Can I just start by saying that waking up at 4 o’clock in the morning is a lot easier than actually getting out of bed then.  I find I can wake up, but making myself get up is a lot harder.  However, I did do it, I met Suzzanna and then we drove into the city.  I am not going to lie, it was so disappointing.  When we got to the place I had taken photos of the previous week, it was exactly the same.  The sky was overcast, but the river was not smooth.  It was not good.

We decided to walk to the city and that is when it all changed.

The river was partially clear and the clouds put on a really nice scene in behind the city.  It seemed so crystal clear.  There was no smog around, it was a city waiting to be cleansed.

As we walked along we went under Princes Bridge and found the Yarra River very calm and still.  This has been what I have been waiting for.  A sunrise would have made it perfect.  It will happen if I keep going in, eventually.

The sun did come out, not quite where I was hoping it would.

This is what I was hoping for down the other end of the river, where we started.  The sun coming up and shining on the buildings.  More golden glow would have been nice.  It is almost perfect, but it does give rise to the idea that a great sunrise would make it even better.

The only real problem with this shot was how much rubbish was in the river.  It was so sad to see rubbish everywhere.  I don’t understand what is happening, we had the tidy up Australia campaign when I was growing up, where is it today?

Not long after these were taken it started raining, and it rained a lot.  We were lucky to have been able to get these images.  Though, after we ate breakfast and were heading back the sun came out in a most spectacular fashion.

All of these are HDR images processed in Photomatix Pro, then opened in Camera Raw in Photoshop CS6, and the final processing was done in Color Efex, then the filter Classical Soft Focus was applied.

Tamrac Expedition 7 Bag

I was really able to test the bag this morning.  It really was the first time I had taken it out on a field trip like this.  It was so comfortable to wear and very easy to use.  The tripod on the bag makes it heavy, but after our first stop, I had thought not to put it back on, but it was crazy carrying it, so it was attached to the bag again.  The bag is very easy to get stuff in and out of, and even when it started raining I wasn’t too concerned.  It was a very positive experience, and once again I would like to thank C.R.Kennedy & Co for helping me to get the bag.