The former HMAS Otama, an Oberon-class submarine, spent many years anchored off Crib Point on the Mornington Peninsula. Commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in 1978, she served during the final decades of the Cold War, including intelligence-gathering operations. She was decommissioned in December 2000, and a local community association later acquired her with the ambitious dream of turning her into a floating maritime museum. Sadly, years of financial difficulties, planning obstacles and exposure to the elements eventually brought that dream to an end. In September 2022, she was taken away for dismantling and recycling.
I took this photograph about six months before her removal. Captured with an ultra-long exposure, the water takes on an almost ethereal quality, its movement dissolving into a soft, seamless veil. The muted colours and gentle atmosphere are much closer to the photographic style I have gravitated towards in recent years.
Some might argue that removing the movement from the water also takes away its character, the restless energy that gives a seascape its life. Yet there was a time when I absolutely loved this approach to photography, patiently allowing the sea to become something almost otherworldly through long exposures.
Funny how our tastes evolve. Looking back, I can still appreciate the beauty of this style, but the passion that once drew me towards it seems to have quietly faded. Perhaps photography, like life itself, is a journey through different phases. What once captivated us may eventually give way to something else.
Sony A7RV
FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM
Linking Sunday Best
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