Portsea Beach, Mornington Peninsula for Skywatch Friday

 

This steadfast rock has ever been my compass for long exposures, a sentinel against the shifting tides and the passing of seasons. Last weekend the heavens conspired with storm and rain, and so I turned from the unruly present to the stillness of my archives, where calmer skies and gentler seas remain preserved.

Portsea Beach itself is a place where time and tide weave their eternal dance. The cliffs and outcrops, born of sandstone and limestone laid down in forgotten oceans, stand weathered yet unyielding, their faces etched by centuries of wind and wave. Each stone bears the script of ages, each ripple of sand a fleeting verse upon the vast poem of the shore.

Here the sea gathers its strength, for the Southern Ocean presses against the narrow Heads, surging into Port Phillip Bay with a restless spirit. The waters may gleam like glass beneath a quiet dawn, yet within them lies the memory of tempests, of ships dashed and lives claimed. Beneath it all, the Bunurong people once walked these sands with reverence, their footsteps bound to the rhythm of tide and season, reading the coast as one might a sacred text.

To stand upon Portsea Beach is to linger at the threshold of worlds—the ancient and the present, the serene and the perilous. It is a place where nature holds dominion, and where the solitary rock, enduring amid the breakers, becomes not merely a subject for the lens but a symbol of patience, memory, and the silent grandeur of the sea.

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Flinders Blowhole Beach in Mornington Peninsula for Sky Watch Friday

 

This stretch of beach was where I often wandered in search of crabs hiding in the rock pools, timing my steps just before the sun began to sink low over the horizon. The tide left behind pockets of still water that mirrored the sky and, most strikingly, the cave nearby whose reflection shimmered with the changing light. It was a fleeting but beautiful moment, where the ordinary act of looking into shallow puddles revealed both life and landscape in harmony.

The cave and blowhole are part of the rugged coastline at Flinders, on the southern edge of the Mornington Peninsula, about an hour and a half from Melbourne. The region tells a story that stretches back millions of years, when volcanic activity left behind the dark basalt cliffs that now meet the sea. Over time, the powerful swells of the Bass Strait relentlessly carved into these rocks, hollowing out sea caves and forming the blowhole that today draws both visitors and locals. The air there often carries the salt spray of crashing waves, and on windy days the ocean surges with a force that reminds you of its timeless authority.

Flinders itself has long been appreciated for its natural beauty, with its cliffs, rock shelves, and tide pools offering endless opportunities for exploration. Beyond its geology, the area is steeped in human history too: the coastline was known and traversed by the Bunurong people, who relied on its waters for food and held deep connections to its land and sea. Later, it was named after the navigator Matthew Flinders, who charted much of Australia’s southern coast in the early 1800s.

Standing at the blowhole today, watching the sun lower across the horizon and catching glimpses of crabs in the pools, I felt the convergence of many timelines. The fleeting moment of a reflection in water was layered atop a landscape shaped by fire and ocean, and upon traditions that stretch back thousands of years. In that sense, the Flinders Blowhole is not only a place of natural drama but also one of quiet continuity, where the vastness of history meets the intimacy of memory.

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Linking Skywatch Friday

Forest Cave Phillip Island for Water H2O Thursday

 

I have sought a somewhat high-key approach in this composition. Though it is not the product of a long exposure, I endeavoured to capture the advancing waves as they swept across the shore, smoothing the sand as though polishing a vast marble floor. The shutter was set at neither too swift nor too languid a pace, thereby rendering a natural softness in the motion of the sea.

This scene unfolds upon one of Phillip Island’s secluded forest-fringed cave beaches, where rugged cliffs and weathered rock bear silent witness to millennia of wind and tide. The dense coastal woodland above, with its canopy of eucalypt and tea-tree, whispers of an ancient landscape that has sheltered wildlife and echoed with the passage of the Bunurong people long before European discovery. Here, in the meeting of forest, stone, and sea, the rhythms of history and nature are inscribed in every grain of sand and every retreating wave.

