Using shutter stacking is a great technique to use in changing light conditions
One thing I love about landscape photography is the challenge that comes with trying to capture a particular moment in quickly changing conditions. An example that I’m sure some people reading this post can relate to is when photographing the sea, you see a rock ledge and think to yourself, some water falling over that rock ledge would create a nice waterfall effect over the rocks (similar to the image to the right). But as we’re all too familiar, that wave creating that nice effect seems to never come and if it does, it’s all too late and the nice sunset colour has disappeared. This is where shutter stacking different exposure times comes in as a useful trick to have in your workflow when you’re out shooting in variable conditions and know you’re about to miss the timing on what you’ve envisaged in your head.
For the purpose of this article I’ll be looking at how you can stack multiple frames in changing light conditions but the effect can also be used to reduce noise in long exposure images by capturing multiple long exposures (i.e. 10 x 30 second exposures rather than a 5 minute exposure) to reduce noise in your image.
This image from Heart Bay, South Australia used shutter stacking to combine the nice sunset sky and the timing of a wave rushing around the rock
Generally when using this technique it really slows down my shooting process as I’m setting my camera up for one photo rather than running around like a mad man trying to get as many angles of the sunset as possible. So there’s a few things I’ll do as I’m taking my one photo which I’ll look to break down. If we consider the image to the right with the water rushing over the rock ledge as an example, let’s look at my process for this shot:
Focus on composition – Find an interesting composition. In this case, I’ve noticed the water flowing over the rocks could come up nice with a long exposure. Oh what? The swell has dropped out and I’m about to miss the nice colour in the sky. That’s ok, I’ll capture multiple images and combine in Photoshop later using shutter stacking.
Double check everything – Take some test photos to make sure everything is lined up. At this point I’ll double check what the swell is doing in case my gear is exposed (I’m hardcore but not swimming in the ocean and losing my gear hardcore)
Capture your base image – With my camera firmly in position and I’m feeling confident that I’m not going to get swept out to sea, I take a photo of the scene. This image is to capture the sunset in all its glory which will form my base image.
Capture the moment you’ve been waiting for – Now I wait for that wave to come through to create the waterfall effect over the rocks and complete the shot. It goes without saying but keep your camera as steady as you can to avoid any misalignment when you got to mask the image later in Photoshop. Generally for this style of shot I’ll aim for a long exposure of around o.5″ of a second all the way to 2 seconds.
Stack the images – Open the two images in Photoshop and use the layer mask tool to introduce the wave motion to my base sunset image (as roughly shown in the video below)
Let’s take a look at how the images are combined in Photoshop with this quick video I put together. The technique relies heavily on layer masking the second exposure. If layer masking isn’t something you’re familiar with then give a previous post on layer masking exposures a read or watch one of the many YouTube videos available which will quickly bring you up to speed.
For this video I tried to keep things short (as you can probably tell by my quick and dirty layer masking) but occasionally if there’s not much movement in the water I’ll shutter stack 3-4 images to exaggerate the movement of the water. The purists reading this are no doubt rolling their eyes but if the tools are available then why not make the most of them.
Thanks for reading and watching. If you have any questions about this technique feel free to contact me directly as I’d be happy to help!
The Manfrotto Befree Compact tripod is an affordable tripod catering for people not looking to break the bank with yet another photography accessory or for those looking for something light on their next trip. Coming in at[amazon_link asins=’B00COLBNTK’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’alexwisephot-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ b4541cc8-ffea-11e6-b74f-1b8225fab6ab’], the Manfrotto is lightweight (2.4kg/5.3), easy to carry and can support a reasonable camera load.
Manfrotto Befree Compact Tripod in all its glory
The Manfrotto Befree tripod was my first entry into the compact tripod range so I was keen to write a review with the positives and negatives for anyone else looking to add something more portable to their gear.
What makes a good travel tripod?
I’m the first to admit it – I treat my tripods terribly and I’m constantly reminding myself (and ignoring my own advice) that I need to take better care of my tripods rather than let them erode away from salt water. Over the last 10~ years I’ve worked through 3 tripods which have succumbed to death by salt water (not too bad I thought?) which has given me a reasonable understanding of what makes a good tripod (and how to waste money…)
So what makes a good travel tripod? I’ve touched on this in detail in a post where I compared some of the best travel tripods on the market before I purchased the Manfrotto Befree tripod but some of the key call outs from this post:
Included with the Manfrotto Befree is this travel bag which you can conveniently sling over your shoulder
Portability – A good travel tripod should be portable in both its size and weight. Generally you want something that’s no bigger than 20-24 inches when folded or more than 2.5kg in weight. The reason being is that you want something you can quickly store away in your carry baggage or strap to your bag. With normal tripods, some of these can be quite bulky which makes strapping to your bag quite difficult and awkward
The Manfrotto Befree is tiny (ignore my pasty arms..!)
Extend to a reasonable height – While not a deal breaker for me as I prefer to shoot from lower angles, your tripod should be able to extend to a reasonable height (good for when you’re stuck behind a viewing platform where there is a high fence blocking the view). Generally being able to extend to at least 50 inches without needing to extend the centre column is a good height. I prefer not to extend the centre column when I can avoid it as it’s not as stable in windy conditions.
Ability to hold a reasonable load – You want something that can handle itself for different conditions whether that be supporting your camera with a lightweight wide angle lens all the way to a versatile zoom lens like the Canon 70-200. As an example, if you were to hold the Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 70-200 2.8 IS, this works out to be around 2.4kg. Most compact travel tripods are able to handle this load but just something worth noting and considering when looking at travel tripods as this is one area where they can really vary.
With these items in mind, how does the Manfrotto tripod fare? To be honest, actually really well considering the price.
Weighing in at 2.4kg or 5.3 pounds you barely know this is in your bag.
Coming in at[amazon_link asins=’B00COLBNTK’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’alexwisephot-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ 20554f82-008d-11e7-baf1-b3ee293d6cb5′], Manfrotto branded tripods don’t come much cheaper than the Befree range. This is great value for the money.
Holds a reasonable weight of 4kg making it more than up for the job of holding a heavy setup like the Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 70-200 which comes in at 2.4kg
Included travel case is useful for when travelling and on the move. Being able to store the tripod in a bag and put over your shoulder is handy as this thing is tiny. For comparison sake, have a look at the size difference compared to my shoe.
Centre column can be inverted for macro photography or to get low for unique angles
Stability issues when the centre column is fully extended
Time consuming to pack away into travel bag
Ballhead is limited for panoramic photography. As a travel tripod you will be no doubt wanting to capture the occasional panoramic of a scene. Generally a 3 way tripod head (like this [amazon_textlink asin=’B014Q0RGK6′ text=’Manfrotto 3 way head’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’alexwisephot-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ 945bd8ed-008f-11e7-9969-71848c336c93′]) works better for panoramic photos where you’re able to fine tune the movements of the photo.
No hook on the centre column to add weight to balance it in strong winds. With past tripods I would clip my camera bag to the tripod to add some additional support. Unfortunately this isn’t possible with the Manfrotto Befree but if you get creative I’m sure there’s DIY ways of adding a hook to make it more stable.
The Manfrotto Befree compact is a great tripod for the money. With some of the cons listed above, these are only natural trade offs that come with choosing to purchase a compact sized tripod. For some, having a tripod that is lightweight and portable will be enough to outweigh being constrained when it comes to panorama photography.
Shooting seascapes with the Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40 and the Manfrotto Befree
After using the tripod a few times in different conditions from a windy afternoon at Cape Schanck (a seascape location) to walking around Melbourne on dusk taking long exposures, I’ve found the tripod to be a good all rounder and I’m glad I made the purchase. I’ve noticed when the tripod is fully extended with the centre column out, this can make the tripod feel slightly unstable and not something I’d be keen to leave the camera on unattended on in windy conditions.
The included ballhead which comes with the Manfrotto Befree while good… Does have its limitations.
