Being half way up the Illawarra Escarpment, I wasn’t surprised to find the Abbey thick in fog by mid-afternoon. It certainly made everything look very eerie.
There was still enough light to capture the details of the ferns.
It’s amazing how much light there is when it’s foggy. In the photography class we learned that it was because each water droplet is like a micro mirror, reflecting and amplifying light.
The grass in the paddock was ridiculously lush and green, like all the other pastures around Jamberoo.
The moss on the fence was growing well in the wet.
A close-up of the wire fence revealed some intricate webs. You can’t keep a good spider down, even when it’s raining.
The flowers might have been nice and bright the day before…
But they took on a translucent, saturated quality when dripping with rainwater.
The rain came again the following day. From my room I could see that it was cool and very wet outside.
It didn’t matter too much as I had brought a few things to do, like my knitting.
The rainforest was lush and cool – and full of mosquitoes since water was plentiful. Despite the welcoming seats it’s not a place that I would sit at.
The stream was rushing, although it was not so long when it was merely trickling.
I could even remember a time when it stopped flowing altogether. Not anymore.
Lent is always a good time to visit Jamberoo Abbey.
Lots of peace and time to appreciate my natural surroundings.
The trees on the avenue were starting to turn from their lush summer green.
And shed their leaves.
I was struck by how much those trees have grown. This was taken five years ago, and the branches were still very wide apart.
I stayed poolside for awhile, watching people’s graceful strokes.
It made me regret not bringing my swimmers along.
And at the other end were some people starting out their swimming careers. Perhaps this was the first time this little one has been in the water without floaties?
It was a good way to end the project, and the short course. There are 2 more short courses to do, and I think I might try another later on in the year.
It was a little quieter at the pool than on my first visit all those years ago, but there was no denying the view from the deck.
As with on the beach, people at the pool were going about their morning exercise.
Doing their laps on a glorious morning.
I like how the camera captured the strokes so beautifully.
One of my favourite photos that I’ve taken was this one, shot perhaps 15 years ago, back in the days when I was still shooting on film.
When I was thinking about places to shoot for this project, I thought again of Bondi. This time I came on a weekday morning. I was surprised at how busy the place was, full of people doing all kinds of physical activity.
I remember a tourist once saying that Sydneysiders must be the fittest people in the world. My reaction was to laugh, given that I live deep in the suburbs where people were more interested in going to cafes, and much of the physical activity was done indoors in gyms. Now that I’ve been to Bondi, I know what those tourists mean.
Here, everyone was bronze, trim and terrific, jogging their nine laps of the beach or saluting the sun yoga-style. It was definitely a different world to the suburbs I live in.
Looking at the world from above can be done anywhere – I took my camera along to my craft group.
The photos really do tell a story.
With all the colourful bits and bobs, even crafting can be picturesque.
Static and Silence 