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A few weeks back, to celebrate 10 years of marriage my wonderful wife surprised me with a trip to Uluru. Here are some pics from the trip.

Let me know how I went and any improvements you can see. I appreciate any feedback....good, bad or even ugly

View from the back of the rock, at sunrise (had to get up at 4.30am (ouch) ) view large here


The colour of the sand at some places was trully amazing, and naturally the colours changed with the different light. View large here


Played chasings with this dude, until he finally gave up. View large here


Looking out to the Olgas, or the more correct Kata Tjuta. View large here


We spent quite a while looking for a "sexy" sand dune. This one comes close. View large here


View from the sand dune out to Uluru. Its about 30km from there. View large here


I still have many more photos to sort out, but be interested in your feedback. More photos can be found here

Cheers

ozczecho (Mike)

Great series, and a cool suprise trip!

#1 I like this, to great Aussie Icons one in the foreground, one in the back. If I had to be picky about this shot.. I'd prefer the sign to stand a little straighter..but its a very minor niggle.

#2 Your right the sand is amazing... did you bring any home with you... (your probably not allowed..but it would be cool in a little glass on the mantle).

#3 Like this shot a lot, nice OOF background.. very smooth... I love the texture and also how well the lizard skin blends in with the rock

#4 Hmm, this I think could be improved with some PP... something is lacking in it.. can't put my finger on it.. .. maybe it's just a little bland presently ?


#5 Sexy sand dune.. I think you found it.. but personally I would of got more up close and intimate with this dune to bring out it's sex appeal..
the shrubs on the right don't do much for me.. I would of got into about mid shot and set the camera low to the ground looking up the slope.. (bit late now..as your back home).

#6 I like this shot for two reasons, 1 it shows the place is quiet green and the other is it really gives a sense of size to A) the Rock and B) the Desert

Look forward to more photos Mike!

awesome shots mate, i love them all

Wow, that brings back fond memories. I went to the red centre in '98 and was absolutely thrilled. That year they had a fair bit of rain and the whole desert was blooming

Back then I was shooting Velvia and K25 only, the D2H was in very short supply

Your shots make me want to go back there NOW! Heck, I gotta dig up those slides and scan them...

Btw, we *did* take some of the red sand home, didn't realise there was a problem with that. I guess Mike could have filled his 70-300 with sand to smuggle it through quarantine

Cheers
Steffen.

There are some great iconic Australian images there, especially the first one. Great find that sign. Ayers Rock and the surrounds are a great place to photograph, especially at sunrise and sunset. It's looking very green there, it's a lot different as i remember it.

Nice images Ozecho The desert is always very photogenic.

Ahhh, I love the Red Centre Such a fascinating and contrasting area.

Well done and thanks for posting

@Alpha thanks for your comments. BTW, I didnt bring any sand back. Supposedly there are stories floating around that people who took stuff from Uluru had bad luck ever since...

For #4 its just dodgy light. To my surpirse the desert was quite green, and they have had a bit of rain. On two walks that we did it was quite overcast hence the dull colour.

For #5 I have others I havent posted up yet. The trees on the right are a bit cluttered.

#6 was taken with the morning sun and I like it for the same reasons you mentioned.


@Steffen, I wanna go back definately. Its an amazing place and so much to explore. We only had 4 days As for the 70-300 I dont think people would have appreciated the extra sand in the lens

Thanks everyone else for your comments

Mike,

These are fantastic shots, especially the first 3!

I love #1 - it has a strong graphic quality about it that I really like. Plus, the light and colours are great. Well worth the early rise I'd say! You should consider selling this shot if possible... I think it's a good twist on the usual shots of Uluru that you tend to see...

I also had a look in your Flickr gallery (on dialup so couldn't look at everything). You've got some quality shots there.

Cheers,

Stephen

Great shots Mike brings back lots of memories for me i lived out at Ulura for 18 months its were i meet my wife back in 1984

Damn those pics are sharp and the colours pop off the screen! Nice work.

Excellent shots that remind me of my October 1979 trek looking for Lassetter’s Reef - it rained then and the desert was in full bloom.

Mike - brilliant series of shots here.
Your first one was definately worthy of POTW!!
As it's been said your photos are so sharp and beautiful!
It has inspired me to look into a holiday to the centre!!

@Hybrid, thanks heaps. This forum and flickr are definately an inspiration. Personally I am really happy with #1. The best part (and very rare for me) was the fact that there was no cropping. I still have quite a bit of images to sort out and post process.

@mitedo, definately worth a revisit

@matt. K, i'm glad you mentioned the colours. I am forever worried that what looks bright and OK on my screen might not look the same on other screens. My NY resolution is to get my screen calibrated.

@sirhc55, talking to a local photog he reckons the best time to visit is straight after a huge storm (if you can get there) - the colours are supposed to be amazing....

@geoff, if you have any money left after buying property, definately consider the red centre as an option to get out of the big smoke for a bit of R&R.....