A Tasmanian Viewpoint

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Photography, thoughts & experiences from a local who loves the place!

In 1682, Abel Tasman wrote on discovering Tasmania: “Too far south for spices and too close to the rim of the earth to be inhabited by anything but freaks and monsters.”
A confessed freak born on arguably the best island on the planet, I enjoy capturing my unique viewpoint at the bottom edge of the world, south of Australia with it’s amazing diversity, captivating magic and surprises.
I also offer honest experiences, reviews and tips for the equipment I use.

See blog updates below or view Photography galleries in the menu.

Early 2020 – this site is undergoing changes to include new and former “edgetas” content – my ground-based photography!
Stay tuned – Follow and enjoy! – Cheers, Tone.

Kangaroo roast for Australia Day …

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Sunday roast experiment.
Smoked Roo leg with Apple Mint and Kofter Lime leaves, covered with a lamb flap to keep it moist and add some fat.
Cooking Friday so the smokey goodness has time to settle into the meat.

After two hours on the Webber, double smoked, cooked rare @ 60°c.
I tried a small sample and it’s smokin’! Lets just say the dog won’t be getting any 😀

Some people question whether we should be eating one of out national emblems, especially one so fluffy and cute. If you eat meat, it is a far more environmentally friendly choice than beef, lamb etc.

They belong in our environment, they don’t need large paddocks / land clearing, they have soft feet so don’t compact the soil, they are abundant in most areas, often to the point of over population. They are also low in fat and I expect don’t fart and burp as much as cattle.

Happy Aussie day!! – or not, depending on your disposition to dispossesion and loss of a very old indigenous culture :/

No weekend …

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This long Aussie Day weekend, spare a thought to those that don’t often get a weekend. Those that dedicate their lives to helping others, in the grand old Aussie way, that often nowaday’s seems to be going to the way-side, kind of like giving way and indicating on our roads is.

The Tasmania Police Rescue chopper, landing at the Centotaph with a patient. I guess that pad on the new hospital is not quite finished yet.

Great job crew! Respect.
You never know when it will be YOU that needs a helping hand.

Tunes, coffee and breakfast

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The best way to start a day, coffee maker on, radio on, make breakfast.

While I love a good round or four of toast, I’ve been advised to cut down on the carbs! Burgen bread is a great low carb option, or you could make …

CEREAL SALAD!!!

This grand idea popped into my head this morning so I ran with it, easy enough for almost anyone to make …

Just grab all the cereals in the pantry you fancy; tip them into a bowl in little piles arranged neatly; warning, optional tricky bit – boil the kettle and pour a little hot water over weet-bix; pour milk of your choice (I used soy) over all cereals; eat and enjoy with a coffee!

There, my first cooking blog post, give it a crack! 🙂

Richmond & surrounds

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Richmond Bridge, built in 1823.

I have spent many full days in Richmond over the last 6 months which gave me a greater insight into the town – it’s history, the changing light, visiting bird-life and surrounding areas that you just don’t get in an hour or two.

Browse over 50 re-edited images in the Richmond Gallery along with many other tweaks made to this site over the last few weeks.

I originally intended to lump all Tasmanian images together, but some area’s where I have many photos will get their own page nested under Tasmania. – Ideas are still evolving 🙂

Mt Canopus Telescope.

Weeds

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Thistle, creates seeds on little “parachutes” that are spread by the wind.

We call flora that doesn’t belong in our landscape weeds, not because they are ugly, but because the spread easily and become invasive, taking over native species. Some of them are actually useful or beautiful, but still, they do not belong because of their destructive nature.
These were taken with the Olympus Pro 12-40 f2.8 on an EM1 II.

Buzzies, annoying when they get in your socks, here you can see minute clear barbs ready to attach itself to something passing by to spread it’s seed.

Expect the unexpected

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Like birds, wildlife and Tasmania’s diverse weather, my photography can be unpredictable. I can take 400 shots in a day, or go a week without taking any. I have no genre I’m focused on, I love to challenge myself to capture what-ever comes my way. The last two day’s I’ve seen some magic light at dusk over the mountain but by the time I can stop somewhere to grab the shot, the magic had gone.

Often when I hear black cockatoos squawking in the valley, they won’t come near or when they do, I don’t have a camera handy and they go before I can grab one. This bird toyed with me for half an hour, hiding around the other side of a bottle-brush tree next to our deck, watching me through the branches, as I watched him.

Sometimes you get that shot, more often than not you don’t but it’s still an experience, the thrill of the hunt. Sometimes I get disappointed that I missed a shot, but I’m never disappointed with that life experience, a memory to be personally savored, but not shared. That’s life.

The circus is in town!

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I stopped on my way home to take some evening images of the Sesame Street Circus – which looked pretty in-tents 🙂 As I set up! The show ended and a small crowd began exiting, adding to the atmosphere.

I was also testing out a “new” lens, a second hand Olympus Pro 12-40mm f:2.8 I picked up off Gumtree after watching a raving review by Robin Wong on YouTube. I decided to try a LiveComp to capture car light trails looking towards Hobart from the other side of the new pedestrian bridge I was standing on. During the exposure, some circus patrons walked past causing the bridge to move, which can be seen in some erratic light trails.

Mt Arthur sunbeams.

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I’ve added photos to new pages nested under “Photography”, still a work in progress with many more to come.
Thinking about changing the site’s WordPress theme to one that is full screen to show off my images better, but that’s a lot of work!

Black Cockatoos

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Black Cockatoo in flight.

I was in the garden today when these two landed in a tree nearby, expected them to fly off while I grabbed my camera, they’re usually very cautious!
I have set up one of my custom buttons C1 for quick action like this so I don’t need to change much. I’ve found the same settings are also good for street photography, probably could have used some more speed here:
– Shutter priority, Pro-capture mode (10 frames before full press, 10 after), auto ISO, centre spot metering, Continuous AF Tracking, RAW + jpg.
Olympus E-M1 II; 150mm; 1/1250 sec; f/5.6; ISO 400