Today I woke up to amazing, eerie light like I have never experienced it before. A jolt when through my entire body as I opened eyes and noticed the most spectacular red and orange glow through the gaps of the blinds.
I jumped out of bed (and I normally don’t jump out of bed) to look out the window. I was in awe. The sky was covered with what I thought was clouds at first and it was completely red and orange. There was an eerie red orange glow everywhere. However, as the headline hints at, of course I later learned this phenomenon was a dust storm. Gale force winds had carried red sand from inland Australia to all over Sydney. Tons of it. My car was covered in red dust.
As I stumbled out of bed (because truth be said stumbled is probably more accurate than jumped) I grabbed my trusty little Canon G9 (now replaced by the brand new Canon G11 which is available at: B&H Photo, Adorama or Amazon.com) and started snapping some quick ’memory’ shots simply to record the light onto a sensor, so I could at least show someone else what I had seen (just as thousands of other Sydneysiders did this morning).
Dust storm as seen out of our kitchen window
This was the first picture I took out of our kitchen window. I don’t know if you can see it in this small image, but I noticed the neighbour a couple of houses over had their TV switched on (you can perhaps just about make out a slightly blue light in the window in the house across). This is when I first thought that perhaps this was more than just a spectacular sunrise, but at this stage I was still in awe and was only just concerned with getting some ‘memory’ shots.
Dust storm looking directly south
This picture was taken from our balcony looking directly south whereas the first picture out the kitchen window is facing directly north. Perhaps this gives you a little bit of the eerie feeling that I had of being completely and utterly enveloped in this red orange light. It was just everywhere.
I noticed several other houses with the typical flickering TV light in the windows and I slowly started thinking “something is up.”
When the light continued to last (I only expected the light to last for about 5-6 minutes as with most brilliant light during sunrises or sunsets) I decided to put on a pair of shorts and get out onto the street.
Local street scene in Manly Value during the dust storm
I took the above photo on one of our local streets here in Manly Vale. The fact that the street is deserted emphasizes the eerie feeling a little bit. The thumbnail picture at the very top of this post (click on it to enlarge it) was taken just a few minutes after the one above.
Power lines and street lamp in the dust storm
At this point I was still concerned about when the light would fade, so I was pointing my camera at virtually anything that included the sky. Here it is a detail image of some power lines and a street lamp.
Trees in the dust storm
Next subject was a couple of trees where the beautiful details in the crowns caught my attention.
Treescape and dust storm
This image is perhaps my personal favourite of the images from this morning as without the light obscuring most of detail in the background this image would not be possible. In fact these trees are backing up to a fairly large industrial complex.
Tree detail in the dust storm
Here is another tree from the same location as the one above. Notice the relatively low contrast in the scene as is often also seen in images with mist or fog.
Dancing in the dust storm
This was the final image I made before I headed back home to get some breakfast and prepare for the workday.
There is a period of 27 minutes between the first image out of the kitchen window (taken around 6:48am) and the final image above (taken around 7:15am). The strong red orange light lasted for another good 10-15 minutes and then slowly started changing to a more light pink. Just amazing! It was only in the early afternoon that the sun finally burned through the layer of dust in the sky and the day turned somewhat more normal again.
An absolutely spectacular morning in Sydney today!
For more information about shooting in windy conditions read my 17 Tips For Photographing in Extreme Weather Conditions article.
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27. September 2009 at 4:06 am
how did the dust taste ? – saw it on the news – think the shot of the opera house in the dust storm got iconic status and went around the world.
nice shots you managed to get
29. September 2009 at 10:45 pm
Hey Sune, thanks for chiming in here.
Yes, there were several really good shots from the city. These shots are a lot more spectacular than my ‘memory’ shots, simply because it makes the whole dust storm a lot more surreal when see it ‘over’ such famous icons like the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It really gives the storm a perspective.
Oh, well at least I experienced it and got a few ‘memory shots’. It was an interesting morning to say the least, even now where the dust has settled
30. September 2009 at 10:46 pm
Love the shots! What a great experience and now you have something to always remember it by. Nice to make images for yourself as us photographers sometimes forget to do that. Least I do:)
5. October 2009 at 11:39 pm
You’ve some great shots there.
Are you thinking of reviewing the G11? One of my friends is off to Japan soon, and has offered to get me one (he thinks he can get a decent saving in the gadget street of Osaka).
6. October 2009 at 12:09 am
Hi Mike,
I think I might have inadvertently misled you here. I have not replaced my G9 with the new G11, but just meant to make a reference to the fact that there is a newer model than the G9.
In other words I have not tried to shoot with the G11 at this stage, but suspect that it will be much like the G9 just with some of the technical improvements mentioned in this post.
If I ever was to review something I think it would be more of a hands-on type review than a technical one, as there are so many technical review sites out there.
However, I can say that I’m very happy with my G9, but should point out that I do find the files to be a bit too noisy at ISO 400 and up, but it’s my understanding that this issue has been addressed in the G11, so I think it’s leaps and bounds better in that department than the G9.
The G11 would have to be one of the most serious compacts on the market today. I wouldn’t hesitate.
However, if I was to mention one other camera that might be worthwhile taking a closer look at it’s Panasonic’s new LUMIX DMC-GF1.
I don’t know the prices in Japan, but it sounds like it might be worth giving yourself that early Christmas present if there is a saving to be had.
Good luck with it.
6. October 2009 at 10:19 am
Oops – my bad. I mis-interpreted your post there.
Hands-on reviews by photographers are the type of reviews I like. Some web sites like to post 20 pages of detailed specs and pictures of the menus – I hate them!
I don’t know if you ever read http://www.luminous-landscape.com/ ? It won’t win any awards for looking slick, but the guy tells me the things I want to know as a photographer.
6. October 2009 at 4:03 pm
Hi Mike, well I’m not a native English (I’m from Denmark) so my English is not always perfect, and re-reading the sentence I can see that it can be understood both ways. Anyway…
Yes, I have followed the Luminous Landscape for a long time and can only agree with your comments. When it comes to gear Michael Reichmann is definitely a good ressource. As for the review sites, agreed, often long and boring, but of course they are good if you want to get down to the nitty gritty details on specs and tech.
12. October 2009 at 3:15 am
I really like ‘Trees in the dust storm’, by the way!
12. October 2009 at 8:42 am
Thanks Mike. I appreciate the feedback.