Now that the  5x4 Sinar is finally  up and running I have started to think about  doing some  black and white photography in the winter.  Given the long exposures required in low light,  it  would be  tripod based work  that can only be realistically  done in specific conditions--basically no rain or showers  and with little coastal wind.  

This black and white version  of some coastal granite formation in the early morning light  is one possibility.   I  had scoped these rocks  with the Sony a7 R111 digital camera, just before the first winter storm hit the coast of the southern Fleurieu Peninsula.  It was a very pleasant late autumn morning. 

This granite formation  in the winter light would be suitable  for  the Sinar f1 and the Schneider-Kreuznach 75m Super Angulon lens (multicoated). I could easily carry the camera gear and the  carbon fibre tripod  over my shoulder to this location, which  is just  west of Deps Beach.   I could walk there before sunrise with Kayla  on a poodlewalk, set up the camera,  and  then wait for the winter sun  to rise over Rosetta Head and  lighten up the granite. 

The early morning light in  late autumn  is something special and it makes the granite formation  look pretty good in colour.    A  large format colour photo is also  a possibility as it shows  the subtle colours of the granite. I just need the rain  and the bitterly cold  wind to pass over the Fleurieu Peninsula and for a couple of calm winter  days  to emerge.

 Behind this coastal granite formation  lie agricultural landscapes that have their roots in the colonial past of white settlement with its ideology of ‘improvement’ of both land and people.  That manipulated land, which  signifies the colonial footprint, appears normal --as all that ever was there. This  natural history  makes it difficult to  decipher what was there before. 

Turn sideways, look down the coast , and you catch a glimpse of  the nature and extent of human interaction with the land. This agricultural landscapes are a point of reference in understanding who we are.  The signage  along the Heritage Trail  refers to personal and collective memories and histories that are designed  to help us to deepen our understandings how this  land has been produced.

The ownership structure of the  land is changing, due to dairy farming becoming economically unviable.  There is little in the way  of a regenerative agriculture to overcome landscape degradation and improve soil health.   Some of the  farms along the coast are  selling their land,  being broken up and changing into holiday and hobby farms.