Now whilst I do love to photograph waves crashing on the shore, Gaia and her daughter Tethys dancing and playing, sometimes gently and sometimes in fury, I also have a fascination with estuaries and rias (river valleys part drowned in post glaciation sea level rises) where their very enclosure precludes all but the smallest waves. In such places you can watch the blurred boundary between land and sea as tides come and go over marshes and mud flats. These places can be just as treacherous as the crashing waves, with quicksands and tides travelling faster than you can run over the flat sands and creeks. The preceding images come from the ocean side of South Arm, Tasmania. Yet scarce a hundred metres away across the dunes is Ralphs Bay, a tidal lagoon almost entirely surrounded by land. A quiet place of gentle waters, mud flats, wading birds and small clusters of houses. I got to spend too little time there, after all you can only do so much in one trip, and yet I hope to return to explore more of this ‘in between’ world.

Most of the time when photographing waves you need to use a telephoto lens to get close to the action. Yet towards the end of my session on South Arm (Tasmania) I decided I liked the grand view effect of the sea and sky combined so I switched to an ultra wide lens. The result was some lovely views on a glorious day. The only problem is that  you have to get close to the water to get the impact and … you guessed it … I got soaked … waist level; Tethys in a playful mood, oh and amusement for Muse&Mentor. Still, I got the pics didn’t I. And a thought that amused me … the island you see is Betsey Island, and the next stop out there … Antarctica.  A grand view indeed.

I am, as you know, fond of waves. And, like snowflakes, no two will be the same, even on the same day and same beach constant variations of wind, tide, current or just the moment you pressed the camera trigger will guarantee something different every time. So tempting always to hang on for just one more short, but there is always another beach another moment.

This little beauty was taken on South Arm, near Hobart, Tasmania. The break was quite a long way off shore, perhaps a hidden reef, so it required quite a lot of cropping to get the image I wanted.

Well I am back in the UK, having survived the rigours of a warm, even hot at times, Christmas in Melbourne and Hobart, compared to the icy blasts, rains and winds of the UK with I am habituated.

Of course, though it was primarily a social visit, I did take a few photographs; about 3000 … oh how I love digital; and will publish some images based on these over the next few days. But not yet, the jetlag has dulled the brain and the creative instinct. So instead, an Australian image from a previous trip that I had already processed.

Now though I am not primarily a wildlife photographer, opportunities do sometimes present themselves and this swan was standing by the side of the water in St Kilda harbour in Melbourne. Swans are actually quite vicious and aggressive creatures but they look cute and I took the opportunity presented. As often espoused in these pages, from time to time we all need to step outside our normal way of thinking; in so many ways of life.

Well I am back in the UK, having survived the rigours of a warm, even hot at times, Chrstmas in Melbourne and Hobart, compared to the icy blasts, rains and winds of the UK with