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Saskia Everingham-Blue Mountains Portrait Prize 2023

This image of artist Saskia Everingham is my entry into the annual Blue Mountains Portrait Prize 2023 exhibition held at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in Katoomba, NSW. This image had been in my head to create ever since Saskia turned up in my studio to document these felt art pieces for an exhibition she was entering…

I’ve been documenting Saskia’s artwork in my studio for several years. Each time she arrives I am intrigued to see her latest artworks and hear the creative processes behind the new body of work. Artists are always fascinating to me as they take a deep dive into each new project, totally immersive in their creative pursuit…This time the artist and not the art, takes centre stage.

Saskia has been involved in the Arts all her life. Born in Australia, she grew up in Italy and England, which gave her exposure to many disciplines. She has an Art Diploma from TAFE and a degree in Creative Arts from Wollongong University. Moving through sewing and quilting, she settled on wool felting as her main medium, finding that it offered the sculptural qualities she was seeking. Her work has been featured in several publications including Felt Magazine, Textiles Downunderr and Oz Arts and she has won a number of awards, including the Eden Gardens Unearthed Award in 2021, the North Sydney Art Prize Site Award and in 2022 a Meroogal Women’s Art Prize, which includes a solo exhibition in the Shoalhaven Regional Art Gallery.

Saskia has lived in the Blue Mountains since 1995 and has raised her family there. Deeply immersed in the community, she has been Exhibition Coordinator at Braemar Gallery in Springwood, Community Arts Coordinator for Winter Magic and a presenter on 2BLUFM radio. She has also been a recipient of a City of the Arts grant, has sat on numerous committees and was part of the duo that set up Mind the Gap, a non-profit designed to activate empty shops for Creatives in Katoomba. The Mountains continues to inspire her.

Photographic print | A0 | Cotton Rag

Some Bts phone shots from the exhibition opening

Ben Pearse is a Blue Mountains portrait and wedding photographer based in Katoomba NSW.

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Snow in Katoomba, Blue Mountains-August 2022

There had been a slight chance of snow a couple of times throughout July-August here in Katoomba, however it never quite eventuated. Forecasts on the 22nd of August were starting to look good for some snow falling here in the upper Blue Mountains in the late afternoon on Tuesday 23rd. I had seen some video online of some good falls happening at Shooters Hill (1355m), one of the high points in the central tablelands, and it was starting to look promising for Katoomba.

At around 6.45pm I could see the first proper flakes and within an hour it was starting to settle on the ground. As I stood on my porch watching the cars go up the road in the snow, I had the thought of getting a long exposure image as the car travelled along Lurline street. I grabbed the camera and a umbrella and setup on the footpath and waited for a lone car doing about the right speed for what I wanted. I had estimated I needed about 15-20 seconds to expose the shot correctly and get the red trail I envisioned.

After waiting for a few faster 4WD to exit the street, I saw a car approaching, quite slowly. With the shot pre-framed, I pressed the shutter as it entered my frame and then ended the exposure after 20 seconds. When I looked at the back of the camera, I knew I had the shot I envisioned and it was time to go and warm my hands by the heater….This is the fifth image in the “atmosphere” series which explores the transitional atmospheres within a landscape or urban environment.

Snow in Katoomba, Blue Mountains, August 2022 — Snowtrails – Lurline street Katoomba

The next morning we went out before sunrise looking to see how much snow was around. I was a little dissapointed to see that we didn’t get any more falls that night as I was hoping for a really solid dumping…We drove around and found some nice views looking across to Narrowneck plateau on sunrise, which had a nice light dusting on the trees. I waited for the early warm light to filter in and took a few frames. I’m still hoping that we’ll see another good snowfall here in the mountains, before the weather warms up later in the year.

The sun starts to warm the cold landscape

Golden light and snow on the Blue Mountains landscape

Thanks for viewing, cheers Ben

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Chasing trout in the frost, out west.

Well it’s been a while since I posted a blog so I thought I’d just write a few words and post some images from a recent winter solo fishing day out west…

I don’t often bring my camera along on my fishing trips, however sometimes you just know that the conditions are probably going to be great and you’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t…I knew that the clear skies overnight would probably mean a decent chance of a good frost….and it didn’t disappoint. I had, a bit of time to take some pictures as the trout wouldn’t be interested until the water warmed a little. The mount piper power station chimneys blew a magenta infused smoke on sunrise as the early light unveiled a frost laden landscape. As I wandered I took photos of scenes that caught my eye in the interesting frosty conditions. After a while the light warmed the cold, white ground, dissipating the frost, and it was time to put the camera away and start fishing….

