Photography field trip to Cooma
I am currently studying a Certificate IV in Photography and Digital Imaging at the Canberra Institute of Technology. This semester, as part of the course we are undertaking field trips around Canberra and in this third, and final, trip we went to Cooma in NSW. The aim of the trips, which occur roughly every two weeks, are to hypothetically contribute photos to a book promoting the region. We are trying to take interesting photographs that help show the character of the location. However, there is a restriction, in that we can only submit eight images and they must be from at least four of the ten categories that the teacher lists. This trip is not for nature or wildlife photography but the exercise is good practice at reacting to a location and trying to be creative within the bounds of the categories. It is also a challenge to only choose eight photographs to show off the character of a location. I thought that I would blog about the photos here because it helps me to record why I took the photographs, and hopefully it will help promote some lovely regional towns. I have swapped around several images from the ones that I actually submitted because I asked some people for permission to photograph them as part of this course assignment but I didn’t ask if I could put their photos up publicly. Therefore, I don’t want to cause any embarrassment to the wonderful people who very kindly helped me on the day. I hope that you like the photographs below.
Cooma is just over an hour south of Canberra along the Monaro Highway. The pleasant drive there is through rolling agricultural land with good views of the surrounding area. The region is in a bit of a rain shadow so it was looking dry and brown on the day. Historically, the government formally created the town in 1849. Cooma had a boom period after the Second World War when it became the headquarters for the construction of the Snowy Mountain Hydro-electrcity scheme, the legacy of which is still visible around the town. However, that period has passed and the town’s population has declined to about 6000, 10% of what it was during the construction of the project. Cooma is still a picturesque town, and despite the looming threat of heavy rain on the day, I enjoyed my time photographing around the town.
On the day, I used a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM ‘pancake’ lens. I have a standard zoom, which I also carried with me, but I love the aesthetic of the 50mm and I also think it can be less intrusive when photographing people.
Monaro Highway almost at Cooma
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM [ISO 800, 50mm, f/16 and 1/125])
It is an easy drive to Cooma from Canberra, just get onto the Monaro Highway and head south. The photo is typical of the landscape on the way to Cooma. The town itself is visible in the back right of the image. Even at about 7AM, the clouds were already coming, painting streaks of light across the landscape. When I saw the lovely lighting ahead of me, I had to stop for a photograph from the top of a convenient rise.
Nanny Goat Hill Lookout
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM [ISO 320, 50mm, f/11 and 1/125])
The late Chris Graham, a local Cooma artist, created the Nanny Goat sculpture on the aptly named Nanny Goat Hill. I could not find what the connection was with goats and this hill was but the sculpture was something different to photograph. Being at an elevated position I was hoping for some good photographic views of Cooma but the trees had been growing so I needed a 100mm lens to get views past the trees. I should have attempted a panorama on the day with a long lens but the light wasn’t at its best. However, I think a compositor with the statue was still the better choice for an image.
Horses
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM [ISO 100, 50mm, f/4.0 and 1/250])
To be honest, I had pulled up to photograph the lovely, old house, out of view on the right of the photograph. I had seen it on Google street view and I thought that it would make a nice photograph. Unfortunately, the trees in the front yard made it hard to get a decent shot. While I was trying to figure out a possible angle for the house, these two horses wandered over to the fence near where I was. They were beautiful animals without any fear of me. The white horse was particularly inquisitive and followed my movements. I was glad it did because it put itself in a good position to have the sun shining from the left light its side. I was also please that I was able to include the purple shrub behind the horse.
Entrance to Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM [ISO 1000, 50mm, f/8.0 and 1/60])
Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church opened its doors in 1873 and looks after not only Cooma but several small towns in the local region. I walked inside searching for some strong contrasty shots but I was having trouble finding any. It was only when I was leaving that the above scene caught my eye. The stain-glass window was beautifully lit up and there was light coming from the entrance door on the right, producing some nice shadow on what was inside the entrance.
View of Cooma from Radio Hill
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM [ISO 125, 50mm, f/11 and 1/125])
About mid-morning, I drove up the dirt road to the top of Radio Hill on the east side of Cooma. From the top I was able to get a pretty good view of the town. The dry, still wintery vegetation dominates the foreground as the photo leads the viewer to the train station, which is now a museum on the de-commissioned rail line. The business district is on the right, while a more residential area is on the left. Unfortunately, the sky is foreboding and it started raining just after midday, so this photograph has a sombre feel to it, which didn’t really match the upbeat vibe of the day I had in Cooma.
The Cooma Hotel
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM [ISO 160, 50mm, f/13 and 1/160])
The Cooma Hotel dates from 1858 although the facade has undergone a few changes. Notably, the removal of the balcony and verandah, primarily because the local government at the time decided those elements would impede vehicle transport. The hitching post for horses has also disappeared, which seemed a reasonable decision and hopefully any horse riders can use one of the street signs to tie their steed to so they are not inconvenienced. I liked this shot because it showed the whole hotel, including the Cooma snowman promotional banner and the lighting along the modern veranda. Another student took a similar shot but with slightly wider framing and I think his shot worked better. This image could have done with some more space on the sides.
Snowy Scheme Model
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM [ISO 125, 50mm, f/8.0 and 1/160])
This photograph was not one of my original set that I submitted for grading, although I was wanted to use it. I wanted to use this shot, along with a couple of others to show the link between Cooma and the Snowy Hydro-electric Scheme. This Snowy Scheme Model was a great symbol of that connection so it would have helped differentiate Cooma from any other equivalent sized country town. The Scheme was not necessarily good for the environment in the short-term, with the flooding of the land to make dams and the reduction in environmental water flow for the Snowy River. However, it did provide a large renewable source of energy for New South Wales. After processing the above image, I played around with the image again, to crop it down to the words Snowy Mountain Scheme and just part of the terrain model behind it. I thought that it made a nice image but I wasn’t sure that style of image would have helped promote the region.
Trying to make an espresso photogenic
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM [ISO 1250, 50mm, f/5.6 and 1/200])
This shot was a bit of joke with my teacher. During an earlier coffee in the day, he quite rightly pointed out to me that an espresso is not as photogenic as a latte, which often comes with milk art and has the mixing of tones with the milk and coffee. I thought that I needed to restore the reputation of the simple espresso as a thing of photographic beauty. I was fortunate that my lunch venue gave me the tools for the job. The dark, wooden table with a lovely texture; a visually appealing espresso and crockery that presented an almost mesmerising effect. Later in class, while reviewing the image, the teacher agreed that I had suitably defended the photographic reputation of the espresso.
While I didn’t do any wildlife or nature photography on the day, the challenge of responding to the scenes around me while trying to show the character of the location was a good exercise. It helped with my technical control of my camera and also challenged me to look at the creative process of photography. Wildlife photography can just be documenting what I see and it can also help tell a story. I think these course trips are a great way to develop the narrative power of photography. It was also a great excuse to get out to see another part of Australia that was only an hour away from home.
