Chasing Light by Chris Lane

Freshwater Beach Rockpool at Sunrise

Name: Freshwater Rockpool

Built: 1937

Where: Freshwater Beach, Northern beaches NSW

Pool length: 50 meters

Pools of the Sea series: #4/100

Parking: There’s a small parking area near the pool.

Freshwater Rockpool

It’s pretty hard to beat a Sydney sunrise. Made only better by the shapes of an awesome rock pool like the one here at Freshwater beach.

It was pretty early and pretty cold out, but it all makes for a better picture. The stillness and silence of the pool against the backdrop of a Sydney sunrise makes for a great mornings picture taking.

Nestled right in the edge of the rocks and over looking the ocean, at number 4 on my list of 100 is the Northern Beaches own Freshwater Rockpool.

See here for number 1 on my list of 100 https://chasinglight.photo.blog/2021/10/28/pools-of-the-sea-bondi-icebergs-pool/

Protected on the northern side of the pool by the cliffs and open on the southern side. It’s makes for a great picture or a swim too. It’s pretty rare to have a high side so close to the Rockpool so it makes for a great view looking down and towards Freshwater beach, it’s definitely a great angle from up high on the northern side.

Seeing I was here before sunrise I had a great clear shot from the pools edge looking straight into the sunrise. You’re not always blessed with such a clean shot as many pools can get pretty busy. But being cold and early definitely has it advantages. The view from ground level as seen in the shots below are my favourites from the morning.

Freshwater Beach itself is only a small coastline but it makes for a beautiful sight and great for a picture or two. As the sun rises only half of the beach gets some sunlight so it make for a really nice dramatic scene like the first picture below. But once the sun is fully up, the golden light hits the sand and it makes a a great shot as well. Especially on the south side where the sandstone rocks look awesome.

This was a shoot I really enjoyed and would definitely go back to. If I had my time again I’d like to shoot it from the southern end as there is a high side there as well. But all in all it’s a great spot and well worth some photography.

Til next time!

Chris

Sydney Harbour Bridge and getting lucky

Bridge name: Sydney Harbour Bridge

Opened: March 1932

Length: 1149 meters

Height: 134 at the height point

Shot from: The footpath on Anzac Bridge

Opened in March 1932 and joining the North Shore to the Sydney CBD. The awesome Sydney Harbour Bridge is 1146 meters in length and 134 meters at its highest.

I’ve spent the last couple of years trying to find its best angle.

Last Sunday I came across this view from the footpath on the Anzac Bridge, whilst I was doing a separate shoot on the Anzac Bridge. An unexpected find, but it’s a pretty sweet angle I’d have to say. More from the epic sunset over Anzac Bridge here https://chasinglight.photo.blog/2021/10/31/sunset-at-anzac-bridge/

Maybe not the greatest angle of all time as there are so many great views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but it’s up there in the top 5. A few of my favourites are here too https://chasinglight.photo.blog/2021/10/07/the-bridges-of-sydney-series-the-one-and-only-sydney-harbour-bridge/

This view from the historic North Sydney pool is possibly my favourite.

You never know your luck in a big city as they say. So I was grateful to just stumble across this awesome view. That’s the thing about photography that I love the most. Sometimes you can spend weeks plannings shoot and researching the best angles.

And other times it just hits you in the face. So it’s always best to keep your eyes open for a spot of good fortune.

Til next time!

Chris

Wentworth Falls in the beautiful Blue Mountains

Where: Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains National Park.

How to get there: Turn off onto Falls road from the M4 at Wentworth Falls and head all the way to the end of the road. You’ll eventually end up in the National Park car park. From the carpark follow the signs to the waterfalls.

Track name: Wentworth Falls into National Pass

How long: 2 hours return and around 2.5 km one way.

Tips: The way down is pretty easy, but climbing back up the stairs is tough. Be prepared to burn the legs on the way back up.

The epic view of Wentworth Falls from the bottom.

Today’s hike was the awesome Wentworth Falls track that turns into the National Pass track. My journey to the bottom of the falls started at the car park and from there it was pretty easy to follow the signs to the waterfall (see the pix below for the signs)

There are a fair few walking tracks you could choose from, but I was pretty keen on the waterfall one, so I’ll leave the others for another day.

I’v been wanting to tick this one off for a while, so now we are out of our Covid lockdown today was a great day for a hike and photoshoot at the awesome Wentworth Falls. So I started at the top and trekked down to the bottom, and here are some pictures from the decent to the waterfalls.

The beautiful rocks as the water cascades.

With a stunning cascade of water Wentworth Falls didn’t disappoint and I’m glad I finally made the trip. There are so many great views of the waterfalls and the overlooking valley. It’s hard to find a bad angle of this part of the Blue Mountains.

Looking down towards the bottom of the falls.

The decent down to the bottom of the waterfall is a beautiful one, it’s a really well made track with beautiful sandstone steps and stairs along the way. It must have been a pretty tough days hike prior to the tracks being built.

There’s plenty of great viewpoints along the way down to the waterfalls with epic views of the valley as well.

But the real treat is the stunning waterfall that you can stop at for a awesome picture or a selfie if you like.

Video from the bottom of the Wentworth Falls.

From bottom here I continued a little further along the track as it descends even more towards the very bottom of the falls. But as I didn’t have enough time today, that was the end of my journey then I started the climb back up to the car park.

This was where my journey ended, I then headed back up the stairs to the carpark.

From all reports and the signs here, that adds an extra two hours to your hike if you continued on, but I can only imagine the view of the waterfalls from all the way down the bottom. So I’ll definitely come back another time with a bit more fitness to take on that hectic track.

By the time I climbed up all of those stairs to where I started from, my step counter had me at 6500 steps. And around 5km. So it’s a pretty decent hike and I was far more gassed then I would have liked.

So I’ll definitely have to work on the fitness for the next one. I was pretty relieved to get back to my car and had just enough energy to get a pie and a coffee before heading home. A great days hike and some cool pictures to go with it. I’d definitely recommend it.

If I was to head here again for a shoot, I think I’d like to go more in the afternoon. I was here around 10am and the waterfall was still in shade. So I think it would make for a better picture as the afternoon light hits the falls. but still a great days shooting anyway.

My favourite from the trek to the Falls.

Til next time!

Chris