Storm Event 6/7-9-13( Gascoyne, Wheatbelt, Lower West)

The most promising setup for thunderstorm development since last summer was forecast for most of the southern half of Western Australia on the 6th of September, and that prompted a certain trip for myself to again get out and try to capture this magical weather phenomenon on my camera.

Just over a week before the storms arrived I noticed on my daily check of forecasted weather that I should start preparing for a road trip up towards the lower Gascoyne region to capture my favourite part, the development.

My day started at around 1030 with a drive to Coorow via Bindoon and the Bindoon Bakery. No storm chase can start without a stop here. So after enjoying a curry lamb pie, I was off up the Great Northern Highway towards Midlands Rd and on to Coorow via Moora.

I arrived in Coorow just after 1330, and had another look at the radar, and satellite imagery to see if anything looked like it was going to develop in the area. I wasn’t in luck, with storms started to fire a long way east on a low pressure trough line cutting through the state. I didn’t worry to much about it, as the afternoon was young, and it gave me a bit of time to scout the area a bit. I am currently working on a time-lapse project and the fields around here work perfectly for one of the scenes I wanted to capture, so off I went to find one suitable for my project.
I found an incredible site and set my camera up and started my time-lapse of the clouds building and collapsing. I had some more time up my sleeve now as my time-lapse was set for 1hr, so I had a bit of a walk around playing on my iPhone.

Coming close to the end of my time-lapse I noticed some development a long way to my north and north-east, so I opened my laptop and again checked the lightning tracker, and it confirmed a major thunderstorm developing very quickly between 150-200km away. I was in two minds, either packed up my camera, stop the time-lapse and move now, or wait for the time-lapse to finish. I decided to wait, as I only had 10minutes or so remaining, but it was the longest 10minutes ever. I was pacing up and down the road, watching these thunderstorm cells popping up and going crazy. They were too far away to see any lightning, but they were large cauliflower clouds with an every increasing anvil spreading across the sky.

My time-lapse finished, I packed my gear up and raced east towards Latham.
I kept my eyes on the development, and I had to pull over near Latham to capture one of the storms.

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As I got to Latham, I had to turn south and now head towards Wubin for fuel, and to meet with fellow storm chaser and friend Steve Brooks (owner of Perth Weather Live, http://www.perthweatherlive.com).

I arrived in Wubin, and met with Steve. He had been watching the cells to the north as well, so with a quick check of the radar to see the direction these cells were going, we saw that they were going to cross well south of Paynes Find to the north, and so the decision was made to get north, and find a spot to set up and capture these systems as they passed us by.

While we were driving the sun started to set and the thunderclouds become illuminated with incredible colours. It was incredible to witness. We were so focused to get to our spot that we missed the opportunity to capture the sunset at its best, but, we still still got a bit of colour and you can see that how it would’ve been incredible 5-10mins before hand.

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When we arrived at our location, we set up and started to capture the storms in the distance. One was to our North-East, one was t our North-West. Both were firing on all cylinders. Flashing, and sparking everywhere. Every second multiple strikes illuminated the clouds. So what did I do. I set up my time-lapse to capture it. I havent finished processing that yet, but when I do, I will post a link to the page it will be hosted on.

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Then the night really began.

A shot of a meteor flying over first cells of the night to the north.

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As the first cells passed over and headed east, the skies to the west now started to light up. Cells were quickly developing to our west, and were going nuts!!

A shot of the Milky Way with the storms firing underneath.

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Large amounts of rain mixed with hail were falling from incredible formations in the clouds.
Something about the structure I just love underneath thunderstorms.

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Lightning was all around

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One of the final cells that passed over before I had to make the long drive home.

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I had to leave, as I had to get back to Perth. The drive home was very eventful. Large hail, strong winds, lightning all around.

An extremely eventful night, but I am so glad I was able to witness it, and not on my own either. Cheers Steve, it was so great to have someone else there, yelling out as much as I was!! 🙂

I just hope this is an indication of a very active spring/summer storm season in the Midwest and Wheatbelt.

