumen roads winding their way through farmland. Bales of hay, cows and random chickens dot the rolling hills. Only the chickens notice the car as they flap away from the sides of the road as I pass. The highway is not much different to the country roads. It is a fraction wider, has a white line painted in the middle, and I can pass another vehicle without pulling off the road. Not that there are many cars on the road.
The Tarkine Dive itself has just over twenty attractions - lookouts, bridges, walks and sink holes. Walks range from easy 15 minute strolls to 5-6 hour coastal hikes.
Trowutta Arch beauty.
Trowutta Arch is an easy 15-minute stroll on a path through the rainforest. The floor is carpeted with moss, fallen trees and tree roots. At the end of the path is Trowutta Arch, the entrance to a water-filled sinkhole - a collapsed cave. One of the mossy rocks makes the perfect canvas to sketch your name. It entertained my artistic Belle while Ashton threw rocks into the water, measuring the 'plops' as they hit - as boys do.
Carpark area at Trowutta Arch entrance.
And the wildlife? Loud talk of leeches, the excitement of finding Cicada shells and 'testing' if the forest carries a coo-ee make sure we don't see any wildlife. Thankfully, we are the only tourists here, so we aren't ruining the quiet serenity for others.
Belle and Ashton finding little bugs and leaves.
Next is a drive through the burnt out area. An area that clashes with the general lush Tarkine elsewhere, where forest kisses each side of the road. These trees are now separated by the sky, little puffs of new green growth smothering the trunks. Burnt, spindly dead sticks stick up in between. Will it ever be the same?
Beautiful Tarkine forest floor.
After a late lunch stop at Julia's River, where we walked another 30 minute round forest track (which probably only took us 20 with after lunch energy) I headed towards the coast. Another contrast.
Pristine waterways.
Driving the road up to the coast, all I could see was barren farmland with nothing able to be grown. It's not windy today, but I can imagine the wind blasting in off the wild ocean. I mean, there is nothing between here and 15,000km of ocean to Patagonia on the south coast of America. Roaring 40's winds of up to 200km have been recorded here!
The path to discovery.
I'd love to stop and do some of the hike out to the ocean, but it's raining, and the kids are tired. So I don't.
Where did all these logs come from?
But I do stop at Edge of the World in Arthur River. And it looks jut like its name, if not a very pretty version. Waves pound in as far as I can see, huge logs have been tossed on every rocky outcrop of the coastline, and the tumbleweed sits sideways.
The other side of this rock is a five metre drop.
It's here that Ashton decides to sprint up to a rocky ledge to see what he and see. I see him running, and my heart stops, I go to scream, then he stops. And sits down. And calmly watches. Heart pounding I go over to him and see what he's looking at. And below him is a drop of over 5 metres. Argh. At least he knew what he was doing.
I'm calling it a day... back to Stanley for fish and chips. Now I'm tired.
NOTE:
I saw (somewhere) it's about 135km drive, but when you are twisting and turning, of course, it takes a lot longer. In some sections allow 15 minutes for 15km.
