A Jolly Swagman Photo

Photographer’s Note

"Once a jolly swagman sat beside the billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he sat and waited till his billy boiled:
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me"
The opening words of the great folksong of the Australian outback. Music by Banjo Patterson and words by Christina McPherson; written in Winton, Queensland in 1895.
This is in the neighbouring Northern Territory in the desert outside Alice Springs. A swagman was itinerant traveler is the outback. The 'Red Center' or the Central Australian Desert is vast and cruel place of amazing beauty. The soil and rocks are red with iron ore with only scrub and some gum trees, that manage to survive in one of the harshest and driest places on earth.It is a place of stunning beauty, I hope my picture gives some small impression of that.

Atousa, ifege, snunney, phwall, patdeph, axiotea, PixelTerror, riclopes, s_lush has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

aadilj (17950) 2008-10-16 2:20

Wonderful crisp colours and saturated deep tones make this so refreshing and fine. I like the composition and the way its been handled Kevin

ifege (1979) 2008-10-16 2:28

Hi Kevin,
A great photo that captures the colours of the Kings Canyon area (one of my favourite areas in central Australia). Having the person in the shade shows what it is like even in September (hot!)
Regards
Ian

serp2000 (9707) 2008-10-16 2:57

Hello, Kevin,
I like australian colours! Beatiful shot! Good POV, fine composition and interesting note.
Greetings from Russia,
Serghei

snunney (35464) 2008-10-16 3:01

Hello Kevin,
Seems to me, who has never been there, to be a very typical of the Australian outback. Vivid colours and strong light make for a very interesting scene. I like the placing of the swagman and the shadows cast by the tree. Thanks for sharing.

ktanska (16695) 2008-10-16 5:07

Hi Kevin,
Excellent outback feeling. I've always liked red tones of desert. The tree and it's shadow are well placed. Good control of intense light.
Kari

rigoletto (26792) 2008-10-16 7:01

Hi Kevin,
The shadow of the tree, and the minimalized presentation of the man next to the tree are the most attractive merits of this photo for me. Good diagonals...
Rgs,
Deniz

phwall (5705) 2008-10-16 13:13

Hi Kevin,
You've captured the mood and colour of the Red Center perfectly. The scrawny looking tree clinging to life in this harsh environment is so typical. Great shot.
Regards
Peter

axiotea (16287) 2008-10-17 10:35

Hello Kevin
The rich red color tones of the rock/soil make for an attractive view and combined with the blue sky, it created a nice contrast! A well timed capture of the man standing under the lovely shadow tree...Did you use a polarizer?
All the best from Chiang Mai ;)
Marilyn

patdeph (18338) 2008-10-18 1:39

hello Kevin
the contrast of the red ground with the blue sky is wonderful,it transcribes very well the heat of this desert landscape!The tree is superbly placed in the frame!How should I like to see this country,and to be at the place of this man,this is superb!
Best regards
Pascale

PixelTerror (86839) 2008-10-18 2:55

Hi Kevin,
The man is a bit in the shade but given the sky I can understand him, nice red centre scene that seems straight out of Crocodile Dundee !
Have a nice day JY

riclopes (33135) 2008-10-18 8:41

Olá Kevin, the contrast of colors is stunning here and I love the way the person seems to be caught by the shadow. "Vast, cruel and amazing beauty" - that's a definition of a place that attracts me very much. Yes, your picture is wonderful.
ricardo

Senk (2033) 2008-10-18 8:57

hi Lung
I like the color of this pictures between color form the tree and from the rock but picture seems a little bit blur I am not sure you used tripod or not? ,, good picture

take care

Seng

RGatward (19749) 2008-10-19 4:32

Wow, so bush Australians are just like there stereotype, this guy looks like he's worked off the set of Crocodile Dundee, well found.

John_F_Kennedy (31994) 2008-10-23 1:13

Beautiful tree in this lonely landscape. Excellent lightness and contrast. It's a wonderful shot.
Best wishes,
Achim

Atousa (3466) 2008-11-02 20:19

Salam Kevin,

Very beautiful nature n you captured it in a good frame containing nice elements : rocks, trees n their shadow n a person to give a good scale..thank you.
Greetings, A