I also wanted to return to the south west of Tasmania — to Macquarie Harbor and Queenstown. I wanted to photograph both the mine tailings in the former and the landscape around the Mt Lyell mine. The plan was that both were to be interpreted with a large format (5×4) camera. I allowed myself several days in Strahan and Queenstown to do this.

It was not to be, due to the weather. It was raining and Macquarie Harbor was full of water as it couldn’t flow out of the narrow Macquarie Heads due to the high south westerly wind, and so I was unable to walk out on what is usually a very extensive shore. The weather in Queenstown was also stormy with high winds and driving rain. It only cleared on the last morning that I was there and all I could do was to scope various possibilities with a digital camera. I needed more time for the 5×4 session which I didn’t have.

I was unable to add any supplements to the Tasmanian Elegies project and I realised that the pictures in the archive would have to suffice. This was a historical project. So I have started to go through the archives.