hghlght

Guitar and bass

2012-02-04T01:25:00.001-08:00

Rainbow

2012-01-18T01:47:00.000-08:00

Full moon outside Urana tonight

2012-01-09T04:01:00.000-08:00

Caught tonight's full moon outside Urana but, as usual, the photo doesn't do it justice.

The sunset in the opposite direction recorded better.

Nice knocker

2012-01-08T02:34:00.001-08:00

Aussie duck

2012-01-07T04:47:00.001-08:00

Pregnant apple

2012-01-01T01:12:00.000-08:00

I like how this apple core has seedling sprouting within it.

Nice image for the start of a new year. Have a good one :)

Some bees in the Blue Mountains

2011-12-26T01:12:00.001-08:00

Iris

2011-12-19T21:23:00.001-08:00

For whom the web tolls

2011-11-27T01:49:00.001-08:00

Greenshoot

2011-11-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

Chain

2011-10-31T02:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a chain from the swings at Waipukurau Park, Leeton.

Protection charm

2011-09-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

Starry-eyed potato

2011-09-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Cracked channel

2011-08-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Autumnal finish

2011-08-15T23:52:00.001-07:00

This Leeton footpath was improved by being laid in autumn when leaves could make an imprint on the wet concrete.

Quartz streaks

2011-05-03T03:19:00.000-07:00

Falling water

2011-04-21T19:18:00.001-07:00

Hibiscus

2011-04-16T15:38:00.001-07:00

Till Death Us Do Part

2011-04-13T21:22:00.001-07:00

Valla Beach

2011-04-13T15:29:00.001-07:00

Sunshower

2011-02-01T23:55:00.001-08:00

Clouds

2011-01-23T22:44:00.000-08:00

Super deluxe

2011-01-06T12:58:00.001-08:00

Flooded Murrumbidgee

2010-12-14T02:04:00.000-08:00

This is Uroly Road outside Leeton. It's currently closed while the flooding of the Murrumbidgee River peaks.

It's great to see the river red gums getting their roots soaked.

You can see the River is almost a foot from the bottom of Euroley Bridge.

Leeton got off lightly compared to the natural disaster status earned by Wagga.

Holding hands

2010-12-01T01:35:00.001-08:00

Stone cold drippin'

2010-11-22T02:10:00.000-08:00

Visit to the National Botanic Gardens

2010-11-01T02:46:00.001-07:00

Visit to Monteagle Cemetary

2010-10-30T04:27:00.000-07:00

Fivebough Swamp at sunset

2010-10-26T02:12:00.001-07:00

Fivebough Wetland flooded

2010-10-21T12:57:00.001-07:00

Recent rains have led to scenes of flooding throughout the Riverina but none so serene as at Fivebough Wetland. This photo shows the path through the swamp under about 10-20cm of water.

Jasmine blooms

2010-10-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

Blossoms

2010-09-10T21:01:00.001-07:00

Portrait self-portrait

2010-09-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

Alpaca

2010-08-02T02:22:00.002-07:00

Hopbush

2010-08-02T02:22:00.001-07:00

Solar array

2010-08-02T02:21:00.001-07:00

Koorawatha

2010-07-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Koorawatha Creek is a nice spot to listen to running water and birdsong.

Strokes of light

2010-07-13T03:52:00.001-07:00

Driving home

2010-06-27T03:48:00.000-07:00

River red gum forest

2010-06-16T02:35:00.000-07:00

Leeton shade sails

2010-06-11T03:39:00.001-07:00

Green bloom

2010-06-05T02:02:00.000-07:00

Dangar Falls

2010-04-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Timelapse video of a passing storm

2010-04-14T02:12:00.000-07:00

Watarrka National Park - Timelapse from Joshua Hanson on Vimeo.

Another perspective

2010-04-11T21:04:00.001-07:00

I like this tree. It's appeared previously in this blog.

Return to Minyon Falls

2010-04-11T21:01:00.001-07:00

This is a different perspective on Minyon Falls in Nightcap National Park than last time we visited.

