Having landed in a new location it's my habit to look out for notable views in the area. It gives me a direction and a purpose I may otherwise lack. Just going for a 'road trip' or hike rarely generates the views that appeal to me. (Noted exception being Tower Hill on my Great Coast Road trip. That was a true chance find).
The Abandoned Homestead. Burra
My standard picture resources are postcards and the internet. On this occasion I learned about the abandoned homestead just outside of Burra from the internet. Whilst it seems an unexceptional location to me an internet poll found it was one of Australia's most enduring and popular landscape views. The photo that made it famous was shot by Ken Duncan and his image is quite different to the one I'm showing. (So don't judge by my effort). His was used on the album cover of a record by 'Midnight Oil'. Since when it has inspired a long list of well known photographers to make a pilgrimage to Burra. A browse of local professional photographers showcased images in every possible variation of light and style. Black and white, colour, hdr infrared , square , panoramic etc . But just because the view is done to death is no reason not to add to that body of work. Simply if I happen to be in Rome or Paris, I'm damn well photographing the Colloseum and the Eiffel Tower.
Another factor in the choice was that Burra was far enough away from Adelaide to be a 'Dark Sky area'. The current heatwave came with cloudless cobalt skies and I counted on getting a fine view of the heavens.
As this was to be a road trip opposed to a hike. I felt no need pack light. Just about all my photographic toys were coming with me. A pano kit- well no surprise there. A wildlife kit (just in case) and my Astrophotography kit - because that was the plan.
Happily the rental car had two of the features I've found essential in South Australia. Air conditioning and an Aux input to the stereo. Air con for obvious reasons and the Aux input because well I'm a bit fussy about whom I share my time with. As Burra is 2.5 hours north of Adelaide, 5 hours of local radio doesn't bear thinking about.
My journeys in Australia don't get interesting until I leave the dual carriageways and the expressways. Thereafter I start to see things of note around me. I drove down tree lined roads the sunshine diffused by the tall leafy canopy. Gum trees mostly. Very attractive to my eyes. Add the odd flock or two of birds. (Gallah's mostly) and I might happily have stopped right there. But I was on a mission.
I'd left town quite late, partly to arrive in Burra near the golden hour and which would put me in good shape for Astrophotography. I did stop a couple of times. Once driving alongside a vinyard I was tempted to try an IR landscape. I liked the composition but just a bit too windy for a longer exposure shot ( I don't have an IR conversion camera, I've been experimenting with IR filters, generally an r72)
Then again later as I crested a hill and saw one those rickety windmills that the Aussie farmers use to lift up bore water from the underground water table.
That done I continued onto Burra. The town was grander than it's nearest neighbours, it's a heritage mining town with a profitable past in Copper mining. Ok so I stopped for a couple of snaps there too. The town had an understandably sleepy feel owing to the scorching afternoon heat, the garage was still open so I took the opportunity to fill the petrol tank.
The Abandoned Homestead was a few miles out of town on the road north. Quite easy to spot sitting in splendid isolation in a huge paddock. I pulled into a dirt track access road. Now the 'definitive' Ken Duncan' image is obviously taken from a vantage point inside the paddock.
I noted there were sheep in the paddock and a large sign discouraging trespassers. Hmm I could hop over in minute. Actually I found a resonable angle without needing to go over the fence. It could have been better. But I could also get permission another day. This wasn't an urgent one time only opportunity.
The homestead was flanked on the right by the remains of an outbuilding and a dense thicket. Neither were attractive additions to the scene so I left these out of the frame.
Having tried that shot, I eyed the dirt track which headed over the hill. Worth a looksee. It turned out to be quite fine view up there. Definitely worth another snap. The dirt track really wasn't the right place to take a shiny new rental car.
Back on the metalled road I retraced my steps through Burra on the hunt for a spot for a night shot. Back near where I'd taken a shot of the windmill earlier I found another windmill isolated in an empty paddock. When I saw it I could see it had potential for me to get any angle I wanted. That suggested I could compose the starfield to best effect. (Of course you might wonder why I was happy to go in this field when I was shy earlier. Two reasons. Firstly there was no livestock or crop in the field. Secondly the gate was open I could walk straight in, so no need to hop over a fence)
I wasn't really prepared for what happened a little while later. The road to Burra was very quiet in daytime, at night it was positively dead. So when a car came along backlighting the windmill it was a complete surprise. The first shot was completely ruined. But i saw the potential. A quarter of an hour later a car came from the other direction. This time i saw something much more interesting. So I stood there in the empty paddock waiting for traffic to light up the countryside. When I finally left it was well gone midnight and only a handful of cars had come along. My pick was a bulb exposure where a lorry was speeding along the road towards a car. I was quite pleased. Prints well too.
I've now been to Burra a couple of times. The second time being enroute to Wilpena Pound. The bare rolling hills appeal to me. No doubt I'll be up there again all too soon. Oh and final note the yellow light in bottom right, well that's light pollution from Adelaide. 250 km's south.