If being able to have the tripod extended to its maximum in windy conditions is important to you then perhaps a more sturdier and heavier tripod is more for you. But with that said though, I can’t think of how often I ever shoot with the tripod fully extended and I’m sure this is similar for most people.
So all in all, this is a great tripod and worth the purchase price for anyone looking for a lightweight tripod to take away on their next trip.
By purchasing the [amazon_textlink asin=’B00COLBNTK’ text=’Manfrotto Befree through Amazon’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’alexwisephot-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ 1a12d0b2-0133-11e7-b715-d538e5bb178f’] not only provides you with Amazon’s competitive pricing but also supports my blog at the same time (costing you nothing :)). A big thank you if you do decide to purchase through my affiliate link.
If you have any questions about the tripod feel free to drop a message as I’d be more than happy to help.
Last Thursday I spent the morning watching the weather forecast as a heavy pattern of rain made its way over Victoria and tried to find somewhere new to take photos. I can’t say I’ve ever gone and chased waterfalls during summer on a 35 degree day but I am so glad I did! I eventually decided to take a drive to Warburton and explore the area around East Warburton which is home to Warburton Creek and the beautiful redwood forest which I’ll look to share in a future post.
Walking around Warburton Creek was stunning even if I did take the wrong turn and walk the wrong way for 30 minutes or so in the scorching heat. Boy was it hot! But with that said, I eventually found some stunning little streams in Warburton to photograph and I was suddenly like a kid on Christmas day. It was the most refreshing feeling standing knee deep in water on a boiling Melbourne day. I just regret not taking some swimmers!
Without realising I was suddenly caught in the heavy showers I’d been watching in the weather forecasts in the days leading up. The rain was almost torrential at times which led to flash flooding in the area and difficult photography conditions. Unfortunately I didn’t get much of a chance to fire off many photos as the lens would quickly be saturated whenever I aimed in any direction.
Water droplets blurring parts of my image
With the severe weather conditions, this is what led me to photograph and process the image how I have. The plan was to take 3 images to create a vertical panorama which sort of worked. I luckily managed to get a photo off of the bottom half of the scene without any water droplets on the lens but as I slowly moved my camera upwards, a few water droplets made their way onto the camera lens. Easily avoidable if you actually stop to check your lens between shots. Oops!
Getting water drops on your lens isn’t the end of the world and just leads to some blur to parts of your image. In trying to hide the water drops, I looked to create a light burst effect through the trees. It was very much an experiment of a new technique that I’d picked up off a Phlearn video and I’d love to hear your feedback. Is it too much? Doesn’t float your boat? Let me know!
To give you more understanding to how this image was post processed I’ve put together this small clip. Hopefully it doesn’t bore you senseless but gives you more of an understanding to how the radial blur and layer masks were applied to the image. The key post processing made to the image include:
Stitching the three images in Photoshop – Quite self explanatory and more comes down to personal preference. I feel that once upon a time 3rd party tools like Ptgui owned the panorama space but now days Lightroom and Photoshop provide great offerings. I used Photoshop to stitch the three images.
Removal of distortion and levelling – Shooting with a Canon 17-40 at 17mm on a full frame body leads to some distortion being introduced to the image. I pulled this back by using the lens correction tool.
Creating light bursts – This is a mix of using the radial blur tool set to Zoom, quality set to Best and the amount set to 100. By using layer masks, I create a black layer masks (effectively disabling the radial blur) and then started to slowly re-introduce the radial blur (or light bursts) into the frame by painting over the image with the white brush. The key here was to try make the bursts look natural and coming through the trees. Once this was applied, I then looked to apply a light burst technique by Phlearn which added a nice finishing touch.
Lens flare – Wow, I haven’t touched this since I picked up Photoshop CS2 many, many years ago and was making crappy logos for my Geocities website. The intent of using the lens flare tool was to create a sense that a warm light was coming through the trees. I applied a warm photo filter over the lens flare to give a golden hour light feel to the image.
Luminosity masks – I used to be a sceptic about luminosity masks thinking they would slow my walk flow down and were people who didn’t know how to post process their images (oh how wrong I was on both fronts). Luminosity masks have been around for years and there are some great tutorials by Sean Bagshaw who explains the technique in more detail. In short though, luminosity masks allow you to make very selective changes to your darks, mids and highlights of an image. For this image, I used luminosity masks to make curves, photo filter saturation changes to small parts of the image. I love the granular control that luminosity masks give you over an image. I’m so glad I spent the time to watch Sean’s video’s and would recommend for anyone looking to further grow their post processing skills.
With fiddling back and forward I eventually ended up with the below image –
Warburton Cement Creek
Should you have any feedback on how the image was processed or questions feel free to reach out as I’d love to hear from you. The post processing for this image might not be for everyone’s tastes and was more an experimental edit for me so I’d love to hear your feedback.
The Photographer’s Ephemeris is a fantastic tool that makes planning photographic expeditions a total cinch. No more wasted trips or missed shots due to unsatisfactory lighting or the pesky sun popping up over the horizon in the ‘wrong’ place. I rely on it quite a bit as part of my photography workflow and wanted to share a bit about the app, why its a useful tool to have and how to use it.
What is the photographer’s ephemeris?
The ephemeris? It’s connected to the thigh bone, surely?
Actually, no. An ephemeris is a chart or collection of data used to help locate the position of “celestial objects”. As far as photographers are concerned, this means the sun (or moon, if you’re of a long-exposing, nocturnal persuasion). In practice then, what The Ephemeris does is let you figure out where the sun or moon will be, at any given hour, on any given date. Don’t worry, it’s quite the mouthful that has stumped many photographers as it’s popped up into conversation with us all having a stab on the pronunciation. Just for the record, I go with ‘ef-eh-meris’ myself!
While the name and description might make it sound more like an obscure, archaic document that’s spent the last 300 years locked in a dusty university library somewhere, The Photographer’s Ephemeris actually comes in the form of both smartphone app and web-based desktop program. It takes complex astronomical data and visually displays this by means of Google Maps, making it easy to use – even for us halfwit camera-monkey like me. Here I walk you through how and why you should use it, so you don’t need to go bothering the professor for an explanation.
Who needs it?
You, more than likely. Or, at least, any photographer who cares about quality of light. Given that the word photography literally means ‘writing with light’, that’s pretty much any photographer who wants to take good pictures. That is you, right?
The Photographer’s Ephemeris is the perfect tool for capturing that last burst of light and knowing just the right spot to stand
Obviously this will be especially of use to landscape photographers. For example, a successful portrait primarily depends upon the distinctive countenance and charisma of the person portrayed, and the photographer’s ability to create a rapport with that person; meanwhile street photographers are flaneurs, lurking in the urban environment waiting for humanity to collide in quirky and ephemeral juxtapositions that are in some way revealing of our society and its values. These are one-off, fleeting moments that are difficult – if not impossible – to recreate.
As a landscape photographer, however, your subject matter may be considerably less unique.
Indeed some of the most successful and well-known landscape photographs are of locations that have been captured time and time again – both by unimpeachable masters and a hundred-thousand cack-handed amateurs alike. What makes Ansel Adams’ vision of Yosemite still stand out today is his mastery of composition and light. The Photographer’s Ephemeris is a tool to help you achieve just such mastery.
In fact, perhaps we should rephrase things: if you’re a landscape photographer then your subject is light. The landscape is just a receptacle for your subject. And if light is your subject then you need to be in control of it.
With that said, some of the greatest portraits, street shots and other iconic photographs also draw a significant part of their appeal from the succesful use of light: just think of those classic Garry Winogrand images of the aging Texan cowboy stepping onto the sidewalk, or 3 women at the corner of Vine St. They just wouldn’t have the same impact if it wasn’t for the driving beams of sunshine illuminating the concrete canyons of the North American metropolis and throwing the subjects into relief. In fact, we might well ask whether either of these photographs would have made it any further than Winogrand’s contact sheets if instead he’d rolled up 40 minutes later – shooting the same scene but in total shadow, rather than dramatically backlit as he did.
