Southern Sky and Our Ridgetop Cabin in Australia

Milky Way in the southern sky rising high above a cloud filled Wollombi Valley with the Watagan mountain range rising above the cloud inversion in the distance. The brightness on the horozion is from the lights from of the NSW Central Coast about 40km away. This shot was taken looking out from our remote cabin in Australia, we lived full time at the cabin for 7 years.

The cabin sits on 40 acres along its own isolated ridge-top that has 4WD only access and takes about 1.5 hours to drive there heading north from Sydney. It has been quite the change leaving this behind to move to the frozen north of British Columbia in Canada. The shot below is how the cabin looked during late autumn and winter.

Below is a image taken as single exposure with the light in the cabin coming from a single candle.

I am often asked what I miss having moved to Canada, and it is strange the things you miss the most. One is the smell of the frequent super cell electrical storms in summer that we used to have. I took the shot below from the front veranda on the cabin, it is looking out towards the mountains to the east as a thunderstorm passes over. The trees on the property were frequently hit with lighting, one of the hazards of ridgtop living. I also miss those eucalyptus trees and how diverse the shapes are compared to the predominantly coniferous forests up here in Northern Canada. Then there is the incredible range of colorful birds and their amazing birdsong that you have in rural Australia. It is something you don't realize you would miss until you no longer have it. Plus there are the obvious things like driving down to the beach to go surfing. And the joys of a Mediterranean climate, winding roads though vineyards and olive groves, and super mild winters where you can sit around outside eating amazing locally sourced foods while drinking red wine at an open fire.

If you would like to learn a little bit more about my background in photography you can read the interview @photofeed did with me here.

Robert Downie
Love Life, Love Photography

_{All images in this post were taken by and remain the Copyright of Robert Downie - http://www.robertdowniephotography.com}