Fraser Island Photo

Photographer’s Note

Fraser Island, Queensland

Yet another of my older photos, sourced from the dusty draw, showing the main beach along Fraser Island back in 2000. I have included the cars because this beach is more of a HWY then a spot for a swim (light aircraft land here also). But not to worry, there are hundreds of places along this massive island to have a safer swim; the surf here is wild, unpatrolled by lifesavers and infested with sharks. That is why you swim in the exceptional freshwater window lakes in the rainforest such as Lake McKenzie and Lake Wabby. No sharks, no salt.

Scanned from a 6 x 8 inch print, I have performed a despeckle, added the frame and removed a few larger blemishes. The quality is still not ideal, but it is vastly improved from what it was.

Now for some quick facts:

Fraser Island is an island paradise in the Coral sea, about a 3 hour drive north of Brisbane.
It is the largest totally sand island in the world. Despite this, rainforests grow out of the sand and hundreds of freshwater lakes exist. The island is littered with shipwrecks submerged off the coast, and washed up on the beach. It is the home of the world’s most pure breed of dingo, held in isolation from interbreeding with dogs on the mainland.

1630 km² in area.
230 species of birds.
123km long
800,000 years old
'Discovered' by Captain James Cook in 1770

Enjoy

mcenteesalas, jusninasirun, Cormac, kiwi_explorer, Dyerco, ribeiroantonio, bakes888, Floydian, cunejo200, MLINES, macondo, ChrisJ, trekks, Benedict, melmcree, usnadir, Elaine_Blath has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mcenteesalas (1612) 2007-12-21 16:39

Hi Matthew, what a beautiful shot of this beach scene composition, those clouds coming over the hill look really dramatic, it has a great feeling to it, brilliant composition and POV, well done, thanks for sharing it with us, regards, Joao Salas

jusninasirun (10150) 2007-12-21 17:18

Hello Matthew,
Nice beach against the brilliant sky. The slanting earth gave a good perspective to this shot.
Regards,
Jusni

manojtnair (427) 2007-12-21 17:22

hi matthew,
beautiful composition. good pov. the combination of sky, sea and greenery looks beautiful. tfs.
manoj

Cormac (26449) 2007-12-21 18:06

Great shot Matthew! First of all, I have to give you a belated thank you for your most recent critique of one of my posts - it was very interesting and detailed, and it really cut through the usual stuff that people write, and I appreciate it. This is a good shot with very attractive colour and contrast, the cornerstones of any landscape shot. The car and people on the beach really add a sense of actually being there, and I don't really mind them. Very good note also. Excellent work!

kiwi_explorer (12195) 2007-12-21 18:13

Hi Matthew,
Pretty good quality considering it a scanned photo. Interesting to see how these 4x4 vehicles are able to access remote areas in masse nowadays ... good if well controlled but has devastating effect on the environment in some cases. Beautiful scene and wonderfully captured. The big cloud formations somehow balanced the composition. The curved shoreline is a nice inclusion. Well composed with good overall image quality. Well done resurrecting an old photo.
Merry X'mas and enjoy the yuletide holidays.
Cheers,
Renier

Dyerco (9008) 2007-12-21 19:33

Hi Matthew
I've been there and flew in a light plane that took off and landed from the beach. Great place. Your scan is very good and the composition is also very good.
Thanks for the memory.
Phil

denisn72 (6959) 2007-12-21 19:38

Hello Matthew
The big white cloud fits well with the jeeps. The light brown and dry sand is soft to look at. The atmosphere looks pleasant for these people. It going to be fun for them. Charming place. Great colours and details. Well done!
Best regards
Denis!

grantlp (2104) 2007-12-21 19:39

Hi Mathew,
You've done exceptonally well with the scanning and "polishing" of this older photo, which to me provides such a pleasant sense of freedom in the open spaces of this island. Your composition emphasises the natural environment and the wonderful, long stretch of beach, while providing some interest with the inclusion of the 4 x 4's.
Cheers Grant

ribeiroantonio (21839) 2007-12-21 20:12

Do you believe that I have been living in QLD for 16 years and never been to Fraser Island? Many plans but they never came up good. Now and after seeing your shot, I have to start planning again to go there.
Do not worry about the quality. I think it is a great old pic.
Antonio

Scharan (13951) 2007-12-21 20:23

Olá Matthew

Um espetáculo esta paisagem e muito bem fotografada. Cores excelentes, um céu divino. Lindo trabalho, parabéns!
GA
Vera

bakes888 (18055) 2007-12-22 0:54

Hi Matt. Great photo with wonderful colours and dynamic composition. Well captured and thanks for sharing.
Have a happy Xmas, Paul.

bracasha75 (21936) 2007-12-22 2:02

Hello Matthew
I love Australia
Thanks for sharing
Cheers,Braca
Merry Christmas

Floydian (30970) 2007-12-22 5:11

Hi Matthew,
The day i was on Fraser island it was overcast, never saw the sun that day, so seeing this i know how it can look...wonderful.
Deep and intense colours with a perfect crop and framing...you have really a good eye in seeing this...very good work.
Have a nice weekend, Henk

cunejo200 (7157) 2007-12-22 10:05

Hello Matthew,
How I long to be in this beautiful seascape at this time of the year. Very attractive and composed well. Good colors and sharpness. Best regards, Danilo