Given Winogrand’s famously haphazard and frenzied manner of shooting, however, I think we can safely assume that at no point did he ever bother to consult a sun-chart. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. Certainly there’s little point in descending upon a potentially rewarding street corner only to discover that the last ray of sunlight disappeared over the rooftops a good half an hour earlier just because that’s what Winogrand might’ve done (he also died leaving behind thousands of undeveloped rolls of film he shot of random women out of his car window, you want to try that too?).
Why should you use the photographer’s ephemeris
Needless to say, for anyone hoping to capture light at exactly the height and angle they want it, the ability to pick the right time and day to be in a certain location offers an enormous advantage. Instead of repeatedly having to drag yourself out of bed at obscene hours of the morning in the vain hope of encountering that perfect sunrise, you choose your location, check for the auspicious alignment of “celestial bodies”, and set your alarm. Job done.
Catching the golden hour light up Flinders Street which only lasts a few minutes before disappearing between the buildings
And your somewhat less-than-celestial body likely gained an extra half-hour under the bedcovers. I’ve used it for a few photo shoots including one of the light shining up Flinders Street just before it dips beneath the buildings. Knowing the timing of when the light would be at the right level before it dipped was crucial to getting Flinders Street Station lighting up with that golden hour light that we all love.
Alternatively, you can just keep doing it the way you’ve always done: standing in the middle of nowhere for 60 minutes of subzero twilight waiting for the sun to finally drag itself over a mountaintop, only for the light to totally miss the subject of your photograph when his celestial highness finally does rise anyway because you came way too early in the year.
What the photographer’s ephemeris helps you with
When shooting on a salt flat with not much in the way of composition, it’s great to know where the sun is going to set and burst
You’ve found the ultimate location, scouted the perfect vantage point, pre-visualised the composition and selected the right lens. All you need now is the weather and the light. Unless you’re that omnipotent dude with the beard and staff, or happen to be with the CIA, then there’s likely not a great deal you can do to control the former. The light, on the other hand, is largely just a matter of careful planning.
Planning your best sunrise and sunset locations
Got a location in mind for a stunning sunrise or sunset shot but want to check that it really is pointing in the direction you think it is? The Photographer’s Ephemeris will save you from a wasted trip. A great feature of the photographer’s ephemeris is that it also allows you to simulate different dates and times which works well for locations where the sun may be rising or setting at a different angle depending on the earth’s axis.
Chasing that keylight and backlight
When it comes to photography there’s really no right or wrong type of lighting, rather there will just be some qualities of light that are more or less appropriate for the particular shot that you’re trying to achieve.
Waiting for that burst of light up Greville St, Melbourne. Rather than wait all day, I just plugged the location into The Photographers Ephemeris iPhone app and knew what time to arrive
Many, if not all, serious photographers often have a preconceived idea of what they want an image to look like long before they get anywhere near to shooting it. This will frequently include plans regarding lighting. Clearly, if you’re this meticulous about the light in your photographs, and have a set idea in mind, you absolutely do not want to spend time and energy trekking off into some remote wilderness only to discover that nobody called the sun to inform it of your plans ahead of time. For this reason, The Ephemeris can be indispensable.
Indirect light
While missing the light can be a real disappointment, finding a scene speckled with stray sunbeams when you were hoping for a flat, contrast-free location in which to shoot can prove equally frustrating. Indeed, predicting precisely where the sun will hit is one thing, but sometimes you may want to avoid direct sun shining on the subject altogether – but still with a beautiful glow of soft yet directional light reflecting in from the sky.
Getting a soft light is key for waterfall photography
Just waiting for dusk to fall will not produce the same effect, so you’ll need to identify a point at which your location will succumb to the shadows caused by obstructions such as mountains or buildings, yet before the sun goes down. Indeed, The Ephemeris is probably just as valuable for its ability to show which areas of a locality will be without light as it is for indicating those with.
[box type=”info” size=”large” style=”rounded”]Knowing when the light will be dim works wonders for waterfall photography. My guide on waterfall photography goes hand in hand with this guide to capturing the best light[/box]
Using the photographers ephemeris
I know what some of you are thinking: “What do I need this for when I have a compass on my phone and Google Maps clearly shows where north is? The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Easy!”
Sure, assuming you only need to gain a rough sense of where the sun will be positioned, your compass or map will do the job just fine. But there are many situations where the success of a shot will depend upon the light hitting a precise feature within the landscape, and at a particular angle. Without even getting into complex shots of incredible natural phenomena, lets just look at a very banal, easy to understand example: someone standing at a window with a nice backlight.
Let’s pretend for a moment it’s April where ever you are in the world when you first spot the location. Inside, the room is exactly what you were looking for. Outside, the view is even better than you’d dreamed of. It’s perfect in every way.
Or at least it would be if it wasn’t for the fact that the building opposite blocks all sunlight from entering the room and illuminating your model, and there’s no sign that this situation will change later in the day.
Getting the right timing as the light pokes through the buildings of Sydney
Checking on the The Photographer’s Ephemeris, however, you can see that it would be worth coming back to shoot in late May, as by then the sun’s path will be sufficiently high to clear the building opposite and beam down through the window for over an hour each morning, allowing you to get the photo you wanted. Conversely, you can see that if you leave it until June before returning to shoot, the sun will already be too high in the sky and only briefly enter a few inches into the room before passing directly overhead.
Now imagine that you’ve seen some spectacular limestone rock formations, with holes in, allowing a view across the plains to a mountain peak. You have the idea to line up the sun, the peak and the holes. But is it possible? The Ephemeris knows.
How Does It Work?
Save and sync your locations between the desktop and mobile apps of The Photographer’s Ephemeris
Begin by choosing a style of map suitable for your subject (i.e. either regular Map, Satellite/Hybrid or Terrain). Now search for a destination you’re interested in shooting and drop a red pin right on your location. This screen gives you the ability to simulate where the sun will be at a given time, objects that may get in the way (i.e. a large rock stack) or even show you the shadow length that an object like a large rock stack may create.
The Photographer’s Ephemeris is a powerful tool and I must profess that I’m only covering off the very basics in this post. The tool is capable of a lot more including a night mode which allows you to track the milky way and integrates with Skyfire which gives you sunrise and sunset forecasts to help you in finding the best location to photograph the sunrise or sunset. How good is that?! Rather than complicate this post, I’m going to cover off the basics with the next few points.
Bookmarking your favourite locations
Locations can be bookmarked, so you can come back to them later: for example, as you’re sitting down for lunch planning your shoot for the afternoon you can quickly recall your saved location and check for the ideal date and time to shoot. If it’s not looking the right light, just keep scrolling through your list until you find somewhere that will be ideal based on the conditions of the day.
Simulating the sun at different times of the year
Finding the right light angle at Cape Schanck, VictoriaGolden hour light hitting Cape Schanck
Choose a date from the calendar and then scroll across the timeline in order to see the trajectory and angle of light on your location at any particular moment during the day (or indeed night). This feature works well for photographing locations like my photo from Cape Schanck to the right. It was important to get the golden hour light shining on the rocks at the right angle. If I were to have photographed this at other times of the year, I would have had a harsh shadow of myself appearing in the frame. No one wants to see my ugly shadow in the frame 😉
Planning for obstructions that may block your light
Dropping a second, gray, pin displays geodetic data (i.e. info about the shape of the land, elevation etc.). This feature is extremely handy, as it allows you to work out if, say, a mountain or other geographical feature might potentially block the sun from illuminating your location for a further period of time after the sun has already risen and is shining everywhere else.
Once again, if you enjoy shooting in diffused light, The Ephemeris will allow you to plot the ideal time to start or finish work at a shortlisted location, before unwanted rays of strong direct sunlight start creeping into the shot. Move the timeline to see where shadows will fall, and from which angle, at any given time of day.