Images captured on Nikon D850 & 85mm f1.4 prime lens. Thanks for looking,

Cheers Ben Website

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Echo point Katoomba- Lockdown-August 2021

Echo point in Katoomba is one of the major tourist destinations in NSW, Australia. Located in the township of Katoomba within the world heritage listed, Blue Mountains, it attracts millions of visitors each year with it’s majestic views of the iconic three sisters and jamison valley. However as we enter our 9th week of lockdown due to the corona virus (Covid-19, delta strain), the lookout has been closed off for all visitors, including locals who live nearby. As I wander past most days on my permitted exercise walks, I begin to see new compositions emerge that perhaps would never have been considered….

As I look through the wire fencing that council has installed to keep people out, I definitely think it’s a little surreal to see an empty viewing platform that should be teaming with overseas tourists and holiday makers. I totally understand and agree that these restrictive measures need to be put in place in order to deter and stop the congregation of people mingling together at certain popular areas. I thought it would be good to document this area via some photos, showing how it looked it during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in August 2021…

Echo point viewing platform- August 2021

Echo point, closed to visitors due to Covid-19 health orders- August 2021

Echo point fenced off to visitors- August 2021

sun setting at echo point- September 2021

Stay well and thanks for looking…

Cheers Ben

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Interconnection

This is my entry into the Blue Mountains Portraits 2021 exhibition, currently on show at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in Katoomba.
“In this image of Becky, I wanted to capture and combine two key aspects of Becky’s life, her work with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and as a long-time senior performer with Wagana Aboriginal Dancers. Both of these life paths enable Becky to honour and to be on Country, which as a Kamilaroi woman, is very important to her”.
Subject- Becky Chatfield
Photographer: Ben Pearse
Medium: Photographic print, AO size.

Note: This image went on to win the “People’s Choice Award” at the Blue Mountains portrait exhibition in March 2021.

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After the Bushfires – Blue Mountains, Australia.

Narrowneck plateau in Katoomba after the bushfires

In late late 2019-2020, you probably heard and saw dramatic and devastating footage of the bushfires that ravaged Australia. I posted images and footage in this blog post here about these bushfires in my local area of Katoomba, Blue Mountains, Australia. After the fires had gone through I was interested to see the impact on the local landscapes in my area. After the bushfires many of national park areas that were burnt remain closed due to the risk of falling trees etc. I was very interested in hiking out to Mount Solitary, however this trail is still closed at time of writing.

Altered lands

Life still remains…

Mount Solitary panoramic view from Narrowneck plateau in Katoomba

Panoramic view looking past Ruined Castle (small outcrop in middle) to Mount Solitary (left) and Lake Burragorang just visible in the rear. Castle Head jutting out from Narrowneck on the right.

Looking down to Ruined Castle, where these bushfires originated in 2019. Allot of what is pictured here was burnt in the bushfires.

Lightbleed- Ben Pearse 2020- Web Size 2048

New growth catching the light

I decided on documenting one of my favourite areas, Narrowneck plateau in Katoomba. This area was impacted by the ruined castle bushfire in early December 2019. As I wandered through different areas of narrowneck plateau, it became apparent that certain areas were going to take some time to regenerate compared to others. In the gully of diamond creek, the unmistakable vibrant green regrowth stood out against the dull magenta and black of the surrounding burnt landscape. I couldn’t help but be drawn into this area due to the alarming contrast of colours on display. As diamond creek carves it’s way through the valley, it brought a lifeline, in the form of water, enabling new life to regenerate and grow.

Resilient Lands- Narrowneck plateau- March 2020

Return to Green- Diamond creek pathway

Narrowneck plateau, Katoomba, Blue Mountains.

Green returns to the landscape

Over the next few months I would see more regrowth appear across the burnt fireground. In the steep gullies and the tops of ridgelines where the fires burnt very hot and intense, it will take additional time for the regeneration to gather momentum. The flora and fauna that grow, dwell and cling to the sandstone formation that is Narrowneck plateau are resilient and should thrive once again in the years to come.

