Shots from the Canning Stock Route

[hdj80]

Hi all

I am new here so don't be gentle

I have been practicing my PS skills - mainly the basics with adjustment layers and thought I would share some shots collected last year on the CSR in WA. Just a few of the 1300 shots taken over the trip all with a Minolta 7D and all in RAW. I used a Vosonic XsDrive for storage and it worked well in the relatively harsh environment and was well worth the expense.

Anyway here are the shots and you comments are welcome....criticism also - if you must
This is in the northern section of the CSR at Breaden Hills. We were directionally challenged for a particular place and a bit of exploring presented me with this stunning vista....it took hours to get the smile off my dial as this was just a fantastic view.



This was the track we were supposed to be on heading into Godfrey Tank



And this was just a spot we stopped for morning tea one day....as you can see hardly anything photogenic in Australian deserts

[Alpha_7]

Craig, I really like the first two, they are great landscapes.
#2 just great profile of the terrain, love it!

#1 Give you that airy sense of achievement when you've climbed a mountain and survey the view for the first time.

#3 Not sure but this one doesn't work for me, lacks interest and punch for me, IMO.

[thaddeus]

These really capture the feeling of the CSR.
My only thought is to perhaps include a 4wd or some people to put it all in perspective.

[marcotrov]

Welcome. Always wanted to do the Canning. #1 and #2 really stand out in their composition and sense of space. Marvellous vibrant colour. Look forward to more soon.
cheers
marco

[Big Red]

gunna do the canning one day and by the looks of the photo opps i better allow an extra week for all the stops

[avkomp]

really like the first 2. great landscapes. nicely exposed too.

welcome to the forums too.

Steve

[Nnnnsic]

While the colours are nice, they all seem a bit dull on my screen.

[moz]

Quite like them, that third one brings back memories of being out in that country. Landscapes are nice, but the more close up stuff does it for me. And the steep look - that's really hard to capture in a photo. Well done.

I love riding my bike out in that stuff, but there's no way I'm even going to try the CSR - it was done by two guys on bikes, but they carried nothing with them, the support vehicles did all the real work. Hard enough just doing the Gibb River Road or Karajini

[shakey]

No 1 and 2 cry out for a dawn or sunset shot.
No 3....needs a point of interest..maybe a bleached cattle skull or something like that.

Just my opinion...ain't worth nothing really

[Killakoala]

I've been up that neck of the woods, so it was nice to see your images, which sent me back 15 years.

On my sceen the saturation looks about right for the environment. Thanks for sharing.

[Slider]

Great photos Craig. Whets the appetite even more to get over there.

The first 2 are great and to be honest I don't mind the 3rd at all. When I was out past Winton I got some interesting Spinifex shots but they were all in their dead looking stage (maybe they were dead) and had no green in them at all so it's nice to see them in a different way.

[hdj80]

Thanks all for such positive comments.
As most will know these areas don't always lend themselves to being there at the defining moment for light. Certainly none of the spots that are good half way reasonable spots to roll out a swag are like the areas I photographed.
Certainly the first shot is pure rock and involved a scramble up a creek bed and then up onto the escarpment not something I would like to do in the dark....yep I guess I won't suffer for my art

As we all do I worked within the limitations of where we were and where we were going as I was travelling with a group of mates in convoy, not all of them that interested in photography. A carbon fibre tripod would be a nice addition as my 055 is a tad heavy for carting around the gorges.

The Canning is extremely photogenic. The area abounds with escarpments, red rocks and a quite suprising number of rocky creek beds which in our visit had some water in them.

Although it was a stock route there are no cattle nor any remnants of their having been cattle except for the ruins of the wells.

[Matt. K]

First 2 are beautiful. Not sure why the last fails to please. Is it the shade of red or the composition?

[hdj80]

First 2 are beautiful. Not sure why the last fails to please. Is it the shade of red or the composition?

Probably doesn't work so well as it is oversized on the page.
It looks fat and doesn't show the drama of the shot leading from spinifex up to a dramatic outcrop and blue sky.

Perhaps a horizontal format would have been better showing some more of the drop down to ground level?

[mudder]

Strewth I'm glad I found this thread, these are terrific images of outback...

I'd love to just camp at a location like that for a few days, finding the angles and spots during the day and experience the rising and setting light with those dramatic formations with early and late light shadows... Stunning land...

I think it's the sloping line of the hill top makes me feel awkward in the last one, terrific subject and wonderful color... Good use of the foreground subjects and middle ground too... Not sure but the edge of the hill looks a smidge "edgey" to me, much sharpening? Your PP looks good!

