Finding the right spot July 2016
For those of us who love travelling, taking great photos of the landscape is one of the most enjoyable past-times. It documents our trip, and gives us wonderful memories. Yet, one of the greatest challenges is managing to capture scenery in the best light and from the best angle regardless of whether we are using an expensive DSLR camera or our mobile phone camera.
If travelling through an area and have limited time, one way to get some guidance is to visit the local Information Centre. Here you will be given maps and brochures about what to see, the best waterfalls, the best lookouts, etc. The trouble is, everyone is getting the same information and everyone will be turning up to the same handful of places and taking the same photos! I have always found this quite frustrating, and have tried to seek out less well known spots from which to take my shots. But it can be very hit and miss, with many disappointments and lots of wasted time.
On my most recent trip, from Sydney up to the NSW far north coast, I diverted into Murwillumbah for one particular reason - to get some photos that captured the extraordinary beauty of Wollumbin Mt Warning, that majestic volcanic remnant in the Tweed Valley. I had visited the area a few times before, taken lots of photos, but had never been really happy with them. So I called into the Visitors Centre to ask for specific help - where are the best spots to capture Wollumbin at its best? And the response there was “we have the very person you need to talk to right here!”. Andy Reimanis was 'dragged' out of his art studio and 'presented' to me!
It seems that Andy knows every inch of the Tweed Valley and has enjoyed painting and photographing the area from every angle. Fortunately he is very happy to share his insights - seemingly rarely done in the world of photography where people can be rather possessive of their knowledge. Andy is in the process of putting together this beautiful web-site that visually pays homage to the area. It provides a site for local artists to display their work that has been inspired by the beauty of the caldera as well as provide details of dozens of locations, along several suggested routes around the area, from which wonderful views of the mountain, and other places, can be had.
With Murwillumbah as the starting and ending point, trips can be planned that take a few hours or a few days. I took the longer circuit, and travelled slowly over two days to ensure sunset and sunrise sessions. I found Andy’s information on the maps and website to be so valuable for my purposes, and I got home with literally hundreds of photos that I was happy with! Thanks heaps for your web-site Andy!
Peter Sedgwick Narabeen NSW
Three Peaks Photography