Shearing

Below are some (only some - I took many!) of the pictures resulting from my expedition to cover the shearing at a property near Cunnamulla. They are in a bit of a random order.

A rousty tosses the fleece high on to the sorting table

Days end - board clean, silent, still.

Waiting for their turn.

Piles to press

Yarding into the shed

The combs

Shearers shoes

A glimpse into the pen

Old stuff - sheds are full of it

Evening light down the empty race

The wheels and cogs of the machinery

Sorting the fleece

The sling that the shearers use to help their backs

Smoko break

Smoko break

Bale marked and ready to stack

Waiting their turn

Wool bale hooks, tally pad and pen rest on the bale at the end of the day

A pause between clients

Mustering up the race for spraying

The big man and his mate

A young apprentice watches the older hands and has a smoke

The boss of everything else

Boss of the shed - Charlie

An eerie place

The pictures below were taken enroute home along a different road, trying to escape the roadworks (didn't work). I caught sight of the dump as I whistled along and came to a sudden halt and did a turn around to go take a look. Am so pleased that I did!

The wind was blowing a gale and whipping up the sandy red loam around my legs as I strode around snapping shots off using the EM1 with Voitlander lens attached. The site deserved a far more intensive investigation then I gave it but again I had to bow to Lady Time who only gave me precious little to spend on this trip.

Pushing open the door and entering the falling down old pub (Dad told me it used to be a pub - quite handy he is at times and apparently the fellow kept bullock teams there too) was a bit spine tingling as I could smell dead animal (found the roo corpse in the corner of one of the rooms) and the rotten floor boards were entirely capable of housing several snakes. Anyway it was great fun and the weather and time of day lent to the atmospherics as well.

 The cash register with till open made me think it may have been a refuge following a robbery at some time - but then I do have a pretty good imagination.