Ballarat Outing 2023
Ballarat 2023 © Karen Malbon
The forecast of a hot and windy day did not deter fourteen photographers (and one supportive partner) from descending on Ballarat. Thankfully the wind kept the temperature in the mid to high twenties for most of the day but it did make hat wearing and holding the camera steady difficult. We gathered at the Ballarat station and soon dispersed, looking for interesting compositions. Brian’s hat went flying off his head and its rescue was captured by Karl, illustrating his street photography prowess.
There were endless photographic opportunities within the zone of Ballarat Station, Lydiard, Camp, and Sturt streets. Historic buildings, contemporary buildings, street art, statues, gardens, shops, people and some Smurfs!
Arvin set himself a photographic challenge of using one camera with a fixed lens and only doing post production “in camera” using the built in film simulations. Meanwhile, Catherine was spotted on Sturt Street “two-timing” her Canon camera with her phone. All that walking led to healthy appetites and we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Lake View Hotel. A great venue with fabulous service. There was lots of photography and non photography related chatter.
After lunch we reconvened at the Botanical Gardens. A feast of colour awaited us and the begonias were spectacular. Cameras were pointed in all directions. Leo put his new Fujifilm kit (with an enormous lens) to the test. I chased a butterfly with my phone in an attempt to prove to myself that I really don’t need to purchase a macro lens (ask me in a few months how that went). From here some called it a day and headed home. Rumour has it that Arvin might have also resorted to taking sunset photos with his phone after filling his camera’s storage card.
Thank you to Gayle for planning and organising a great day of photography and socialising.
