“Quick, Quick!” exclaimed Mr X1. “There’s a dog up there on the top of the hill. Photograph it! No, you’ve missed it”.
I didn’t miss it. I had swung the little Sony RX100 around to grab the dog an instant before it disappeared over the horizon. The camera was probably still moving into position when I popped the shutter. There’s no IBIS to assist me, although I’m fairly sure that IBIS would have been really confused had it been present. And composition, in that split second I couldn’t have even proclaimed the word.
Lockdown
Greater Sydney is in lockdown— aka “Stay at Home Orders” as the state government wants to call it. It seems that they don’t like to use the word “lockdown”.
The more transmissible delta variant of Covid19 has been escaping controls and rearing its ugly little spiked head as it moves west across the city. Australia has been very successful in handling the virus over the past 18 months. For the eight million population of New South Wales state, there have been only 58 deaths in that time, each one tragic for sure, but a proportion that has been indicative of high-level controls on population and movement. But the delta variant has been a “game-changer” as the politicians and health officials and media like to proclaim. Probably true.
The very low incidence of the virus across Australia has led to a lazy approach to vaccination rate, contributing factors being, “If there’s no disease then why should I risk blood clots from the Astra Zeneca vaccine?” (Answer: ‘Cos if you get Covid you’re more likely to die, and you’re more likely to die driving your car anyway).
The slow rollout of the vaccine has been blamed on the government, and even government officials seem to concentrate just as much on vaccine risk as on the greater benefit to both the individual and society.
Ok, now that I’ve got that off my chest let’s get back to some photographs…
Walk ‘n talk
We are allowed to leave our homes for the purpose of exercise. For Mr X1, John Shingleton, and me that means that our regular coffee morning has had to morph into an exercise walk, with a quick outdoor-standing coffee at the conclusion.
Last week I took the tiny pocketable Sony RX100—thank you to Macfilos family member David Babsky who guided me past my initial qualms with that camera. I’ve come to relish it.
Mr X1 wasn’t toting his X1 or Q2; he often just walks with his new iPhone these days and proclaims wonder at the image quality that he gets from it. Although he does hate the haptics of using a phone, it has to be said.
The one-hour trek started on the foreshore at John’s coastal home town of Terrigal. Many other people were also out there on their exercise walks with us.
Heading out of town, we wandered past the marina and up to a couple of the headland lookouts. Most other people up there were being exercised by their dogs. The canines were enjoying the company of friends.
Then, finally, we were up to a cliff face known as The Skillion for a view south down to Sydney city proper. The delta variant hasn’t yet reached the Central Coast of NSW. Let’s hope it stays that way.
To finish we retraced our footsteps back into town and our much-anticipated coffee. But even as we sipped our standing beverage, the continual reminder of that sinister little virus is everywhere.
Read more from Wayne Gerlach
Sony RX100V: Is this the travel camera for me?
Sony RX100 VI Review: The teeniest with the mostest
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Thank you Jason.
It was a Leica C Lux accompaniment yesterday.
Quite impressed. Will have to put something together for Macfilos.
Trusting you might be getting a chance to exercise the Fuji X20.
I get tempted by the CLux (and Panasonic equivalent) sometimes.
I haven’t done much photography this year, hence my absence from Macfilos for a little while. And every time I have an idea for some content for Mike, something gets in the way, or I can’t get the words on “paper” , or the lockdown starts again, or ……… Its just been awkward 12-18 months, I guess.
Nicely done, Wayne.
Good to see that you and John are still able to catch up, even in the midst of the resurgent pandemic and contributing idiocy from our “leaders”.
It seems you’re putting that Sony to good use. Stay safe, go well.
Golden Hour with Happy Hour…… timed to start at “Beer O’clock”. Good thinking.
My poison is a nice red wine, John is the beer guru.
But for both of us the kool aid is getting out with a camera in hand, just as it is for many of Michael’s Macfilos family. More of that when the virus is consigned to that garbage bin in image #3.
Cheers.
I am sitting wondering why everyone wearing heavier, then I remember your winter! Good to see the King is out and about and you really like that camera. It always impressed me . Think you two should combine late pm Golden Hour w Happy Hour. Start a new fad.
Wayne, thank you for this visual update on life in or around Terrigal. It is also good to see John, looking so well after his recent traumas. A good compact camera is a good companion on almost any jaunts at home or abroad. I hope your vaccination programme becomes more universal in your country, I enjoyed your pictures, particularly the documentary value reflected in your line of posters.
Yes, John is doing ok. I’m sure he doesn’t mind me saying that he finds some days better than others. But the lockdown is certainly irritating him…..and me….and everyone else over here. We have been spoilt by the success in containing the virus over the last 18 months (see john’s comment above).
It is nice to see you settling in with a different camera and producing some really decent results with it. I am mildly amused that Mr X1 would not bring his X1 to the show. That is something new, as many of his images have been taken on is morning walks. Probably some of his best images have as I recall.
Anyway that pesky devil called Covid, yep that Delta variant seems to breaking all the rules and all the restrictions us human beings have put in place. Just goes to show you that a virus can genuinely have a mind of its own. Your article also shows that other human trait, complacence. I often tout Australia and New Zealand as two of the better countries at managing the initial impact. Oddly your comments show to me that this success has bred complacency. Whereas we will get complacent in this part of the world when people suddenly believe the vaccines have fixed everything – not.