Brush Box Falls

2010-04-05T23:57:00.001-07:00

Mount Warning

2010-04-04T00:09:00.000-07:00

Beautiful creek in Border Ranges National Park

2010-04-04T00:02:00.001-07:00

Boundary Falls

2010-04-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

Aussie Stonehenge

2010-04-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

Glen Innes' standing stones, the Australian answer to Stonehenge.

Actually they're based on the Ring of Brodgar in Scotland's Orkneys. However, the WA town of Esperance is planning a scale version of Stonehenge.

Black box woodland

2010-03-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

This black box woodland is home to an egret community. Their nesting at this site is apparently a rarity as they usually nest over water, such as the nearby swamp.

Tenacious natives

2010-02-23T18:37:00.001-08:00

Here's a couple of trees that are fighting against urban decay

Sunset wallpaper

2009-12-13T15:20:00.001-08:00

2009-11-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

2009-10-21T02:55:00.000-07:00

2009-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Narrandera Common

2009-09-01T19:52:00.001-07:00

2009-08-25T20:13:00.001-07:00

A visit to Fivebough Swamp

2009-08-11T23:32:00.001-07:00

Canola blooms

2009-08-11T23:31:00.001-07:00

Fireworks

2009-08-01T04:50:00.000-07:00

Wired for sound

2009-06-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

Among other distinctions, the Murrumbidgee catchment is home to two sound sculptures built by Dr Alan Lamb, a Western Australian whose career has combined neurobiological research, medicine, art and music.

Most recently Lamb has been working in Muttama, outside Cootamundra, where he has designed a massive aeolian harp with stretches of high-tensile wire up to 300 metres long.

In 2004, Lamb worked with Scott Baker to build a smaller aeolian harp of around 50 metres in length at ’Pindari’ outside Wagga Wagga, where he worked with the present author in 2006 for the Wagga Space Program’s Unsound festival - see the video below.

Aeolian harps have a long history and were first recognised by King David when his stringed instrument was stirred by the breeze. Similarly, St Dunstan of Canterbury enjoyed the strange music produced by the wind on tightened strings (although that led to an accusation of sorcery). Aeolian harps have been widely popular in previous centuries, particularly among the Romantic poets, including Coleridge, and also among Victorian composers, such as Elgar. You can find many designs for windowsill and doorway harps, which were the styles popular in those times.

The principle behind the aeolian harp is simple: the wind blows, creating vibration on tightened strings, leading to harmonics that resonate a shifting pitch higher than that of the strings tuning. However, this simple science still creates a sense of wonder. In Victorian times superstitious types considered these sounds to be ethereal voices, possibly from those deceased.

Alan Lamb calls his large-scale aeolian harps “the wires” as they have evolved from his fascination with telegraph wires. His introduction was as a child in Scotland, when his nanny would stop and put her head to the poles to listen the “sound of the universe”. In the 1976, Lamb discovered an abandoned one-kilometre stretch of Telecom infrastructure and, after purchasing it, began experimenting. Since then he has released records, featured on soundtracks (most recently Wolf Creek) and indirectly influenced popular culture when he was contacted by the sound designers for the original Star Wars film — where the distinctive 'ping' of tapped telegraph wires was used for the sounds of laser blasters.

Alan Lamb has some interesting views on the subject of aeolian harps and has stated that “the underlying principles show commonalities with biological systems such as embryonic body plans and brain function.”

As a musical instrument, ‘the wires’ are something of an acquired taste. They are characterised by shifting patterns and have a huge range, from soft breathing sounds to high-pitched hums. They are also a bit magical, as Coleridge observed:

Methinks, it should have been impossible / Not to love all things in a World like this / Where e'en the Breezes of the simple Air / Possess the power and Spirit of Melody

My most recent work with the wires is a three-hour blend featuring breezes and bird calls. I'm considering producing a DVD to distribute it.

vibrating by bassling

2009-06-09T00:24:00.000-07:00

Big fig

2009-06-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

Every Australian, I'm sure, takes at least a little pride in being part of a country of big stuff.

