Photography at Red Lake on Pernatty Station
On a previous trip to Red Lake, the wind, the dust and the flies made it unbearable. But the few quick photos that I’d taken were worthwhile and a look about had revealed a stark and captivating landscape with the dead, native pines, red sandhills, the barron, red lake bed and the brilliant blue sky above the low, flat horizon.
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I’d got a few images on arrival at Red Lake, the previous afternoon, but morning is the time to really get serious, starting with the golden glow before sunrise. As sunrise approaches, this soft and colourful illumination looses it’s quality.
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Then, over the horizon come the first rays of the new day’s sunshine. Shaddows are long, my own shaddow being hard to avoid with a wide lens. Colour is warm and vibrant. Rapid change in the appearance of the landscape is predominant. If the light isn’t right in a particular spot, then come back in a few minutes; it will be quite different.
Speed is essential. It’s all over in twenty minutes or half an hour. Oh, there’ll still be good photographic lighting for a while but the best is gone till tomorrow. Sunset is usually not nearly as good as sunrise. So there’s really only the one chance. Tomorrow morning will see another landscape in a different camping spot.
