Trip to Craig’s Hut with Jessica…

There is a poem called ‘The Man from Snowy River’ written by A.B “Banjo” Paterson (1864-1941)…. have you ever read it? For most of you I doubt it. It’s quite long and was first published on the 26th April 1890 in a Sydney newspaper called ‘The Bulletin’. This poem ‘The Man From Snowy River’ is a classic today in Australian literature.

Image from the Movie, 'The Man from Snowy River'.

The original silent, black and white film was made in 1920, and another version was made in 1982, in which Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton, Kirk Douglas and Jack Thompson were the main actors. It was about a young man struggling to prove himself amongst men, having to survive through the harshest conditions one could imagine, learning the ropes of life and love after his father was tragically killed in an accident.

Craig’s Hut is located on Clear Hills near Mt.Stirling in the beautiful Alpine National Park in Victoria, and was built especially for the film “The Man from Snowy River” in 1981. It was called Craig’s Hut after the lead actor, Jim Craig (played by Tom Burlinson) and also re-used in the sequel “The Return to Snowy River”. On 11 December 2006 the Craig’s Hut was burnt down by a wild bushfire. The Hut has now been rebuilt by volunteers under the guidance of builder Craig Ogier. However Craig Ogier was criticized because the new hut was built with slightly different design from the original one.

On Monday (14th December, 2009), I travelled to Craig’s Hut with my daughter Jessica in my 4 X 4 Landcruiser. I have wanted to visit this hut for a very long time, along with my camera and tripod, and finally had the time and decided make the trip. We left my house at around midday and drove non-stop through to Mansfield and then Merrijig where we had a nice afternoon lunch (a beautifully prepared hamburger). However, we did manage to stop for a few photos along the way.

En-route to Mansfield...

You can see Mount Bulla in the distance….

Gateway to the High Country.

Merrijig is the next small town after Mansfield, and where we had lunch. At 320m above sea level, it’s not particularly high, but definitely South enough to snow during winter.

Mount Bulla is a well known ski resort in Australia.

This way to Mt. Bulla.

Spectacular views from the road to Craig’s Hut; jet stream in the distance very high up…

Big skies, big mountains and big trees...

One thing about Victoria, there are plenty of trees….

...tall trees reaching up...

And finally, the last rugged stretch to the top…. Fortunately, it is easy in this 4×4…

Only 4 X 4's past this point....

And Finally this……..

This Craig's Hut... finally made it !!

Jessica was also about with her camera…. watching the sunset as well.

Close-up of the rebuilt hut...

Some of the amazing captures by a Canon…..

Views from behind Craig's Hut...

Sunrise on the mountain...

(1/8sec @ f/16, ISO100 – 16mm)

…from various angles….

A slightly different angle..

(1/10sec @ f/16, ISO100 – 16mm)

Incredible views over the Hut and the warmth of the early morning sun….

A warm sunrise...

(1/20sec @ f/16, ISO100 – 16mm)

More spectacular views….

View from behind Craig's Hut.

(1/25sec @ f/16, ISO100 – 16mm)

Jessica, very proud of her fire making abilities....

Used two flashes on Manfrotto 306B flash stands. (1/250sec @ f/11, ISO200 – 25mm) Manual mode: – 2EV

My beautiful daughter Jessica

Used two flashes again, visible in the reflection: (1/200 @ f/11, ISO200 – 28mm) Manual mode: -2EV

Jessica standing on the porch of Craig's Hut...

(1/200sec @ f/11, ISO200 – 24mm)

Camera: Canon 1D MkII N

Lens most used: EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM

Other lenses: EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM

The map below indicates the route we drove to Craig’s Hut….

Route to Craig's Hut from my House in Eltham.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed the trip as much as I did….. Thanks for looking…

Cheers for now…. Barry.

Latest Purchase….

OK, so today I bought a couple of flash brackets….. 2 x Manfrotto Micro Ball Heads, 2 x Flash accessory holders, and 2 x V-Tec CLD-15’s that screw right onto the top of the lighting stands. What this will allow me to do, is angle the flash in any direction, hopefully so that my ST-E2 transmitter will trigger the one or two Canon 580EX-II flash heads that I have. Will try to find a few pics for you. This a technique that I learned from my cousin Gwyn Cole. I will endeavour to bring you a few images in the near future using this technique….

Manfrotto 482 Micro Ball Head

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a matter of fact, I learned a great deal from Gwyn on his travels to Australia, but need to develop this technique and add my own style to it….

*****

The next day:… Friday the 13th…. ooooohh!! of November…

I found that my two lighting stands were too short, only around 2 metres tall, which was way too short for what I need. So I searched a few of the camera and lighting stores today looking for alternatives: had to be light enough to carry around, easy to erect, and sturdy enough to last a lifetime….

I first visited Vanbar Imaging and found a Manfrotto 306B ‘Stacker Stand’…(perfect) for over $200 each, but they only had one…. I went to a few other stores, and in my opinion, all selling cheap Chinese stands, very heavy to carry, for ridiculous prices…. not good enough says me !! … so anyway, I gave up in the end… it was too hot and I was getting impatient….

Ended up on trusty old e-Bay… and found a set of three brand new Manfrotto 306B’s over in Perth….. 4 minutes and 18 seconds to go on the auction, and no bids yet !!
You know how it is !! Your heart rate increases, sweat beads break out on your brow, your hands start to shake…./ I let them go. I sent the seller an e-mail, offered him much less than what he wanted, and ‘bingo’, got’em…!! 3 of ‘em…. They will take a full 5 days to arrive, because they are over in Western Australia, which happens to be 3600 kms away.

