Photographing Werribee Mansion

Location: 3M99+XJ Werribee, Victoria ///orbit.kept.sounds (-37.93094669, 144.67036233)

About Werribee Mansion

Werribee Mansion

This Mansion is just on the western outskirts of Melbourne. The Mansion is now set in a large park, that includes an Open Range Zoo, and the state Rose Garden, Heritage Orchard and National Equestrian Centre. The Mansion was built in the 1870's by Thomas and Andrew Chirnside. The brothers were Scottish immigrants that founded a Pastoral Empire just to teh west of Melbourne.

Viewpoints

Viewpoints

The number and range of views possible here are virtually limitless. I concentrated on two:

  1. From the side near the flower bed. This view is more the portrait view of the house, with house looking to the left. I like fore-middle- and background to my landscapes and the flower bed provides both the fore and middle ground interest, while the mansion of course is the background.
  2. From directly in front. This is the sort of architectural / technical photo of the buildings. The Mansion has been designed to be viewed from the front, so it one of the more impressive views. The front also has a nice expanse of lawn in front that both provides an unabstructed photo, but also gives a sense of space in wide angle shots.
    3. Werribee Mansion from grounds

    How I photographed the Mansion

    What I took - what was in my kit

    I took my LowePro Backpack loaded with Linhof Technorama with Velvia 50 film for the panorama, and Canon 5DMkII body, Canon 24 mm TS, Canon 24-105mm, Manfrotto 190 Tripod, and of course a range of lens wipes, spare batteries, sunscreen and bug repellant.

    Techniques

    The Mansion is grand on scale, and set in beautiful gardens. I did look at some shots of the details, but really I feel that a grand site likes this needs a wide open view to capture the 'whole' and to impart the sense of scale. This means that I shot wide angle, and in particular I stitched a panograph to enable a higly detailed print to be made. I did look at HDR techniques, but the exposures on the day allowed good dynamic range without the need.

    Other things to look out for

    Werribee is just on the western edge of Melbourne. If visiting the mansion, a visit to the rose gardens (at the southern side of the mansion) and the open range zoo (at the northern edge of the gardens) are both worth a visit.

    Location

    Location: 3M99+XJ Werribee, Victoria ///orbit.kept.sounds (-37.93094669, 144.67036233)

Techniques used

Kit used

How to get there

The Mansion and Park are only some 30mins South West from Melbourne towards Geelong via the Westgate Freeway (M1). Take the Werribee South (Duncans Rd) exit (Exit 19) and the park and Mansion are just ahead on the right. They are well sign posted. If Travelling by train, you can take the train to Werribee, which is a couple of kilometres north of the Mansion. From here it would be a short taxi ride, but buses are also available.

How much time is required?

Setting aside getting to the Park / Mansion, it is a large place, with large gardens. It also has a river and a Open Range Zoo. I would recommend a day trip here. Several hours at least is required.

Best time to visit

The Mansion and grounds are well maintained. The grass is usually watered, and the flower beds are replaced throughout the year. This means that the Mansion can be visited and photographed year round.

In terms of the time of day to photograph, this really depends on the viewpoint chosen and the parks opening hours. For the garden bed view above, the sun rises on the left of the image and sets on the right hand side image. Early morning light gives bright iight to the white wing and contrast to the side of the main building. Mid-day light, as above, lights the main building side, and golden hour / dusk would give a gentle indirect light to the whole scene. This might be as late at 9pm in the summer though.

Accessability

The Park and the Mansion grounds are on level ground and are well paved. There is a substantial car park just outside of the Mansion's grounds.

Where to stay

There is of course the Mansion iteslf. One wing of the Mansion is a hotel. I have stayed here before and I found it a nice hotel, with reasonable rooms and at a reasonable price. Most people photographing the Mansion would stay in Melbourne, with its many choices of accomodation and its many other sites to be photographed. There is accomodation at Werribee, and there is a caravan park / camping ground at Werribee South some 7km away. The caravan park also has holiday cabins with cooking facilities, etc.