Simulating what effect the shadows may have on a scene is easy with The Photographer’s Ephemeris
Given the relative difficulty of estimating for yourself just how quickly shadows will grow or begin to disappear, perhaps the most important feature here is the app’s ability to display how long or short shadows will be at any particular moment. For example, if you’re a shooter that is looking to use the shadows to your advantage with a scene then having this feature can be a great one to have. Occasionally I will use it for my photography to help understand when the light will even out and give a flat exposure to my camera.
[box type=”info” size=”large” style=”rounded”]Interested in getting into long exposure photography but stuck for ideas? Give my long exposure photography ideas post a read![/box]
Closing out
The Photographer’s Ephemeris is a great time-saving tool for photographers across the board. While it will be particularly useful for those who shoot landscapes, it can also come in handy for photographers working in many other areas too.
While not a critical tool that every photographer must use, it is definitely one which photographers should know about and have up their sleeve. I’ve found it particularly useful when planning to photograph a location I’ve not visited before and looking to ensure I make the most of my time there. A great example of this was from a recent trip driving from Melbourne to Perth where we were visiting locations for the first time and was looking to ensure we were maximising our sunrise and sunset locations.
Indeed, for anyone planning a complex shot that relies upon precise natural lighting conditions, The Ephemeris will likely prove indispensable. By dropping a pin at your intended location you can quickly establish whether it offers the kind of light you’re looking for when you need it. If not, it’ll either be a case of choosing another date and time, or opting for a different location entirely. Either way, with The Photographer’s Ephemeris you can be sure that there will be no nasty last-minute surprises when planning a shot.
If nothing else, unless you’re a chronic insomniac, an amphetamine addict or a parent of small children (in which case sleep is anyway but a distant memory), you will likely appreciate the ability to set your alarm at a more convenient hour when shooting at sunrise.
Hope this guide has been useful! If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to reach out and drop a line. Always happy to help!
After putting together a list of my favourite Tasmania photography locations back in 2009, I thought after 5 years of living in Victoria it was time to start developing a list of great photography locations in Victoria. This list provides you with 56 locations around Victoria to photograph and is constantly being updated as I get out and explore more.
This list of photography locations is by no means definitive and something I’ll be building on over time. I feel like I’m barely scratching the surface which is what I love about Victoria. As I write this, there’s a few locations I’m kicking myself for not photographing but has given me a good spur of motivation to get out more.
For the moment though, these are some of my favourite Victorian photography locations which may be of interest to tourists coming to Victoria or locals looking to explore their backyard. Hopefully there’s a surprise or two for you! I’ve tried to mix of Melbourne night photography locations and seascape and waterfall photography locations following.
Feel free to leave your favourite photography locations in Melbourne or further abroad in Victoria that may be missing in the comments. Would love to add them to the list 🙂
Melbourne CBD & Inner City Locations
One thing that Melbourne does best (sorry Sydney we have you here but you beat us with your coastline) is its great city. Its no coincidence that Melbourne has been named the world’s most liveable city twice in a row largely due to a diverse offering of international sport, food, coffee and art. It really does live up to the hype with its awesome cityscapes.
For anyone travelling to Melbourne and looking to somewhere to photograph, Flinders St Station is the first location that comes to mind. Conveniently located on the corner of a busy road, Flinders St Station is an ideal spot for night photography to capture long exposure photographs with the traffic of trams and cars passing by.
The best time to photograph Flinders Street Station is around sunset and into blue hour as this gives you two nice options to photograph with the light shining up Flinders Street lighting up Finders Street Station a beautiful yellow/orange before the sun disappears behind the buildings. As the light fades and the blue hour light comes out, this gives you some nice options to capture the blur of the car and tram traffic passing Flinders Street Station from different angles.
Stepping into Melbourne’s China Town is quite like stepping into parts of Asia when walking down lane ways. While it’s obviously a great place for yum cha and dumplings, it’s also an interesting part of the city for photographers looking to photograph some grungy lane ways and practice their street photography skills with the restaurants and lane ways making good backdrops.
Batman Ave Overpass
LocationBatman Avenue makes a great spot for long exposures looking back towards the city
I’m always a little amused by Melbourne being called Batmania in tribute to it’s founder, John Batman before being soon named to what we know it as today – Melbourne.
This overpass is named in tribute to John Batman and is one of my favourite overpasses to photograph in Melbourne.
The Batman Avenue overpass is located above the City Link entrance to Flinders and Exhibition St in Melbourne. This makes it an ideal spot to capture the constant flow of traffic entering and exiting the city. The overpass itself is quiet and has some light foot and bike traffic but nothing to worry about.
During AFL season, foot traffic increases as people use the overpass to cross to the MCG. Once again, nothing to worry about but just something to be conscious about if planning to shoot here when they’re expecting a 80,000+ crowd at the MCG on a Saturday night.
Docklands is conveniently located just near Etihad Stadium and is accessible via tram or a short walk from the inner city. Victoria Harbour is a nice location to photograph on sunset/blue hour as the water is generally calm which makes for nice reflections. My favourite location to photograph in Victoria Harbour are the pylons with the little white hats which come up great with a long exposure.
If pylons with funny little white hats aren’t your thing, there’s plenty of modern architecture in the area to photograph. With the constant flow of cars and trams, you’re bound to get a nice long exposure with traffic passing by in the foreground with one of the more interesting buildings in the backdrop.
After Flinders Street Station, this angle of Melbourne would have to be up there with one of the most popular and there’s no guesses to why. Best photographed on sunrise to capture the golden hour light hitting the city skyline, the slight elevation from the view allows you to avoid the busy crowds of Southbank.
Located only a short walk from Flinders Street Station, the Morell Street Bridge is a pedestrian crossing between the Botanical Gardens and MCG. The bridge provides a nice view up the Yarra River with the city buildings making a nice backdrop.
There’s also more bridges further down the Yarra River but I find the view of the Melbourne skyline doesn’t quite compare to the Morell Street Bridge view.
The Yarra River is a great Melbourne night photography location which presents many options for photographers. The best time to visit the Yarra River is on sunset with a walk from the Crown Casino to Birrarung Marr. You’re bound to get some nice reflections of the towering buildings as you make your way up the river.
The Birrarung Marr pedestrian bridge is a great spot to take up-close photographs of the Melbourne skyline. The old wooden bridge has plenty of character and works as a great leading line to direct your viewers eyes to the city of Melbourne. My favourite time to photograph the Birrarung Marr Bridge is just before sunset so you can capture the golden hour light hitting the bridge.
Once you’ve finished photographing the Birrarung Marr Bridge, keep walking to the Batman Ave overpass for some traffic long exposures or down to the Yarra River for some reflections of the Melbourne skyline. Both locations are conveniently located only 5~ minutes walk from the bridge and look great on sunset or into the blue hour.
The Webb Bridge is located along Southbank and makes a great spot to add to your list of places to stop and photo as you wander through the Melbourne CBD. The Webb Bridge provides a few different angles to photograph it from whether it be from outside the bridge (as captured above) or inside the bridge capturing the detail of the ‘webb’. A great spot to shoot at night time when the Yarra River is calm and the lights of the Webb Bridge turn on.
If you haven’t picked up already, I’m a sucker for overpasses and interesting architecture. St Kilda Road is worth a wander if you’re staying in the area and looking for an overpass to photograph late at night. My favourite is the Bowen Crescent overpass which sits just off St Kilda Road. A nice overpass to shoot that always has a constant flow of traffic.
St Kilda Pier is a popular spot for tourists looking to enjoy St Kilda Beach and the local area penguins at dusk. Of a weekend the pier can be challenging to photograph with all the people especially during summer.
If you’re looking to avoid the people, I’d recommend photographing on sunrise or if you enjoy your sleep too much, do what I did for the above photo and use a neutral density filter to capture a long exposure and blur the movement of people out of your frame to create an empty scene. Works a treat!
