In 2017 I clocked up around 60 sunrise photo sessions as well as a handful of sunsets and daytime wanderings. That amounts to lots of great outdoor experiences, but there was a clear winner when it comes to my favourite morning of the year. I captured the above image from a remote rock outcrop in Gibraltar Range National Park back in May - I'd just scrambled up to this vantage point from my overnight camp after a somewhat difficult hike the previous day (read more here) and was immediately captured by the silence and beauty of the wild scene laid out before me. And it was my birthday!
Moments of bliss like that aren't too uncommon when you spend so much time chasing the sunrise - I can easily recall a dozen other occasions during the year when the spectacle of morning light on a natural landscape brought me to a standstill. If there was ever cause to question why anyone would willingly leave a warm bed to trudge along a dark beach or forest trail, these moments provide the answer.
So the selection of images below represent some of my favourite photographic moments of 2017 - they would have been memorable moments even if I hadn't had a camera with me, but as luck would have it, I did! I hope this short stroll though my photographic year inspires you to get out there and experience it for yourself.
Sunrise Surfer - Moffat Beach, Sunshine Coast.
Soft morning tones - Point Cartwright
Grey morning - Shelly Beach, Sunshine Coast
Sunrise on the rocks - Moffat Head, Sunshine Coast
Meditation - Caloundra Head, Sunshine Coast
Above the falls - Boonoo Boonoo National Park
South Bald Rock - Girraween National Park
The Platypus Pool - Boonoo Boonoo National Park
Goomburra Forest - Main Range National Park
Morning waves - Moffat Beach, Sunshine Coast
Pastels at Pincushion - Pincushion Island, Sunshine Coast
Suburban surf - Coolum, Sunshine Coast
The Maelstrom - Pincushion Island, Sunshine Coast
Brand new day - Mudjimba Island, Sunshine Coast