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Cadillac Gorge Coast Gippsland for Skywatch Friday

 

Cadillac Gorge in Gippsland is a place of singular beauty, best revealed in its fullness when the tide runs high. Unlike many locations along the coast near Melbourne, which lose much of their drama to the receding waters, this gorge gains its splendour precisely at the hour when the sea presses inward, filling its chasms with heaving, silvered tides. It was during the quiet severity of winter that this particular scene was captured, when the air was sharp, the sea restless, and the light cast a subdued, almost austere glow across the stone.

The natural history of the gorge is deeply rooted in the geological character of Gippsland’s coast. Over countless millennia, waves and weather chiselled away at the softer rock, leaving behind a rugged cleft where the sea now surges and withdraws in eternal rhythm. The walls of the gorge bear silent testimony to this slow labour of time, their strata marking ancient epochs of earth and ocean. In winter, sea-spray often wreathes the rocks in a fine mist, and birdlife—gulls, cormorants, and the occasional sea eagle—can be seen circling above, drawn by the bounty of the waters.

The human history of Cadillac Gorge, though quieter, is no less meaningful. Long before European settlement, the coastal country of Gippsland was part of the traditional lands of the Gunai/Kurnai people, for whom the shorelines and sea caves were places of food gathering, story, and spiritual connection. With colonisation, the coast became a frontier for sealing, fishing, and later, tourism, as travellers from Melbourne sought out wild beauty beyond the city. Today, though relatively little known compared with the more frequented coves of Phillip Island or the Great Ocean Road, Cadillac Gorge stands as one of those hidden places that rewards patient discovery.

Thus, a photograph taken here at high tide is not merely an image of rocks and water: it is a moment within a much older story, shaped by the forces of earth and sea, and framed by the layered presence of human history upon the land.

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Kitty Miller Bay Phillip Island for Water H2O Thursday

 

Kitty Miller Bay, situated on the southern coast of Phillip Island, is renowned as a premier destination for surfing, drawing enthusiasts with its consistently favorable waves and striking coastal scenery. The bay, framed by dramatic cliffs and pristine sandy shores, bears witness to both natural and human history. Its geological formations tell the story of ancient coastal processes, while the surrounding vegetation reflects the island’s unique flora adapted to the harsh marine environment. Historically, the area has attracted mariners, and remnants of shipwrecks along the shore serve as poignant reminders of the perilous seas that once challenged early navigation. I once visited Kitty Miller Bay in pursuit of capturing a compelling photograph of one such shipwreck, seeking to preserve the interplay of natural beauty and historical resonance in a single image.

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Balnarring Jetty at Mornington Peninsula for Thursday H2O Thurdsay

 

I am presently undertaking a three-week placement in regional Victoria. The first week involves continuous 24/7 on-call duties, leaving little opportunity for personal time.

The photograph shared here was taken late last year. Joel and I had become quite captivated by the idea of capturing a particular perspective of an old jetty pylon. Though we never quite achieved the precise image we had envisioned, the final photograph possesses a distinct character of its own.

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Pulpit Rock in cloudy sky for Skywatch Friday

 

I have shared numerous photographs from this region. Pulpit Rock, a striking natural formation at Cape Schanck on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, bears a resemblance to a phallic symbol. This prominent geological feature is composed primarily of basalt, formed from ancient volcanic activity approximately 20 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. The rock stands as a testament to the region’s turbulent geological past, where successive lava flows cooled and solidified, creating the rugged coastline that defines Cape Schanck today.

In this particular image, the golden hour’s enchanting light is absent, replaced instead by an overcast sky. The green algae carpeting the foreground emerges as the principal feature, adding a vibrant contrast against the dark basalt. These algae thrive in the intertidal zones of the rocky shore, contributing to the complex coastal ecosystem by providing nourishment and habitat for a variety of marine life.

