Sygna sunrise

[surenj]

I took a rare opportunity to visit the Sygna wreck in February for a sunrise shoot with a friendly group of photographers in Newcastle.

For your information: From wikipaedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sygna

Storm

During May 1974 the New South Wales coast was being battered by large storms which brought heavy swells off both Sydney and Newcastle ports. Newcastle port reported a swell of over 17 m (56 ft) at the entrance.

The Sygna was on its maiden voyage, waiting for a load of 50,000 tonnes of coal destined for Europe at the time of the accident. It was anchored 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) off Newcastle when the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe storm warning and directive for ships to move out to sea. Seven of the ten ships anchored off Newcastle did so, however the Sygna was not one of them.
[edit] Beaching

Early the following morning, with winds gusting at 165 km/h (89.1 kn), the captain issued orders to set sail. Unfortunately, even with its engines at full-ahead the Sygna was unable to make any headway and the storm turned it parallel to the beach. It is reported that within 30 minutes it had run aground on Stockton Beach.

With heavy seas pounding the stricken ship, its captain radioed a Mayday and gave the order to abandon ship. An Iroquois helicopter from RAAF Williamtown’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Squadron flown by Flt Lt Gary McFarlane, attended the scene and slowly rescued the 31 trapped sailors from the ship in near cyclone conditions. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed in the incident. Gary McFarlane was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC), with other members of his crew receiving commendations for their heroic efforts during the rescue.

The Sygna lost approximately 700 tonnes of oil during the accident. This oil was mostly dispersed by the heavy seas, and as such no cleanup or recovery action was undertaken.
[edit] Salvage Operations
The Sygna as seen from the southern end of Stockton Beach, 7.7 km (5 mi) from the wreck.

After the storm had subsided the salvage operation commenced. The ship was swung around, which caused the heavier stern section to sink into deeper water. This caused the ship to break its back.

On 4 September a salvage team led by Japanese millionaire Kitoku Yamada refloated the ship after repairing several holes in the hull and then pumping out thousands of tonnes of water. The stern section was refloated first, followed by the bow, which had been resting deep in the sand. The bow remained afloat but unfortunately for the salvagers the stern again went aground about 80 m (262 ft) out from the beach and gradually settled in the sand as salvage crews stripped it of all items of value.

In November 1974 another salvage attempt was made of the stern of the Sygna. This caused a very heavy oil spillage, which spread along a 16 kilometres (10 mi) stretch of Stockton Beach. Bulldozers attempted to bury the oil in the sand above the high water mark. After lying in Salamander Bay in Port Stephens for almost two years the bow section was towed away and broken up in Taiwan.
[edit] Icon

The stern still lies on Stockton beach and since the shipwreck it has slowly been decaying from the harsh elements in its environment, however, it remains as an icon and landmark for the local area. According to the Newcastle port authority, the Sygna is the last of 59 ships which have been lost on Newcastle shores, although it was first feared that the MV Pasha Bulker would join it as a new Newcastle icon after it ran aground on Nobby's Beach (8.4 kilometres (5 mi) south of the Sygna wreck) on 8 June 2007. The Pasha Bulker was successfully re-floated on 2 July 2007 leaving the Sygna with its title.

On 14 January 2010 it was reported that the National Parks and Wildlife Service and shipping experts believe that the Sygna could rust to the waterline within ten years.[1]

We had a great time and I feel lucky that I could be part of this shoot. We met near Lavis lane (stockton) around 4:45am and hired a 4WD to take us to the wreck. Unless you are a bit of an expert at 4WD routes and navigation in general, this route is slightly tricky and generally not recommended alone especially at night. It took about 20 mins to get to the wreck and we had plenty of time to set up and choose angles. Although the sunrise wasn't spectacular, it was still worth it!!

The sand dunes near 'Tin city' is another subject altogether. It looks like an alein world once you walk inland about 1km. You can nothing but sand n sea.

If you are still reading..... http://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/hunter_stockton.htm


Predawn



Dawn



Dune



As usual, your critique is appreciated.

My graduated 'cokin' filter (ebay) gives off a purple cast which I don't know how to remove. [Good lesson for people using new equipment on a rare opportunity and not knowing results until getting home] On the plus side, it gives the sunrise a different feel.

Thanks for looking.

[aim54x]

A very interesting story there. But it is even better to see that you have been taking pics mate.

I really like this series, each photo for different reasons.

