Christmas Lovejoy

[Peter Ward]

Ah..what could have been.... Got up at 3:00am Christmas day with the intention of getting to Wattamolla beach (non-Sydney residents should Google it) in the Royal National Park to photograph Lovejoy.

Sadly no joy.... as the bureaucrats who run the park put F$@#&^ gates on the access road to stop the public from getting to the beach after dark !!! :mad2:

Finally ended up *way* south and *way* too late to take any deep images.

That said, the view from Ottford was, while not great,was not too shabby

Hope you also enjoy it here (http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/gallery123.html)

[jjjnettie]

ahh yes, I guess most nocturnal vistors to the parks would be up to no good I suppose. Sad isn't it.
Happy you eventually got a look in though. Isn't it a beauty!!!

[renormalised]

Nothing too shabby about that shot, Peter!!!. Nice work:)

Take a drive down to Stanwell Park and shoot from the lookout at the cliffs there. Be even less LP. Might have to leave a little early, though.

[dpastern]

That's a lovely shot Peter - I'm sure you'll grab an even better shot over the coming days.

Dave

[astronobob]

Not too Shabby, mate, that an awesome widefield - is it two frames stitched ? Nice work indeed ! !

[gregbradley]

How annoying.

The picture you got is excellent. But you are right, Wattamolla would have been perfect. You've got exactly the right setup for a stunner.

Greg.

[Peter Ward]

Yes it is a stitch, but this was not planned, as I photographed the fog shrouded lights at the Gong as an afterthought.



Thanks , but Looking at the weather forecast...maybe not



Yes, that was my first Plan B, but there is a honking big street light at Bald Hill..:rolleyes:



Makes you wonder what the "no access after dark" rationale is.....




Thanks! Might have to get there by boat or buy some bolt cutters!! :D

[gregbradley]

What about Wanda Beach or on the point at Cronulla? Near Shelley Beach there is a walkway along the cliffy area.

Even around Kurnell there is a good lookout out to sea there.

Greg.

[m@s]

Very nice panoramic image, Peter !
Congrats

[Bolts_Tweed]

Nice Peter - it must look good from 30,000 feet flying east

Bolton

[Peter Ward]

Thanks.



It was very impressive on the 23rd (I was heading home for Christmas).

The attached pic was a hand-held 10 second shot, out the left window, I think we were 200 miles North of Fiji at the time.

[renormalised]

Well, Peter, you're going to be the only one of us here with a shot from that perspective!!!:):)

[naskies]

Wow, I thought your first shot was great but the second one from the plane is pretty unique compared to us landlocked mortals! ;-) There's a part of me that's wondering whether I find a random flight that will be in the right spot at the right time...

[Saturnine]

Peter

Was hunting around the northern suburbs of the "Gong" this morning looking for a suitable dark site but every vantage point has megawatts of street lighting specially designed to prevent everyone from seeing the sky, so I gave up in frustration. The high cloud was putting a damper on any prospect of imaging the comet as well.
On reading your efforts in finding a suitable vantage point it occurred to me that Governor Game Lookout above Garie Beach may be a spot worth investigating, unless the National Parks have closed it off in their zeal to protect us all and/or installed lighting. From what I remember of the place it has panoramic views out over the coast.
The next clear morning I may head up there to suss out its suitability as every other lookout in Wollongong is lit up like the proverbial xmas tree and is therefore useless.

Jeff

[Peter Ward]

Occurred to me as well....but the road to Garie Beach is also gated at the turnoff...and closed after dark :(

Sydney weather is abysmal right now...and forecast to stay that way...
...very frustrating!

Broken Hill might be the go :thumbsup:

[Saturnine]

So they've gated the Garie Beach turn-off as well after dark, hope its keeping out the vandals from our public spaces !
Thanks for the tip Peter, saves me the drive.

Jeff

[Peter Ward]

Yep. East Germanic tribes entering the Roman Empire are always a problem :)

Here is a link (http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/gallery124.html) to another Lovejoy pic taken that morning

[renormalised]

Another nice shot, Peter :)

As I said in another thread, it looks like an exclamation mark!!.