Benz World Blog » Island

Whitsunday Islands

Jason Benz — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 03:15:55 +0000

This was taken from the Northern end of Whitehaven Beach on the Whitsunday islands in Queensland, Australia. Beaches seem to have a primaeval allure. Some scientists believe life could well have begun on a beach because it is a place where gasses, liquids and solids are constantly being mixed, so the chance of useful life-giving chemistry is higher than in air, sea or land alone.

The beach here is 98.7% silica which makes it both unique and a mystery as the local rocks are the wrong composition to produce it. The silica is so fine it feels soft but after a few hours of walking in it, you realise you have lost most of the skin from the soles of your feet. Its purity and grain size make it blindingly white and apparently of interest to NASA. Although there are substantial fines for removing this finite resource it is claimed an exception was made to build the Hubble Space Telescope.

After freezing inland during a month-long photography tour of the Bowen Basin mining area it is nice to get back to the stable temperatures of the coast. After I visit the Australian Institute of Marine Science on Friday I will resupply in Townsville before continuing North while it is still possible in this Southern hemisphere winter.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Stanage Sunset

Jason Benz — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 05:36:14 +0000

Stanage is a tiny town at the tip of a peninsula and the end of a 100km dirt road. It sticks out into the Pacific ocean surrounded by islands where the continent fragments into the shallow turquoise waters at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef just north of the tropic of Capricorn in Queensland, Australia. The town is encircled by rocky headlands separated by wide open beaches where unseen creatures create intricate patterns with millions of small sand spheres. The beach camp faces west so the setting sun reflects in the ocean every evening. A rare occurrence on the east coast. Anywhere else in the world this sea view would be priceless. Here local volunteers maintain a free camp along the coast between a boat ramp and the general store. Both are kept busy by the transient population. The Plumtree store sells gas refills and can fetch anything you want in their twice-weekly supermarket run. This all makes Stanage a popular place to escape the worst of the winter chill.

Fishing seems to be the main pastime here although I photographed one guy sat on a surfboard looking out to sea. He beckoned me over and announced he was about to surf in crocodile infested waters. I asked if he thought that was wise. He just grinned and looked back at the ocean. Not wanting to discourage his obvious enthusiasm I said I had heard people have been seen swimming here. Well, he liked that. Without hesitation, he grabbed his board and started running towards the sea. Had I accidentally encouraged someone to risk their life? I went back to the van to switch to a longer lens, by the time I got back he had attracted some onlookers. One couple said they had been visiting for 30 years and never seen anyone try to surf here. Try to? As if the only problem was lack of surf, not the risk of becoming a giant reptiles’ snack on a stick!

I am currently in Mackay for a few days to restock. On Monday I will be going to Cape Hillsborough National Park for 4 days. After that, I will be exploring the Coal and Sugar region west of here before going North again to see the sublime Whitsunday islands. Although Birds, Boats and Beaches are a lot of fun to photograph it is mining and machinery which seem to be in higher demand. Currently, Mechanography accounts for less than 10% of my portfolio on Shutterstock but almost 50% of the income so these opportunities cannot be missed.

The sunset image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Island Life

Jason Benz — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 08:48:00 +0000

This beach is the shortest route to the bar when you arrive by ferry on Keppel Island in Queensland, Australia. This place reminded me of Jamaica and Cuba. People who live in remote islands seem to approach life differently to city dwellers. There is a slower pace in tune with nature which is more like surfing than a busy driven urban lifestyle.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Abandoned Observatory

Jason Benz — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 22:01:18 +0000

This is the Middle Island Underwater Observatory off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It was refurbished and re-opened in 2007 so visitors could descend six metres below sea level to view coral and fish including honeycomb cod, flowery cod, damsel fish, moon wrasse and gropers. It looked as if it had been abandoned again when this photograph was taken in 2016.

Ian’s Boat

Jason Benz — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 23:03:09 +0000

This is one of the Keppel Islands. I don’t remember which one as Ian was good enough to take us to a few islands in his boat on 1st Jan 2016. This is one of those rare occasions when I wish my camera had GPS. It is fondly remembered as the best New Years Day ever.

Long Beach

Jason Benz — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:03:18 +0000

This in Long Beach on Great Keppel which is an island 15km off the coast of Queensland in Australia.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is be available for download here.

Keppel Konnections

Jason Benz — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 09:01:57 +0000

This is the ferry we took to Keppel Island recently. It is a new service which started a few months ago. Last year we took the more expensive Freedom Fast Cats which had a monopoly at the time. Either way at around $50 return it is the cheapest way we know of to see the Great Barrier Reef. The bloke with the boxes is Geoff Mercer who was our host at the GKI Holiday Village. He then became our boss when we decided to spend an extra week on the island working for our accommodation.

Keppel Return

Jason Benz — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 07:26:22 +0000

This is Great Keppel Island in Queensland off the coast of mainland Australia. If you are reading this I have posted it using solar powered pre-iPhone technology, a Nokia N-95. This is the first place Karen and I have re-visited in more than a decade of travel. It has everything you would expect from an exclusive resort without any of the cost.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

The Apostles

Jason Benz — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 11:28:19 +0000

These limestone stacks on the coast of Victoria, Australia are know as The Twelve Apostles, despite only ever having nine of them. On 3rd July 2005 a 50 metre tall stack collapsed into the sea leaving eight. Then in 2016 five under water stack were discovered by sonar mapping.

We are planning a road trip from Southport to Sydney to drop off Karen for her flight back to the UK in a few weeks. There will also be a chance to add to mining stock photography and visit an observatory.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Keppel Islands

Jason Benz — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 09:07:26 +0000

This is Great Keppel Island off the coast of Queensland in Australia. It is one of the Southern Reef islands which provide access to the Great Barrier Reef. If you have never visited Australia you would be forgiven for thinking the famous reef was within swimming distance of the mainland. In truth you always need a boat ride. However, once on the islands the coral is within a stones throw of the shore. We took a 30min ferry trip which parked on the island by driving on to the beach. We then walked 45min to this remote place called Monkey Beach.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is be available for download here.