More photos to come.

Till next time.

– Karijini Landscape –

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The Pilbara landscape is frequently referred to as ‘Gods Country” as you can see why. The contrast of colours, from the very bluest skies, to the never ending spread of yellow spinifex spread across the red parched land. It’s out of this world.

Karijini is at the heart of the Pilbara. The iconic national park is one of the most spectacular in the country with deep gorges cutting through the land.

One of my favourites to visit.

Bluff Knoll, Stirling Range, Western Australia

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Bluff Knoll is the highest mountain in the SW of Western Australia. Standing at 3’600ft above sea level, it is one of the few places in WA where it snows.  A 20cm “dump” of snow occurred on the summit in October 1992, it also fell at the base of the mountain at 1’500ft.
While snow falls of this magnitude are extremely rare, it is not uncommon for dustings to occur during the late winter months, when strong cold fronts bring very cold air up from the antarctic.

Approaching Storms

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Last month I travelled north to capture storms that were forecast to develop around the Jurien/Coorow/Moora areas.
After a big night of lightning near Jurien, the storms started to develop further inland.
I was on my way to meet up with another storm photographer Marie and her parter Arek, when I saw this developing just to my north.
It turned out to be quite nasty when it hit, strong wind gusts, and isolated very heavy rain impacted the area, about 30km or so NNW of Moora.

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All photos used on this site severewatherphotography.wordpress.com, severeweatherphotography.com.au, jordancantelophotography.wordpress.com & http://www.jordancantelo.com are copyright and are the property of Jordan Cantelo. Strictly no reproduction or commercial use allowed without prior approval.

Photography website limitations.

Please Note: The best care has been taken to accurately represent the finished photograph in the online gallery, however due to web limitations and differences in individual user’s monitor settings, printed photograph colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this website.

Dawn over the Beach

Tom and I decided that we wanted to shoot the city this morning, but approaching the freeway, it was very obvious we were not going to make it on time as the traffic was ridiculous. A quick change of plan was due, so with a cold front approaching the WA coast, we both thought the coast would be a good option to shoot the morning light with the approaching high cloud.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0L IS USM + Lee soft grad ND filters
A: f11
T: 1s
ISO: 50

Into the Unknown

 

This shot is one that I have envisioned and composed in my head countless times. I either ride, walk or drive past here daily and I have waited and waited to get just the right level of water, and the right amount of fog needed to complete what I had in my mind.
I am truly so incredibly happy with this shot.

I had told Tom about this spot the day prior, but as I hadn’t really  scoped the position out 100%, I didn’t want to risk wasting a morning on a new location just to find out that the variables didn’t add up.

I am so glad we made our way here this morning, as the fog was just perfect. Even though it may have been just that little bit chilly.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM + Lee Soft Grad ND filters
A: f11
T: 8s
ISO: 100

Jindalee Beach III

A few nights ago I revisited my new local beach (I have finally moved into my new place woohooo).
Jindalee is a new coastal suburb located about 40kms north of Perth, Western Australia. We are lucky in Perth as the coastline is incredible, and we get to the chance to experience sunsets like this everyday. It still amazes me that overseas travellers tend to spend most of their time on the east coast of Australia and not venture west to explore this side of the country.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0L IS USM + CircPol
A: f9.0
T: 13s
ISO: 100

All photos on my blog are available for purchase. If you are interested in any of my work, commercially or for a personal purchase, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my contact page.

All photos used on this site jordancantelophotography.wordpress.com & www.jordancantelo.com are copyright and are the property of Jordan Cantelo. Strictly no reproduction or commercial use allowed without prior approval.

Photography website limitations.

Please Note: The best care has been taken to accurately represent the finished photograph in the online gallery, however due to web limitations and differences in individual user’s monitor settings, printed photograph colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this website.

