Sierra Nevada Rocks in Portsea for Skywatch Friday

 

I realise there is only a small portion of sky visible in this photograph, yet it still fits within the theme. This image was captured during a period when I was completely fascinated by my ultra-wide 9mm Laowa lens. I was captivated by its ability to exaggerate perspective and include vast surroundings within a single frame, and I found myself experimenting with it in all sorts of situations.

This particular shot was taken at the Portsea sea caves on the Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne. These coastal formations, sculpted over centuries by relentless waves and wind, are renowned for their rugged beauty and dramatic textures. The interplay of light filtering through the cave openings and the reflections from the ocean create a mesmerising scene—one that challenges any photographer to balance composition, exposure, and timing. Creativity should certainly count for something, especially when working in such dynamic and unpredictable natural settings.

Sony A7RV

Laowa 9mm f5.6 

Linking Skywatch Friday

Pearses Bay Blairgowrie for Water H2O Thursday

 

Melbourne has been drenched in unrelenting rain for the past fortnight, and Joel and I have grown restless, longing to venture out this weekend in search of new coastal sunsets to capture. Among the many memories of our past excursions, the view from Pearses Bay remains vivid in my mind.

Perched upon the overhanging cliff, I took the photograph as the sun sank low over the restless sea. My heart beat rapidly—not only from the precarious height beneath my feet but from the sheer beauty of the scene before me. The light that evening was golden and tender, bathing the rugged coastline in a warmth that seemed to defy the cool ocean breeze.

Pearses Bay, tucked away along the back beaches of the Mornington Peninsula, is a place of quiet splendour—remote, wind-swept, and largely untouched. The journey there winds through narrow sandy trails framed by coastal heath and scrub, where the scent of salt and tea tree hangs in the air. Few visitors make their way down to its crescent of pale sand, hemmed in by weathered limestone cliffs. Standing above it at sunset, one feels suspended between sea and sky—a moment of solitude and awe that lingers long after the light fades.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Water H2O Thursday

Pearses Bay, Blairgowrie for Sunday Best

 

Once again, Joel and I visited this rugged coast last weekend. Our wandering led us to a secluded section of the bay adorned with striking rock formations and restless, foaming waters. There we set up our equipment and devoted ourselves to capturing the scene from various angles, the rhythm of the waves providing both challenge and inspiration. Time slipped away unnoticed; scarcely had we taken a few frames before the sun sank beyond the horizon, casting a final glow upon the sea.

The approach to this spot, along the winding trail of the Back Beach on the Mornington Peninsula, was itself a quiet delight — a path bordered by coastal shrubs and windswept dunes, where the air carried the mingled scents of salt and tea-tree. It is a place that rewards both the patient walker and the watchful eye, revealing new beauty with every turn.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Sunday Best

Sierra Nevada Rocks Sunset, Portsea for Skywatch Friday

 

A place I once frequented, though visiting has become increasingly difficult to plan. The Laowa lens creates a pronounced vignetting that deepens the atmosphere of this sombre image, casting an almost timeless mood over the scene.

The Nevada Rocks of Portsea, located along the Mornington Peninsula’s rugged southern coast, form part of the dramatic basalt and sandstone formations that have withstood relentless winds and tides from Bass Strait for millennia. These rocks tell the story of ancient volcanic activity and gradual marine erosion that shaped Victoria’s coastal geology. Over time, the elements carved out weathered ledges and sculptural outcrops that today stand as both a natural wonder and a silent witness to the passage of time.

Human presence here has long been intertwined with the sea. Early European settlers and fishermen sought shelter in the coves, while Portsea itself grew into a seaside retreat in the late nineteenth century, famed for its cliff-top mansions and its proximity to Fort Nepean—once a sentinel guarding the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. Today, Nevada Rocks remains a place of quiet solitude and untamed beauty, where the power of nature meets traces of human history in equal measure.

Sony A7RV

Laowa 9mm f5.6 

Linking Skywatch Friday

Pearses Bay Blairgowrie for Water H2O Thursday

 

Long drives across country Victoria once again—rushing from one destination to the next with scarcely a moment’s pause. As the saying goes, there is no rest for the wicked.

This image is from one of my previous water exposure studies at Pearses Bay, Blairgowrie, on the southern Mornington Peninsula. I thought I might share another, this time capturing a different whirling motion of the ocean.

Geologically, Pearses Bay forms part of the rugged Bass Strait coastline, carved over millennia from the Tertiary limestone and sandstone cliffs characteristic of the region. The relentless action of wind and sea has sculpted dramatic rock platforms, blowholes, and tidal pools that testify to the Peninsula’s ancient marine origins—remnants of a seabed that once lay beneath warm, shallow waters some 10 to 15 million years ago.