Wildlife returns

Regrowth after the bushfires, Blue Mountains

New buds emerge…

New growth after the fires

View from Narrowneck into megalong valley

Kangaroo tails emerge after bushfires in Blue Mountains 2020

Emergence- Kangaroo tails (Xanthorrhoea) catching the last light of the day…

Looking west over megalong valley on sunset

Looking west from Narrowneck plateau over megalong valley on sunset

Regeneration- New growth returns after the fires…

Pink flannel flowers (Actinotus forsythii) in bloom on Narrowneck plateau- February 2021

Beautiful pink flannel flowers bloom a year after the bushfires, it’s actually the smoke and not the heat that makes these rare flowers germinate…

Thanks for looking,

Cheers Ben

Visit Ben’s website here- Ben Pearse Photography

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Blue Mountains Snowfall-August-2019

It’s always nice to wake up to snow covering the ground in my hometown of Katoomba, Blue Mountains, Australia. Over the last decade I’ve tried to capture a snowfall that has settled on the iconic three sisters in Katoomba. I’ve only seen an old postcard of snow that has properly settled on these sandstone ladies from the 1970’s. I thought this time I might be in luck as the snow really starting coming down on sunrise, however it just wasn’t quite enough. So the quest continues, perhaps 2020 will be the year I get the photo I’m seeking…

Snow on the Mountains

Snowfall in the Blue Mountains- Three Sisters

Sunrise and Snow

Snowfall over Three sisters- August 2019

Blue Mountains Snowfall- Ben Pearse 2019

Visit Ben’s Website here: Ben Pearse Photography

June 16, 2020 by benpearse

Bushfires in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, 2019- 2020- New Blog!

In late November 2019 the Blue Mountains in NSW Australia would see the start of a unprecedented bushfire season that would destroy approximately 80% of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area. Drought conditions across Australia in the leadup to the fire season left the soil with very little moisture which helped fuel hundreds of bushfires across the nation. By the end of the fire season, 34 people would tragically lose their lives and over 46 million acres (186,000 square kilometres) of land would be burnt. Hundreds of millions of mammals, reptiles and birds would perish during the fires…

I first took note of a very small bushfire that was burning around the Ruined Castle on 27th November 2019 in the jamison valley in Katoomba, NSW. Over the course of the next few days this fire would spread onto the Narrowneck plateau and eventually into the megalong valley. Most of the images I captured are from the Ruined Castle bushfire.

The Beginning-Ruined Castle Bushfire- November 27th 2019

Small puff of smoke near ruined castle

Begrimed- Ben Pearse 2019

Thick dust laden smoke starts to choke the air on sunset in Katoomba. The setting sun takes on an eerie feeling, a forewarning perhaps of troubling times to come…

Eerie sunsets

On December 1st, 2019, the Ruined Castle bushfire flares up and races up the sheer sandstone cliffs on the Narrowneck plateau in Katoomba. Despite a strong prevailing breeze against it, the fire raged effortlessly up and down the sheer vertical walls and pushed closer towards the township of Katoomba. Precision water bombing from the RFS helicopter slowed the fire spread before nightfall. RFS ground crews worked throughout the night to control the blaze along the narrowneck plateau.

Fire rages on the narrowneck plateau cliffline

Plateau on Fire- Ben Pearse 2019- web 2048

Fire engulfs the treeline on narrowneck plateau

Narrowneck Fire- Ruined Castle Bushfire 2019- web 2048

Thick plumes of smoke choke the air

Fire climbs up and down the sheer sandstone walls in minutes

Dry conditions fuel the fires- December 1st 2019

At night concerned local residents would view the Ruined castle bushfire from Echo point lookout. At night you could clearly see the location of the fire as the flames would become visible in the darker conditions.

Ruined Castle fire- Ben Pearse 2019- web 2048

Night view of the ruined castle fire from echo point lookout

Fireline- Ruined Castle Bushfire 2019-web 2048

Line of fire in the jamison valley, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, Australia

Echo point providing a great viewing platform for the ruined castle bushfire

A wall of flames at night in the jamison valley, Blue Mountains.

Jamison fire- Ruined Castle Bushfire- web 2048

Nightfire- Katoomba, Blue Mountains, Australia- December 3rd-2019.

Jamison valley- Ruined Castle Bushire 2019- web 2048

Fire burns up into Pitts Amphitheatre, Katoomba, NSW.

Fire burns a path onto Mount Solitary. In the background the Kowmung river fire rages. This fire would go on to join with the the Green Wattle creek fire.