I understand the smile too, it's amazing how experiencing a magic spot for the first time, especially if it's in early or late light, can be so enriching(or is that enrichening?)... To me, that's probably the most enjoyable or memorable part of landscape photography, is enjoying the scene at the time...

[Onyx]

I can bet these images stereotypifies what many foreigners perceive Australia to be.

#2 my pick of the bunch.

[hdj80]

AS most CSR travellers will know. The sheer distances involved in travelling the route and the time it takes to do it means you don't have a lot of luxury with extra food capacity.

Unless you risk towing a camper it is hard to carry much more than 3 weeks of food, water and essentials (aka beer and wine).

I hope to post some shots from the Gunbarrel Highway and Great Victoria Desert soon.

As far as photo ops, the WA Deserts are probably the pic of what I have seen in my wandering so far. BTW Mudder thanks for the fav comment on my PP. I have been try heaps and learnt a lot from the Radiant Vistas video tutorials. Nice to know I am on track.

[Alpha_7]

Unless you risk towing a camper it is hard to carry much more than 3 weeks of food, water and essentials (aka beer and wine).

Um Risk towing a camper ? My Dad has been out there, and his convey was all made up of campers.

[mudder]

If ya wanna play in pp...

I reckon the first couple of these are cryign out for some extra burning in spots... Try some extra burning to really bring out the soft almost spot-light effect of sunlight coming through a hole in the cloud in your first couple, the light could be spectacular in the first couple if you wanna play in PP... a couple of playtime thoughts Try darkening the foreground red rock area in the first it'll make the light in the valley stand out more in comparison, darken the foreground the way the shadows from the clouds darken the grass-lands in the background... I reckon that'll make the valley light look more dramatic...

To avoid harming your original, add a layer of mid-grey, put that in overlay mode and then burn (or dodge) on that layer, that way you can always undo, change opacity of the effect etc. and not hurt your original data...

Oh, and I've seen some amazing trailers, a friend has a trailer capervan thing that has beefier suspension than my forester... Looked like a truck underneath it, I was really impressed...

[hdj80]

Unless you risk towing a camper it is hard to carry much more than 3 weeks of food, water and essentials (aka beer and wine).

Um Risk towing a camper ? My Dad has been out there, and his convey was all made up of campers.

When you see the price of a recovery from Well 33 community as $5000+GST for a standard 4x4 I think its fair to says its a risk. It certainly isn't the hardest 4WD track but it is the most remote one in Australia.

There are certainly varying standards of campers some quite tough, however I have seen quite a few of varying "top" brands fail and IMHO they are a risk and stress I don't personally want. Give me a swag any day.

[Alpha_7]

Fair enough Craig, didn't realise it was that expensive for recovery.

My Dad has been building campers for years now, I'd be confident in one of his, but probably not many of the others I've seen at the shows.
http://www.ultimatecampers.com.au/
Certainly more comfortable then a swag, but nothing beats sleeping out under a 1 million stars

[marcotrov]

I agree with you hdj80 but I am contemplating getting the T-Van when I finally do the trip. I think anything less than a trailer of that quality is tempting fate on those remote and rugged tracks info available at
http://www.tracktrailer.com/
Unfortunately you are talking big bikkies but, as they say, you get what you pay for I've managed to get a look at one up close and their great. It takes about a minute from pulling over and in bed asleep The full setup takes about 5 mins
cheers
marco

[Slider]

Fair enough Craig, didn't realise it was that expensive for recovery.

My Dad has been building campers for years now, I'd be confident in one of his, but probably not many of the others I've seen at the shows.
http://www.ultimatecampers.com.au/
Certainly more comfortable then a swag, but nothing beats sleeping out under a 1 million stars

Your Dad builds Ultimate.. We need to have a talk one day

[hdj80]

Fair enough Craig, didn't realise it was that expensive for recovery.

My Dad has been building campers for years now, I'd be confident in one of his, but probably not many of the others I've seen at the shows.
http://www.ultimatecampers.com.au/
Certainly more comfortable then a swag, but nothing beats sleeping out under a 1 million stars

Your Dad builds Ultimate.. We need to have a talk one day

Talk about Rolls Royce trailers. Of course they have the same price tag. Mate of mine just sold his and he made more in the 4years of ownership than if he had invested the money in the bank. The prices have sure gone up with demand. All those Babyboomes retiring away.

Actually the same mate towed his Ultimate from Wiluna to Well 35 where flooding halted their progress forcing a sideways exit off the CSR.

The TVans are interesting and apparently very strong as well, but quite a bit different in purpose to the Ultimate. Small and manouverable vs home away from home.

Anyway better kill this before the mods get me