I look forward to seeing what the dynamic duo get up to next on a coffee morning. Mike – sign them both up for a regular slot. 😂
Gday Dave, or with an Australian accent I should say “Gday Dive” 🙂
I was listening to BBC radio this morning, a segment on research over in your neck of the woods, attempting to find blood markers for “long covid” disease. You might be a part of the study (?). Hoping you are gradually and certainly getting your old healthy self back together. Do recover well. all the best.
Nice to get a better idea of where you both live Wayne. We in the UK have much to learn from the way Australia handled the virus even given the difference in the size of our countries. Enjoyed the photos. Thanks.
Kevin, sadly I don’t think that the UK has much to learn of value from the way Australia handled the virus.
OK we stopped it dead in its tracks at the start but when you are an isolated island a long way from the world’s population centres and totally close your borders and prevent your own citizens from leaving the country and only allow a dribble of them to return it is hardly rocket science that it was stopped in its tracks.
After this our PM turned to full complacency mode- and repeatedly told us all and most importantly himself that we were the envy of the world in controlling the virus and he decided that investing in adequate supply of vaccines to vaccinate the population against covid was an unnecessary expense. So today our % of the population fully vaccinated is the lowest of the 38 OECD countries and the biggest city,Sydney and environs, is in lockdown and covid is rapidly spreading and we have an inadequate supply of vaccine.Takeaway from this debacle?–Pride comes before a fall.
Hi Kevin. John’s comment well summarizes the ongoing lessons that we Australians have learnt from our handling of the virus, including the last sentiment in his message.
Glad you liked seeing images of John’s home turf, the town of Terrigal about 50km north of Sydney. I live about 5km away, two valleys inland., so its only a few minutes drive away from weekly coffees with Mr X1. It’s a nice part of the world, just like parts to be found in most countries.
A great article Wayne. I particularly like the shot of the two walkers on the beach. We’ll learn more about new covid restrictions here as our president is speaking tonight.
Jean
Hello Jean. I see that you are with David B on that shot of the mother and child on the beach. Now, the reveal, she was on her smartphone as her child digressed off to the left, a few seconds later she stopped and called the child back over to her. If I had to guess I’d say that the child was having more fun that morning.
And I do wonder whether a larger sensor with better glass might have caught that image even better. Oh well, we play with the cards we’re dealt.
Separately, we have heard the news that France is also struggling to contain the delta variant, as are Australia and many other countries around the world. Clever little virus that one, Darwinian evolution in real time, a variant with a longer asymptomatic lag time is well suited to spread further and faster in the human population. Darwin wouldn’t have had to journey to the Galapagosto work it all out, if virology had existed in his time.
Great photos, Wayne. Photographs these days tend to show the world as it always was, unless there is someone wearing a mask or other signs to show that they were taken in a period of pandemic. The struggle between vaccines and variants will continue for another year or two, but I’m not sure that things will ever get back to ‘normal’. Maybe we might see a ‘new normal’ by 2023, if everything works out. The other thing about your recent photos is that they were, of course, taken in winter which is a different ‘normal’ to what we have on our side of the world.
Keep up the great work.
William
Thanks William.
Yes, it was a murky winter day. Mainly overcast and dull light. Using a camera while exercise walking provided a welcome escape from ongoing lockdown. Thank goodness for the little RX100.
I do really hope that we will have brighter times sometime in 2022. Fingers crossed.
.
That photo of the two walkers on the beach and three boats in the background – third one down, not counting the picture of the camera – that’s gorgeous, Wayne!
(Is this turning into another of those ‘mutual admiration’ posts? ..No, I think this really is appreciation of a great photo.)
Why, I wonder ..maybe because you – we-ell, I – follow the gaze of the woman walker as she aims up towards the top-right house and van, but I also follow the gaze of the child facing left, towards the buoy, so my eye travels all around the picture, following where the people IN the picture are looking, and then there’s the calm and relief of all that sandy stretch at the lower right.
So it has action in it – the woman walking – but also the static calm of the sand, static flat rocks, static rock pools and calm sea ..and it even has a reference to Turner (..the seafaring painter..) with that buoy at upper-left: Turner famously painted a red buoy in the foreground of his picture ‘Helvoetsluys’ at the Royal Academy of Art to get the better of John Constable (“..evening Constable, how’s the painting coming along?..)
Anyway, it’s a gorgeous, timeless photo, showing humans and nature (..I’m a sucker for photos which include humans..) and I’d happily hang it on the wall.
Glad you get on so well with the Sony RX100 ..a really great little camera!
Hi David. Thanks for thoughtful analysis. I actually would have preferred the buoy to be red i.e. a red splash over on that side of that image. Turner had it right, and my better half (she’s the artistic one) has often said to me that the old masters knew what they were doing whenever they put a dab of red in a painting. It lifts the overall image.
Looking back at the image above the one to which you refer it is evident that the red coat on the lady and the red “Garbage” sign do provide an otherwise very mediocre shot with a touch of zing. Lessons for us all.
By the way, in sending this short writeup to t’editor Michael I forgot to point out that the Garbage sign is where I think we should deposit the virus.
As sinister as the virus is, Wayne, your photos are anything but. Good spotting by Mr X1 (nice shot of him by the way) and great reflexes on your part. I hope that billboard with the hot airfares is updated soon.
Thank you Farhiz, I’m glad you liked the article.
And yes, we would like to see some airfares showing on that sign, but I’m afraid that we might be up to a year away from overseas travel.
I had some interstate Kakadu camping travel booked, starting one week from now. Unfortunately that most likely won’t happen as the betting is that our lockdown will be extended, so interstate travel won’t happen. Cameras are gathering dust. Frustrating.