Mindarie Marina

Mindarie Marina is located 30 minutes north of Perth City in Western Australia. This man made marina boasts some of the best marina estates in the state with multi million dollar properties leading right down to the waters edge, most with private jetties.

This is the first time I have taken photos here, so expect many more 🙂

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0L IS USM + 10 Stop B+W ND Filter + CircPol
A: f9.0
T: 150s
ISO:50

Amazing what filters can do. My last shot was from the same location as this one. Only differences, no 10 stop ND filter, and this time it was taken in portrait.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0L IS USM + CircPol
A: f9.0
T:13s
ISO: 50

All photos on my blog are available for purchase. If you are interested in any of my work, commercially or for a personal purchase, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my contact page.

All photos used on this site jordancantelophotography.wordpress.com & www.jordancantelo.com are copyright and are the property of Jordan Cantelo. Strictly no reproduction or commercial use allowed without prior approval.

Photography website limitations.

Please Note: The best care has been taken to accurately represent the finished photograph in the online gallery, however due to web limitations and differences in individual user’s monitor settings, printed photograph colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this website.

 

Big Brook Dam


Big Brook Dam is located deep in the south-west region of Western Australia near the forestry town of Pemberton. The site is managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation and was built to supplement the Pemberton town and Trout Hatchery water supply. Big Brook Dam is just one of the many DEC campsites throughout the south-west showcasing the magnificent state we live in.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0L IS USM  + Lee Filters + Circ Pol
A: f16
T: 1s
ISO: 50

All photos on my blog are available for purchase. If you are interested in any of my work, commercially or for a personal purchase, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my contact page.

All photos used on this site jordancantelophotography.wordpress.com & www.jordancantelo.com are copyright and are the property of Jordan Cantelo. Strictly no reproduction or commercial use allowed without prior approval.

Photography website limitations.

Please Note: The best care has been taken to accurately represent the finished photograph in the online gallery, however due to web limitations and differences in individual user’s monitor settings, printed photograph colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this website.

 

Ord River

Last year I was fortunate enough to visit the Kimberley. It was my first time in the area, and I certainly wasn’t let down. After many years of people telling me to get up here, I finally did. As it was for work, I wasn’t able to get out and take many photos. I will however be back there next wet season to capture the fantastic landscape, with the monsoonal thunderstorms.

The Ord River is about 320kms long with the headwaters located below the 983-metre Mount Wells and initially flows east and around the edge of Purnululu National Park before heading North through Lake Argyle then passing west of Kununurra and discharging into theCambridge Gulf, which is at the southern extremity of the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Timor Sea. The river has 35 tributaries of which the five longest are Bow River, Nicholson River, Dunham River, Panton River and Negri Rivers.
The lower reaches of the river support an important wetland area known as the Ord River Floodplain, a protected area which contains numerous mangrove forests, lagoons, creeks, flats and extensive floodplains.

Details
EOS 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0L IS USM
A: f22
T: 2s
ISO: 100

All photos on my blog are available for purchase. If you are interested in any of my work, commercially or for a personal purchase, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my contact page.

All photos used on this site jordancantelophotography.wordpress.com & www.jordancantelo.com are copyright and are the property of Jordan Cantelo. Strictly no reproduction or commercial use allowed without prior approval.

Photography website limitations.

Please Note: The best care has been taken to accurately represent the finished photograph in the online gallery, however due to web limitations and differences in individual user’s monitor settings, printed photograph colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this website.

 

Conspicuous Cliffs #3

Another shot from my collection from Conspicuous Cliffs

Conspicuous Cliff must be named because of the fact it is so conspicuous! Standing high above the surrounding heathland, the Cliff-top lookout gives fantastic views of the beach and river flowing into the sea.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II  + CircPol
24-70mm f2.8L USM
A: f9.0
T: 1/5
ISO: 100

Text extract from http://www.rainbowcoast.com.au

All photos on my blog are available for purchase. If you are interested in any of my work, commercially or for a personal purchase, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my contact page.

