LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY > SOUTHWEST NATIONAL PARK – MT. ANNE AND LAKE PEDDER REGION – TASMANIA > Moonset Over Lake Pedder (High Camp, Mt. Eliza, Mt. Anne Track, Southwest National Park)
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Southwest National Park World Heritage Area is Tasmania’s most remote wilderness and is dominated by buttongrass plains, wet eucalypt forests and jagged mountain ranges. The Southern Ocean forms the park’s southern boundary, while expansive Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon occupy its centre.
Southwest National Park is Tasmania’s largest park at 6183 square km (2387 square mi) and features many endemic species of plants and animals. The park is home to endangered orange bellied parrots (Neophema chrysogaster) and Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila addax fleayi) as well as 1000+ year old Huon Pines. If the Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine) still exists, it would likely be in Southwest National Park.
Mt. Eliza, which overlooks Lake Pedder, and the Mt. Anne plateau offer some of the most beautiful and expansive alpine vistas in Tasmania. This photograph was taken near High Camp Hut on the Mt. Anne Circuit.
I had been photographing for 4 hours straight, and just as I was packing up, I noticed the thin crescent moon just above Lake Pedder. I thought, “Hey, that’s cool”, and took a quick snap of it. I knew at the time that I was pushing my camera, lens and settings beyond their capabilities and that, at best, they would only yield a ‘throw away’ shot.
However, when I got the image back up on my computer screen, I cringed with regret. The shot immediately captivated me, and I loved it (despite all its technical problems). Now I was paying the price for not seriously trying to do my utmost in the field to capture it as best I could. The noise was horrendous, and my photography teacher worked really hard to help me develop a method to rid the image of all the photographic artefacts in processing. Thankfully we succeeded.
Although it isn’t the most technically perfect photograph, it still captures the essence of that beautiful night in the wilderness above Lake Pedder.