 

Manfrotto 306B Stacker Lighting Stand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full Technical Specs:

Attachment (top): type 19 + adapter art. 015
Closed length: 87 cms
Color: black
Column cross-section: round
Column tube diameter: 25.22.19mm
Footprint – maximum diameter: 108 cms
Load capacity: 5
Load capacity at maximum extension at 6° inclination: 1.3 Kgs
Material: aluminum
Maximum height: 250 cms
Minimum height: 89 cms
Risers stand number: 2
Sections – center column: 3
Stand leg size: Ø19mm
Weight: 1.3 Kgs

‘Whirlwind Arrives in Melbourne….’

Captains log: Thursday 12th November 2009…. Whirlwind arrives in Melbourne….

The ‘whirlwind’ I’m talking about happens to be my daughter Jessica; my 22 year old ‘Tom-boy’ daughter flew in from the West (Western Australia) last night. I had to pick her up from Melbourne Tullamarine airport around midnight. I waited for her to get off the plane for nearly an hour…. after 15, 20, 25 minutes went by, no Jess. No idea what happened to her, after 45 minutes finally a call from her. Apparently, as the plane came to a halt, the Feds came on board and told everybody to remain seated…. they found two elderly men on the plane and escourted them off.. ?? don’t as me… no idea, but I’m guessing drugs… drugs in WA are just crazy…. I guess that’s why I hate it there so much….

I finally found her after an hour, loaded her suitcases into my 4×4, and went around to the Virgin terminal, to pick up her cat, ‘Ozzie’….

Jess is a thousand miles an hour, I can’t keep up with her. She is loud and boorish, sorry to say that about my own daughter, but I just cannot see any resemblance to me what-so-ever; none of my genes feature in her at all…. only her mothers; I’m guessing that’s why we got divorced in the first place….

Anyway, she has had a hard time in Western Australia over the past 6 months, broke up with her boyfriend of 3 years, had to give up her house and in the process, wrote off her beloved Ford ‘Ute’ AND, lost her job…. but she is lucky to be alive actually, she escaped a roll over with only a sore neck… Fortunately the ‘roll-bar’ she had on the back was strong enough to keep the cab from being completely crushed. See pic below…..

Jessica's roll over... lucky to walk away...

This is how it happened in my view: inexperienced driver + powerful engine + no load in the back of ute + gravel road + poor visibility at night = a disaster waiting for a place to happen…. She doesn’t believe me, oh well….. but the proof is above !! kids… I still love her !!…. I just have to get used to having her around after quite a few years now….

Later… Ozzie…

To Buy or Not to Buy !! That is the Question….

On Saturday I went with Sharon, my dearly beloved, down to Warragul, some one and a bit hours drive East of Melbourne.
We had seen a house on the net which we had liked and that needed a bit further investigation. Here it is….

View of the house as you come in the driveway... Double Garrage..

The driveway leading up to the front of the house....

It is quite a large home comprising of 6 (fairly large) bedrooms, of which two are upstairs, three bathrooms, double garage, an old worn out tennis court, and the part I like, a very large 15 x 7.5 meter shed.

A view of the front of the house, with some very nice roses...

The top of the driveway, showing quite a well established garden...

The top of the house, showing sattelite dish and aerials for television reception….

Not sure how good tv or internet reception is here....

and the wornout tennis court I was telling you about… needs some serious work here…., but in the distance, you can see the views, which are very impressive actually.

A seriously delapidated tennis court...still has potential though

And two views from the end of the house, showing the back yard and the aeroplane hanger I told you about earlier…

A rather nice BBQ area, with room for improvement...

To take these two photos, I was standing on a super large concrete water tank, can be seen in the lower left corner… 500,000 litres from memory..

Another view of the top of the house....

And a nice long front veranda…

A very long veranda at the front of the house...

The following pics are from the real estate advertisement….

BBQ area at the rear of the house...

Inside the montserous shed....

Upstairs lounge/come/photographic studio

View of the living area downstairs..

kitchen area.... may need some work

Checker plate in the upstairs bathroom...

Upstairs bathroom again...

A view from the front of the property...

Front view....

All this situated on 1.75 acres or 7083m2 or .7082 hectares….

Hmm, to “Buy or not to Buy, that is the question”….. needs some serious thought…

Cheers for now,

Ozzy….

Today in Melbourne

Well, this is a first for me. My new Blog !! I’ve never done this before, so hoping to be able to bring you a few photos, a bit of news from around where I live. So please bare with me whilst I learn how to Blog, and feel free to drop me any comment or hints about how to improve it all and make it more interesting. You don’t really have to read this post, it’s mainly just for trial purposes so I can see how everything works….

Cheers from sunny Melbourne…. oops, make that ‘cloudy’ Melbourne…. well, you know how Melbourne is….. for now !!

Oztrekker….

Budgies in the Residence…

We have three new additions to the family…. very tiny budgies !! as fragile as they look, they are actually very robust.

New feathers pushing through...

...and this is the eldest of the three....

...and the baby.... anyone for a drumstick ?

Well, that is the end for today, will try publishing and playing around with this Blog tomorrow…. See ya !! Just got to work out how to put one of my own photos at the top of the page… hmmm..!!

Oztrekker