Flaring up- Ruined Castle bushfire 2019 web 2048

Ruined Castle fire flares up in gusty dry conditions- December 10th 2019. Planes and helicopters water bomb from above and bring the fire back under control.

Fire returns and burns in behind the iconic Ruined Castle sandstone formations. This was near the point where the fire originated 2 weeks ago.

Twilight glow- Ben Pearse 2019- web 2048

A small flareup on narrowneck plateau as misty conditions permeate the night…

A backburn that was implemented to stop the spread of the massive Gospers Mountains fire, broke containment lines and entered the grose valley. The grose valley fire produced a huge pyrocumulus fire cloud that dominated the skyline…The Gospers Mountains fire was unstoppable and burnt over 1.2 million acres, becoming the largest forest fire in Australian history.

Pyrocumulus Cloud- Grose valley fire 2019

Gospers Breath- Grose valley fire 2019

Note: I would like to personally thank all the incredible and tireless work that the Emergency workers do across Australia each fire season. Thankyou!

Cheers for looking, Ben.

View Ben’s Website here: Ben Pearse Photography

July 20, 2015 by benpearse

Three sisters and snow

Three sisters in snow

After the promise of snow in the blue mountains from the weather bureau came and went a few weeks ago without even a flurry, it was finally great to see a decent amount start to fall on thursday night (16-07-2015). Now over the last few years I’ve been trying to capture an image that combines the iconic three sisters in Katoomba and some snow in the scene as well. Each time there has been a snowfall I’ve raced off down to the three sisters to capture this image that has been sitting in my head for a good few years. Anyone familiar with the landscape side of my photography knows that I’ve attempted to capture the three sisters in as many different moods and weather scenarios as possible over the years. So with family and friends in tow we set off on foot down the street as the snow started to blanket the streets into a winter wonderland.

As we walked and slid our way down to echo point and the lookout, the wind was really starting to howl. I remembered the last time it snowed I had come down and my umbrella blew inside out in the first few minutes, luckily for me it was 90% rain and there was no shot to get. So this time armed with a few handy assistants I liked my chances allot more. Knowing the three sisters are lit up at night was a real deciding factor for coming here in such horrid conditions. So with my partner holding the umbrella for me and a friend giving me some light via the phone light I set up my tripod and camera. A big part of photography is pre visualising a scene in your head before you take the shot. Prior to coming down I was 90% confident of the shot I wanted without even knowing how much snow was around. As I set up the conditions were rapidly getting to the point where it was really hard to keep the camera covered from the elements. The floodlights though strong, were not going to shed enough light to highlight the snow which was rapidly swirling around us. I attached my trusty speedlight (flash) and metered the scene in camera. I manually dialled in how much fill light I wanted in the flash, wiped down the lens element of snow for the umteenth time and pressed the shutter……..got it!

I was really happy with the outcome of the shot and was glad to have finally captured the iconic three sisters in some snow. I came back in the morning on sunrise hoping to get the sisters covered in snow, you know that picture perfect postcard esque scene…. but alas that wasn’t to be. The snow hadn’t settled on them as the wind had been far too strong (you can see this clearly in the B&W image below) overnight and the sisters elevation in the valley proved a little low for a decent snow dusting….with any luck it might snow again this winter and I’ll be able to tick a few more of my “must have”images of my list.

I also went out and captured some images of the blue mountains township of Katoomba when it was covered in the beautiful snow. See the photos here

About Ben– Ben Pearse is a commercial and wedding photographer who works and resides in the beautiful blue mountains, Australia. Ben also sells and licenses his portfolio of blue mountains landscape images. These are available from this website in the shop section.

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Website- benpearsephotography.com.au

Contact Ben here

Sisters under snow siege

Three sisters on sunrise with a little snow about…

Snow over three sisters

Three sisters in a snowstorm

Blue Mountains winter wonderland

Katoomba gets some snow

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Tag Archives: photographer

Saskia Everingham-Blue Mountains Portrait Prize 2023

Snow in Katoomba, Blue Mountains-August 2022

Chasing trout in the frost, out west.

Echo point Katoomba- Lockdown-August 2021

Interconnection

After the Bushfires – Blue Mountains, Australia.

Blue Mountains Snowfall-August-2019

Bushfires in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, 2019- 2020- New Blog!

Three sisters and snow