My story today is a special one for me. During the summer of 2009 (which is really the winter of 2009 in the USA) I visited my home state of Tasmania in Australia for a large family Christmas gathering. I spent around two weeks in Tassie as we affectionately call it, visiting many of the state’s attractions and sights. All of my family on my mum’s side were in the state for the festive season… it was so great to hang out with everyone as well as travel to various parts of the state with them.

Growing up, I spent my early childhood in Hobart, the capital of the state, before moving to Perth on the western side of the country to finish my schooling. I never really had much of a chance to visit places like the one in my image today because I was too young. This was my first real shot at playing tourist in my home state… and I loved every minute of it.

Tasmania’s eastern coast is rugged and filled with cliffs, peninsulas, and in some places white, sandy beaches. This location had them all. Named “Wineglass Bay” on account of the bird’s-eye-view shape of the beach and inlet, this particular bay was high on my list of places to see. It was a fortunately clear day on the day we made the 2 hour or so drive north from Hobart to the trailhead of the hike to the bay and was it ever worth the wait. I was completely mesmerised by the view and the beach before me… so much so that my family decided to head onward without me while I lingered and took photographs.

This image is actually three images, stitched together into one panoramic image, and then plumbed through Photomatix for some single-exposure HDR treatment to bring out the textures in the rocks, cliffs and the water. Like all panoramas, they’re best viewed large.

Around 2009 I was only really just getting my feet wet in photography so you’ll notice my rather modest kit at the time. Even though I’d processed the image before when I returned to Seattle, I started from scratch this time around and the above panorama is a direct product of the tools and knowledge I now have after spending a couple of years growing as a photographer. In an ideal situation, I would have had my D700 and wide-angle lens with me and had this image been a result of my setup now, I’d be as happy with it as I am now given it came from entry-level gear.

Gear is not and will never be a substitute for your own photographic mind.