The Big Banana. The Big Pineapple. The Big Merino. The big rock Uluru.

Narrandera is home of the biggest playable guitar - although, that's what I'm told as I haven't actually seen anything other than a sign for it.

It's also home to this massive 167-year old fig tree.

I really want to climb it :)

SIlver princess at dusk

2009-04-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Foggy Easter Sunday

2009-04-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

Big rainbow follows a small shower

2009-04-10T23:53:00.001-07:00

Ban stubble burning

2009-04-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

Wagga Wagga has had the worst pollution in NSW at this time in previous years because it's when many farmers burn the remaining stubble before planting a new crop.

Often it seems like the farmers send smoke signals to one another because, once one farmer burns, you'll see a heap of them burning and creating hazy sunsets over the weeks in the lead-up to the autumnal rains - although they aren't what they used to be.

I understand their reason to burn is to do with reducing the likelihood of disease but the outcome is an increased chance of respiratory diseases for all people living in the area.

After seeing the columns of smoke in the distance for many years I was lucky enough to see the process up close the other day. It was interesting to see heaps of birds hunting as the mice fled the fire. It was also interesting to see the farmers driving laps around the flames, like some sort of bizarre ritual to mark the sowing of the paddocks.

Murrumbidgee at Michelago

2009-04-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

Sun blasting through rain clouds

2009-03-24T16:35:00.001-07:00

Sculpture at dusk

2009-03-24T16:34:00.002-07:00

Cloud lit by band of light

2009-03-24T16:34:00.001-07:00

Storm passing

2009-03-24T16:33:00.001-07:00

A trip to Coleambally

2009-02-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

Work took me out west this week.

Coleambally is the town that the Australian rice industry built. More recently it has been in the news because the government has bought more than 5% of the water licensed to farmers in the area. The chairman of the irrigation authority drew attention to the issue by offering to sell all of the water for $3.5 billion.

Below is an area of about 50 acres that had been affected by salinity on a former rice farm. The landholder is planning to plant saltbush to help drain the salt back into the ground.

Full moon rising through bushfire smoke

2009-02-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

Piss and wind

2009-02-07T23:26:00.000-08:00

We've had very little rain in the last few years. Mostly it's been about half the average rainfall.

Recent storm activity included hail, we nearly had a white Christmas!

And, while it drenched the town 15km away, there were dry gusts past our property. This one collected topsoil from the neighbour and carried it further down the valley.

Yarran at Hay

2008-12-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

Rock Isotome in bloom

2008-12-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

The rock isotome was also starting to grow on the aeolian harp.

Garuwanga

2008-10-27T00:41:00.000-07:00

Hoary sunray

2008-09-16T22:01:00.001-07:00

Urn heath

2008-09-16T22:00:00.003-07:00

Ploughshare wattle

2008-09-16T22:00:00.001-07:00

Peach heath in bloom

2008-09-16T21:59:00.001-07:00

Native orchids

2008-09-16T21:58:00.002-07:00

Sundews

2008-09-16T21:58:00.001-07:00

Grevillea

2008-09-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

Harden berger

2008-09-03T22:49:00.001-07:00

Peach heath

2008-09-03T22:48:00.001-07:00

Apple box

2008-09-03T22:47:00.002-07:00

Currajong and rainbow

2008-09-03T22:47:00.001-07:00

Greenhoods hiding under a clump of wallaby grass

2008-09-03T22:46:00.001-07:00

Blakely's red gum bark

2008-08-10T00:34:00.000-07:00

Native cherry

2008-08-10T00:25:00.000-07:00

Fireworks and bonfire

2008-08-10T00:07:00.000-07:00

Silver princess

2008-07-27T23:28:00.000-07:00

Juvenile blakely's red gum

2008-07-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

Lagoon on the Murrumbidgee River

2008-06-27T18:28:00.001-07:00

Ripples

2008-06-03T03:24:00.000-07:00

Reflections

2008-06-03T03:18:00.000-07:00