Historically, the bay takes its name from early European settlers in the Blairgowrie district during the mid-19th century, when the coast was known for lime burning and small-scale maritime trade. Today, it remains a place where geological time and coastal solitude converge, inviting both reflection and respect for the enduring power of the sea.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Water H2O Thursday

Pearses Bay Blairgowrie for Sunday Best

 

This photograph was taken a week ago at Pearses Bay. Joel, somewhat absent-minded and preoccupied with his phone, seemed scarcely aware of the hour, while I managed to capture this seascape of swirling tides and foaming whirls. It marks my third visit to this striking stretch of coast.

Pearses Bay, lying along the southern rim of the Mornington Peninsula near Blairgowrie, is shaped by the restless breath of Bass Strait. Over millennia, waves have carved its sandstone and limestone cliffs into sculptural terraces, their pale strata revealing an ancient marine history when this land lay beneath a shallow sea. The shore’s reefs and rock pools glisten with seaweed and abalone shells, while the rhythmic surge of the tide traces nature’s ceaseless dialogue between land and water — a landscape both serene and elemental.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Sunday Best

No 16 Beach, Rye for Skywatch Friday

 

Upon the evening of my visit to Number Sixteen Beach at Rye, the heavens lay utterly cloudless, and the setting sun cast its mellow radiance across the waters. Though this stretch of coast is among the most frequented along the Mornington Peninsula, fortune granted me solitude; not a soul was present to disturb the tranquillity. The waves, breaking upon the sand with unhurried constancy, left a delicate froth in the foreground, a lacework of the sea that I found singularly pleasing.

Number Sixteen Beach, so named after the original trackway once marked by numbered posts guiding visitors through the dunes, has long held a reputation both for its rugged beauty and its perilous seas. Unlike the sheltered bay beaches of Rye, this ocean front faces the Bass Strait, and its powerful surf has made it a place admired by walkers and naturalists rather than a safe haven for swimmers. The limestone cliffs and rock platforms that frame the beach bear silent testimony to the restless shaping hand of wind and tide through countless ages. In former times, the local Bunurong people knew these coasts intimately, gathering shellfish from the rock shelves and reading in the land and waters the signs of season and story.

Thus, standing alone at sunset, with the waves whispering their endless song, one is not merely a solitary observer of beauty but also a quiet inheritor of a long continuum of human presence, reverence, and memory upon this shore.

Sony A7RV

FE 14mm f1.8 GM

Linking Skywatch Friday

Bridgewater Bay Sunset on the cliff for Water H2O Thursday

 

Standing upon the sand cliffs of Bridgewater Bay at Blairgowrie, one is immediately struck by the deceptive stillness of the landscape. The cliff edge on which I stood was, in truth, precariously poised above a cavern hollowed out over centuries by the ceaseless force of wind and tide. Beneath my feet lay a deep cave, its roof eroded and thinned to a fragile crust that may collapse at any moment. My companion, Joel, wisely urged me to step back, reminding me that the grandeur of the view is often matched by the peril of the elements that have shaped it.

These overhanging caves are a signature feature of the Mornington Peninsula’s rugged coastline. Formed by the relentless pounding of Bass Strait waves against the friable sandstone, they represent both the transience and endurance of natural architecture. Over time, the softer layers of rock are worn away, leaving behind dramatic vaults and caverns beneath seemingly solid ground. Such formations are not uncommon in this part of Blairgowrie, where the interplay of geology and oceanic power has carved out a coastline as beautiful as it is dangerous.

The sand cliffs themselves bear witness to an ancient story. Much of the Peninsula’s coastal geology is composed of calcarenite, a form of dune limestone laid down during the last Ice Age when sea levels were lower and winds piled sand into vast dunes. In subsequent millennia, these dunes hardened into stone, only to be gnawed once more by the restless sea. Thus, what today appears as a sheer and formidable cliff is in fact a fragile palimpsest of natural history, its fate determined by the invisible pressures at work beneath the surface.

On this occasion, I carried my newly acquired FE 16mm f1.8 GM lens. Yet the wide angle, though technically perfect, seemed inadequate to capture the sense of awe and danger embodied in those cliffs. For no lens, however fine, can wholly convey the vertiginous impression of standing on ground that trembles with impermanence, overlooking caverns sculpted by time and tide.

Sony A7RV

FE 16mm f1.8 GM

Linking Water H2O Thursday

Point King Jetty, Sorrento for Treasure Tuesday

 

Last weekend, when the weather turned unfavourable, Joel and I sought shelter and diversion in the comfort of a Japanese bar, where we enjoyed a glass of sake together. Another quiet weekend of food and drink, and the indulgence that inevitably follows.

Point King Jetty, once the preserve of Melbourne’s affluent elite, was originally constructed in the 19th century to provide a landing place for the distinguished visitors who travelled by steamship to the Mornington Peninsula. The secluded shoreline of Sorrento became, for a time, a playground of privilege, a place where the wealthy could disembark directly onto their own stretch of sand, shielded from the crowds. Today, however, such exclusivity has long since dissolved, and the jetty—though weathered by time—welcomes visitors of every kind, including casual wanderers such as ourselves.

