Bay of Fires - Beautiful, Pristine & Serene

Golden Sunrise Binalong BayLandscape photography and travel photography of Binalong Bay in the Bay of Fires Tasmania Taylors Beach Rock FormationsLandscape photography and travel photography of the Bay of Fires in Tasmania

Our 2019 summer saw us return to amazing Tasmania. We visited three main areas, Hobart and the Tamar Valley but Bay of Fires was the stand-out place for us this year. It wasn’t a photography trip as such but of course a camera is always with us and we did have some plans for this renowned place of natural beauty.

Binalong Bay is situated on the northern stretch of the Tasmanian East coast near St Helens and sits at the southern end of the Bay of Fires region. It is a protected region, sparsely populated and pristine with many beautiful white sandy beaches, forested areas and, of course the famous orange lichen coloured boulders which photographers love.

Bed in the Treetops MontageLandscape photography and travel photography of Bed in the Treetops at the Bay of Fires in Tasmania We booked accommodation at a B&B called Bed in the Treetops which is owned and run by Mark and Paula - the most charming and friendly couple one could ever hope to meet.

Mark and Paula were a font of knowledge about the best local places and when we mentioned photography, their immediate response was the "lone tree" down on the Bay.  "Everyone photographs it" (apparently) but we didn't know this as we had only planned the holiday aspects of this trip.

Great landscape photos rarely just happen so we first went in search of the site so we could check out the location on foot.  Thus, our initial photos were a bunch of hand held images shot on my now somewhat outdated (but still much loved) Fuji X-E1.  Red Lichen Bay of FiresLandscape photography and travel photography of the Bay of Fires in Tasmania Actually, I quite like some of these and they are useful images.  I find using a small lightweight camera handheld allows me to be very creative with finding angles and compositions that I can return to later with my Nikon D850 and tripod etc.

The next evening, after using our PhotoPills app to obtain accurate placement of sun angles etc., we were back with the Nikon for Golden Hour and Sunset.  The Best Way to do Sunset PhotographyLandscape photography and travel photography of Binalong Bay in Tasmania This is my wife Sue with wine glass in hand offering advice on composition options...well no-one said landscape photography need always be hard work in remote areas!

Some shots captured on the Nikon that evening are below: Coastal Landscape Bay of FiresLandscape photography and travel photography of Binalong Bay in the Bay of Fires Tasmania Landscape by the Ocean Bay of FiresLandscape photography and travel photography of Binalong Bay in the Bay of Fires Tasmania

OK, nice but "no cigars".  Sadly, the magic just didn't happen that evening so we went home figuring that sunrise would be better and hoping for some kind weather the next morning.

Sunrise is pretty early in summer and it's not good to start drinking wine at this hour so this was a solo effort this morning.  Again, the light, the clouds and the angles just didn't quite marry up perfectly but I think a couple of good shots were captured.  What do you think? Lone Tree at SunriseLandscape photography and travel photography of Binalong Bay in the Bay of Fires Tasmania Golden Sunrise Binalong BayLandscape photography and travel photography of Binalong Bay in the Bay of Fires Tasmania

The Binalong Bay area has much more to offer travelers and we highly recommend adding this area to your itinerary when visiting Tasmania.  Mark and Paula also pointed out places like Blue Tier, a beautiful scenic walk with breathtaking views and St. Columba Falls.  There are majestic beaches and boulders where you can walk undisturbed for mile after mile.  If you are interested, I have put up some more of my travel photos of Tassie on my website.  You can view them here