Definitely a more elegant tree than the gnarled and battered river red gums of a few recent posts.
The patterns of the bark on these stately trees is always a fascination.
Interesting to note is the large amount of newly-shed bark on the ground and the yellow leaves – both indications of its struggle with the drought.
I am happy to say it survived.
The first rays of sunrise casting extraordinarily long shadows across a big clay pan on the Oodnadatta Track, north of William Creek.
Typical Australian Outback county….somewhere north (Refer to Map) of Olympic Dam, South Australia.
It is easy when looking at an old character like this to think it might have a soul, or at least imagine what it has endured it its long lifetime.
Considering it has been around for hundreds of years, probably before white people set foot on our shores, it would probably have a good story or two to tell.
River Red Gum, Arkaba Station, Flinders Ranges, South Australia.
It’s still a recent memory….long years of drought.
People on the land and their cattle just hanging in there.
Lush pastures, fat cattle…..what a difference a drop or two of rain makes in AustraLia’s cattle country.
It’s the rain……
And there’s plenty coming through.
It’s falling on the plain,
almost weekly.
Turning sand and clay pans, too
into works of art completely.
Goyder Lagoon, south west of Birdsville.
Strewth, C.J. Dennis would turn in his grave!
One cannot ignore the catastrophe unfolding in Japan since last Friday.
I’m posting a picture of some native Hollyhock with thoughts for the victims, sympathy for the survivors and silent messages of support for the rescue workers.
There has been a lot of television footage from the earthquake and tsunami ravaged country now facing a nuclear crisis as well, but sometimes the work of the still photographer tells a much more compelling story.
The Denver Post in the United States has put together one of the better collections of still images that describe the enormity of this tragedy.
Land of the Adnyamathanha people near their community at Nepabunna in the northern Flinders Ranges.
Canon 300D Canon 17-40 lens f5 @ 1/50th sec, ISO 100. Focal length 30 mm.
I would have made a better fist of this with a higher ISO and smaller aperture, but noise would have been a problem in such a low light situation.
With Canon cameras like my 5D and even later models, there would have been no problem.
At the height of the drought this country in the northern Flinders Ranges was really hammered.
The situation is pretty evident with most of the vegetation struggling to hang on.
The Nepowie Range in the distance is an usual formation – old seabed pushed up by the movement of the earth’s surface.
A photograph posted earlier but at dawn taken around the same time, doesn’t show the harness of the country,
Click here to look at the image which also gives a bit more information on its location.
This photograph was taken from the Mt. Jacob Backtrack on Arkaroola.
Despite the dire situation, the land retains a subtle beauty.
Canon 20D with Canon 28-300mm lens. f22 @1/5 sec. ISO 100. Focal length 85mm.
The railway siding at Parachilna, a small Outback town where the prairie meets the mountains and renowned for its pub and its spectacular sunsets.