The air was chill, and Joel was unwilling to remain for long. During our visit, we observed a young boy of Indian descent nearly swept from the precarious rocks and into the sea—a stark reminder of the power of the ocean at this exposed headland. Pulpit Rock and its surrounding cliffs are constantly shaped by relentless waves and winds, making it a site of both breathtaking beauty and inherent natural danger.

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Bridgewater Bay Blairgowrie for Water H2O Thursday

 

There has been scarcely any significant low tide in recent months along this stretch of coast. Thus, I seized a brief moment to capture a photograph from the stairway, looking down toward the shore. Nearby, one of the sand cliffs has given way, its collapse engulfing the entire shoreline beneath a shroud of earth and debris.

This took place at Bridgewater Bay, situated in Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. Renowned for its rugged coastal beauty, Bridgewater Bay features sweeping limestone cliffs, secluded rock pools, and crescent-shaped sands that are accessible only during favourable tides. In calmer times, its natural amphitheatre and tidal platforms attract walkers and beachcombers alike. Yet nature’s forces here are ever at play — carving, shaping, and at times overwhelming the very landscape they adorn.

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Linking Water H2O Thursday

Grantville Jetty Sunset for Skywatch Friday

 

Grantville lies not far from Tenby Point, and it was this proximity that led Joel and me to visit—drawn, curiously enough, by a singular souvlaki shop, notable for being operated by Greeks rather than the more common Chinese proprietors. The lamb served here is remarkably succulent, richly complemented by a garlicky parsley sauce that lingers pleasantly on the palate.

Just behind the modest establishment stands the town's jetty, offering a quiet vista over the water. Thus, our visit served a dual purpose—culinary and contemplative—allowing us, as the saying goes, to kill two birds with one stone.

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Bay of Islands in Blairgowrie Mornington Peninsula for Water H2O Thursday

 

There exist three distinct locations bearing the name Bay of Islands within the state of Victoria, Australia. I have had the pleasure of visiting each of them. Of these, the one situated closest to Melbourne holds a particular charm for me. Nestled along the Mornington Peninsula, this coastal enclave offers a striking interplay of sea cliffs, hidden inlets, and crystalline waters—ideal for moments of quiet reflection or aerial exploration.

When my companion Joel and I are not preoccupied with the pursuit of sunset landscapes, we often retreat to this locale to fly our drone and capture sweeping views of the coastline. The rugged contours and tranquil hues lend themselves beautifully to this form of observation.

The second Bay of Islands lies within the famed Great Ocean Road region, west of Peterborough. This is perhaps the most well-known of the three, celebrated for its dramatic limestone stacks rising from the Southern Ocean—remnants of a landscape carved by centuries of wind and wave.

The third, more remote and lesser known, is found near the shores of Corner Inlet in Gippsland. Here, coastal serenity and the subtle presence of birdlife create a setting marked by calm rather than spectacle. Each Bay of Islands bears its own character, yet all share the same elemental spirit—where land meets sea in timeless conversation.

Linking Water H2O Thursday

Star fish at Mount Martha Melbourne for Saturday Critter

 

While walking along the coast near Mount Martha, I came upon this starfish resting just beneath the water’s surface. Though it is a known marine pest along our shores, I could not help but appreciate the quiet moment when it appeared beside my feet as I was photographing the sea.

The image depicts a sea star—also known as a starfish—positioned upon a bed of green algae and submerged vegetation. Notably, it possesses more than the customary five arms, suggesting it may belong to a multi-armed species such as the Solaster, commonly referred to as the sun star.

These creatures are marine echinoderms, distinguished by their radial symmetry and numerous tube feet, which they employ to navigate the ocean floor. This specimen was observed in a shallow, tranquil coastal pool, where the clarity of the water revealed the richness of the marine flora beneath.

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Flinders Blowhole Mornington Peninsula for Water H2O Thursday

 

This photograph was taken during our previous excursion to Flinders Blowhole on the Mornington Peninsula, a destination chosen for its proximity to our residence in Melbourne. At the time, Joel and I favoured locations that required only a short drive. Presently, Joel finds himself occupied with visits from his in-laws, who travel frequently from Sydney—ostensibly, he believes, to spend time with their grandchildren. As for myself, I am presently taking a respite from coastal outings, having developed a growing interest in exploring the urban landscape instead.

