Michael Messer 4/7/22 Michael Messer 4/7/22

My turn

How did I hurt myself? I was out in search of the milky way. There haven’t been many clear nights of late, so I had to take any opportunity I got. I packed the kids in the car, went to the supermarket, bought a hot chicken for dinner, and headed to the Scenic Rim for some clear, dark skies.

Michael Messer 30/5/22 Michael Messer 30/5/22

Planning - Part 2.

I had to do a bit of planning for these photos. It also took me a couple of attempts to get the photo I was after. Then there was quite a bit of luck to get my favorite photo of the Shorncliffe Pier.

Michael Messer 30/5/22 Michael Messer 30/5/22

Planning - Part 1.

I had to do a bit of planning for these photos. It also took me a couple of attempts to get the photo I was after. Then there was quite a bit of luck to get my favorite photo of the Shorncliffe Pier.

Michael Messer 18/4/22 Michael Messer 18/4/22

Third wheel

This is the stunning view from the Westridge Outlook overlooking Lake Wivenhoe west towards the Great Dividing Range. The magical pinks and purples in the sky are from the volcanic ash still circulating high up in the atmosphere.

Michael Messer 3/4/22 Michael Messer 3/4/22

One door closes, and another one opens.

With my original plan for the day being cancelled, I decided to make the trip up to the Bribie Island Butterfly House.

Michael Messer 27/3/22 Michael Messer 27/3/22

A well photographed hut.

Michael Messer 23/12/21 Michael Messer 23/12/21

Better to be lucky than good – or so the saying goes.

When trying to take star trail photos in the southern hemisphere you look for the south celestial pole. The reason you look for this is that is the point in which the stars rotate around forming the circle.

Accurately finding the south celestial pole isn’t easy, well for me anyway. You can ‘draw’ a line through the head and foot of the southern cross into the night sky and then ‘draw’ a line perpendicular out from the pointers. Where these two lines intersect is the south celestial pole. As you can imagine, I don’t always get my ‘drawing’ correct.

Michael Messer 23/12/21 Michael Messer 23/12/21

First storm of spring 2021

Once again storms are predicted. This time we are in the firing line as the radar shows a storm definitely heading our way. I decide to not set up the swag and instead head out to see if I can get my first spring lightning photos.

I manage to capture a couple of daytime lightning bolts. I was quite pleased with this as I find it hard to capture lightning during the day.

Michael Messer 17/10/21 Michael Messer 17/10/21

Changing plans

This time I had a mate, Ben, who was going to come along with me. The plan was to drive out from Brisbane in the morning, hike up in the afternoon and spend the night up in the mountains.

Things change as they happen to do.

Michael Messer 10/10/21 Michael Messer 10/10/21

Sunday afternoon drive

So, it is Sunday afternoon, and nothing is happening. Instead of squandering the afternoon on the couch I go for a lazy Sunday drive.

Not one of my biggest adventures but I manage to find some roads that I have never driven on before. Even some dirt roads to boot.

What I find are some locations for future trips when the conditions are right – storms, Milky Way, or dramatic sunsets.

I end this lazy Sunday drive with a simple scene of a fence leading up to a lonely tree. There is a rainbow as a bonus from a rain shower that struggled to be a storm but just couldn’t form into one.

Michael Messer 3/9/21 Michael Messer 3/9/21

Chasing waterfalls - Part 1

Screech, screech, screech. The alarm is goes off. Up I get. My ninja skills need some work as I wake some in the house. I reassure them it is way too early to be up. They go back to sleep and off I go.

Today I am chasing waterfalls in Lamington National Park.

Michael Messer 17/7/21 Michael Messer 17/7/21

Oak Park Races

Every two years at this time of the year we embark on a road trip. The destination is Oak Park Race Club, five or so hours west of Townsville. Most years it takes us three days to travel the 1700km, this year we decided to do the trip in two days.