![Secluded, tiny and positively exquisite Merrial Beach on the west end of Christmas Island, Australia. [1310].](about.jpg "Secluded, tiny and positively exquisite Merrial Beach on the west end of Christmas Island, Australia. [1310].")
Mike Salon`s Aussie Places is a hopefully growing set of informal photo essays covering places, mostly smallish towns, in Australia that we have visited during our travels in old age. In each place, there is a set of photographs we have taken wrapped into some sort of description and commentary. The text is important, because writing it is what motivates us to publish the images at all. (Obviously we are more interested in being creative as a journalist than as a photographer alone!) The factual component of the text may be humdrum and boring, but it`s there because learning about where we have been is an important part of the travel experience, and documenting it is our way of reinforcing that learning. Those facts come from our own observations, talking to locals or guides, reading interpretive signage, and of course from internet reseach. We confess to often using AI to write little snippets, but we treat AI`s product as a first draft only, and try to add personal impressions.
Our main camera gear is based on Canon, and most photos here will be from DSLRs or mirrorless EOSs. That doesn`t stop us using phone photos, on the principle that `the best camera for the job is the one you have with you`. And a Mavic drone for up in the air shots.
Some photographs, not many, include people who may or may not be recognisable, and who may or may not have given permission for their image to be taken or published. In such `street` photographs, we always attempt to show people in a favourable light, and never to make them look bad. However, if you discover such an image, and want it removed, just ask and we will do so. If, on the other hand, you like the pic, we`ll be happy to send you a high resolution version on request.
What this is not About...
Our photo essays are not meant to provide a comprehensive review of any place we visited, just our own anecdotal impressions of things we discover or are generally interested in. And not big places either - there are no large cities in our places! Except below, with a few random pics from Australian capital cities.