Bullet-ridden road sign, Riversleigh, Qld (Olympus E-System)
Image specs: Olympus E-3, f10, 1/100, ISO 200, 50 (100mm), Zuiko 50mm f2.0 Macro, white balance auto’, vivid mode, hand-held.
Driving to an assignment to meet up with colleagues is often interspersed with photo opportunities along the way. So much so in this instance, that I was glad that I was the only vehicle cruising on the red dirt as I scanned the edges for shots. This is a such a bonus when on assignment. There is little down time if you look hard enough. Cattle stations, kites (the birds of prey) overhead, endless sky, lush river crossings and unique sign art … of sorts!
Sometimes it’s the simple shots of novelty value that stir interest. Outtakes peripheral to the story can be used as caption stories in their own right. Others just work best as ‘one-offs’ as here. I was showing images from this shoot recently and this image was very popular. The excellent Zuiko 50mm f2.0 Macro is super sharp and renders fabulous detail in this battered road sign on the dirt track from Mt Isa to the remote Riversleigh fossil site.
It took 1/100 second to shoot, has no difficult, contrasting light to throw the meter and was at head height… On first sight of this ‘bullet-stopper’ I didn’t know whether to laugh or bemoan outback extremes. Regardless of what I thought it was a real work of art.
UNSW paleontologist examining find, Riversleigh, Qld.
Image specs: Olympus E-3, f4, 1/1600, ISO 100, 60 (120mm), Zuiko 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD Standard Wide Zoom, white balance auto, portrait mode, hand-held.
As boulders cracked open, all eyes fell on the dusty white inner sanctum of Riverleigh limestone. Henk Godthelp surveyed the surface for signs of fossils and quickly identified the find. Fossils appear regularly here at the carefully chosen site at Riversleigh. This is always an exciting moment as the researchers uncover fossils that reveal facts about Australia’s pre-history for the world.
Lawn Hill Creek, Adels Grove, Qld
Image specs: Olympus E-3, f7.1, 1/20, ISO 160, 60 (120mm), Zuiko 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD Standard Wide Zoom, white balance auto, exposure: manual, vivid mode, monopod.
Adel’s Grove campsite on Lawn Hill Creek is the only accommodation in this vast area of semi-arid savannah, four hours drive from Mt Isa (see previous blogs). Swimming in the creek is permitted near the camp. I took a walk alongside the creek, which was still reeling from the wet season floods. Debris was wrapped forcefully around trees and piled elsewhere in great heaps. The forest is a photogenic nature reserve. Within thirty minutes I had photographed yellow-tinted honeyeaters, azure kingfishers, robins, fantails and kites.
See link: http://www.adelsgrove.com.au
* Check out the collector’s edition of the 100th Issue of Australian Geographic! Out in October.
* Read about these exciting finds at these Australian Geographic links: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/aussie-sabre-toothed-bandicoot-fossil-found.htm http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/ancient-carnivorous-bilby-fossil-unearthed.htm
© Warren Field / Australian Geographic 2010
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