This shot is further up the creek from last nights post and is set billabong surrounded by Melalukas and various grasses.

The image typifies a shooting style that I developed on this trip that was a subject of some discussion on Facebook with Paul Pitchuin last night.

It is an 8 image stitch, 4 top and 4 along the bottom and every image was focused stacked. With the foreground interest being so close there is not way the image would have worked without focus stacking. Now, every aspect of the image is in focus and sharp as a tack!

So, 16 images to make up this final shot and the file size at full size is about 10,000 pixels x 8,000 pixels at 300 DPI.

A fair way down the Prince Regent River is an offshoot tributary the runs south on the way to Melaluka Falls, where we have our Heli picnics.

The walk to Camp Creek is a challenging walk in some respects but it is well worth it with the array of beautiful scenes along the way.

These little falls are are just down from the main falls which I will post soon.

To me this scene is very typical to many of the tributary river systems that are so abundant in the Kimberley.

In and around the area of the famous Horizontal waters are some fantastic reminders of just how old this area is and the various geological changes that have happened over millions of years.

On this particular morning, Tom Putt and myself set out to explore this ancient land.

The Kimberley region extends from the dry red sand dunes of the Great Sandy Desert in the south through rugged sandstone escarpments of the Kimberley Plateau and Timor Sea in the north. It extends east to the Northern Territory border.

Covering some 423 500 square kilometres it is nearly twice the size of the State of Victoria and three times the size of England!

Numerous islands off the northern coast and the many gulfs, headlands and the irregularity of the coastline attest to the current historically high sea levels and the so-called “drowned” topography of the region..

There are more than 2500 mapped islands between Yampi Sound and the mouth of the King Edward River. In a straight line it is approximately 400km from Yampi Sound to the mouth of the King Edward River whereas it is nearly 1300 km around the actual coastline.

On this particular True North Adventure we covered some 1100nm of this ancient land.

The current landscape of the Kimberley has been evolving over a period of at least 250 million years. Periods of uplift resulted in peneplanation of the land surface and deeply incised rivers. The above photo is a very good example of the uplift phenomenon often seen in the Kimberley region.

A lengthy period of tropical conditions 70-50 million years ago resulted in the development of a lateritic cap, particularly over the volcanic rocks which are more susceptible to weathering. This is a characteristic feature of the Mitchell Plateau.

As sea levels rose from approximately 120m below current levels following the end of the last glacial maxima 18 000 years ago, the Kimberley coast line became drowned with the sea filling what were once river valleys. This phenomena gives the coastline its distinctive irregular outline.

To me the Kimberley is like a snapshot into our very existence and a cruise through a sci fi movie like Jurassic park…but the park stretches for over 400,000 square Kilometres!

This shot was taken not long after the Rowley’s Reds in my early post and is another classic example of dead calm at beautiful Rowley Shoals.

It is quite unique to see such a glass off so far off shore when there are little or no other landmasses or other clutter that takes away the chance of simple compositions like these.

Another image showing of the dynamic reds of the Winyalkin cliffs at sunset on my recent True North Adventure in the Kimberley.

The colours in the sky seemed to become totally infused with the already vibrant colours of these Kimberley red rocks.

Finding myself in places like this is a special experience in itself for sure, but to now be able to capture it is indeed very special.

The passion of photography drives me to search for special places and it is so very rewarding when you do stumble across them.

On this occasion Christian Fletcher and I had scaled the cliffs off in the distance with a mindset to capture a high beach sunset image, but after getting to the top we found this 180 degrees behind us!

There was gold over them there hills!

Tonight I thought I would share with you a technique I have been developing to fix problematic cloning issues. The technique is kinda cool and it is like a ‘get outta jail free card’ for some images.

The above image had an issue as the original stitch had a seriously blown out area in the top right hand corner from the setting sun which I was hoping was going to work when I shot it, but it simply didn’t, so rather than bin the shot I started refining this new technique I have been playing with.

In the first instance flatten the stitch if it has not been flattened out of PT GUI or the stitching program. Then Command J, or copy the background.

Then using the quick selection tool to select the sky making sure (in this case) to use the refine edge tool to get all the detail out of the rocks on the upper right and then at the bottom of the refine edge pallet, in the multiple menu, go for apply to selection.

The next step is Command A, Command T or free transform and then grab the side of the image and pull it across until the affected area (in my case the blown out sun slides across behind the rocks together with the islands at the back. When it is far enough across hit return to set the free transform function.

