> From: Frank Ernens <fgernens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > take a look at the work of Peter Dombrovskis
>
> Thanks for the URL, and what a shame his work seems to have
> disappeared from the bookshops. The media reported with glee
> on the manner of his passing [see background below for those who
> don't know] but I don't recall ever seeing a piece about
> his work.
The last place I saw one of his books (the retrospective) was in the
Wilderness Society bookshop in Salamanca Place, hobart. The website does
sell a few of his posters, pretty damn cheap too.
There was an article about him published in Wild magazine shortly before
his death, you may be able to find which issue on www.wild.com.au.
> [Background: Dombrovskis used to wander off alone into the
> Tasmanian wilderness with his Linhof field camera to get those
> shots. He suffered a fatal heart attack on one of these trips.]
Yeah, in the Western Arthur range, just a few weeks after I'd been
there. More Background: Dombrovskis was the protege of Olegas Truchanas,
one of the pioneers of environmental activism in Australia. Although he
lost his battle to save Lake Pedder, he is to a large degree responsible
for the successes which came after his death (on the Franklin river -
his body was found some days later by Dombrovskis IIRC).
> > The real lesson should be to myself - don't bother
> > shooting landscapes in full sun!
>
> You can structure a trip for photography, but you won't
> be popular with the non-photographers (who IME like to
> snooze until 10am and have long lunches on peaks.)
I'm a bit fond of a snooze and the long lunch myself, but when the sun
hits the tent it usually gets too warm to stay in bed...even so, there's
always dusk if I do;-)
Going with experienced walkers helps avoid unpopularity...I can just
stop and do my thing, and they can keep going. At the latest I should
catch them at luch, by which time they'll have the tea on the fire;-) My
partner is also getting interwested in photography, as are some of my
friends (one of them, an unfortunate P****x user, has a rather nice
website at http://www.ozemail.com/~dnoble with a large photo gallery)
> > My OM10 died in the Du Cane range in Tas, from excess moisture...
>
> For several consecutive years some friends of mine went to SW
> Tassie in January, when I couldn't get time off work. Every year
> they declared "death march, never again". Later on I could go,
> but after seeing a pair of boots before Arthurs and after Arthurs
> I never got around to it. One year this same intrepid crowd
> decided to slack off and go to Cradle Mountain instead. They went
> early in the summer on the theory that the track would not yet have
> been chopped up. Some theory.
Hah, the funny thing is that the moisture my camera died from was
suffered before that Tassie trip, on which we had 12 straight days of
sunshine and 35 degree heat in the Reserve, followed by a few sunny days
in hobart then another 5 sunny days at Freycinet.
I've been really lucky with the weather down there, out of probably a
hundred days in the wilds I've had only two days of solid rain, and
three of intermittent light drizzle or snow! Mind you, the "solid" rain
meant that we were flooded out of the 7 mile Ck campsite at 1am when the
river burst its banks, spent the night huddled under the tent fly in our
raingear (nowhere else to pitch within km), and had an epic walk back to
scotts peak starting in the freezing dawn downpour, crossing many
dangerously flooded creeks on the way. In many places the track was
waist deep in water and mud, and only rarely was it less than ankle
deep.
We got out about midday, to be fed delicious fresh trout by a family of
opium poppy farmers who were there on a fishing trip and took sympathy
upon us bedraggled hardmen. Oh yeah, they gave us king island brie,
marinated eggplant, sundried tomatoes and lives too, and a very nice
drop of wine to wash it down with. Meanwhile a bunch of whiny campers
munched 2 minute noodles and looked on with envy - they had abandoned
their _daytrip_ because it was too wet, but obviously weren't hard-core
enough to be offered the free feed.
> Actually, the wettest trip I've ever done was a walk that is
> normally considered tame, the Routeburn in NZ. But we did it
> during the Invercargill floods, and on the wettest day we
> made 4 rope crossings. In a group of 8 or so, only 2 cameras
> survived - both Olympus - an XA and my OM-1. The OM-1's
> mercury cell did die, though, and I had to use the "sunny" (hah!)
> f/16 rule for last day or two.
