| Places to photograph; best time
of day/year to shoot; tips about shooting there: |
The most photographed part of Australia's Nambung National
Park is Pinnacles Desert (above photo). It's one of the most
photographed locations in Australia. But GET THERE EARLY. The
park officially opens mid-morning, but you can get in with no
trouble before sunrise and then pay the fee at the gate later.
But once the park opens, the tourists come, meaning two things
that will ruin your shoot: 1) It's a wide landscape, and people
will be walking in your backgrounds; and 2) There will be many
footprints in the sand, making it hard to get a clean shot.
Even getting there early, you're still likely to have to work
around another photographer or two. But there's enough room
for a dozen to work, provided they're courteous of one another
(and almost all Aussies will be).
You can access plenty of good shooting spots from the road
that winds through the Pinnacles Desert, but you can hike to
more remote spots, too. For flowers in bloom, visit between
August and October.
Hangover Bay has a white-sand beach from which dolphins can
be spotted, but you're more likely to get a good photo from
boat than land. There is a boat launch at the bay, but you'll
need a four-wheel-drive to get there. Sea lions may also be
spotted.
Other wildlife in the park: Western grey kangaroos are common,
especially in morning. Being park roos, you should be able to
get relatively close without scaring them off. Still, bring
at least a 105mm if you plan to photograph them. Also, emus
and cockatoos are common, and bobtails, carpet pythons and Gould's
monitors can also be seen and photographed.
Bring a wide range of lenses, from wide-angles to telephotos.
You can use them all.
For a better view of what the landscape, see my Pinnacles
Desert panorama.
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