All photos used on this site jordancantelophotography.wordpress.com & www.jordancantelo.com are copyright and are the property of Jordan Cantelo. Strictly no reproduction or commercial use allowed without prior approval.

Photography website limitations.

Please Note: The best care has been taken to accurately represent the finished photograph in the online gallery, however due to web limitations and differences in individual user’s monitor settings, printed photograph colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this website.

 

Geographe Bay


Flying out over Geographe Bay, Busselton.
I am pretty lucky to have the opportunity to fly every so often and I am even luckier to sometimes fly over spectacular areas like this. Geographe Bay is located in the south-west region of Western Australia. Cape Naturaliste can be seen on the horizon and is usually the first place in the area to be on the receiving end of strong winter cold fronts, where gusts over 100km/h are not uncommon.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0 IS USM + CircPol
A: f9.0
T: 1/50
ISO: 100

Staubbach Falls, Switzerland



Staubbach Falls is one of the highest free falling waterfalls in Europe. It’s found above the small mountain village of Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen is famous for the numerous waterfalls that can been seen freefalling from the high cliffs that surround the village. The area is also a favourite spot for keen BASE jumpers.

Details
Canon 30D
EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM + CircPol
A: f5.6
T: 1/40
ISO: 100

Burns Beach Sunsets #2

Burns Beach is one of my favourite local beaches to photograph. Rock features on the north side of the groyne provide a great foreground for the magical sunsets the West Australian coast is renowned for. Next time I hope to arrive just a little earlier so I can get to another location further to the south of this spot.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0 USM IS + 0.6 Lee ND Grad
A: f9.0
T: 2.5s
ISO: 100

Conspicuous Cliffs #3


I just love this spot, I stayed here for as long as possible. Will have to come back again and get down to the beach to photograph the whole area. The sun hits so many different angles as it is setting.
This particular shot is from the same spot as my previous 2, but I used some different setting on my camera. The photos were taken in a portrait frame, the previous 2 were in Landscape framing.
11 shot panoramic stitch

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm F4.0 USM IS + CircPol
A:f4.0
T:1/125
ISO:100

All photos on my blog are available for purchase. If you are interested in any of my work, commercially or for a personal purchase, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my contact page.

All photos used on this site jordancantelophotography.wordpress.com & www.jordancantelo.com are copyright and are the property of Jordan Cantelo. Strictly no reproduction or commercial use allowed without prior approval.

Photography website limitations.

Please Note: The best care has been taken to accurately represent the finished photograph in the online gallery, however due to web limitations and differences in individual user’s monitor settings, printed photograph colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this website.

 

Conspicuous Cliffs Sunset


Another spectacular sunset over the stunning coast surrounding Walpole on Western Australia’s south coast.
Conspicuous Cliffs is an area that I have flown over a few times before and now that I was finally on the ground in Walpole I made sure I headed east along the highway to check it out.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-105mm f4.0 USM IS + CircPol
A:f9.0
T:1/10
ISO:100

Conspicuous Cliff

After flying over this spot many times in the past, I have always wanted to get come here and take a shot. Today I was very fortunate to be able to return here. The southern coast of Western Australia brings spectacular coastlines. I may be slightly biased, though I am sure I am not the only one who believes we have some of the most stunning coastlines in Australia, if not the world. I love this place. So many different angles to shoot here. I wish to come back in the near future and snap more photos.

Details
Canon 5d Mark II
24-70mm f2.8L + CircPol
A:f9.0
T:1/5
ISO:100

All photos on my blog are available for purchase. If you are interested in any of my work, commercially or for a personal purchase, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my contact page.

All photos used on this site jordancantelophotography.wordpress.com & www.jordancantelo.com are copyright and are the property of Jordan Cantelo. Strictly no reproduction or commercial use allowed without prior approval.

Photography website limitations.

Please Note: The best care has been taken to accurately represent the finished photograph in the online gallery, however due to web limitations and differences in individual user’s monitor settings, printed photograph colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this website.


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