Bushwalk Australia

The swamp, Nursery Swamp, is the Mainland's largest fen. The best map is Rendezvous Creek 1:25,000. There were many Roos and Stinkers crossing Orroral Road, early morning, during the drive-in. Many.

This was my 4th visit to Nursery Swamp. The last time that I visited was 28 years ago, when the views were open and expansive. Nowadays, there is a some-what overgrown walking track from a car park. Last time I hiked in, I took the northern ridge above Nursery Creek from Boboyan Road (and I found several wire-fenced dope plantations) ... and found purely by default. But I recovered the proceeds, to save those people/those un-law abiding persons from taking the wrong path (wink,wink).

Any way, less nostalgia, and the trip from yesterday. These shots are in no particular order.















More photos coming

Warren.

The light yesterday was hazy-bright.

Can't wait!

Greenie, thanks Mate.













The image that I like the most, from yesterday ... nature filigreed.




Warren.

All lovely images yet again Warren. You have a unique way of making these places come alive through use of colour and light. I'm quite fascinated by the depth of field in the 6th shot down from the top. The dead tree looks like it is jumping out of the scene and you could put your hand behind it, almost a 3D effect. Others featuring groups of boulders are similarly stunning. Well done.

John, thank you.

It was a cold start to the day, -4°C.






In the shade the frost lasted all day and the frozen track near the saddle, will stay frozen until Spring ... more than likely.




Nursery Swamp is in the Southern ACT at 1100m asl. It is the largest fen on Mainland Australia and larger than the fens found in the Highlands of Tasmania. The carex sedge turns a rusty pink during winter.

Nursery Swamp gained its name because it is sheltered between two steep ridges and well guarded by Orroral Mountain and Nursery Hill. The valley was used as a nursery for new born calves by a pioneer grazier during hard winters.

The valley is a resource rich area and in the past Aboriginal people took advantage of the abundance of resources. There are several rock art sites to be found in the hills above the swamp.

During spring and early summer the Latham's Snipe migrates from Eastern Russia and Japan and they stay in the swamp until mid February. At times immature birds have been known to stay in the swamp over winter, when conditions have been too bad to fly north.

The tracks across the swamp are made by Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Red Shouldered Wallabies and Swamp Wallabies. The Swamp Wallaby is also called a Black Wallaby and is affectionately known as a Stinker.




Warren.

Great shots Warren. Not a place i have visited but having seen your photos I intend to put that right.

K.

Nice pics

Saturation looks pretty good! are those levels off the camera or from post processing?


Cheers,
Stonie.

Kanangra, thank you. Visiting the swamp is a simple walk. If you camp there, there is a lot to see. Watching the Wallabies splashing across the swamp when the sun is low, is a real treat. There is a good rock art gallery towards the head of Nursery Creek about a k and a half after the saddle. A log has been placed over the track at the turnoff and the track has grow over thanks to the regular rain. Johnny Boy's Walkabout Blog will possibly have track notes and a map to the gallery.



Stonie, thank you. When you look at one of my photos, you get to see what I saw (if that is at all possible for another person to do) ... and not what the camera objectively records. You might call it post processing? I call it, re-visualising the ambiance of the day.

Warren.

Nice framing and compositional work with the pics, unfortunately with so many people upping the dynamic range, as well as other settings ... it can be hard to tell if such shots are natural these days. HDR photography has its place, but commonly over done with nature shots. I believe there are a few places where the greens and blues look a little much ... but over all ... you've done an excellent job. In fact there is Two or more in there I would add to favorites if I saw them on Flikr.

Definitely better than what I can do. ... I have been skimping and just using my iPhone of late. Too much weight with the dslr, but thinking about doing some day trips with it. You on Flickr at all?

Dave, thanks but I'm not interested in producing snapshots. I've a far ruder reputation to uphold, than being just a photographer who renders reflected light faithfully ... you might find this hard to believe, but I'm a colourist.

People taking favourites of my work is OK by me. I donate my work to the National Gallery of Australia, they get it for free, please do. I've signed seven contracts with the NGA for my life's work, almost two decades ago. So I know my work is off.

These images might not be about nature photography at all. This landscape could have gotten in the road of what I was doing ... and now its interfering with the artifact called art. I know exactly what to avoid doing to not be making pretty pictures.

I explore the HDR technique and have been at it for nearly 40 years. HDR is the recent term ... I can calculate the contrast index to give me the last hint of shadow and first highlight detail in a rapidly disappearing reperian fog with a Gamma that's flatter than the Murrumbidgee's flood plain.

Producing perfect HDRs or rendering faithful images of landscapes, I'll leave that burden to others ... doing that would defeat the purpose and return me to my past life. That's a scary thought.

Warren.

Well that certainly explains the quality of your work. I guess I wished to bring the topic to light as I struggle with finding the line between adding the right amounts of this or that when processing myself. Nature Photography is a whole new world to me as is the act of capturing anything. Glad to of found your Thread! I LOVE photos of fallen trees, branches and Bark ... there's just so many options to play with. I also like Tree Roots and dappled light ... particularly that with overlapping leaves.