Recently I went on a photographic journey to capture some of the open cut coal mines around where I live. It is very hard to get photographs into the mines from the road. Of course you can't get permission to take photos in the mines I have to make do with what I can see. I got these first two shots by climbing a hill, in a place where the road cut through to top of a hill. From half way up I could see some of the mines on either side of the road. 

 I took most of the photos using a zoom lens because the machinery is often a long way of even if you can see it. That little yellow truck is actually gigantic.  I did stand next to one once and even just the wheels towered over me.

And then of course there is the dust, one thing our area is well known for. This shot rather proves it, as does the fact that a day after I have dusted the house there is a layer of dust again, and the dust is black.

Just a few days ago there was no hill of dirt dividing me from the mines, and you could see right down in. But by the time I got out there again while on my little trip they had built one of their barrier hills... probably to block sound and dust a tiny bit... maybe to stop photographers taking photos. It is notoriously hard to find a place to see in. There is almost always bound to be something in the way. 

So to get these shots I stood on the window sill of my car..... and also climbed a tree. There were some other better trees but the first branch was quite a way up, and I was alone so it was not the safest thing to do... so I very sensibly stopped with the low tree.

Anyway I hope you found my mine tour interesting. If you want to see any more photos from that day you can check them out on Austockphoto, there are heaps.

Austockphoto is live! After all the uploading of photos, keywording, editing, cross checking, searching for problems, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting, it is finally launched and out in the world. 

I have mentioned Austockphoto a few times on my blog before but in case you have not been listening, I am a photographer for it, and also an editor/cross checker and website tester, (I got to have fun finding problems with the test site and trying to break things, just before more waiting and finally the launch). As I said we do have lift off and I am excited, actually everyone involved is. Now all the photos; which are all taken in Australia by Australian photographers, are up for sale. I know I said it before but the site is live for everyone, and is looking beautiful! So you should go look at it even if you don't need to buy photos for whatever reason. Of course if you know someone who does, well spread the word! 

And check out my 1000+ images I have on there. Oh and on that note you can also probably blame Austockphoto for the slackness of my blog posts too. I have been busy, and now I hope a lot of that will be paid off!

What do you think of the site?

Did you have a look at it... well you should, seriously, and see all those photos of mine that I never got around to posting about.

Lately I have been very busy, mostly with photos. I have mentioned Austockphoto before, but in case you don't know, it is a stock photography site that is set to launch August the 1st, I am a contributor (photographer) to it. So I have been taking photos, editing them, and adding keywords to them. And I did such a good job of the keywording part that I now have a job with Austockphoto editing the keywords, categories, titles and such of the other photographers. It just happen quite out of the blue but it is just amazing to be part of that, everyone else on the team is so friendly and it is just pretty cool. 

I thought I'd give you a glimpse of some of the hundreds of photo I have been taking recently. Because they are all just so pretty, if I do say so myself. These are just a few of the beautiful plants and flowers I have come across recently. 

Do you have a favourite?

Have you had any nice surprises recently?

Yesterday my sister and I drove to the butchers to buy some sausages. We were delayed. As we got closer a huge cloud of billowing black smoke grew larger and larger and we seemed to be driving right towards it as we neared the butchers. I decided to park the car a way off and get out and walk. 

I take my camera everywhere, even shopping and my reason has always been, "What if a house burns down and I don't have my camera to photograph it." And so when this house burnt down I had my camera with me to photograph it. 

Apparently it was an old deserted shed that some of the homeless slept in, and it is rumored that the fire was lit deliberately. As terrible as it sounds I have always wanted to see and hear a house burning in real life. There was am almost oily smell to the smoke early on, and the crackling of the flames sounded like a piece of loose tarp or thick plastic flapping in a high wind. Like the sound of when a vehicle speeds past with something in plastic wrapping on the back that vibrates in the wind of its passing.

I arrived there at the same time as the fire trucks began arriving. The police took a while longer to arrive so cars continued to drive straight through the smoke that obscured the bridge. Even a mad motorcyclist went through it. 

It did not take the firefighters long to get it all under control though. The bridge made a good vantage point to watch and photograph all the action from. 

 The Argus photographer only got there as the police did. And after most of the flames had got put out, but there was still a lot of smoke for a while after and it looked as if the firefighters were going to let most of the grass on the hillside next to the road just burn itself out.

So our everyday mission of buying sausages turned out to be quite the adventure.

Have you ever seen a house burn down?

Or a bush or grass fire?

A while ago my sister went over the Great Dividing Range to visit our cousin and a few days later I followed to get her back. Normally the trip is around 3 hours, I took over 6. For quite a simple reason really, I stopped almost every time I saw something I really wanted to photograph. I could have flooded you with a hundred photos but I have actually narrowed it down to about 15, so enjoy these shots I took on my trip there and back again.

The cotton paddocks got on my list of spectacular sights I have seen... not that I have a list or anything.

A lot, if not all of these (don't quite remember) were also accepted to Austockphoto, yay. 

Do you have a favourite?

I went out for a short drive a few mornings ago to the train line nearest my place, and I got a few cool photos as the sun rose. Later in the day I drove considerably further to see if I could find any mine trucks or anything like that to photograph and though I did not succeed in seeing any actual trucks I still got some photos I was happy with.

I have a little obsession with locks on gates. and the sun rising behind them only makes them look better. I waited for ages in between trains and madly took photos as they passed. I think in the hour I was there there were about four trains.

The road signs looked rather nice too in the morning light.

Even fences can look quite good.

I went home and had breakfast before heading back out on another photo hunt.

I got some photos of a water truck spraying the roads in the mine to stop them blowing away.

And more locked gates.

Do you ever go photo hunting?

I usually walk but it was a bit far that time at least it was for the last lot?

Which photos are your favourites?