Running in early March around Labour Day, Moomba is a summer festival located along Melbourne’s Yarra River. The festival is a great opportunity for fireworks photography with the event having nightly firework displays at 9:30. The Melbourne city is a great backdrop for the fireworks and makes it well worth a visit if you’re in Melbourne around this time of the year.
The crowds at Moomba can get hectic so if you can, plan ahead and arrive at your location in advance so you can get a good view of the fireworks before the crowds flock.
[box type=”info” size=”large” style=”rounded”]Travelling to Melbourne and need a lightweight tripod for the trip? I’ve reviewed 5 of the best travel tripods[/box]
Melbourne is home to a vast public transport system. The train stations are fun places to photograph long exposures of trains passing with the city as a backdrop. Some of my favourite stations include: Parliament Station (long escalators here are great), Hawksburn Station, Richmond Station and Jollimont Station.
It’s worth noting that Metro Trains have some rules around taking photos in train stations. Generally handheld photography is fine (provided you’re shooting from a safe distance) but you cannot use a tripod unless given a permit by Metro Trains. From my understanding, getting a permit for hobbyists is pretty straight forward. It’s more if you go down the path of getting a permit for commercial photography or video is where it becomes a bit more difficult.
The Shrine of Remembrance is Victoria’s war memorial and an iconic landmark in Australia. Conveniently located only a short tram ride from Flinders Street Station, the Shrine of Remembrance has a few different options for photographers with the old architecture, views back towards the city skyline and the eternal flame.
If you’re looking for somewhere to photograph after, keep walking towards Morrell Street Bridge for a photo looking back towards the city and then keep walking towards the AAMI Park overpass for a night shot of one of the world’s more unique sports stadiums. A nice way to kill a few hours in Melbourne.
A post about places to photograph in Melbourne wouldn’t be complete without a mention of Melbourne’s alleyways. Melbourne is renowned for its street art filled alleyways which can be found throughout the city and inner city suburbs. Some of my favourite laneways in Melbourne are Hosier Lane, ACDC Lane, Caledonian Lane and Union Lane just to name a few. You won’t struggle to find a good laneway with street art in Melbourne.
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (or AAMI Park as it’s commonly and commercially known), is one of the world’s more unique sports stadium and sits in Melbourne’s ‘sport and entertainment precinct’. The building is best photographed when there is a sports event on and the building is lit up and if you’re lucky, fireworks are being let off as a team kicks/scores a goal/try (depending on which sport is on..!)
My favourite spot to photograph AAMI Park just off the Main Yarra Trail near the Morell Street Bridge which gives you a nice angle of traffic entering the Citylink tunnel and the stadium in the background. Well worth a visit if you can time it around a sports event on that night.
Princess Pier located in Port Melbourne is a popular spot for long exposure photographers. The iconic pylons make a great composition for long exposure photographs. One thing I really like about the Princess Pier is that it works well for different weather conditions. On a sunny night, the light bursting on the horizon can create a great effect. If there’s a bit of cloud in the sky, a long exposure capturing the blur of the clouds passing above the pylon’s can also look great.
If you’re planning on photographing the popular Princess Pier location, I’d recommend finishing the night out with a quick photo of the Port Melbourne Pier. The lights on the pier work really well for a night time shot.
Located not far from Port Melbourne is the Ingliss St overpass. This is one of my hidden gems around Melbourne as it’s not as commonly shot as the Sturt St overpass (below) or Batman Avenue. Like all inner city overpasses, this has a constant hum of traffic and makes a great spot for long exposure photography or timelapse if you’re keen.
If you’ve followed my blog or Instagram, you’ve no doubt noticed that I have a small love affair with overpasses. It’s what makes Melbourne special. You can go to an inner city overpass late at night and there will always be a constant hum of traffic. Compared to my home of Hobart, you’d be waiting a few minutes just for a pass to drive through in the early hours of the night.
Located on Yarra Bend Road and overlooking the Eastern Freeway, this overpass gives you a curved view looking back towards the city. While not my favourite overpass in Melbourne (is there anything wrong with being an overpass snob?), it always has a steady stream of traffic flowing in and out of the city so is worth a visit if you’re in the area and eager to take some long exposure photographs.
As Melbourne is quite flat, this limits your options when trying to find elevated vantage points that look back towards the city. One of my favourite locations that isn’t obstructed by buildings is Ruckers Hill in Northcote. Ruckers Hill makes a great Melbourne night photography location with its Melbourne skyline view and passing trams which work great in a long exposure.
By the Sea
An ongoing list which I hope to update over time. For the moment though, below are a handfull of locations that I’ve photographed that don’t fit under some of the other groups (Mornington Peninsula, Great Ocean Road, etc).
Ricketts Point in Beaumaris is one of my favourite sea locations to shoot in Melbourne. The markers on the point make it one of the more reliable locations to shoot a sunset in Melbourne. Whether it be a sun burst on the horizon through the markers or just moody sunset clouds above, the location works well for most conditions and is worth a trip if you’re staying in Melbourne and can’t venture far.
Located 90 minutes from Melbourne, the ruins of an old jetty at Clifton Springs are a popular location for photographers looking for a good long exposure composition. The location is best photographed on a high tide when there is some water movement around the pylons. Clifton Springs is a great spot if you’re in the area but I wouldn’t go out of your way if your time in Victoria is limited.
Being close to Bells Beach, the home of Australia’s surfing world tour event, Jan Juc is a great location for both photographers and surfers looking for consistent swell. I’ve only photographed Jan Juc the once but would love to re-visit. Highlights for me are the consistent swell, surrounding cliffs and rock ledge on the point. Well worth a visit if you’re passing through and looking for somehwere to photograph on dusk (just like we did on a trip down The Great Ocean Road).
Mornington Peninsula
Moving from Hobart to inner city Melbourne, the one thing I quickly missed was being by the sea. Luckily the Mornington Peninsula isn’t far from Melbourne (1hr~) and has some diverse coastline to photograph with lots of jetties, interesting rock formations and plenty of swell.
The Peninsula is quite unique where you have Port Phillip Bay on one side which for the most part doesn’t get much in the way of swell but is still worth a visit for its jetties and little bays. On the other side you’re fully exposed to the raw ocean of the Bass Strait which always has some swell kicking about.
If you’re pressed for time, I’d recommend stopping by Cape Schanck, Rye Backbeach and the Sorrento jetties. I love London Bridge but it can be a bit hit or miss with the swell and limiting. On a low tide it’s great as you’re able to walk around the rocky outcrops which gives you more variety to photograph than just being limited to the London Bridge.
Travelling down the Eastlink to the Mornington Peninsula at night time, its hard to miss the hotel on the city-bound side of the road as you make your way down. I’ve written about the Eastlink Hotel and its origins in a previous post. A fun spot to shoot as you make your way back to Melbourne after sunset.
Flinders Blowhole has quickly become one of my favourite locations to photograph the sunrise on the Mornington Peninsula. This is largely due to the location giving you a great vantage point of where the sun rises from but also has some interesting compositions available to photograph.
At Flinders Blowhole you have a few interesting options to shoot. These include:
View from the main lookout at the top overlooking the bay
Rock shelf reflections
Walk left from the main rock beach around to the next little bay which has lots of little rock ledges and little rock beaches to photograph
This location is best photographed on sunrise.
Cairns Bay
LocationWatching the milky way rise above Cairns Bay
Located not far from the Flinders Blowhole, Cairns Bay is a 1km walk into an open view of the ocean and cobble and grey boulder beaches.
From experience, this location works best above from the lookout with a long lens. If shooting from the sea level, the rock face can be quite over powering and block out light from the sun setting.
Cairns Bay also makes a great spot to photograph the milky way rising above the ocean. Just be sure to plan it through an app such as Photo Pills to make sure it’s rising in the correct spot.
Point Leo is located on the Western Port Bay side of the Mornington Peninsula and features an old jetty that works great for sunrise and milky way photos.
