It is Boxing Day in New South Wales, Australia, and on the Central Coast a large storm cell has blown in and thwarted any consideration for my wife and I to ride our motorbikes today.
Despite the bad weather we decided that we needed to escape the house and get some fresh air, therefore we jumped into the car to head off somewhere, anywhere, with no particular destination in mind.
Thankfully, I decided to take a camera just in case we had an opportunity to take some interesting photographs, particularly with the storm activity present.
Not long into the drive the rain began and became very hard, and although that can often provide great photographic opportunities, it wasn’t conducive to getting out of the car to take them, and especially given that my camera of choice on this day was my Fujifilm X100f which is not weather sealed.
We saw that toward the west the sky looked relatively clear, despite the easterly direction looking grey and forboding, so we decided to drive toward the west.
As we headed down the M1 motorway we quickly noticed a lot of holiday traffic heading north in the opposite direction, and we quickly decided that we did not want to be part of that on the way back by traveling too much further, so it was decided that we would pull into Brooklyn by the Hawkesbury River for some lunch, and hopefully photographs.
The weather was the complete opposite of what we saw on the way down. Here it was clear and warm, and a perfect day for a short stroll, fish and chips for lunch and to take some photographs.
It had been a while since I used my Fujifilm X100f, and I have to say that it was quite liberating. On this day I used my wrist strap, again something that I haven’t used for some time, and it really did feel like I was able to shoot faster with this setup.
My wife and I walked along part of the marina to see the various fishing vessels, which is right alongside the train line and Hawkesbury River Station.
This train line provides a magnificent journey from the Central Coast to Berowra, and then eventually down into Sydney. It can be a long one if you’re stopping at each stop, however it is well worth it. I recommend looking for the fast service through there.
The marina, train line and station, plus the abandoned wharf made for a lovely walk and some interesting photographs.
Oh, and the fish and chips for lunch was sensational.
If you’re a photographer and you’re stuck for motivation, or you’re simply searching for something interesting to do and shoot, with little fuss, I can highly recommend short excursions such as this one.
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Hope you enjoy the images.