Now apply a mask (the little button next to the layers pallet) and then invert it (command I) and then with a with a white brush at 100% rub in the new detail behind the rocks.

The result is a seamless transition of detail that was not possible to replicate using the clone tool or the content aware tool.

There are a number of variations of this technique that can be used according to what is needed with each image, but hopefully the description above will give you a start to experiment for yourselves.

A word of warning is that you are stretching pixels so little is best!

In 2006 I bought my second ever Toyota Prado after being very impressed with my previous machine.

That purchase would be for sure up there with one of the best purchases of my life, next to my Canon 1Ds I guess!

The Toyota Prado Grande that I bought in 2006 has been an unbelievable machine and I have never owned a car for as long as this one. I have not even had to change a light globe in just over 200,000 kms and apart from regular maintenance, I have not had to repair or maintain anything as Toyota definitely nailed the build of this car!

This particular model was written up as the best 4wd on the market that year and I have certainly put it through its paces and it rocks in the sand and totally concur with the accolade of the best 4WD of that year. I have pulled numerous other makes out of trouble with this machine.

Couple the above to the fact that the Grande is the top of the range in the Prado range and of course then this machine has absolutely every option you can think of, including:

Roo bar, Roof Racks, Tow Bar, Sunroof, GPS, Blue Tooth, pump up shocks, comfort control.

It is now time to move the car on as I need some tax deductions and have a new Prado Kakadu coming my way.

I know who ever picks up this car will be well looked after as I have been. The Prado drives like a sedan on the road and is totally comfortable off road.

I am asking for offers close to $35,000 and would like to hear from anyone who might be looking for a very reliable and solid 4WD.

Call me on 0418 920 271

I am sifting through various True North images at the moment for marketing purposes and found this shot of some playful Dolphins in the Duke of York Islands. The Rabaul volcano is off in the distance which gives an air of mystery, together with the beautiful calm waters this region often serves up for us.

Every time I have been to the Duke of Yorks, these performing Dolphins are regular performers, getting their daily kicks by surfing the wake of the tenders as we cruise around on various adventures.

I never tire of watching the speed and grace of Dolphins at play, often wishing I could dive in and join them!

I was sifting through some old RAW files today for a client and found this title gem lurking in the hard drive.

Rowley Shoals…dead calm…sunrise…beautiful!

In keeping with the theme of Fremantle Harbour, here are a couple more shots of the Maritime Museum and the E Sheds.

Once again a perspective that eludes most of us unless you have a boat!

Gotta use these edges when one can shouldn’t one!

I saw some nice clouds and light developing yesterday morning and decided to take my boat for a run around the Fremantle Harbour area to see what I could find.

The boat needed a run in any case and it was a pleasant morning out for sure.

We currently have a US Navy aircraft carrier in port, so that was the first port of call and I am pleased with the overall result of the image with the spotlight effect over the ship.

It was then off to the harbour itself and once again I was lucky with the light and clouds at the time. From the land there are too many restricted areas to get a composition like this and I have been wanting to get a pano done of that side of the harbour now for a while…ticked that box now I have!

This was the last shot from our morning’s excursions at Swift Bay when I was out with Christian and Jen Fletcher.

It was a beautiful morning to be out watching the sunrise and to end the walk in the little cavern was a nice way to end up.

At high tide the cavern is completely underwater and you can see the years of erosion showing on the sandstone layers, together with the patterns in the sand. A few bats also live in here as well, just to add to the mood when walking through!

After spending a fair bit of time on the higher view, I slid down to this view to join Tom Putt and was quite happy with how this view made more of a feature with the colours and textures under the waterfall on the right.

A 21 image stitch with various challenges to do with the light on the day, but I think we got there in the end!

There are a couple of places in the Kimberley that always turn it on for us, no matter what time of year and the Prince Regent River is one of those places.

At some time when we are there we see total glass offs and absolute mirror reflections.

The Hunter River is the other location that also has similar conditions and epic clouds.

The black and white treatment of this shot shows off the subtle changes in tones as the eye is draw down the river and for that reason I think the Black and White version works quite well against the colour.

I set up this shot with Christian Fletcher for him to take. It is a 4 image vertical stitch and I am doing a Doby Gillis pose out in the distance, looking out over the beautiful vista with the thunder of the waterfalls right next to me.

The ledge that I was sitting on was sitting right out over the pool below and the feeling of tranquility was really quite surreal as I sat there waiting for Christian to ping off the shots.

I thought that the image needed some scale and as such felt that I also should be in the shot as well.

Hope you like it!