Unfortunately the photo above doesn’t do the jetty justice due to being a side on photo but it’s well worth a visit!
Bridgewater Bay (Blairgowrie)
LocationBridgewater Bay also makes a great spot for milky way photography
Bridgewater Bay is one of the best seascape locations on the Mornington Peninsula. With the big rock formation to the end of the Bay, this provides plenty of different options depending on the tide levels.
If photographing on a high tide, you generally can’t get very close to the rock but this creates nice opportunities of the water rushing into the shore (like the above shot). If you’ve timed it for a low tide, you generally can get quite close to the rock and also get further around the headland to capture different angles of the rock. Obviously be careful with the swell as it can get quite big and unpredictable down here.
The location also makes for a great milky way location to capture the milky way rising above the rock formation.
Note that in summer Bridgewater Bay is a popular spot for swimmers especially people jumping off the rock.
Pirates Bay is a lesser known and photographed part of the Mornington Peninsula. The location is best suited for photographing down at sea level with the water hitting the little bay (as above) or from above at the cliff level when there’s a lot of surf like in the photo to the right,
Pirates Bay is best accessed from the Bridgewater Bay carpark. Walk to Bridgewater Bay along the cliff track. Rather than stop at Bridgewater Bay, continue walking and you will eventually end up at Pirates Bay.
This location is best suited for sunset photography.
London Bridge is located towards the end of the Mornington Peninsula and is known for its large rock formation. The London Bridge is best shot on a low tide when the rocky outcrops further up become accessible and opens up more options.
Sorrento and Portsea have some great little private jetties which work well for long exposure photography. As these are private jetties, you can’t walk on some of the jetties however they still give plenty of options if shooting from the beach with a side profile. One of my favourites is Shelley Beach which is featured above and is a discrete jetty not far from Portsea.
Sorrento backbeach is one of my favourite backbeaches to photograph along the Peninsula. Being a 1.5km~ drive from the Sorrento shopping precinct, we’ve often headed down in day light savings when the sun sets later, grabbed something for dinner and headed towards the beach lookout to watch the swell roll in.
There’s quite a few options at the beach to photograph including rockpools on low tide, stairs to enter the beach (as to the right) and an interesting rock formation on the point just near the carpark.
Cape Schanck is my favourite place to photograph on the Mornington Peninsula even if I do have a love hate relationship with the place! Sitting at the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula, Cape Shanck sits between the entrance to Port Phillip Bay and the wild ocean of the Bass Strait. As far as seascape locations go, it doesn’t get much more raw than Cape Schanck on a windy afternoon with the swell of the Bass Strait thundering through.
Some of my highlights for Cape Schanck:
Cape Shanck Lighthouse – The lighthouse makes a great backdrop against the wild coastline of the area. Being located near the carpark, we’ve stopped a few times on our way back to the car after sunset and captured a moonlit photo of the lighthouse. With the strong beam of its lantern reaching a range of 26 nmi (48km) the beam creates some interesting opportunities after dark with a long exposure under the stars
Pulpit Rock – Eroded slowly over the years, Pulpt Rock is an iconic rock formation that stands tall and is uniquely separated from the mainland by a wild sea channel. While you can’t physically get onto Pulpit rock, you can get some great photos of the rock with the waves crashing around it. Every photographer needs at least one photograph of Pulpit rock in their portfolio!
Pebble beach – As you make your way down to Pulpit Rock and leave the board walk, you’re immediately greeted by the black boulders in pebble beach. As the water rushes across the stones they develop a vibrant shine which comes up well in photos
Rock pools – Having photographed Pulpit Rock many times, I was keen to explore the area further and find some unique compositions. Walking down towards Pulpit Rock, continue walking around the headland and you will come across stunning rock pools with beautiful blue hues. Just a word of warning, the rock pools are quite deep so don’t forget a head torch if you’re planning on shooting these on sunset and walking back in the dark. Not a place I’d be rushing back to the car from. Slow and steady!
This location is best photographed on sunset or sunrise during winter.
Located at the end or the most western point of the Mornington Peninsula, Point Nepean is a beautiful but challenging location for photographers due to the restricted beach access (due to unexploded mines, etc). You are generally limited to photographing at the road/cliff level which can still work OK for photographs depending on the conditions.
Access to Point Nepean is limited and does require a bit of walking to get to the fort area (as pictured above). The carpark is open between 10 AM – 5 PM during the day and is around a 2.5km walk (each way) from the carpark. If you’re visiting outside of these hours, you will need to park further outside of the national park and walk further (5km~) each way.
If you’re looking to capture an image of the milky way rising like the above photo, generally the best time to visit is between early to late April when the milky way rising lines up perfectly.
Rosebud Pier is a nice spot to photograph if you’re short on time and need to fire a frame off. I’ve photographed it a few times when I’ve been running late to photograph the sunset and needed to find somewhere to pull over and get a photo of the colour in the sky before it disappeared.
Rosebud Pier can be quite busy especially around summer so bear this in mind if you’re looking to photograph the pier without people in it. Although there’s always long exposures to hide the people like I talk about in my long exposure photography idea’s post!
Dragon’s Head is located at Number Sixteen Beach, Rye and is a popular location to photograph on sunrise. You may have to get your feet wet to get upclose like I did from my morning at Dragon’s Head but the results are well worth it.
This location is best photographed on sunrise during winter.
We’re incredibly lucky to how much variety the Mornington Peninsula has to photograph. Pearses Bay isn’t one of my favourite places to photograph but at the same time, I appreciate some of the various options available to photograph including:
Photographing from the cliff tops as the swell hits the cliffs
Capturing the many streams of water flowing to create waterfall like effects (as above)
Ignoring the fact that there is a nudist beach right around the corner 😉 Sunnyside Beach down Mount Eliza is a great spot for sunset photographs. Being on the bay side of the Peninsular, you’re not going to get much swell come through unfortunately but with that said, the lack of swell does mean you get some nice reflections like the above photo.
Situated on the bay side of the Mornington Peninsula, Ranelagh Beach is home to some of the many beach huts you will find when travelling down to the Peninsula.
The beach huts can be photographed from many angles including:
Looking between them (similar to the right)
Standing knee deep in water looking back towards them as above
Using a drone and photographing them from above
Unfortunately there isn’t much swell at Ranelagh Beach to play with different water effects of waves crashing, etc due to it being situated on the bay side of the Mornington Peninsula.
Facing the Port Phillip Bay side of the Mornington Peninsula, Mt Martha doesn’t get much in the way of swell.
Walking along the the small rocky beaches, you can’t help but think of the possibilities with water rushing over them. You’re best visiting Mt Martha when there”s some swell on the Bay which brings some of these rocky ledges to life.
Once upon a time, photographers flocked to Oliver’s Hill to capture the iconic jetty. It wasn’t unusual for a few photographers to be at the location on sunset photographing the jetty. I feel bad for leading you astray with a photo (the above) of the old jetty but hey! It’s nice to dream 😉
In 2016, this changed with the jetty being pulled down and replaced with a new jetty. Still worth a shot but not as great as it once was.
This location is best photographed on sunset.
Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road needs no introduction. Known for its stunning coastline and inland waterfalls in the Otways, the area is truly the perfect playground for a landscape photographer. I feel like I’ve only touched the surface of the Great Ocean Road but hopefully the photos I do have make a good reference to what can be seen on the Great Ocean Road.
Marriners Falls is just a small drive from Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road. Unfortunately the track for Marriners Falls is now closed due to trees falling over and making it dangerous. However I’m sure you’re able to find a track if you look hard…
If you are making the walk in, be sure to pack at least gum boots or if possible waders for this one as there’s a 3-4 river crossings to be had before you make the main waterfall. Be safe and watch for falling tree limbs on windy days.
Not to be confused with Steavenson Falls in Marysville, Stevenson Falls is located in Barramunga as you make your way down the Great Ocean Road via the in-land route. Often Stevenson Falls is over-shadowed by the more popular waterfalls such as Hopetoun and Beauchamp Falls but is well worth a stop with its 15 meter drop.
