Often when I’m riding my motorcycle with my wife I find myself thinking that I should bring along one of my cameras to document the day, and maybe even begin to create blogs showcasing aspects of the day’s adventure… enter my first motorcycle blog.

Now, of course I could always document the day with the help of images taken with my iPhone, however when you’re a photographer and there’s a Fuijifilm X100F in the stable, well, you get the idea.

On this warmish Sunday we left our house on the Central Coast of New South Wales in Australia and headed for Broke which is a beautiful little town situated in the wine region known as the Hunter Valley.

There are a few routes that you can take to arrive at Broke from our house, and usually we would ride through to Wollombi and then onto Broke, however on this day we took the long way around and went through Cessnock, then Lovedale and then down Broke Road.

This part of New South Wales is full of fantastic bike roads with rolling hills, mountains, wineries and plenty of livestock to gaze at. There is also an abundance of great places to eat making for a very enjoyable day out.

We have stopped and eaten at many places in this region, however today we decided to head for a cafe called Magoony’s Coffee House, which was originally a service station.

As you leave Cessnock and head toward Broke you bypass Lovedale and then turn left onto Broke Road and into the town of Pokolbin.

Pokolbin houses many of the famous Australian wine makers and on weekends the carparks are full of visitors. You will always be able to enjoy great wines and a great feed in this area, and that includes a few dessert cafes.

After you pass the wine makers the speed limit increases and the road becomes a little windy in places, which gets the heart racing when you’re on a bike. Eventually Broke Road becomes Cessnock Road and before you know it you’ve reached the bottom and have arrived at Broke.

We parked the bikes outside the Magoony’s Coffee house and immediately felt a sense of calm. There were plenty of visitors there, yet the quietness of the landscape was overwhelming.

We enjoyed a traditional meat pie and coffee and took in the surroundings… no rush, just recharge the batteries.

Broke in New South Wales is within three hours of our house, making for a practical riding distance. We often ride plenty of kilometres, however when you get the chance to enjoy a beautiful experience like this and not too far from home, well that is pretty special.

On the way back we decided to stop in at the Wollombi Tavern for a beer, and today my choice was a schooner of Tooheys Old… bloody beautiful.

It is a special day whenever I get to combine two of my favourite past times, photography and motorbike riding.

I hope that you have enjoyed my first motorcycle blog, and I hope that you enjoy the images below.

Roger Brooks.

During spring in November of 2023 I travelled down to Melbourne from New South Wales for a three day business trip.

I anticipated that there might be a window of opportunity one afternoon/evening to wander around the city and shoot, therefore I decided to bring along one of my Fujifilm cameras just in case, I chose the X-H2.

The late afternoon that I arrived in the city was on the back of a very warm Melbourne day, and the low setting sun added a warm, yet beautiful glow to the streetscapes.

All too often we move around in busy places completely oblivious to how we appear to others, which makes for fascinating footage and images because you are capturing people in their regular environments and in completely candid circumstances.

For me, I love the hustle and bustle of a very busy large city such as Melbourne. People, trams, cars, motorbikes and trains all moving back and forth in controlled chaos, all susceptible to the seemingly elusive photographer who can become immersed in scenes, creating a visual journal if you will.

If you are brazen enough and fully immersed you will inevitably earn the ire of some people, however I tend to focus elsewhere if I identify that and move on quickly, after all, I’m not breaking the law.

I must say that for the most part people tend to be too busy to worry about whether their photo is being taken, hopefully that is a sign that they readily acknowledge that they themselves take thousands of photos with their phones, and often in public places where there are usually strangers in the shot anyway.

I walked around parts of the city for three hours, focusing on some key areas which are known to be very busy and ones that can provide many great visual opportunities. You see, I lived in Melbourne between November of 2010 and April of 2017 and became very familiar with the city streets, in fact I still very much miss this beautiful and fascinating city.

By the time I made my way back around to Flinders Street Station I was spent, especially after working all day, time to head back to my accommodation and take a look through the images and footage.

Thank you, Melbourne for another fascinating insight into the daily lives of your inhabitants, I’ve missed it greatly.

I hope you enjoy the images, and please feel free to check out the short film that I made from the walk in the YouTube section on this website.

Thank you.

Roger Brooks.