by Guy Lerner
January 31, 2004
In a secluded peninsula just three hours' drive north of Sydney, land, sea and air combine in one of the most pristine natural settings on Australia's picturesque Pacific coast.
Port Stephens, the blue water paradise, boasts a sheltered waterway over twice the size of Sydney Harbour, filled year-round with inhabitants both human and marine.
Its most notable residents, however, are the bottlenose dolphins; a community of nearly 100 dolphins calls Port Stephens home, and can usually be seen skimming the mirror-like surface on a quiet morning from almost any vantage point along the harbour shores. Daily dolphin-watching cruises on small boats and larger tourist ferries are a favourite pastime for visitors to the area, many of whom have packed up their city lives and made one of the small, rural towns dotting the peninsula their home.
Every spring and early winter, Port Stephens plays host to migrating herds of over five thousand humpback whales, leaving the freezing Antarctic waters for warmer climes near the equator.
Few can visit one of the many and varied resorts and leave unaffected by the raw beauty and tranquillity of this haven, which makes it somewhat surprising that Port Stephens doesn't garner the acclaim of other holiday hotspots along the coast. Ask a Sydneysider where he likes to spend his summer, and chances are the bananafield shores of Coffs Harbour and the more distant Gold and Sunshine coasts in neighbouring Queensland will top the list, right after "my back yard mate" of course. Little Port Stephens, if mentioned, earns a friendly nod for a weekend getaway, but rarely anything more.
This
is just fine by those that secretly spend as much of their time as possible
taking the short drive up the Pacific Highway, past the crude industrial hub of
Newcastle, to this tiny waterside gem. I include myself in that group, and in
the short time I've spent living in Australia, my travels have centred on Port
Stephens. It was the first "getaway" my family and I were fortunate enough to
enjoy, and we've been back twice since.
No doubt there are many more discoveries to be made as I explore further and further into the reaches of my adopted homeland, but Port Stephens will ultimately take pride of place as a prize jewel jewel in my Australian crown.
Before we begin
In selecting the photos for this travelogue (from the hundreds taken), I've
tried to define the sense of place and sprit rather than history or culture of
the area. That's not to say Port Stephens, like so many other places in
Australia, isn't home to a rich, colourful colonial and pre-colonial history,
but that my personal experience leans more regularly on its natural charms. I
expect my descriptions of each frame, as a personal reflection, will similarly
recall the aesthetic.
Those of you who want to match the scenery with its historical context may do so here.
Footnote: why digital?
While some may argue that digital photography is still in its infancy, there is little doubt that today's sensor technology rivals some of the best 35mm film stocks available, so good in fact that it's pushing larger-format film - favoured by nature and landscape photographers - for market share. The camera I use, a Canon 10D digital SLR (single lens reflex) is based on the traditional 35mm frame with the exception of a 6.3 megapixel CMOS imaging sensor. While a direct comparison to film is always subjective, the prints produced by a digital SLR using technology found in the 10D and similar cameras rival the best prints produced from the highest-resolution 35mm slide emulsions, at sizes up to 19" x 13" or more. In other words, for gallery-quality prints, the time of the digital SLR camera has arrived.
Technicalities aside, the real reason I used a digital camera was this: I would not have been able to capture any or all of the photos you'll see here if I was still using a film camera. Why? Because the time it took me to make these photographs - considering I was travelling with my family (read: zero allowance for slow and meticulous photography) - was limited, and therefore I had to make sure all the elements of the photograph were in place (exposure, composition, focus, and did I mention exposure) on the fly. Sure I'd have taken my chances with film, but I'd have also burned up a few dozen rolls in the process. Since my film isn't sponsored, I probably would have given up on some of these opportunities to save what little film I could afford.
Many photographers (of all walks, professionals and hobbyists alike) will find themselves in this situation at one time or another, and will benefit immensely from the speed and accuracy of today's digital cameras. Digital SLRs are by no means as "cheap and affordable" as some pundits will have you believe, considering the price upfront often excludes must-have extras like lenses, batteries and (if you don't own one yet) a high-powered PC and software for post-processing. However, if you shoot and shoot often, just the time saved on developing and scanning prints and slides means the value is there form day one, even before you discount the cost of film.
In developing the travelogue series, I hope to encourage the idea that digital photography is anything but a sidebar to the real thing. In a few years, film will be long resigned to museum halls and family albums, but the art and soul of photography will live on forever.
You'll also find a full review of the camera I used for this travelogue here.
Copyright © 2004