The Photographic Trip
The Great Ocean Road was built by returning soldiers between 1919 and 1932 and dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I, the road is the world’s largest war memorial.
Dean (my husband), Stephen (my photo buddy) and I are going to drive down the Great Ocean Road for photographic opportunities. I have done some research on the Great Ocean Road’s spots. I have also been down that Road a number of times, often stopping halfway to the Twelve Apostles to rest. It is only four hours from Melbourne to the Apostles driving down the Great Ocean Road, quicker if you go inland, but trips down that road are generally done in a leisurely way and a round trip in 8 hours is a lot of driving for one day.
There currently is 2 nights booked along the road, one in Apollo Bay the other in Port Campbell. Stephen and I are more or less aligned to what landmarks we want to capture. The trip will be documented on this page.
Timing
Estimated dates: 13/08 – 15/08.
Approximate Sunrise: 7:15 am
Approximate Sunset: 5:50 pm
The Road Ahead
Torquay & Lorne
Not much is happening around this area. If I have time, I may do a pit stop (not high priority in my list). There are no plans on staying the night in the region.
Kalimna Falls
Nice place with a cave to take photos out of. Might be a good opportunity, but not high on my list. Photos here would be day photos, as the sunlight seems to not hit the area directly being filtered by the forest leaves and trees. This will be a day photo.
Great Otway National Park & Apollo Bay
We will stay a night in Apollo Bay. There are a couple of photo opportunities around there.
Cape Otway Lightstation
The Lighstation in the middle of The Great Otway National Park seems like a great opportunity for a sunrise photo. Further investigation of sunrise times still need to be worked out.
California Redwood Forest
A repeat of what I’ve done, but worth it. This time with a tripod to help the photos, the soft light being filtered by the leaves will provide magical opportunities for photos. If not, then at least a great walk in the forest.
Twelve Apostles & Port Campbell
We have a booking to stay a night in Port Campbell. So I’ve been to the Twelve Apostles a lot, and this is not my priority in photographing. There are a few things I would like to look at in this area.
The Grotto
Looks like a small cave along the Great Ocean Road, just past Port Campbell. The limestone has been corroded by the movement of the waves. Because it is so sheltered, and not a lot of ocean/sky exposure, this could potentially be a day photo (will need to check when we get there).
Gibson Steps
Really looking forward to photographing one or two of the “Apostles” from there. You can even walk all the way from the steps to the base of the Twelve Apostles Lookout. A sunset photo of one of the rock formations would be stunning.
Loch Ard Gorge
This is probably another one like The Grotto: protected from the sun and possibly photographable during the day without too much hard light. The area is filled with interesting viewing points, as it is just past the “end of the Apostles”. Really looking forward to exploring the area.
Twelve Apostles
As I have mentioned, low in my list. Probably don’t want to photograph from the Lookout, as generally there are too many visitors. Having said that, with the international borders closed, it might actually be an acceptable photography point. Let’s see what opportunity chance will bring.
“With the road trip to the Otways Redwood Forest this past long weekend, I realized I need to use more of my tripod. […] along the lines of me going to a beautiful place where THE SCENERY/LANDSCAPE is the main character of the photo I need to be more patient with low light.“
Bernardo Brandao
Equipment
Other than my faithful Nikon D610, I will take my Nikkor 18-35mm and my Sigma 20mm f/1.4. I will take my travel tripod, by photo hiking backpack. The filters for the Nikkor will be my standard filters: ND64, GND, Reverse GND, Warming and a regular CPL. Cleaning material for lens, filter and tripod are required to have clean equipment at all times.
Auxiliary equipment will also need to be taken: gum boots (in case we need to get into cold water), red light headlamps (so our eyes don’t have to adjust to bright white and then darkness when doing night shots), flashlights (to help illuminate any foreground items in the night shots), picnic rugs (we will do sunset photos on sand) and maybe a portable Bluetooth speaker.
I will also likely take another lens, but need to see if I will have space in the car for my carry-on roller photo luggage.
The Posts
Great Ocean Road Trip – Part 3
Due to current lockdown restrictions in Melbourne, the trip to the Great Ocean Road will not happen yet. This does not mean it won’t go ahead, it just means that it won’t go ahead tomorrow. My friend Stephen and I are alert for when the restrictions are lifted so we can plan the earliest possible…
The Great Ocean Road – Part 2
We are less than a month away from the trip and COVID-19 related state wide lockdown is in place. Don’t know if it will affect the trip, seeing as we have at least 3 weeks until the trip. However, in this uncertain environment, we never know. Reviewing what I have researched so far, I think…
The Great Ocean Road – Part 1
Things have started becoming more certain around the trip to The Great Ocean Road this year. Stephen and I have been in constant contact and it looks like the dates are starting to settle in. The tentative weekend is going to be 12/08 (Friday) to 14/08 (Sunday). We are still working out the number of…
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
I want to capture the beauty of the world through my lens.
Note: I hold no rights over the image of the map with the Great Ocean Road, it is a screen shot of Google Maps.