Wild Horizons at Mount Martha
Hawker Beach in Mount Martha, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, is a hidden gem where the colourful beach boxes seem to sit right in the water when the tide is high. I arrived on an overcast day with little expectation, but I knew the timing was perfect for sunset and a long exposure. Using my Nikon D800 with a 17–35mm lens, I set up with a NiSi circular polarizing filter to bring out the colors and a 6-stop ND filter to smooth the waves and clouds. At first, the frame felt empty, so I climbed onto the next beach box, set my camera to take a shot every three seconds, and placed myself on the wooden platform as a subtle human element in the scene. Just as I started shooting, the sun broke dramatically through the thick clouds, painting the scene with unexpected color and light. Sometimes it’s the days you don’t expect much from that surprise you the most.
