Ravenswood - A photographers haven Part 1
Ravens wood North Queensland
#ravenswood #phototour #goldminingtown #haunted
A couple of months ago the NQ branch of the AIPP organised a long weekend "photo walk" of the old gold mining town of Ravenswood, about an hours drive inland from Townsville. I couldn't resist.
Photographically speaking, this interesting old town has something for everyone, whether you are into old architecture, landscapes or shooting the small details of rural images, its all there. The place has loads of character and ample characters to go with it!
I arrived in my trusty landcruiser, just prior to magic hour on the Friday afternoon, checked into my accommodation, which was a patch of grass to park the cruiser on in the caravan park, and then went out to satisfy my itching shutter finger.
I doubled back to the spot as you drive into town where there is a smorgasbord of old machinery and brick chimneys all hiding amongst the long grass. I think I shot off a hundred shots in the space of 30 minutes in this spot, as the light was perfect, no wind and no one in sight to ruin my backgrounds.
Ravenswood was a booming gold mining town back in its heyday, with as many as 5000 residents.
There is still mining going on there today, but the population has dwindled to a few hundred.
Two pubs remain in town, the Imperial and the Railway, even though there is no railway line. Both are supposedly haunted and I'm not sure if this is meant to deter or attract clientele. The friendly publican at the Railway Hotel went out of his way to make us feel welcome, even though only some of us were staying there. He sketched down a mud map for us all to find an abandoned silver mine nearby, loaded us up with coffee and made us all feel at home.
Both pubs are very "old Queensland" style boasting stained glass windows with rich timber interiors and staircases. The Railway Hotel, if viewed at a particular angle from across the road can look deceivingly like a facade of a building like what you see somewhere like Universal Studios. The verandah built on the front top of the building was built obliquely to the side walls of the building so when you stand at this angle right where the wall disappears around the corner it looks like there is no wall. Its hard to explain but this picture tells the story.
The Railway Hotel
In our travels we stumbled across this site of an old churchyard, with all thats remaining is the stairs, the "Stairway to Heaven" maybe????
In all we had 3 sunrises, 3 nights for stars and time lapse photography, and 3 sunsets to capture.
One place that got targeted big time was the church (also supposedly haunted) on top of a hill in town.
This is the church shot from roughly the same spot from sundown to stars up time noted
5.32pm, the last of the sun turning the faded yellow church a bright salmon pink
5.45pm, suns has gone and the pink hues in the sky hang around, true colour of church returns
http://www.explore-townsville.com/ravenswood-nth-qld.html
#ravenswood #phototour #goldminingtown #haunted
A couple of months ago the NQ branch of the AIPP organised a long weekend "photo walk" of the old gold mining town of Ravenswood, about an hours drive inland from Townsville. I couldn't resist.
Photographically speaking, this interesting old town has something for everyone, whether you are into old architecture, landscapes or shooting the small details of rural images, its all there. The place has loads of character and ample characters to go with it!
I arrived in my trusty landcruiser, just prior to magic hour on the Friday afternoon, checked into my accommodation, which was a patch of grass to park the cruiser on in the caravan park, and then went out to satisfy my itching shutter finger.
I doubled back to the spot as you drive into town where there is a smorgasbord of old machinery and brick chimneys all hiding amongst the long grass. I think I shot off a hundred shots in the space of 30 minutes in this spot, as the light was perfect, no wind and no one in sight to ruin my backgrounds.
Ravenswood was a booming gold mining town back in its heyday, with as many as 5000 residents.
There is still mining going on there today, but the population has dwindled to a few hundred.
Two pubs remain in town, the Imperial and the Railway, even though there is no railway line. Both are supposedly haunted and I'm not sure if this is meant to deter or attract clientele. The friendly publican at the Railway Hotel went out of his way to make us feel welcome, even though only some of us were staying there. He sketched down a mud map for us all to find an abandoned silver mine nearby, loaded us up with coffee and made us all feel at home.
Both pubs are very "old Queensland" style boasting stained glass windows with rich timber interiors and staircases. The Railway Hotel, if viewed at a particular angle from across the road can look deceivingly like a facade of a building like what you see somewhere like Universal Studios. The verandah built on the front top of the building was built obliquely to the side walls of the building so when you stand at this angle right where the wall disappears around the corner it looks like there is no wall. Its hard to explain but this picture tells the story.
The Railway Hotel
The Imperial Hotel
In our travels we stumbled across this site of an old churchyard, with all thats remaining is the stairs, the "Stairway to Heaven" maybe????
In all we had 3 sunrises, 3 nights for stars and time lapse photography, and 3 sunsets to capture.
One place that got targeted big time was the church (also supposedly haunted) on top of a hill in town.
This is the church shot from roughly the same spot from sundown to stars up time noted
5.32pm, the last of the sun turning the faded yellow church a bright salmon pink
5.52pm sky colour is just about gone and church develops a nice glow
6.27pm the stars are out and the lookout lights up on the horizon
6.47pm my favourite shot of the church, long exposure capturing the Milky Way and we moved position so the rising moon backlit our foreground
http://www.explore-townsville.com/ravenswood-nth-qld.html
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