A weekend in Julia Creek.

My DIL organised a photography course in Julia Creek and I was one of the first to put up my hand.  I always get so much from these courses, and have a lot of "light bulb" moments.
The presenter of this course was a gentleman called Rowan Bestmann.  I think he would be one of the best course presenters I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.  Some people have the knack of presenting and others can simply bore you to tears.  Believe me, I've been to plenty of those courses! Rowan's photographic skills are unquestionable and if you want to have a look at some of his work, go here.
We travelled to Julia Creek on the Thursday before the course and went via Townsville as we were in the car.  Leaving Townsville and heading west the country gradually got worse and worse.  The drought is really biting in now.  The most extraordinary thing was not seeing any stock in paddocks west of Hughenden and those that were still there were doing it hard.  By the time we got to Julia Creek  I was getting quite depressed but remarkably once I saw our stock I was heartened.  They were still strong and although they are certainly not fat, they were in reasonable condition.
We stayed at one of our other properties for the weekend as son and DIL had quite a houseful staying there.  On Friday I visited my friend Karen and Friday evening we drove to Nelia for the opening of the Julia Creek Photographers exhibition.  The owners of the gallery provided us with a delicious three course dinner.

The table set for dinner

Outside the Nelia Gallery

Saturday was day one of the two day course.  Day one was all theory.  Lots of information about camera settings and techniques.  Amazingly I did not have information overload and couldn't wait to get into the field to take some shots.  That would have to wait until day two!

Getting to know our cameras

Course participants

Saturday night son and DIL hosted a BBQ.  They are wonderful hosts and the spread that they lay on the table was incredible.  We had steak, chops and a large variety of salads.  Yummy!

Son in charge of the BBQ

Sunday, day two of the course, we were in the field and putting into practice all that we had learnt from the day before.  We went out to the picturesque RV park just out side Julia Creek for our photography.  It is a lovely spot and is filled with RV's.  The council has built a lagoon in the centre of the park and the lagoon is surrounded by BBQ's, table and chairs.  It is a very relaxing spot.

Anyway, back to the photography,  I practised Depth of Field shoots.  

A shallow depth of field gives a nice blurry background

Not quite such a shallow depth of field so the background is a little clearer. 

I would like to become a better landscape photographer and after the course I understood why my shoots were only so-so.  It is all to do with focus point.  Anyway I am going to practice my new skills so stay tuned to this blog.

It was a lovely weekend and I have to thank my DIL for inviting me to Julia Creek.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.