Dave’s bloody BIG torch!

(8 images, click to enlarge) –
MONA – “Museum of Old and New Art” has really made it’s mark on Hobart. Basically, local Tassie boy David Walsh won lots of money because he’s a smart gambler who outsmarted the system and built a rather impressive museum for the people with his winnings.

While it’s awesome to live in one of the few places on Earth with very little light pollution, since the invention of Covid, every Saturday night, Dave turns on his BIG torch to lift the spirit’s of Hobartian’s, as a shining beacon of light, a glimmer of hope in the darkness to see us through. (Spectra – Ryoji Ikeda)

Like it or not, it’s hard to ignore as you can see it for MILES (100km)!!, so last Saturday night, I set off to shoot the light!

I set off around 10pm up the big hill behind my place called Mt Wellington – or kunanyi for those who respect indigenous culture. The image above is taken from “The Chalet”. Please bear with me while I learn and improve my night photography shooting and editing over the evening …

This one’s from the top of the Mountain, it was COLD and very WINDY!!! I hope you appreciate the finger numbing, face tingling experience I went through to get this shot of Hobart and Dave’s torch – a memorable experience for me 🙂

After driving the very long way looking for another vantage point, I ended up at Rosny Hill on the Eastern Shore. While taking this shot I was treated to burnouts by the local youths in utes. We used to call it Moose Hill back in the ’80s when we would gather here for good CB radio reception and fox-hunts before the interwebs spoilt everything. Anyway, here’s another shot toward’s Hobart City and kunanyi …

In between Moose Hill and the next shot at Otago Bay below, I stopped to shoot something special that will feature in a future post… You’ll have to come back to see 😉

For me, this is the money shot – if I ever were to get paid for taking pictographs – lol. But .. I do it for love, and this one was special. Somewhere I’ve never been before and found it in the dark. A reserve with a big swamp where frogs croaked away making frog music in the night – it was awesome!

Time didn’t matter … it was approaching 2am but I was totally lost in the moment and didn’t care!! I enjoyed every second of being here and taking this shot.

Well, I thought, it’s just a quick trip across the Bowen Bridge and I’m there! So off I went, to chase the light.

These shots are from behind Montrose Bay High School, not far from MONA.

I strapped on the 14-150mm zoom to get a bit more personal with Dave while he stood in his backyard, torch in hand, shooting for the stars. 49 xenon searchlights to be precise, shining some 15km into the night sky!

Now, the following image gets a bit crazy, if you’ve ever been to MONA, or never been to MONA, it’s a museum based on life, death, sex and everything in between. I think it is designed to push your pre-programmed thought limits and get you to question and test your boundaries. Shock and AWEsome!!

And based on that premise, that’s how I chose to edit this shot above. Dave was a gambler, so I based it on numbers. Numbers that relate to the theme of his museum, as I’m sure he would appreciate, somewhat left to chance. Below, you can see where I let ALL the sliders sit.

Lets call it madness, lets call it yet another late night, lets call it art!

Now pay me the big bucks!! Maybe … when I’m dead. lol 🙂

I hope you enjoyed my crazy post, it was a crazy night! I crawled into bed some time after 3am, because that’s what life is about, living it to the full.