• Astronomy and Photography by Mike Salway

11th January 2010

The Battle that Never Came

Over the 2009 Christmas Holidays, my family and I again headed up to Birubi Beach for a 7 night camping trip, after making a similar journey at the end of 2008. After beautiful weather last year, unfortunately this year we were subjected to terrible weather. Cloudy with not a hint of sunshine for 6 out of the 7 days.

On the last day we were there, my son Jacob and I headed out on the sand dunes with the Port Stephens 4WD company for their 3-hour shipwreck tour – taking in some sand boarding, the Sygna shipwreck, Tin City, a few other local attractions and the Tank Traps.

Click the images for a larger version.

Tank Traps on Stockton Beach Sand Dunes

Tank Traps on Stockton Beach Sand Dunes

The image above was taken with my Canon 40D and 24-105mm L IS lens. Please continue reading for more story and images.

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5th June 2009

Birubi Beach Sunset Panorama

I finally got around to finishing some more pictures from our Birubi Beach christmas holidays! (Yes, it’s been that long!)

In this set, I feature some beautiful sunset photos taken on December 30th, 2008. Living on the East coast, I never get to see the Sun setting over the ocean. But due to the curving around of the headland, at Birubi Beach in summer it is possible!

Jacob and I went down to the beach to watch and photograph the Sunset – him with my old Sony Cybershot, and me with my Canon 350D. It was great spending the time together, wandering the coastline and climbing over the rocks, looking for the perfect shot.

Birubi Beach Sunset Panorama

Birubi Beach Sunset Panorama

The photo above is a 4-image panorama, and each image is a 3-frame HDR. The image is available for purchase on RedBubble.

Please continue reading to see more beautiful sunset images from Birubi Beach.

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29th April 2009

Sunset over the Birubi Beach Sand Dunes

The sand dunes at Birubi Beach are just stunning. With the right light it’s almost impossible to take a bad photo of these wonderful objects of nature. And so it was in December 2008 when the sunset painted just the right light on the wind-swept ripples in the sand, creating a wonderful scene to capture.

Dusk at Birubi Beach

Dusk at Birubi Beach

These photos were taken during my family’s christmas holidays at the end of 2008. I’m glad I finally found the time to finish processing these – it reminded me of what a beautiful location it was.

The photo above is available for purchase at RedBubble, and for download as a wallpaper (1024×768). Please let me know if you would like other sizes made available.

Please continue reading to see the rest of the photos from the impromptu sunset shoot.

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posted in Photography | 5 Comments

3rd February 2009

Photo and Video of the Night Sky Over Birubi Beach Dunes

When you’re on a family holiday over christmas, it’s 10pm at night and the skies are clear and you feel the need to do some photography, what better option than to head into the sand dunes at Birubi Beach and take some star trail photos.

So there I was, sitting in the sand dunes while the camera clicked away with 1-minute exposures, feeling like I was in the middle of nowhere but still connected as I browsed my favourite websites on my laptop with the NextG wireless modem until my laptop battery went flat.

I was able to grab about 60 x 1-minute exposures until the camera battery went flat, and resulting star trails photo is below.

Birubi Beach Star Trails

Birubi Beach Star Trails

Click the image to see it on RedBubbleClick this link to see the 1200px wide version it at my gallery.

Continue reading to see a video showing the beautiful parts of our southern sky rising over the Birubi Beach Sand Dunes (as well as the cars, and the cargo ship!). You’ll also find more information including capture and processing details and why I took so long to post this image live.

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posted in Astrophotography, Photography | 1 Comment

22nd January 2009

Photos of a Massive Storm Approaching Birubi Beach

In late December 2008, my family and I were camping at Birubi Beach Holiday Park when we heard some of the “neighbours” talking about a big storm approaching. I booted up my laptop, connected to the NextG wireless modem and checked the weather radar. Sure enough, a massive cell was heading straight towards our location. We had about an hour before it was going to be upon us.

As the wind started picking up, the campers busied themselves putting away loose materials and tying down their tarps and tents. Once my household duties were complete, Jacob and I went for a walk to the nearby carpark up at the Birubi Beach Surf Club to take some pictures of the approaching storm.

Here’s my best image of the set, the last in chronological order.

Massive Storm Approaching Birubi Beach

Massive Storm Approaching Birubi Beach

Continue reading for more.

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posted in Photography | 2 Comments

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  • My name is Mike Salway and I'm an amateur astronomer and photographer. I'm the co-founder of IceInSpace, and this is my personal blog site and image gallery.
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