Great Ocean Road Wall Art
This coastline is coming apart. The limestone stacks along the Shipwreck Coast are being removed by the Southern Ocean at a rate that makes these images a record as much as a picture, and several formations here no longer look the way they do in the frame.
A coast that changes between visits
Soft limestone and a swell that arrives with nothing in its way since Antarctica is not a stable arrangement. Arches collapse, stacks fall, and the headland behind them becomes the next stack. Photographing here is a documentary act whether or not it is intended as one, which gives this small collection a different weight to the rest of Victoria.
The Twelve Apostles
Five images treat the main group, and the differences between them are entirely about hour and weather. Twelve Apostles, VIC and Twelve Apostles, VIC are the direct treatments. Lingering Light, Twelve Apostles, VIC and Twilight, Twelve Apostles, VIC take the same stacks at the end of the day, and Sunset, Twelve Apostles, Australia carries the strongest colour of the group. Faithful Guardians the Twelve Apostles, VIC is the widest view.
The arches and the bridges
London Bridge, VIC and Island Arch, VIC photograph two formations further west along the same coast. Holding on Moonlight Head, VIC takes the cliff line itself rather than a named feature.
Behind the coast
The Otway Ranges sit immediately inland and photograph as the opposite of the coastline. Hopetoun Falls, VIC and Otway Eden, VIC are wet forest, and Aire River, VIC follows the river down to the sea. Rolling Hills Johanna, VIC covers the farmland between the two. Cape Otway Lighthouse, VIC is the one built structure in the group.
Choosing between the versions
With five treatments of the same subject, choose on light rather than on composition. The daytime images read as documentary and geological. The twilight images read as atmosphere and will sit more quietly in a living room.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are several Twelve Apostles prints. How do I choose?
By time of day rather than by angle. The daylight images show the limestone and the structure clearly. Lingering Light, Twelve Apostles, VIC and Twilight, Twelve Apostles, VIC were made at the end of the day and carry atmosphere instead of detail, which suits a living space better.
Do the formations still look like this?
Not exactly, and that is the nature of the coast. The Shipwreck Coast erodes continuously, and stacks and arches along it have collapsed within living memory, London Bridge among them. Each photograph is a record of the formation as it stood when it was made, which is part of why this stretch of coast is photographed as often as it is.
Is there anything from this collection that is not coastline?
Yes. The Otway Ranges sit directly behind the coast and Hopetoun Falls, VIC, Otway Eden, VIC and Aire River, VIC are wet forest and river images, which look nothing like the limestone coast a few kilometres away.
Which suits a wide horizontal wall?
Faithful Guardians the Twelve Apostles, VIC gives the widest view of the stack group, and Sunset, Twelve Apostles, Australia carries the strongest colour across a full panoramic frame.