This past Sunday (the 3rd of May) a bunch of intrepid photographers braved the frosty weather and closed freeways to meet in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens. The early morning light was fantastic so some of the crew wandered off to shoot some backlit oak leaves while others took a trek into the fern gully. It was still reasonably dark in the fern gully but there were patches of lovely light streaming through and I managed to get some nice fern fronds brilliantly lit from behind against a dark background. Next up was the lake where initially we shot we shot into the light before moving around to the other side. There was pelican feeding in the lake which we were told is quite a rare occurrence. Unfotrunately it spent most of it’s time with its head under water.

Somehow all the disparate groups all happened to meet up at the cafe where cake and coffee became the order of the day. After that we splintered off again and I slowly made my way back to my car in the company of Anne and two prospective new members – Natalie and Mary, who both happen to be Olympus users. We stopped at a view looking up a hill into the city with Government House and Eureka Tower poking their heads above the trees and it was really fascinating/frustrating to see how two fairly similar cameras could produce very different results.

Despite a fairly chilly start to the day it turned out that it really couldn’t have been much better but I have to say that once again the highlight for me wasn’t where I was but what I was doing and who I was doing it with.

See you at the next one – Montsalvaat on the 7th of June.