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Bridgewater Bay Blairgowrie for Skywatch Friday

 

Winter sunsets often display warmer and more vivid hues than those of summer. This is partly due to the sun being farther from the Earth during the winter months. I find particular enjoyment in photographing sunsets during this season, as Joel and I are then able to visit the local fish and chip shop afterwards, with the sun setting conveniently around five o'clock.

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London Bridge, Portsea, Mornington Peninsula for Water H2O Thursday

 

Joel and I once again found ourselves in this picturesque corner of Melbourne, drawn by the timeless beauty of the coast at Portsea. The tide had risen halfway, lapping gently at the shore, and we took the opportunity to capture another image of the sea cave before the encroaching waves swallowed the space entirely.

This site, known as London Bridge, holds a quiet majesty shaped by millennia of natural forces. Carved by the relentless action of wind and water, the arch once formed a striking natural bridge jutting into the Bass Strait. For decades, it stood as a proud sentinel of the Mornington Peninsula, a favourite among visitors and locals alike.

However, in 2005, the bridge partially collapsed—its central span giving way to the ocean’s persistent erosion. What remains now is a rugged, windswept fragment of its former grandeur, a solemn reminder of nature’s power to both create and undo. Today, as the sea reclaims the cave below, we are reminded not only of the fragility of these coastal formations but also of the fleeting moments we are fortunate enough to witness.

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FE 35mm f1.4 GM

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Bridgewater Bay, Mornington Peninsula Sunset for Skywatch Friday

 

No foreground is discernible save for the advancing waves, their restless motion ever drawing the eye. Above, the golden sky is suffused with a deep, rich orange hue, casting a solemn glow upon the scene. Upon the distant horizon to the right, two ships are faintly discerned, their silhouettes a testament to the era when maritime vessels plied these waters, linking the burgeoning settlements of Melbourne with distant lands. The cliffs of Bridgewater Bay, steeped in history, stand guard nearby—once a silent witness to the passage of explorers and traders who shaped the destiny of this southern shore.

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Cape Schanck Sunset for Sky Watch Friday

 

Cape Schanck, situated on the southern tip of the Mornington Peninsula, is a place of remarkable natural beauty and a favored destination for photographers. While it is particularly renowned for its breathtaking sunrises, I must confess that, on the rare occasions I find respite from work, I struggle to rise at such an early hour. Nevertheless, the allure of the cape endures.

Joel holds a particular fondness for Cape Schanck, in no small part due to its convenient proximity to Melbourne—a mere 45-minute journey under favorable conditions. The walk down the rugged staircase, though physically demanding, offers invigorating exercise and rewards one with sweeping coastal vistas.

Rich in both natural splendor and historical significance, Cape Schanck has long captivated visitors. Its dramatic cliffs, shaped by millennia of wind and sea, stand as silent sentinels over the restless waters of Bass Strait. The iconic Cape Schanck Lighthouse, built in 1859, adds a further layer of charm, bearing witness to the maritime history that continues to define the region.

In all, it is a place where land, sea, and sky converge in a timeless dance—a setting that stirs the soul, whether viewed through the lens of a camera or the quiet contemplation of the heart.

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Linking Skywatch Friday

I find myself experiencing a degree of muscle strain, the result of the many walks I undertook throughout Sydney’s central business district. Tomorrow, I shall return home to Melbourne.

London Bridge Remains, Portsea, Mornington Peninsula for Sunday Best

 

Situated upon the windswept coast of Portsea, at the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, the site known as London Bridge was once crowned by a magnificent natural arch—an enduring testament to the erosive power and artistry of the sea. Fashioned over countless centuries, the arch stood as both a geological marvel and a cherished local landmark, drawing visitors to behold its stark beauty and the thunderous majesty of the ocean that sculpted it.

