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Out in the Indian Ocean

Posted by
Darkelf Photography (Perth, Australia) on 24 January 2023 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

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Hello to everyone in 2023! Hope the year is going well for all of you so far. It is time for me to get back into posting after a break over Christmas and New Year. We had to cancel this trip just over a year ago but we were able to visit Christmas and Cocos Islands at the end of 2022. These islands are known in Australia collectively as the Indian Ocean Territories and they come under Australian authority. Christmas Island has volcanic origins and is the summit of an underwater mountain measuring more than 4,500 metres, of which 4,200 metres is below the surface. It is home to the famous red crab migration, blue and coconut (robber) crabs, and various marine bird species. There is also a detention centre to house asylum seekers arriving in Australia, which has been a contentious point for various reasons for a number of years.

The coast is beautiful, consisting of limestone and basalt cliffs, with only limited spots accessible as beaches. We were able to explore the coast and the rainforest quite thoroughly during our stay. We were lucky with the weather as well, as December marks the beginning of the wet season, but the rains stayed away most of the time with only of a couple of heavy downpours taking place. It is not your typical island tropical paradise, like Maldives or other similar places, and the island has a rugged edge to it which made it very exciting for us to discover.

I took this photo on our first evening not too long after we landed on the island and arrived in our accommodation. The weather was great and we did not want to waste any time so we ventured out nearby to get a taste of this new location. The evening turned out to be fantastic with great light and a lovely sunset as well. Not knowing the exact geography of the island we went about just to see if we could find an interesting spot and we were able to find one indeed. With the rough terrain, I was only able to find a good perspective when facing away from the setting sun (although I did also take a photo facing toward the sunset). The combination of pinkish sky, swirling blue water and the coastal cliffs was irresistible though, and I loved the location and the conditions.

The sunset light lasted for quite a long time and I was able to patiently wait for the right wave to arrive the photograph the beautiful motion effect of the sea below our vantage point. I tried a number of different shutter speeds to see what produced the best result. I wanted the colour and contrast of the sea to come through without making it too mushy and texture-less but I also wanted it to have a little bit of a dreamy feel. Surely, one does not ask for too much from nature when taking photos... Sometimes nature does hear these quiet hopes and requests and produces a magical spectacle to witness and photograph, just like it happened on that evening. It was a great start to our visit and now I am glad to be able to share it with you.

Canon EOS R5 1/2 second F/8.0 ISO 100 15 mm

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