The waterfall is spectacular and has a few different compositions to photograph:
Side on from the tourist lookout located at the end of the walk into the waterfall
Front on to the waterfall (you might get your feet wet a little bit!)
From the other side of the river if you’re game enough to cross the river. Definitely do-able if you have gumboots or waders.
Hopetoun Falls is by far my favourite waterfall in Victoria. Located in the Great Otways National Park, Hopetoun Falls is a short trip from the coastal surrounds of the Great Ocean Road. Upon entering Hopetoun Falls, it has a similar impact to Russell Falls in Tasmania with its wow factor.
The waterfall is stunning and has plenty of angles and options for someone looking to get their own unique take.
If you’re in the area photographing Hopetoun Falls, I’d also recommend driving another 15 minutes and spending some time at Beauchamp Falls.
Surrounded by beautiful green foliage, Beauchamp Falls is quite confined compared to Hopetoun Falls which does limit you in your angles you can photograph from. With that said, you’re bound to get something nice from the angles you can photograph from.
[box type=”info” size=”large”]Keen to get your feet wet? Give my waterfall photography guide has some tips![/box]
Located just under 3 hours from Melbourne, Apollo Bay makes a good stop over town for those wanting to split their drive up from Melbourne. Apollo Bay Beach makes an ideal spot to stop, grab some food from one of the many nearby shops and enjoy a quick bite before taking photos. Apollo Bay has a few options to shoot including the lush beach and the rocky point further down the beach.
Wye River is the perfect town for those looking to avoid the crowds and have a stop over on their way down the Great Ocean Road. Located 35~km before Apollo Bay, the town of Wye River was devastated in the 2015 bushfires when 95 houses were burnt down. Even more reason to stop and get around the town!
The Wye River area is beautiful and gives plenty of options for you to photograph including the canal that runs off the main beach, a rocky point and jetty ruins. I’ve shot the area under differing weather conditions from overcast skies to star filled skies and have always managed to find something to photograph. Wye River is well worth the stop if you’re looking to add a stop over on your way down to the 12 Apostles.
Looking in the other direction at the 12 Apostles lookout
A post about photography locations in Victoria wouldn’t be right without a mention of the iconic 12 Apostles (or 8 if you’re counting!). The 12 Apostles needs no introduction and is one of the most popular photography locations in Victoria.
With the popularity of the 12 Apostles, my best advice would be to photograph it on sunrise to avoid the crowds. There’ll still be a few people about who you may have to share the same vantage point with but it’s much more tolerable than during the day or sunset when it’s busy with tourists.
The 12 Apostles can be quite limiting to photograph with access restricted to the viewing platform only with no beach access. This still gives you a couple of options which are best explored on a sunrise when you have more free reign and aren’t battling others for space.
[box type=”info” size=”large”]Travelling to Tasmania and looking for locations to photograph? I’ve developed a similar post ‘Photography locations in Tasmania‘[/box]
Gibson Steps marks the first major sightseeing stop as you venture down the Great Ocean Road to Port Campbell. Arriving at Gibson Steps you have the option of photographing from the lookout or continue walking down the 86 step staircase which allows you to get up close and personal.
There’s something to be said about how special Gibson Steps is when you’re at sea level looking up. The sheer size of the two rock stacks (No joke, named Gog and Magog in case you’re wondering…) are awe inspiring up close. Better yet, the location is much more quieter than the 12 Apostles and you’re bound to find a nice secluded spot to take some photos on the beach whether it be at sunrise or sunset.
Just a further 3-5 minutes drive from the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge offers photographers another great variety of options for seascape photography. Whether it be the blowholes, tall limestone cliffs or offshore rock stacks, Loch Ard Gorge provides plenty of opportunities. Your best to use the open access to the cove (as photographed above) to your advantage and shoot Loch Ard Gorge at sea level. If this isn’t doing much for you, wander back up to the cliffs for views of the cove.
Located a further 25 minutes down the road from the 12 Apostles, The Bay of Martyrs offers spectacular views of the towering rock stacks located out to sea and surrounding limestone cliffs.
While perhaps not an opinion shared by all, the Bay of Martyrs is the highlight for me along the Great Ocean Road. I love how quiet The Bay of Martyrs is compared to other parts of the Great Ocean Road especially around sunset or sunrise where you can often find yourself the only one there.
As the area gets pumped with a lot of swell, the rock stacks and limestone cliffs look great at differing exposure speeds, whether that be a short burst to capture the aggression of the waves or a long exposure to capture the movement of a longer period.
You’re bound to get something unique and different in your Great Ocean Road trip compared to others who focus too heavily on popular locations like the 12 Apostles, Gibson Steps and Lochard Gorge.
Phillip Island
When I think of places in Victoria that I need to explore more of, Phillip Island quickly comes to mind. I’ve only touched the surface with the Pinnacles and Cat Bay but there are plenty more on offer with Phillip Island being home to some decent surf locations which always lend themselves to be decent locations for seascape photographers.
[box type=”info” size=”large” style=”rounded”]When photographing scenes like these where the light can be constantly changing, I’ll often use the Auto Exposure Bracketing tool to help me get the right exposure[/box]
When I think of some of the best coastal locations I’ve photographed, The Pinnacles at Cape Woolamai is a location which quickly come to mind. The Pinnacles are located at the end of Cape Woolamai (roughly a 4km~ walk from the carpark) and then an awkward descent from the lookout.
When planning your trip to The Pinnacles – be prepared!
The steep descent into The Pinnacles from the lookout is down a rough track with no steps. It’s not dangerous but please take your time.
Again, coming out in the dark can be interesting. If you’re not confident with your level of fitness then maybe skip The Pinnacles for another time. There’s some other great locations in the Phillip Island area and who knows – Maybe the walk down might be improved one day.
If you’re looking to make the walk down to the Pinnacles I’d recommend throwing a head torch in your bag (using a mobile phone as a light isn’t so fun), a warm jacket (it can get quite breezy down there) and a pair of walking shoes with good grip for walking over the wet rocks as the odd rock will move around.
Once you’re down at the sea level, there are a few options to photograph from including a nice wide shot of the cove, looking left to the Pinnacles of the other rock formations or my favourite, the sun setting above The Pinnacles.
Located close to the Western end of Phillip Island, Cat Bay is a popular spot for surfers with its reef and beach breaks. When a location is popular with surfers this is always a good indication that the location could also be good for photography. Sometimes I’ll trawl through surfing websites trying to find different surf locations in the hope that they may translate into a good seascape photography location.
Luckily Cat Bay is one of those surfing locations that also make a great spot for seascape photographs. The sand pylyons combined with some swell make for some interesting long exposures on sunset.
Just a word of warning as this is something which caught me off guard – The area closes around the last light (sunset) to make way for the penguins and other animals entering the area. I over extended my welcome when taking the above photograph and was promptly booted by a ranger with his mega phone and car horn. Don’t be like me and forget to read the signs. Follow the rules 🙂
Located at Bore Beach, San Remo, Cadillac Canyon is located at the end of the beach and provides photographers with unique compositions not commonly found at other locations in the area.
There’s a few different compositions to be had when shooting Cadillac Canyon including:
At the end of the beach looking through the rock channel as waves come through (as above)
At the end of the beach looking back towards the beach and making use of the different rocks available for your composition
Climbing up the hill for some ocean views from above
While not located on Phillip Island but on the way at least, Tenby Point is a popular spot for photographers with its beautiful mangrove trees and old jetty ruins in the area. The location works perfectly for long exposure photography to capture the still water and cloud passing overhead.
Facing west, Tenby Point is best suited as a sunset location but can work on sunrise provided you get enough colour in the sky.
