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Seeing as I am in Cairns for a bit (and have a D300 enroute ), I was wondering if there were other FNQ members who might like to meet up for a collective shoot sometime...?

Just dropping back in to say that I am still keen for a meetup, perhaps early-mid October, before it becomes really too hot? (ie too hot for me. I am a complete wuss when it comes to heat/humidity. )

Anyone else in the area who might be interested?

ETA: Actually, maybe this would be better in the more general "Shooting and Meeting Ideas" section.... will see if I can ask a mod to move it.

HI. I am also in Cairns and would love to be involved with a FNQ meet. Im only new to the site and unsure how many Far North BANANA BENDERS there are on here.

What were you thinking. ie early morning shoot. I know its "Only Motorsport "but bathurst and motogp are on the first two weekends of october so early morning would suit me better. Plus I have a 17 moth old so Im up anyway. LOL

I also have another mate who ive introduced to the site, but not sure if he's a member yet and depending on his work commitments Im sure he'd come along also.

Hehe. Im a canon user, so if im still invited count me in.

Jase

4869

Hah, Jase, well of course everyone is welcome - EVEN the Canon users.

I'm not a morning person at all, by nature, but can do it for a good cause. Or, we could delay it by another week or so, to avoid the event clashes. Either is fine by me, and perhaps might be determined by what we choose as our meet theme/shooting idea.

I think there might be one other person from another forum who might also be interested, but he is from a bit south of Cairns (more the Cardwell area), so if we hope to have him join as well then it might need to be a southern location.

Shooting/location ideas? I'm open to practising any styles of photography, be it landscape, street photography, wildlife etc. Of course, time of day of the meet will also mean some are more suitable than others. I'd love to hear other ideas, but some fairly obvious/standard ones I came up with are:

- nature/waterfalls, perhaps somewhere south of Cairns eg Wallaman Falls, The Boulders, even a little inland to Paronella Park...?

- further inland to somewhere up on the Tablelands/ perhaps looping back through Mareeba/Kuranda? (Will mean more of at least a half-day or day trip, though)

- Cairns waterfront area - lagoon/Esplanade/wharf etc

- Botanical Gardens / Centenary Lakes (could also be some good options for macros)

- central "city" for some street shots

- could be a bit creepy for some, but perhaps a trip around to a couple of locations such as the old McLeod St cemetery, somewhere else a bit "industrial"...?

My only real preference is that we don't choose a shooting idea/time of day that absolutely requires a tripod, since I don't have mine at the moment.

Hi Rae.

I Spoke to my mate last night who indicated he would be keen to come along also but could not commit yet due to work commitments but fingers crossed. I am new to photography so any aspect of the topics listed would be fine.

OK instead of sitting on the fence here are my preferences.

- nature/waterfalls, perhaps somewhere south of Cairns eg Wallaman Falls, The Boulders, even a little inland to Paronella Park...? Been here for 18 months and not been to any of the above so keen to see them.


No im not wierd but could make for interesting subject
could be a bit creepy for some, but perhaps a trip around to a couple of locations such as the old McLeod St cemetery

Have not got a macro lens so i might struggle in the gardens but still willing to experiment.

If you want I can be contacted on 0408 854 547, and I live in Edmonton.

Cheers

Jase

Hi again, sorry for the delayed reply; trip to Brissie was extended and my net access there was less than stellar.

OK, still open to suggestions but so far we have a shortlist of either:
- a driving half-day+ of southern waterfalls and other places of interest;
- a closer-to-the-city outing to a few spots, eg McLeod St cemetery, perhaps along the docks/wharf (perhaps the industrial area rather than the tourist boats?), and we can think of somewhere else.

Potential days/dates? I assume Mon-Fri is out, but how about Saturdays? Or is a Sunday better? (I'm not trying to be indecisive, either - I just am completely flexible.)

The weekend of 25-26 Oct is particularly good for me, but seeing as that's a fair way away, if there's a better weekend then feel free to suggest it. I can do pretty much any weekend.

(And I'm a complete beginner as well, really - I've been in-and-out of photography for the last couple of years, but more out than in, sadly. Just trying to find some inspiration.)

Cyanide. Put me down for Saturday the 25th. Monday to Friday is out for me. Bloody work interfers with social life. Just spoke to my mate Nathan and hes good for the 26th also at this stage. I think somewhere like Josephines Falls would be a great loaction. There should be plenty to see and do there. Never been there but been told by a few long time locals its a nice spot. I may even have another person who could be interested. Should see him over the weekend so will propose the trip to him. Great to hear from you again. Chat soon
Jase

4869

OK, just to lock it in, then the FNQ meet #1 will be on Sat 25th Oct, yes?

Meet details: Somewhere on the southern side of Cairns, local waterfalls etc; perhaps meet somewhere early (ie around 0700-0730?), do a walk around there, then move on to the next location after that (eg Paronella Park only opens at 0900).

I need to sit down with a map and work out exactly where everything is and what order we should move around in, but as long as we set the date and approx time, we can at least plan. Sound good?

So far I think it's just three of us:
Me (Rae)
Jason (hrpremier)
Possibly Nathan (friend of Jase)

Naturally, anyone else in the area is welcome as well.

Sounds like a plan. Ive also got another bloke how has showed some interest called Joe. Hes a husband of my wifes work mate. Will confirm with him this week. Also I mentioned it to a guy from gokarts who takes pics for the club and said to forward on the details of when and where and he would check his schedule.

Slowly building an army

Jase.

Hi Jase, I've just been looking on Google Maps at relative locations and came to write an update, so good timing. No worries about the drop-outs; even with just two of us there hopefully we can bounce some ideas around and get some good shots. I will mention it on a couple of other boards, though, in case there are others in the region who might want to come too.

OK, so how's this for a general plan:

- 0700-ish? - meet at Josephine Falls (carpark), a bit past Babinda. Have a look around, take some early morning shots. (I know that's not all that "early" really, but if we go to Paronella Park next, it doesn't open till 0900, so we would likely have too much time to kill, and I can't think of anywhere else to go in between. I don't even know what sort of shots we are likely to get at J'Falls; it's been so long since I was last there I can barely remember it, heh.)

- 0900 - Paronella Park, near Mena Creek. Aim to be there at opening. I think it's about $10-12 to get in? I've actually never been through it so I don't know how long it will take... maybe an hour?

- Leave P'Park, head up the range via the Palmerston H'way. Once we get to about Mungalli (at a rough guess, about 30-40min drive) there are a few waterfalls we can do a loop of - Mungalli Falls, Millaa Millaa Falls, Ellinjaa Falls, perhaps Zillie Falls.

- If we visit them all, then by the time we finish the waterfall loop it will probably be a bit after lunch (although we can make it as long or as short as we like) and food will likely be the next priority. And depending on your day's schedule, you may wish to head off at this point.

At this stage, I am planning to continue through the Tablelands, stopping at a few other places such as Windy Hill (wind farm near Ravenshoe), Mt Hypipamee National Park & crater lake, Malanda, Lake Eacham, and Yungaburra. (Probably not all of them!) I'll then go back down the range via the Bruce H'way, which comes out at Gordonvale.

Naturally, if you're interested to do the whole trip then you'd be welcome, but that's entirely up to you.

How does this sound? Any other suggestions, or anywhere else you'd like to visit as well/instead of somewhere?

Hi Rae. Sounds like oyu have it all sorted. I will be there bright and early. Ive only got a 17-85mm and 75-300mm lens in my kit but Im sure we can still capture some good shots. Ill be in either a Blue Mazda Sedan or a Black Statesman.
Looking forward to this weekend.

See Ya Sat.

Jase