Persistence
Persistence
This image was captured on 1st December 2021 on Lake Pamamaroo 8km north of Menindee NSW.
Heading to Menindee as part of our Glady’s Lap, my goal was to hopefully grab a bright orange sunset silhouetted by the myriad of dead trees scattered throughout the lake. This was achieved.
However, waiting in knee deep water for the sky to turn the colours I wanted, a storm began rolling in from the southwest. The dark grey clouds hung over the horizon allowing a band of clear sky to exhibit an array of wonderful colours just above the water line. Spotting the composition from the position of my previous shot, I turned the camera only ninety degrees to grab this beautiful pastel image. Same location, two very different images.
This colour palette is not what you expect from the outback desert more strongly associated with earthy browns and ochres, but like many things in photography, if you wait, and look, you inevitably find an image you didi’t quite expect.
Using an aperture of f22 to create a massive depth of field, the shutter speed was bumped to 2 seconds in the fading light to compensate for correct exposure. The extended shutter speed also helped blur the water a little which I felt added to the etherial look I was attempting with such unique colours on the day.
I named this photo Persistence, mainly because of the submerged, lone dead tree among those still living. The tree obviously much older, persisted with life until it could no longer thrive in its watery footings. The name also reflects my own persistence in waiting - for hours - in a set position for a set shot and not only grabbing what I conceived, but something, perhaps even better, than I ever imagined.
200mm. f/22. 2sec. ISO 100.