MLINES (10852) 2007-12-22 17:03

Hi Matt. A good advertisement for Queensland, a popular place for all Aussies to migrate to these days. It may be anolder photo but we'd never know if you'd not mentioned that! Beautiful colours and good notes as we expect from you. Merry Xmas. Murray.

macondo (13067) 2007-12-22 17:28

Some nice scans you've been doing lately. This one is really nicely cropped to emphasise the broadness of the beach and the perspective view along the curved shoreline to where it meets the hills (or should that be dunes?). The clouds have come out well. The shot would not be so effective without the vehicles and people. Good one.
Regards,
Andrew

ChrisJ (69973) 2007-12-23 1:05

Hi Matthew & Merry Xmas!

Fraser Island is deservedly one of the most popular attractions of SEQ. People in the northern hemisphere appreciate these bright, sunny, beachscapes, in winter, although I got accused of torturing them, when I uploaded some of my beachscapes. Bear in mind that it's cold, bleak, & most flowers died months ago, so now I understand where they're coming from. A very good result, for a 7 year old vintage upload. Tfs!

crckt (7072) 2007-12-23 20:36

Hi Mattew,
A very picturesque shot captured really beautifully. I like the colors a lot, the clouds looming over the mountain looks wonderful.
Well done,
Shaeri

Benedict (7062) 2007-12-24 20:44

hats off for a clear and very sharp scanned upload! superb composition, well-framed presentation.
have a merry christmas!
benedict

batalay (20806) 2007-12-25 7:12

Hello Matthew,

A very very good scan of a print, and indeed most likely from your summer, our winter, of 2000. We are now amidst a White Christmas in Providence, Rhode Island (in New England, Northeastern US).

Many thanks for the note on the 10K points. Adam Silverman was astonishingly smart in creating a site that sees points accumulate in such a slow but meaningful manner.

Warm regards,

Bulent

hamperium (279) 2007-12-26 21:59

very bright colours
the car with the people gives a nice feeling of depth
well done!

melmcree (2261) 2007-12-27 12:49

Hey Matthew,

You really captured lots of great elements in this one shot. What stands out besides the cars is the curve in the sand and the water. Terrific elements in your composition. This is a great travel photo. I also like it because I have a cousin who lives in Perth and his name is Fraser.

Cheers,

Mel

usnadir (771) 2007-12-28 1:31

Excelent colour composition.light and framing is very nice.
nadir

trekks (14262) 2007-12-29 2:56

My 1st visit here, Matthew and I already find this a great shot with a good pov and composition showing the diagonal slope line.

You have a good curved line along the beach front, and the sand just narrows up and leads into the frame. Nice sky and warm light!

Good touch up work for a good finish. TFS

pastadog (12821) 2007-12-29 10:58

Impressive shot, Matthew. I like your POV achieving depth and excellent lines. Beautiful colors, including fantastic busy sky. Perfect compo, congratulations, Daniel

HooleyHoop (206) 2008-01-12 4:43

Hi Matt,

A lovely shot of a very interesting place. I was there back in 2006 and will be back there this coming august and it evokes a lot of memories for me, which an accomplished photo should do. Your composition is spot on and the 4x4's add that little bit of detail to catch your eye and keep you looking at the photo.

Cheers

Chris

ilvao (2248) 2008-01-25 3:53

Dear Mathhtew,

It's probably not your best picture of your stunning gallery but it reminds me a beautiful place in the world.
There are too many 4x4 but i can understand.
Your picture and explanation show it.
All the best
Olivier
Do you have pictures of Whitsunday island ?

joeydrops (2645) 2008-01-27 21:28

Hi Matt,
This is a very nice shot of Fraser. The colours are really pretty. I've been there once, a few years ago now, when I went for a day tour on an articulated vehicle. Your photo reminds me of when we drove on this beach highway where we managed to see a dingo. There's a lot of interesting things to see on Fraser. I've only been to some of the spots. Eli Creek was my fav :) but I'll have to go back one day and see more of it.
Anyway, back to your photo, the composition is impressive, with the 4WD's and hills on the right and the curve on the left adding to the depth of the image. The big white fluffy clouds contrast well with the blue sky. Lovely details, framing and presentation.
Good job and thanks for sharing it with us!
Claudia

Elaine_Blath (6170) 2008-01-31 23:07

Hi Matthew,

another great one - amazing place and good photo, sht from a good angle, and - very readable note that I enjoyed...well done!

Take care, Ivana

xavshot (62239) 2008-02-27 12:45

Bonsoir Matthew
dans cette photo, le grand angle est un bon choix pour montrer l'immensité du paysage. Belle lumière. La présence des voitures et des personnages permet de nous donner une notion d'échelle par rapport à l'endroit.
Beau travail.
Xavier