ISCAH and Mindil Beach

I’ve been to cities that never close down
From New York to Paris to old London Town
But no matter how far or how wide I roam…
I still call Australia home

Not really my words, it’s an Australian song (I Still Call Australia Home or ISCAH in short) and probably best known from the Qantas commercials (that can really move me…imagine that…me being moved…and by a commercial, video here). Anyway, it could be my words! I am here, and all is well and – ISCAH. I do still call Australia my second home and it’s amazing to be back in Australia. It’s like I never left at all.

Mindil Beach

Let’s not waste time, I have pictures to show you of Mindil Beach in Darwin and todays sunset! I went to Mindil Beach tonight to check out the famous Mindil Beach Market and shoot the amazing blood red tropical sunset. The colours are so intense I have actually added no saturation to this, and I have underexposed by more than a stop – and still the red channel is blown out! Mother Nature here outperforms any digital sensor even the Canon 5D with 12 bit colours. I shot about 70 shots at the market (all with wrong EXIF time, forgot to set the time in the camera doh) and running (well walking!) around the beach and here’s a few – click on pictures for full size:
Mindil Beach sunset
Mindil Beach sunset
Mindil Beach sunset
Mindil Beach sunset

Half of Darwin was here, it’s a big market but it was packed and so was the beach at sunset. This sunset was beyond words, I didn’t even think it would be this good since we had no clouds all day – but the colour was magical and what a fantastic start to this photographic journey!

Darwin

I’ve only been to Darwin once before, for 1 day on a tour 9 years ago so it’s a bit like coming here for the first time and I like it more than I remember. I love the accent for one thing. The outback accent is much slower than the city aussie accent and they use a bit more aussie slang. I can really turn on my aussie accent mate and fit in no worries and howyagoin! It’s nice and warm here in the tropics! It was about 34c degrees today and hot enough to boil a monkeys bum Bruce (Monty Python again). Not that sticky but far too hot for jogging so today is not the day where this Gump gets to “run Forest, run”! I had a chicken burger + CHIPS of course for lunch. Can’t be helped. Chips are everywhere…must eat chips! I keep padding my pocket think I lost my mobile phone until I smile and remember I didn’t bring it at all and that I am not working so I don’t have to be on standby. Everyone wears thongs (Australian for flip-flops) and most drive a ute and Darwin is really a good quirky outback big city and I mean that in a good way! Darwin is also the gateway to the amazing Kakadu, Litchfield and Nitmiluk (Katherine) National Parks and they have the pleasure of meeting me starting Saturday! Keep your eyes peeled.

Getting here

Flights went fine and Frankfurts terminal 2 now beats Tokyos terminal 2 in being the most boring terminal 2 I have ever been to. Congrats to Frankfurt! Singapore was it’s usual self but I soon learned that 4 hours in an airport fly by a lot quicker when you have a laptop with you and the airport has internet. Getting going in Copenhagen was a bit strange this time though which leads me to this a bit more personal paragraph…

A New Beginning

It sounds and looks cool – “A New Beginning” – but it makes little sense. How many “old” beginnings do you know? Nevertheless this is exactly what I am doing. A new beginning. I’ve been waiting for this so long that the last few days before takeoff have actually been strange. Up until that point it’s just been me being excited about going. But packing my bags and it suddenly becomes reality. I am going away for a long time and I am starting a new job and who knows what with my photography business when I get home. I think I experienced every emotion I am capable of the last 2 days before takeoff and I was a bit nervous actually. Not about going to Australia but about disrupting my routines completely. My mind can run at lightspeed with many trains of thoughts at once and the only way to create stability in this chaos for me and stop me from going insane is everyday routine. Small things everyday that I know and like. I just threw all of that out the window!
Well the good thing is I adapt as quickly as I think. And one hour in Copenhagen airport was enough to make all the difference and make all the worries go away. I was on my way (nevermind I was 15 Ks from home!) and happy and no worries mate! Sitting here in my hotel room in Darwin looking at todays pictures, typing this in my blog and watching “the footy show” on Channel 9 at the same time – all is well in my world!

6 Comments on “ISCAH and Mindil Beach”

  1. I suppose a new set of routines could replace the lost ones, how about:
    Get up late.
    Eat Chips.
    Sit on the beach a while.
    Eat chips.
    Take some pictures.
    Eat chips.
    Write blog/upload pictures.
    Eat chips.
    Go to sleep.

    Doesnt sound so bad now does it;-)

  2. I could definitely get used to the routine Jesper mentions, well, except from the chips that is. I would probably swap that with a smoothie 🙂 Yep, I am already dreaming…
    Nice pictures by the way, and if you need any help with the camera you beam me up (or down).

  3. Nice shots. It´s amazing how intense the colors are – even by more than one stop. I´m sure I would have done the same bug with the camera timesettting. Yesterday I saw a very funny photo of a rather alternative geo-code solution. I´ll drop an URL when and if I manage to find it again.
    I was just about to offer my help, but I see that well-meening persons already have offered their help as to drag your gear down-there so think I just leave it by that :).
    Take care…

  4. Thanks for all your comments. I am combining Jespers and Alicans proposed routines – yesterday I had chips and later a mango smoothie at the beach. Also I did the sleeping in bit today, bloody jetlag. 10am and I just woke up!

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