An orange sun sets
As I sit and watch the swans
Glide over the lake
Beautiful sunset over the lake earlier this afternoon. It was a lovely end to the day.
Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2019
Sunset 16/8/19
Poetry
Sunset at Pelican
The sky catches fire:
My eyes search the horizon
For your gentle face
The photo group I run met at Pelican last Sunday. I was excited for the shoot as it’s one of my very favourite spots to shoot around Lake Macquarie and not many people had shot there before. When the conditions are right it can be a real gem.
So I was hoping we’d get a beautiful sunset and it didn’t disappoint! Once the sun had just dipped below the horizon, the sky became this incredible canvas of blue, orange, yellow and purple. We all got some nice shots and I was very happy with how these long exposures came out.
There was also a beautiful crescent moon which I managed to get a shot of afterwards. I don’t tend to shoot the moon when it’s not full, this reminded me I should do it more often. The slither of light against the darkness is quite striking.
Photos and haiku © CJ Levinson 2019
Under the Milky Way
The Milky Way
Stretches across the sky:
I see your face
In the stars
I took these shots in Newcastle last week. I’ve always loved the stars and have often wanted to try to shoot the Milky Way but there’s usually too much light pollution around to shoot it properly. I took these at Nobbys Breakwall and while there was still light pollution, it was dark enough to get a few shots. I was pleased with how they came out, particularly not having done a lot of astrophotography before. Not bad for a first attempt!
Photos and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2019
Cliffs at Redhead Beach
Rocky towers
Rise from the sand,
Silent guardians
Of this ancient land
I took this at Redhead Beach a couple of weeks ago. The light was beautiful and I loved the contrast between the shadows and the orange rocks and the blue sky. The whole scene reminded me a little of the temples and tombs at Petra.
Belmont Jetty at Dusk
A purple and yellow sky
Dotted with clouds
Marks the end
Of a long day
This is from a couple of weeks ago, by the new Belmont Baths. I’m really enjoying exploring the baths and jetty, there are a lot of fantastic opportunities for photos, particularly now there are less people around.
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2019Between Speers Point and Warners Bay
Walking by the water
The sun on my back
A breeze on my face:
Peace
This shot is from a couple of weeks ago. I was actually walking in the opposite direction but noticed how beautiful the light was and swung around in time to capture this moment. It’s easy to forget to look behind you but sometimes that’s where the best shots are.
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2019
Sunset 5/3/19
A bright golden sun
Sets over the distant hills
As day becomes night
The sun setting over the lake yesterday evening. It was a nice end to a long day.
Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2019
Seagull Sunset
Golden reflections
Shimmer across the water
As day fades to night
I took this photo by the lake in Belmont a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful sunset and this seagull was kind enough to pose for me as well which really added to the photo.
Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2019
Lightning over the Lake
A bright streak
Flashes across the sky
Lighting up the night
And your eyes
We had an amazing, fairly sudden storm this evening. It had been overcast most of the day but the thunder and lightning still seemed to come without warning. Luckily I was nearly home when it started and so I grabbed my camera and tripod and hurried down to the lake to try to get some shots.
Lightning is tricky to photograph and it took some experimentation – you’d think you’d want to use a high shutter speed to freeze the strike but because lightning is so unpredictable, I find you actually have to go the opposite way and use a slow shutter speed to give yourself more time to capture a good strike. Working out exactly how long though is a bit of trial and error so it can be fiddly and if it’s a short burst, you might not get anything at all.
I really like how this one came out though. It was a 25 second exposure which is about the sweet spot I find, particularly at night. I’ve taken a few lightning shots before but since moving to Belmont I’ve always wanted to get a dramatic one over the lake. I guess that’s one thing I can check off the bucket list now. 😀
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2019