#1 has great colours and the smoothness of the water contrasts against the stark, hardness of the wreck...and artificial being
#2 has an almost painted look and a surreal feel, like a vision in a dream, I like how it all comes together and draws you into the image.
#3 The lines on the dune just leads you into the image, great DOF and the forground footprint is very nice. It would have been nice only to have one set of prints...leading into the image, but I guess you cant have it all

[biggerry]

Great to see you did make it out there Suren

Looks like a tough place from a composition point of view, you have done well with the leading lines of the beach in both the pre-dawn and post dawn shots - more so the post dawn one. I cannot think of a better option from a composition point of view. Maybe a portrait orientation with the sand water stern then sky?

Anyway, on the second, I reckon clean up that bird? and those few little dust bunnies and maybe just backoff the colour cast a fraction?

My graduated 'cokin' filter (ebay) gives off a purple cast which I don't know how to remove. [Good lesson for people using new equipment on a rare opportunity and not knowing results until getting home] On the plus side, it gives the sunrise a different feel.

hmm interesting, hopefully someone else with a graduated filter can comment...

I like the dunage shot, very quinnessential dune shot, if you are concerned about teh extra footprints leading back, i reckon they would be easy to clone out..

The sand dunes near 'Tin city' is another subject altogether

I want to see images from that!

good to see your checking out your local area Suren!

[wendellt]

you have captured these with a great sense of mood and tone
prticullary like the last one it has a nice leading line with the footsteps in the sand, is that stockton beach

well done

[DaveB]

Certainly Cokin GND/ND filters are not reknowned for having neutral colour.
You might be able to work around it by using a graduated colour filter in Lightroom/ACR to counteract the cast. Ugly, but possible.

[Big V]

Loving that Dune shot

[aim54x]

My graduated 'cokin' filter (ebay) gives off a purple cast which I don't know how to remove. [Good lesson for people using new equipment on a rare opportunity and not knowing results until getting home] On the plus side, it gives the sunrise a different feel.

hmm interesting, hopefully someone else with a graduated filter can comment...

I've never had any issues with my Cokin GND's (Maxwell International Aust), never heard of Conkin ND/GND giving off a cast as DaveB says. Did you feel that they were really cheap off ebay?

[surenj]

#3 The lines on the dune just leads you into the image, great DOF and the forground footprint is very nice. It would have been nice only to have one set of prints...leading into the image, but I guess you cant have it all

Thanks Cameron for your critique, I resisted the urge to delete every little imperfection on these. I am tending towards less PS these days but bit of cloning on the second set of prints won't hurt too much. This taught me to get there first next time. Initially I didn't plan on venturing out this far but two people from the group went so far that they dissapeared into the dunes. So I thought it might not be a bad idea to at least have a look. But then they had left all these tracks.This is about 2km inwards from the beach and the walk is tough because of the sand/heat/glare. In any case, I was feeling a little guilty for ruining the landscape for the others so I followed on a previous set of tracks to get to this point. It was little difficult to exclude some of the tire tracks (from 4WD).

like the last one it has a nice leading line with the footsteps in the sand, is that stockton beach

Thanks Wendell. Yes, This is within walking distance of 'Tin City', Stockton beach. Imagine the type of imagery you could create here with a model?

You might be able to work around it by using a graduated colour filter in Lightroom/ACR to counteract the cast. Ugly, but possible.

Thanks Dave for this suggestion. Do you know how to do this? Do I figure out the 'opposite' color to overlay or what??

I've never had any issues with my Cokin GND's

There has been lots of reports that the Corkins have a purple/margenta cast. You got lucky with your Cameron.

Did you feel that they were really cheap off ebay?

Yes.

Maybe a portrait orientation with the sand water stern then sky?

Thanks for your comments and suggestions Gerry. That made me look at the 100 or so photos that I took that day. I think I still may have a few potentials.

[biggerry]

That made me look at the 100 or so photos that I took that day. I think I still may have a few potentials.

excellent I wanna see some more - this place looks awesome

that portrait one is exactly what I had in mind, minus the purple colour cast and footprint.

heres a quick edit from my end, its almost removed that purple cast - as usual let me know if you want it removed.

[Geoff M]

Nice series Surenj. I like the last best even with the purple colour cast, I prefer it over the reworked version Gerry has done, although the removal of the footprints does improve it IMHO.

[surenj]

quick edit from my end, its almost removed that purple cast

Thanks Gerry for taking the time to edit this. I quite like your version without the footprints. Could I ask how you removed the color cast? [I am thinking that I need to take some photos of white walls in daylight(or flash) and try to subtract that color in PS.. Perhaps an action or something...)

excellent I wanna see some more - this place looks awesome

It's a magical place. Especially at dawn. If you access to a 4WD you could camp out there (it's free! even though NSW parks own this area) and check out the sunset AND sunrise. During the sunset, it's easier to capture the details on the ship it self... Minimeet anyone?

