Blog
A blog about photography and travel.
Brisbane
Work trip to Brisbane
Once again I had the opportunity to go on a long work trip to Brisbane in the middle of the winter (the Icelandic winter). I was there a couple of years ago, just after Covid, which was a bit of a strange time. With everything back to normal, the experience was quite different.
Brisbane is a really nice city. Good for a walk, lots of restaurants with great food, bars, killer weather etc. Absolutely not touristy, just a thoroughly nice place to be. Feels like a city on the move, and will host the 2032 Olympics.
I was also in good company, with my colleagues Kristín (my sister) and Hulda. Always good to travel with smart and funny co-workers.
Regarding photography Australia is a bit like the US. Lots of nice things todo but the place is absolutely huge. Brisbane is beautiful but other nice places are not exactly next door. This time around I managed to get to the Gold Coast, to Tambourine Mountain and to Noosa Heads.
Photos are taken with Fujifilm XT5 and XE4 cameras, and XF16-55mmF2.8, XF23mmF1.4, XF27mmF2.8 and XF80mmF2.8 lenses.
Australia
A relief from the Icelandic winter down under
Mid-February I had the opportunity to go on a business trip to Australia. For the first three weeks I stayed in Brisbane, where my company has offices, then went on customer visits in Queensland, Sidney and Warrnambool before finally ending up in Sydney for a long, relaxing weekend.
Shortening the Icelandic winter by 5 weeks is a godsend, especially this terrible winter. It wasn’t all sunshine though, as for 3 days there was a biblical downpour in Queensland that caused massive floods, loss of property and deaths. Never seen anything like it in my whole life.
For the trip I took the Fujifilm XE4 along with the 10-24 f4, 16f1.4, 35 f2, 50 f2 and 80 f2.8 lenses. It would have been much easier to have a couple of zoom lenses, but always good to try something different. My favorite was the 50f2, which I haven’t used that much so far. It’s a compact lens that fits the XE4 body well and is extremely sharp.
Amsterdam
I stayed in Amsterdam overnight on the way out. As the pictures show It was a supremely dreary day, but still good for a walk.
Tamborine Mountain
My colleague, expat and gourmet cook Þórir Sandholt lives on Tambourine Mountain, about an hour’s drive south of Brisbane. On our first weekend in Brisbane we were invited for dinner and stayed over for the night. Walked some trails and had an excellent dinner.
Along the trail to Witches Falls there are some examples of the Moreton Bay fig tree (fourth photo below), a fascinating type of tree that germinates in a host and then strangles it.
Noosa Heads
The resort town of Noosa Heads is a couple of hours north of Brisbane. It’s got a nice beach, a national park that is good for a days hike and a small lively town center. For a couple of Europeans escaping the winter back home, it was very nice indeed to stay there for the weekend. As a bonus, there was a surfing competition so we we could witness some first class surfing.
Gold Coast and Cape Byron
Next weekend I drove down to the Gold Coast and Byron Bay. There’s a long stretch of beaches from Surfer’s Paradise south to Tweed Heads with plenty of people enjoying the sun and the sea. I loved the lifeguard stations on the coast, of which there are about 30 . They would make a great subject for a photobook, I think.
Further south is Cape Byron, the westernmost point of Australia. It’s an interesting spot for photography and my favorite photo of the trip is of the fisherman with the seabird watching over him. The nearby town of Byron Bay is very lively, down to earth and a lot of fun.
The Great Ocean Road
After a customer visit to Warrnambool I drove back to Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road, staying overnight at Port Campbell. The area’s most iconic feature are the 12 Apostles, a set of sea stacks just off the coast. A lot to take in over a day and half.
Sydney
I ended the trip by staying 3 nights in Sydney, my first time there. I haven’t really made up my mind on what I think about the city. It’s got famous landmarks like the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. The city is in a spectacular setting around a harbor area and it’s got a lively restaurant and bar scene at Circular Quay, The Rocks and Darling Harbor. Very attractive, but perhaps a bit dull compared to other large cities. Definitely need to investigate further at some point.