My other wettest walk was the Milford track in NZ, where we had 4
straight days of torrential rain (actually, it was torrential hail and
sleet on McKinnon pass). Over 24 hours, one of the huts recorded 430mm
rain, which sounds unbelievable except when you hear that the avearage
annual rainfall is more than 12000mm (about 10 times what Melbourne or
Sydney get). The waterfalls were amazing, but it was just too wet for
taking pictures. I had with me the OM10, stolen from my parents, and a
zoom I was given for my birthday. I didn't really know anything about
photography, and only used print film in those days (11 years ago).
> > My combined passions for the outdoors (bushwalking /climbing
> > /skiing /canyoning)
>
> I can only claim bushwalking and skiing, being too gutless for the
> other two. I'm thinking about doing some snow camping this year,
> in order to be around in the good light.
Snow camping is the best!! To be out there going for a ski in the
moonlight, snow drifting all around...or watching the dawn, stars still
twinkling brightly overhead...
I hope we have a decent season this year, the last two years I've only
been able to get out for a weekend each, and had sleet both times:(
Oh, make sure you take a tent and avoid the fate of the unfortunate (and
stupid) snowboarders last year.
> > and photography have taken me on many forays into
> > rainforest ... and coastal heath
>
> You've been to more places than I have. But the places I
> tend to go back to are Wilson's Prom, Wyperfeld (in the
> Big Desert, SW of Swan Hill), Wonangatta/Moroka (sadly,
> burned down by some idiot with a campfire), and the
> Cobberas/Pilot area. Last year I was mad enough to take
> 2 OM bodies, 4 lenses, tripod + full pack up Cobberas No. 1
> and camp in a gale. Got some good shots of the clearing storm the
> next day. (This was the same big storm that did so much damage
> in Melbourne around Easter last year.)
More likely I've just been to different places... I've heard lots of
good things about the Prom, but haven't yet made it down there. I
haven't been to the desert either - though Oz has such a reputation for
arid country, it's such a huge place, and getting to the desert is a
long drive from Sydney!
> A few months ago I did the Main Range circuit from Charlotte's
> Pass and was surprised at what a great walk that is, touristy or
> not. It was marred only by an obnoxious practical joker who crept
> up behind me and asked if I had a license to use interchangeable
> lenses. This is what passes for humour in Canberra, a small town
> which was probably the last in the English speaking world
> in which recitation of the parrot sketch at parties became socially
> unacceptable, if indeed it has yet.
I've only been to the main range in winter on ski trips, but it must be
nice in spring when the wildflowers are out. I'm more fond of mountains
that actually look like mountains though, rather than those rolling
hills (which I admit don't feel so puny when you're slogging up them
with a full pack, a weeks food and two camera bodies, assorted lenses
and tripod!). But how can you take issue with the Parrot Sketch? Is th
"argument sketch" still ok?? Please?
> My most exotic bushwalking destination has been Mt. Wilhelm in
> Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately in those days I was clueless
> and on someone's bad advice used print film developed at a cheap
> lab. All 12 rolls were ruined by the lab and the only memories I
> have are from a friend's XA (truly dreadful lens, vignetting city
> with prints from slides, but better than nothing). Due to altitude
> sickness after coming too quickly from sea level by plane, I had to
> stop about 100m from the top (3900m). (Just a warning - I don't
> recommend anyone put this on their itinerary, as the crime
> problem has got much worse since our trip.)
Hopefully the situation in PNG and Irian will improve, it's such an
interesting place. I wonder what will happen with the apparent impending
disintegration of Indonesia...some folks I know are trying to organise a
trip to Carstenz Pyramid next year, but the situation is probably too
delicate...I'd love to go.
> BTW, I've checked some of my old slides. I have Fujichromes from
> 1987 and Agfas from 1991. All the rest is KR. There is no fading
> on any of them (but oh dear, that Sigma zoom was a shocker now that
> I compare it with recent shots from the 50 f/1.8). Beware of some
> slide sheets sold here as "archival" which are not - if the plastic
> can be stretched it is probably not. I use only Klames, on backorder
> by Ted's for 9 months they say, and will have to import them privately.
Mine are "Vue All Museum quality archival", made in USA. Nothing bad
ever comes out of that place, does it?;-)
Dylan
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