The Boomer Legacy

Leave No Trace: There will come a time when it will be hard to believe we were ever here

Fern Dell, Springwood Blue Mountains National Park [Oct-2019 836kb]

Tracks through the past: COVID lockdowns encouraged us to rediscover our neighbourhoods

Tramway track at Darks Common, Lapstone [Aug-2021 900kb]

Across the rill and into the trees: The way out was much easier than Papa feared

Fern Dell, near Springwood NSW [Oct-2019 755kb]

Past escarpment: It was easy to forget how dramatic the landscape could be

The view south from Thelma Head, Royal National Park NSW [Jul-2019 482kb]

Abrupt about face: The first explorers got a surprise when they tried to follow the rivers inland

Glenbrook Creek boulders, Lapstone [Aug-2021 524kb]

Features of heritage redevelopment: Mate, if you want to make an omelette then you gotta break a few eggs

1920s heritage shops at Lawson in the Blue Mountains NSW, prior to demolition in Dec 2010.

This linear panorama — divided into three strips for easier viewing — was composited by hand from 62 source images. The master image is a continuous panorama 52000 × 3300 pixels [Oct-2006 341kb]

Retro refurb: Tranquilly versus adverse possession

Whitely Gardens on reclaimed NSW Railway land, Lavender bay in Sydney [Oct-2020 789kb]

Zigzag environments: Our infrastructure was forever being torched or overgrown

Zigzag Railway upper and lower viaducts, Clarence [Jul-2019 717kb]

Pac-Man rock: Eventually the environment will reward us for our diligence

Florabella pass track, Blue Mountains National Park [Aug-2021 879kb]

Unlimited potential: Entire hillsides covered with these things, just standing there not doing anything

The lower portion of the Wodi Wodi track, near Coalcliff NSW [Oct-2020 941kb]

Rewilding the wilderness: Civilisation was only a few kilometres away, although you would never know it

Magdala creek, Blue Mountains National Park [Oct-2019 732kb]

The way out was not easy: The unprecedented was discreetly normalised

Florabella pass track, Blue Mountains National Park [Nov-2019 792kb]

Golden mean: The rise and fall of the west glowed with unfulfilled promise

Garawarra Ridge, Royal National Park NSW [Oct-2019 756kb]

Precipitous descent: Decades of wandering through a hostile terrain, only to flounder in the sea

Ocean cliffs south of Little Marley, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2020 544kb]

Remarks…

This is a hand-held multi-image sequence, which had to be taken by carefully rotating the camera between each shot around the lens entrance-pupil. With a calibrated pano-mount it's relatively easy, but this was at the end of a two-day trek, so the mount was at home to keep the weight down. Nevertheless the shot came out well, although large stitching errors in the foreground rocks and ocean horizon had to be fixed later

Peak oil: Rapid obsolescence was just around the corner

Motorcycle parking at the top of Hill Street, North Sydney [Oct-2020 343kb]

Remarks…

A disadvantage of panoramic cylindrical projection is that horizontal lines will appear curved. You can work around it slightly by using Mercator projection, but often you just have to live with it. If the budget allows, you could print the image and mount it onto a concave backing, and then stand inside the arc to see the horizontals straight again, a truly mind-bending experience! (Here the master image is 15340×7670 pixels, which at 150 dpi would print at 2.6×1.3 metres)

Public Private Partnerships: Local governments were prepared to go to any lengths to protect the value and amenity of private beach-side mansions (The Guardian, 2021)

Collaroy Beach anti-erosion seawall [Apr-2022 568kb]

Beneath the steps: The smallest details were often overlooked

Sassafras Gully Track, near Springwood [Aug-2021 631kb]

A crown of ashes: Every Christmas we would gaze at the pyrocumulus sky, exchange Bushfire Survival Plans and kiss beneath the epicormic shoots

Woodford bushfire aftermath, Blue Mountains [Dec-2019 736kb]

Remarks…

Panoramic sequences have become commonplace since mobile phones and some digital cameras started to include built-in “panorama mode” options. Nevertheless, shooting high-quality high-resolution panos still require lens entrance-pupil aligned mounts and supports. Used to do this stuff professionally 1996—2006, and occasionally it's good to get the gear out to shoot some scenes, for instance the aftermath of yet another Blue Mountains wildfire

Temporary respite: Spend all morning crawling over truck-sized boulders, before having a break and doing it all over again on the way back

Glenbrook Gorge, Lapstone [Aug-2021 608kb]

Remarks…

Through binoculars at Darks Common cliff-top lookout, noticed a family with small children wandering around in Glenbrook Gorge far below. Figured that if they could take their children in there, then it shouldn't be too difficult to walk in. Yeah right. Humping it over boulders for almost an hour and then slipping into the river with $Ks camera gear was not for the feint-hearted. N.B. the “beach” depicted no longer exists, due to extensive flooding from incessant rains in 2022

The false autumn: The mist was smoke and haze, the leaves fallen due to drought and fire

Woodford bushfire aftermath, Blue Mountains [Dec-2019 735kb]