Country Victoria / Other
Moving from Tasmania to Melbourne, country Victoria was not an area I initially gave much attention to but boy was I wrong. The area ended up becoming a surprise package for me and I’ve spent many hours getting out and exploring Victoria’s lush country scenes. From huts reminiscent of The Man From Snowy River to giant trees surrounded in fog, country Victoria is a vast place to photograph with much on offer.
It’s worth noting that the ski season starts in early June and finishes in early October so your access in some the major snow mountains and the surroundings will be limited during this time.
Queenscliff Pier was built in the late 1800’s and is one of Victoria’s most iconic piers. Luckily the pier also makes a great location for photographers due to the long sprawling nature of the pier.
There’s a few different ways you can shoot the pier including:
Looking down towards the end of the jetty (as per the right image)
Side on (as above) capturing the waves rushing through the pier onto the beach
I almost didn’t include Mansfield in this list as it’s more of a tourist town and not a photography location but then I remembered some of the photos I captured when spending in the area a few years ago now and couldn’t resist. Mansfield is ideally situated in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and is surrounded by some of Victoria’s most stunning mountains including Mount Buller.
What I love about Mansfield is that it’s so close to some great locations including the Howqua Valley as below, Craig’s Hut (made famous by The Man from Snowy River) and ridiculiously dark skies that are perfect for anyone chasing photographs of the milky way.
The Howqua Valley was an area that I came across by luck one foggy and overcast day when I drove to Mansfield only to find the ski season had started the week before and access to the mountains had closed.
Driving along the Howqua Valley, you’re surrounded by beautiful streams as far as the eye can see. We spent the better part of half a day taking it slow through the valley and photographing the streams which are surrounded by a stunning green foliage. A must visit for anyone who enjoys getting their feet wet and photographing water streams.
We ventured to Paradise Falls when spending a few days in Mansfield and were looking for somewhere off the beaten track to take some photos. Located in the King Valley, Paradise Falls doesn’t get a huge amount of water flowing down but the drop makes it worth a visit.
I’ve only been to Snobs Creek Falls just the once in unfavorable conditions (lots of harsh sunlight and shadows). The waterfall is quite spectacular with the viewing platform being fixed to the rock face allowing you to get up close with the large flow of water that makes its way down from Snobs Creek.
For me the highlight of Snobs Creek Falls was more the streams before the main waterfall which provide a nice opportunity to get your feet wet and capture some long exposures of the water as it travels down the mountain. We were unlucky the day with the weather not working in our favour but I’d love to get back one day and photograph the streams under the right light. Combine a nice overcast light with the vibrant rain forest surrounds and you would be able to kill a morning photographing around the area.
One of Victoria’s best waterfalls, Trentham Falls is one hour from Melbourne and conveniently located near the picturesque town of Daylesford.
Trentham Falls measures the longest single drop in Victoria coming in at 32 metres which makes it a great waterfall to photograph. The surrounding yellow and moss covered rocks that surround the waterfall add an interesting pop of colour to the scene.
This waterfall is best photographed in winter when there has been some rainfall however there can still be a trickle to be had during the warmer months in summer.
Feeding in from the Great Dividing Range (one of Victoria’s main mountain ranges) allows the Toorongo River to have a consistent amount flow of water year round.
It would be remiss of me not to include the Toorongo River in this Victoria photography location guide with the many different composition options available with this beautiful river.
The river forms part of the 2.2km loop walk which covers both Toorongo Falls and Ampitheatre Falls. At various parts of the loop there are great opportunities to stop and take a photo of the river. The above and photo to the right show the diverse opportunities available as you make your way to the main waterfalls.
Toorongo Falls has a drop of around 25-30 meters and is surrounded by beautiful green ferns and fallen logs which make this a beautiful waterfall to stop and photograph. Similar to other rivers and waterfalls in the area, Toorongo Falls has a decent flow of water year round thanks to the Great Dividing Range attracting rainfall.
The waterfall forms part of the Toorongo and Ampitheatre Falls walk loop.
Like the above River and Falls, Ampitheatre Falls forms part of the Toorongo and Amphitheatre Falls Loop Walk and is at the start or end of the loop depending on which way you start the walk.
The above photograph was captured from the Ampitheatre Falls viewing platform. Trying to get other angles of the falls can be quite restrictive due to the difficulty in getting down to the water level. With that said the viewing platform was good enough for me! 🙂
Yarra Ranges
The Yarra Ranges is host to some of Victoria’s most stunning waterfalls and the giant mountain ash tree which is one of the tallest tree species in the world.
One thing I love about the Yarra Ranges is that its also host to some great vineyards and restaurants which makes it an easy sell if travelling down here with someone that isn’t into photography like your husband or wife 😉 Some bribery with lunch on the way back has always helped my excuse to visit the area on an early Saturday morning 😉
Steavenson Falls is located in Marysville, Victoria, a town that made headlines with the devastating Black Saturday bushfires that ravaged the town in 2009 taking 45 lives with around 90% of the town’s buildings being demolished. Since 2009, the town has slowly developed itself back to what it once was – a booming tourist town with great pies! If you’re ever in the area on a cold wintery day and craving some warm food, the bakery is a must stop for a quick pie and coffee. Gets me hungry just writing about it 😉
I’ve only photographed Steavenson Falls the once, a year after the Black Saturday bushfires so much of the infrastructure was only just being re-built (i.e. viewing platform and tracks) so I’m sure a lot has changed since my visit way back in 2010!
The waterfall itself very picterusque for photographs with its five cascades and a clear drop of 21 (just a little under Trentham Falls at 32 metres). The waterfall is consistent all year around and always has a steady stream of water flowing. A must visit if you’re in the area on a wintery day and looking for somewhere to photograph under the grey skies.
Located 90 minutes from the Melbourne CBD, Rainforest Gallery is one of my favourite places to photograph waterfalls when there’s been plenty of rain in the area. The location provides plenty of different compositions as you make your way down the river path.
Rainforest Gallery is best photographed in either gumboots or fishing waders as this allows you to get nice and close to the action. The photos in these posts were both taken knee deep in water and only possible with some $40 waders from Anaconda or would have been a cold one otherwise..!
As you make your way into Marysville to photograph Steavenson Falls, why not throw in a quick detour and photograph Cora Lynn Falls while you’re in the area? To be honest I wouldn’t plan a day out of driving just to photograph Cora Lynn Falls but but it makes an ideal spot to add as part of your itinerary if travelling to Steavenson Falls.
The waterfall is shrouded by ferns and moss-covered trees so it’s not the most open waterfall you’ll come across in your travels. If you dig deep and walk along the front like the photo above, you can get quite a good front facing angle of the waterfall without the clutter.
Taggerty Falls forms part of the Beeches Rainforest Walk and is a beautiful river that runs for around 1 km. The river runs through some stunning rain forest and provides plenty of unique angles for anyone prepared to get their feet wet just mind the leeches.
The highlight for me is a pedestrian bridge (as above) that crosses the river which makes a great composition!
Located just over an hour from Melbourne, Warburton is a beautiful part of Victoria with its stunning California Redwoods (as pictured above) and streams that run down Cement Creek. A beautiful part of Victoria and well worth a visit.
When I think of the Yarra Valley, I think of Healsville and the drive towards the dense forests of the Black Spur towards Marysville. When you combine the giant trees blanketed in thick fog during winter, this makes Healesville a beautiful place to get your foggy photography fix.
One of my personal favourite photographs of me standing amidst the towering trees in a sea of fog (as above) was taken here. This was just one of the many spots you can find to photograph in the area.
View all these locations in Google Maps
To make life easier for you, I’ve gone ahead and dropped all these locations as pins into a map which you’re free to use. Putting the map together it quickly dawned on me that I’ve actually not shot much of Victoria at all when you look at it all on a map! So much still to see 🙂
How to stay in touch
This isn’t the end and I’ll be hoping to add more locations to this over time. I’d love to hear from you with your location suggestions so if you feel that there is something missing from here be sure to send it through as I’d love to add it to my list.
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