Thanks everyone for their comments.

[biggerry]

Thanks Gerry for taking the time to edit this. I quite like your version without the footprints. Could I ask how you removed the color cast?

hmmm, i worked on a jpeg so i do not have a record, however going from my flakey memory - the cast issue was sorted using the advanced portion of the 'Auto Level's in NX2, this has a slider to directly adjust the colour cast, I find this very very handy, usually I just go auto and see what it comes up with, then tweak to suit.

I also played with the colour saturation and warmth, I applied this as a graident over the image, which you can tell from the funny coloured borders!

camp out there (it's free! even though NSW parks own this area) and check out the sunset AND sunrise. During the sunset, it's easier to capture the details on the ship it self... Minimeet anyone?

free camping..awesome, thats the ticket, that makes getting to and from sooo much easier...

[aim54x]

camp out there (it's free! even though NSW parks own this area) and check out the sunset AND sunrise. During the sunset, it's easier to capture the details on the ship it self... Minimeet anyone?

free camping..awesome, thats the ticket, that makes getting to and from sooo much easier...

Hmm do I smell a trip???

[surenj]

hmmm, i worked on a jpeg so i do not have a record, however going from my flakey memory - the cast issue was sorted using the advanced portion of the 'Auto Level's in NX2, this has a slider to directly adjust the colour cast, I find this very very handy, usually I just go auto and see what it comes up with, then tweak to suit.

I also played with the colour saturation and warmth, I applied this as a graident over the image, which you can tell from the funny coloured borders!

Thanks for explanation of the technique Gerry. I was hoping for a more 'scientific' method because the cast will be there in the next photo I take. Perhaps I use the 'eye' technique and make an action out of it.

free camping..awesome, thats the ticket, that makes getting to and from sooo much easier...

Hmm do I smell a trip???

Depends on whether you are sniffing?

I will need to confirm the timing because the sunrise doesn't happen at a convenient angle all year. Some seasons, you need to be using underwater casing and a REALLY tall tripod to get a silhoutte shot against a sunrise.....

Is there any interest in such a trip? It cost 18 of us around $40 each to hire the 4WD. It may be more for smaller groups.

[biggerry]

Hmm do I smell a trip???

I am always keen, an overnighter would be fun, but I think we need someone with a 4wd. Suren, I reckon we could make this happen within the time frame of your rural placement...and i am sure peter would be up for organising it

[ATJ]

During May 1974 the New South Wales coast was being battered...

I think I remember that weekend. If I remember correctly, it was the weekend my brother got married (for the first time) in Lithgow and it snowed. The pier at Balmoral Beach completely vanished. Boats were washed up all over the place, as were things like sea snakes on beaches around Sydney.

Anyway... I like the wrecks, but I really love the dune shot. You've capture a feeling that is hard to describe. It is a brilliant shot and the only improvement I could suggest was if the sky was a bit lighter.

[aim54x]

I am keen, time dependent. I am starting a new job next week so until I work out what is happening there I am a little uncertain about timing.

[surenj]

I am always keen, an overnighter would be fun, but I think we need someone with a 4wd. Suren, I reckon we could make this happen within the time frame of your rural placement...and i am sure peter would be up for organising it

I don't know whether Peter is reading this. For an overnighter, we need not a 4WD owner but also a competent driver.

I think I remember that weekend. If I remember correctly, it was the weekend my brother got married (for the first time) in Lithgow and it snowed. The pier at Balmoral Beach completely vanished. Boats were washed up all over the place, as were things like sea snakes on beaches around Sydney.

Interesting Andrew. Would have been a unique time for all concerned. How often does it snow in Lithgow?

It is a brilliant shot and the only improvement I could suggest was if the sky was a bit lighter.

Thanks Andrew. I think I may have darkened the scene overall as I would have slightly overexposed when I took it. I don't have a polariser for my 10mm lens so the sky may have washed out a bit on the RAW image. Will revisit this one when I get a chance.

I am keen, time dependent. I am starting a new job next week so until I work out what is happening there I am a little uncertain about timing.

Congrats Cameron, will keep you posted.

[surenj]

There is alittle bit more information to wet your appetite....

A guide by Brent.
http://knol.google.com/k/a-photographer-s-guide-to-stockton-beach#

This was the discussion and more info on the shoot that we did....
http://www.flickr.com/groups/sundancers/discuss/72157623326067100

[ATJ]

How often does it snow in Lithgow?

Snow in Winter is not uncommon but I snow in May is rare (I wonder if it has snowed in May since then).