The great arch succumbed to the inevitable work of time and tide, collapsing in the early twenty-first century and thus altering the visage of the coastline forever. Yet the place remains imbued with a kind of solemn grandeur. Where once stone spanned sky, now only remnants of its former glory stand—weathered, noble, and quiet.

I used to frequent this place often, long before I began to spend my weekends in the company of Joel. In those days, I found in the solitude of London Bridge a peculiar and profound kind of solace. Though the arch itself has long since fallen, the sea, ever faithful to its art, continues its delicate work. At high tide, waters surge into the heart of what remains—a rocky cavernous bowl—filling it with a shimmering pool of seawater that dances and glistens in the sunlight. It is a sight of singular, haunting beauty.

Joel, however, regarded the place with far less affection. To him, it was barren and uninspiring, its charms too subtle, its colours too subdued. I suppose we all have our own preferences. Where I perceived wild poetry, he found only a muted coast. And yet, I cannot help but feel that therein lies its power: in the understated, in the stripped-down silence of land and sea at meeting point.

Though the bridge itself is no more, the spirit of London Bridge endures—etched not only in the weathered stone and the tides that whisper through its remains, but also in the hearts of those who once stood before it and felt, if only for a moment, the immensity of the earth’s quiet grandeur.

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Granite Island, Victor Harbour, South Australia for Water H2O Thursday

 

These photographs showcase areas of Granite Island that were not included in my earlier publications. The striking red mosses adorning the granite rocks are a distinctive and captivating feature of the island’s natural landscape. Granite Island, located just off the coast of Victor Harbor in South Australia, is famed for its extensive granite outcrops formed millions of years ago, which have shaped its unique terrain and ecosystem. The island boasts a rich history, having been inhabited by the Ngarrindjeri people for thousands of years before European settlement, and today serves as a protected reserve supporting diverse native flora and fauna, including the well-known little penguin colony. I find great enjoyment and solace in experiencing the island’s remarkable natural beauty and the opportunity to immerse myself in its serene environment.

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FE 20-70mm f4 G

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Staircase and Egg Rock at Granite Island, South Australia for Sunday Best

 

Staircase of Granite Island:
The staircase of Granite Island in South Australia is a striking man-made feature that winds its way up the rugged granite terrain of the island, offering visitors an accessible path to panoramic views of the surrounding seascape. Carefully integrated into the natural environment, the staircase allows for a gradual ascent, making it easier for tourists to explore the elevated areas without disturbing the island’s delicate ecosystem. Along the way, travelers are treated to breathtaking vistas of Encounter Bay and the dramatic Southern Ocean, as well as opportunities to spot local wildlife, including seabirds and the island’s famous little penguins.

Egg Rock of Granite Island:
Egg Rock is one of the intriguing natural formations on Granite Island, named for its smooth, rounded shape that resembles a large egg perched amid the jagged granite boulders. This geological feature, sculpted over millennia by wind and sea erosion, stands as a testament to the island’s dynamic natural history. Egg Rock is a popular point of interest for visitors exploring the walking trails, as it provides not only a unique photo opportunity but also a moment of wonder at the forces of nature that have shaped the island’s landscape. The formation adds to the island’s mystique and complements its other natural and cultural attractions.

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FE 20-70mm f4 G

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Bridgewater Bay Sunset for Water H2O Thursday

 

Recently, Joel and I had the pleasure of visiting Bridgewater Bay, a locale of striking natural beauty nestled along the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne. The bay, renowned for its dramatic limestone cliffs and sculpted rock formations, presents varied aspects of the coastline—each affording its own unique photographic character. The ebb and flow of the Southern Ocean have, over countless years, carved intricate features into the shore, rendering the landscape both wild and sublime.

Locum work that takes one away from home, however, proves to be a challenge. Such endeavors serve as a sober reminder not to accept such responsibilities without due consideration. In moments of solitude and fatigue, I find myself increasingly aware of the passage of time and the quiet insistence of age.

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FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Water H2O Thursday