On that particular day, the sky unfolded in sweeping dramas of cloud, shifting and curling above the calm waters of the bay. The photograph I share was taken during that visit. The curious shade of blue is not the true reflection of the sea, but rather the result of a known issue with the Sony camera’s sensor I once used. At the time, I lacked the patience to correct the colours in post-editing, yet the image remains for me a testament not only to the scene itself, but also to the imperfections and character of the tools with which it was captured.

Sony A7III

FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM

Linking Treasure Tuesday

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.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Skywatch Friday

Bridgewater Bay Blairgowrie for Water H2O Thursday

 

Both Joel and I longed to breathe the briny air and hear again the timeless voice of the sea. A fortnight past, we made our way once more to the cliff-tops overlooking Bridgewater Bay at Blairgowrie, drawn by the desire to attempt long-exposure photography in a place yet untried. Though the conditions were far from perfect, the novelty of the location, with its rugged beauty and the promise of new discovery, gave the venture a certain poetry of its own. Joel, ever patient, came to collect me from my home, but through my own misjudgment—having earlier taken my mother to supper—I delayed him by forty minutes. That tardiness weighed heavily upon me, for I felt I had stolen time from both him and the sea itself.

Bridgewater Bay, where we stood, is no ordinary shoreline. It is a place where the restless waters of Bass Strait carve their legend into limestone cliffs and sandstone shelves, where tidal pools mirror the heavens and the wind carries whispers of ancient times. Once a hunting and gathering ground for the Boonwurrung people, who knew the rhythms of these shores long before our cameras sought to capture their moods, it later became part of the maritime frontier of the Mornington Peninsula. The bay has borne witness to shipwrecks and storms, and its eroded rock formations—arched, honeycombed, and sculpted by centuries—stand as natural monuments to endurance.

Thus, as Joel and I set up our tripods against the evening light, I could not help but feel that our own small pursuit of a perfect image was but a fleeting gesture in the vast theatre of time. The bay, with its layered history of people, tides, and stone, seemed to forgive my lateness, reminding me that all human haste dissolves before the patience of the ocean

Sony A7RV

FE 16mm f1.8 G

Linking Water H2O Thursday

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.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Skywatch Friday

Portsea Back Beach in Mornington Peninsula for Treasure Tuesday

 

At times, once an image is captured, I find it impossible to recreate it again, even when returning to the same location under seemingly similar lighting conditions. For a period, I frequently ventured alone along the shore, experimenting with various shutter speeds and techniques. I persisted in my pursuit irrespective of the weather. These photographs were taken during that time at Portsea—a locale not renowned as a popular tourist destination yet distinguished by its exposed ocean floor at low tide. Though these scenes may not captivate the majority, I hold a profound affection for these two particular images

Sony A7RV

FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM

Linking Treasure Tuesday

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.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Water H2O Thursday

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.

Sony A7RV

FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM

Linking Sky watch Friday

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.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Water H2O Thursday

JimmyRum Distillery visit in Mornington Peninsula for Treasure Tuesday

 

During an outing arranged by Joel, we visited the JimmyRum distillery—a distinctive venue in Dromana on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, known as the region’s first dedicated craft rum distillery. Established with the vision of introducing Australians to a refined appreciation of rum, JimmyRum has since gained a reputation for its inventive small-batch creations and a relaxed coastal ambience.

Upon our arrival, however, we found ourselves unattended for nearly half an hour, seemingly overlooked amidst the flurry of larger rum-tasting tour groups. We very nearly departed in disappointment, until a courteous gentleman eventually welcomed us and offered us a seat, inviting us to wait a little longer.

We partook in their curated rum tastings—Joel selected the extravagant set, while I opted for the fruit-based selection. Despite our differing preferences, we curiously settled on the same bottle to take home: a coffee-flavoured rum, which was not at all what we had initially anticipated. Regrettably, the finer expressions we truly desired proved beyond our budget. Nevertheless, the accompanying cheese balls were delightfully paired, their richness harmonising beautifully with the spiced warmth of the rum.

What began with some hesitation concluded in a most spirited and memorable experience, a testament to the allure and conviviality that JimmyRum has come to embody.

Sony A7RV

FE 16mm f4 G

Linking Treasure Tuesday

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

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.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

Linking Water H2O Thursday

Portsea back beach, Mornington Peninsula for Water H2O Thursday

 

Joel will be engaged with his in-laws over the coming fortnight, so we resolved to visit the back beach at Portsea before the demands of daily life took hold once more. The excursion was imbued with a creamy noir quality, lending the moment a sense of quiet drama and reflection. It also afforded me the opportunity to test my new neutral density filter paired with the 35mm f/1.4 lens.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Linking Water H2O Thursday