Cape Point lighthouse

I found these wonderful photos of the lighthouses at Cape Point, taken in Cape Town in 2010 and in 2015. Another extraordinary setting for a lighthouse.

The original Cape Point lighthouse was completed in 1859 and first lit in 1860, high on the summit of Cape Point. Its position proved unsuitable because the light was frequently obscured by fog and low cloud. Following the wreck of the Lusitania on nearby Bellows Rock in 1911, a new lighthouse was constructed much lower down on Diaz Point, 87 metres above sea level, and brought into service in 1919. Its powerful light, visible for approximately 63 kilometres, flashes three times every 30 seconds and continues to guide ships around the Cape Peninsula.

Everleigh Locomotive Works in Redfern

Elna and I spent some time exploring the old Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops at South Eveleigh, one of Sydney’s great surviving industrial spaces. Once part of the enormous Eveleigh Railway Workshops, where locomotives were built, maintained and repaired from the late 19th century, the precinct still retains its wonderful old brick buildings, huge machinery, railway infrastructure and raw industrial character. 

It was an amazing place to spend a few hours creatively. We started at The Grounds Coffee Factory. Elna then settled down to paint while I wandered off with my camera, photographing the old buildings, machinery, textures and details. I loved the combination of industrial history and modern life—the sense that so much of the original character has been preserved rather than polished away. It’s exactly the sort of place I love photographing: atmospheric, full of history and with interesting compositions everywhere you look.

Elna's beautiful art

Cape Tourville Lighthouse (Tasmania)

I found these old photos of the Cape Tourville Lighthouse in Freycinet that I took in Tasmania in n 2015. What a stunning setting for a lighthouse.

Cape Tourville Lighthouse is an active lighthouse. First exhibited on 17 November 1971, it replaced the Cape Forestier Lighthouse on the inaccessible Lemon Rock. The round concrete tower is 11 metres high, with the light positioned 126 metres above sea level and a nominal range of 18 nautical miles. It was designed as an automatic lighthouse, so it was never staffed by resident keepers, and it is now operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Lighthouses of Australia