It was windy, it was wet, it was wonderful. September 2019 brought us to two years since the Hotham events started happening. This trip we had two models to shoot in some of the locations, which is a first for these trips. 12 photographers tried their luck at battling the elements to capture inspiring shots over the weekend.
Friday saw us all drive to Mt Hotham from various areas of Melbourne. Mt Hotham is located in the Great Dividing Range of Victoria, Australia. It has the highest paved road in Australia, passing through “the cross” at 1825m above sea level, called the Great Alpine Road. Some arrived in plenty of time to set up, have naps and rest before sunset (Niki left Melbourne at 6am with Colleen and Kellye), whilst others had to stop at the sunset location on the way up (Madeline, Lachlan and Kit) as they were a little slower to get going in the morning. One group of 6 people managed to all fit in a Carnival van, complete with their luggage and camera gear! (Boris, Ineke, Paul, Jan, Jenny and Mary)
Sunset delivered some stunning cloud formations with a pinch of colour. As it was also the same weekend as the Bright Festival of Photography, the photographic crew shared these gorgeous sunset locations with a bus load of other photographers. These festival photographers were very friendly and quite often attempted to steer the Alpine Photography crew onto the bus for fear of them getting lost. I am sure the festival photographers also found the models’ dancing to be unusual and highly amusing. We are supposed to be taking photographs, aren’t we?
Once all returned to the comfortable Tallawarra Ski Club lodge, a nice fire was burning and we settled down to discuss the plans for the rest of the night and for sunrise the next morning. Most succumbed to the comfort of the fire and remained at the lodge that night to rest in preparation for 5am rising. Kit, Niki, Madeline and Lachlan, all excited to be in the alpine region, decided to attempt some light trails and astro shots.
Niki and Madeline had been discussing a new location they wanted to try, and tonight was going to be the night it was tried. A safe spot to park and climb had been discovered during earlier rendezvous missions, so they all packed into one car and headed straight there. In the dark with biting wind cutting through the waterproofs, the group ascended a little hill, which was to be the location for the shoot. The Light trails of the cars on the road created a beautiful shot for the group. A small window of cloud opened up and allowed a spot of astro shooting, with Niki turning out stunning images. Approaching 11pm, it was time to head back to the lodge, as the crew were to be up in 6 hours.
5 am comes around way too quick when you have had little sleep. Most of the crew didn’t sleep well Friday night, with the sounds of a raging storm outside keeping us awake. Brave and determined, the crew left the comfort of the fire with coffee in hand. Niki did a fabulous job of ferrying drivers to retrieve cars from the overnight carpark. Bleary eyed, but excited, we drove through the dark to our chosen sunrise location. Stepping out of the car in the predawn light was a shock. 138Km/hr wind gusts took our breath away. Undeterred the group nestled amongst the bushes and snow drifts to shoot the rising sun. Branches off nearby trees were blown down the road and coffee cups upturned. One camera bag had to be chased across the ground as the wind tried to steel it. We were cold, bitterly cold. The wind just tore straight through us. The images would not show the reality of this miserable and exhilarating sunrise, they turned out simply stunning! A quick group photo as requested by the Hotham Herald was far less successful.
Seeking shelter in a little cove, the camera was mounted on tripod and the group assembled. A timer was started, and just as the camera was about to go off, a huge gust of wind grabbed at the camera and sent the tripod toppling over! Luckily Lachlan was the quickest of the bunch and had managed to grab it before it crashed to the ground. The resultant photo, whilst blurry, is quite humorous. A second attempt proved much more successful, as the tripod was moved to an even more protected area.
Cold and weathered, we headed back to the lodge. Jenny had kept the fire burning for us (she was unfortunately unwell and hadn’t been able to leave the lodge since she had arrived) and tea and coffee were shared. Photographs were already starting to be processed, but morning naps were required for some. Outside the weather continued to hammer at the walls and the rain had started up. News came in that the Great Alpine Road was not to open due to the weather. The roof had blown off the police station overnight. We had just endured that weather for 2 hours that morning.
Around morning tea time, an annual tradition was undertaken to eat cake at a local cafe. The road had reopened and it was business as usual, despite the horrendous weather. Trudging through the snow with rain slicing sideways, Niki, Boris and others made the pilgrimage to the cafe for their slice of cake. One cake was even brought back for Kit, who wasn’t brave enough to leave the lodge.
Lunch and cards saw the middle of the day pass, whilst some portrait photography was attempted on the softly lit balcony. Niki, Kit, Madeline and Lachlan later opted to brave the outdoors with the hope something might be worthwhile risking the camera for. Cafes in Dinner Plain served as a welcome shelter with the pummelling rain. A brief break prompted the group to visit JB Plain and it’s hut. The beautiful wooden window was calling for some high contrast natural light portraiture.
The hut was being used by two hikers who had sought shelter in it from the wild weather outside. One of these hikers was very excited about the portrait photography being undertaken and offered to model. He proved to be an excellent model, providing us with some incredibly moody images. Once finished inside the hut, some outdoor portraits were taken, with Lachlan proving to be a stunning model.
Returning to the lodge saw the crew warm up, dry off and prepare for the evening’s sunset. The rain had abated but the clouds still boiled above. The colours didn’t burst like expected, but did provide some useful variance to the dramatic clouds. Little whisps clung to the mountain side and cloud banks rolled up the valleys. Attempting to capture the silhouetted group against the darkening skies, Madeline climbed onto a rock to take a photo. This proved to be a fruitless endeavour as she was caught by a gust of wind and blows off the rock, camera in hand. Alternating between sheltering in the cars to warm our frozen hands up and chasing the ever changing light, we made the most of sunset before dinner.
Dinner was a group meal at the local pub, The General Store. We were tired, cold and happy and the AFL finals were being played on the TVs for the other patrons. One eye on the screens to ensure the team we preferred won the game, we ate our meals and relaxed. A group decision was made to not attempt any lightpainting that night; we were all pretty exhausted. We were all keen to attempt some early morning photography with snow forecast overnight. At 100% cloud cover we decided to push back our rising time from 5am to 6am and enjoy the post dawn light and an extra hour of sleep.
Bone tired and achey, we rose to head out in the fresh morning. Jenny had seen an improvement in her health and was out and about with her camera. A light dusting of snow had changed the landscape slightly, with a break in the clouds giving rise to stunning views. We had survived the storm and been rewarded with a beautiful morning.
The lodge cleaned, the groups started to head home. Tired, elated and with increased shutter counts on their cameras. Home was offering rest, warmth and post processing of images. It had been another amazing weekend at Hotham