The blues in red

[gstark]

Well, I woke up this morning, and the sky was coloured red.
I said I woke up this morning, and the sky was coloured red.
Could smell the dust in my bedroom, you don't know what's in my head.

This is Bondi Beach, 8:30 am, Sept 23 2009.





In the short drive from my home to the beach, I could see the dust gathering on the car, and even with the AC blowing, I could feel the dust in my throat and mouth, and I was feeling uncomfortable and coughing.

While the beach was somewhat empty, there still some fools out there running ... not exactly the smartest thing to go given the prevailing conditions.

I'm sure others of you have been out this morning photographing just how strange our environment was this morning; please feel free to post an image or two into this thread.

I'll be adding a few more images here.

[mozzie]

Love the photos Gary. I was hoping that a few from the forum would have snapped up awesome shots.

[aim54x]

Great shots there Gary, I slept in today so I dont have any shots but I am hoping that others have more to share

[dviv]

Great shots there Gary, I slept in today so I dont have any shots but I am hoping that others have more to share

Done!

It was amazing how the colour changed us the sun came up - When I woke up at 5:45 it was blood red, and it slowly changed during the morning.

it was bizarre...

[sirhc55]

Are you sure your WB is correct Gary

[the foto fanatic]

You Sinney-siders have sucked all the colour out! This is Brisbane, a few minutes ago.

The dust is coming in so quickly that, in the time it has taken me to process and upload this image, visibility is now practically zero. I'm having an asthma attack just looking at it.

[gstark]

Are you sure your WB is correct Gary

In point of fact, Chris, no I'm not.

I shot a few using AWB, to see what the camera would come up with, and it didn't do too badly, I must admit. Otherwise, I shot in raw, using cloudy, which made the images artificially red. While it looked more dramatic, I didn't think it was really how it looked.

I think I may need some guidance from our old friend EnergyPolice on how best to handle this situation.

What was really quite interesting though was the lack of visibility: from the centre of Bondi Beach, I could barely see either end of the beach.

[gstark]

I'm having an asthma attack just looking at it.

Trevor,

We actually have an air quality alert current at the moment, and I could certainly smell and feel the dust as I was driving down to the beach.

[Sandy Feet]

After being rudely awoken by my wife to come and see the end of the world, on my day off mind you, I decided it could be worth jumping in the car with the camera and having a look around.

[Matt. K]

Nice work Gary. A bizarre sight....the end of the world cometh.....you sinners!
Very brave of you to drag your CCD out in those conditions. Now...let's talk about white balance....
I particularly liked the second image...a scene from the apocalypse!

[Glen]

Unique sets of photos of Sydney icons, will be hard for others ever to get similar images

[Oz_Beachside]

wow, amazing imagery. love the iconic shots in such horrible conditions.

lots of dustbunnies...

[Killakoala]

Same thing down here in Nowra, where it really is the end of the world. From my back garden. The cars were already coated in dust and un-drivable without being washed down so I stayed home.

There can't be much topsoil left out west. Some of this will end up coating New Zealand too.

[SteveGriffin]

Geez Gary there are 3 whopping dust bunnies in those shots - how did you get those??

[Killakoala]

Is the photographer in the image in this link below one of our members?????

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... 694051.htm

[surenj]

Looks like you boys had a blast in Sydney. I leave Sydney for just a few days and this is what happens.... Melbourne is not affected during my last check....

Better get out of the E3 solution...

[aim54x]

Looks like you boys had a blast in Sydney. I leave Sydney for just a few days and this is what happens.... Melbourne is not affected during my last check....

Better get out of the E3 solution...

Dont you mean E2???

There have been some great images up on different websites, i am kicking myself for going back to bed instead of going out shooting

[surenj]

I think I may need some guidance from our old friend EnergyPolice on how best to handle this situation.

Where was that dusty old gray card when you needed it...

Dont you mean E2???

Yes I did, Oops sorry.

[zafra52]

Excellent excercise in documentary photography, and nice images as well, specially the Luna park and the light house.

[Potoroo]

Looks like you boys had a blast in Sydney. I leave Sydney for just a few days and this is what happens.... Melbourne is not affected during my last check....

Dust storms are actually more common in Melbourne as the northerlies carry the Mallee soil south in summer. But as usual, Sydney got jealous and had to go one better.