MY FAVOURITE PHOTO SPOTS IN VICTORIA

This page features a collection of my favourite photo spots around Victoria. I've travelled around the state extensively, and I'm happy to share with you the spots that really stood out for me. I hope you find this page useful, and it gives you some ideas for great places to visit. There are so many more places around the state I've still got on my list, so please come back and check in as I add new favourites. I'm also keen to revisit some of these locations, so you may find some of the images updated from time to time.

I've written four stand alone guides to places that I really love to visit and I've been to multiple times. I've gone into a bit more detail and listed multiple spots in each that I've really enjoyed for photography. You'll find links for them below, or under the 'Best Victorian Photo Spots' link in the menu above.

All images are available for print purchase, or licensing - please get in touch to start a conversation.
I'd love to hear some of your feedback, suggestions and recommendations in the comments below, so please feel free to share!

To the West (This Page)
The Grampians (stand alone guide)
The Great Ocean Road and Beyond (stand alone guide)
The You Yangs
Dog Rocks
Geelong Eastern Beach
Corio
Point Lonsdale
Lal Lal
Wind Farms
Canola Fields and Farms
The Silo Art Trail

To the North
Mount Buffalo & Marysville (stand alone guide)
Lake Tyrrell & the Mallee region (stand alone guide)
Macedon & Mt Macedon
Echuca
The Malmsbury Viaduct
O'Brien's Crossing

To the East
Wilsons Promontory (stand alone guide)
Mornington Penninsula & Phillip Island (stand alone guide)
William Ricketts Sanctuary
Alfred Nichols Memorial Garden
Toolangi State Forest
Noojee Trestle Bridge & Toorongo Falls

To the West

The Grampians

The Grampians is an amazing mountain range around 2 1/2 hours west of Melbourne. It's a destination in it's own right, and one of my top 4 spots in Victoria.

To read my standalone guide, click the image below, or click the link under 'Best Victorian Photo Spots' in the menu at the top of the page.

Sunrise over mountain range with layered hills, rocky foreground, and sparse vegetation.

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD AND BEYOND

Search for Australia’s Top 10 Things to Do and Driving the Great Ocean Road will undoubtedly be in that list. For those who love to drive, and who love coastal seascapes the Great Ocean Road and beyond is an absolute killer for great photography.

Two large rock formations in the ocean at sunset, with the sun's rays peeking through a gap between the rocks.

THE YOU YANGS

From the Parks Victoria page: Magnificent views, birdlife and a mecca for walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers - welcome to the You Yangs! The distinctive granite peaks of this park rise abruptly from the flat plains below. Flinders Peak and Big Rock have panoramic views out to Melbourne, which is just an hour away.

The You Yangs small mountains that mark the landscape between Melbourne and Geelong, and are a great day trip. I always used to gaze out at them on trips between Melbourne and Geelong as a kid. I spent most of my holidays in Geelong or at Ocean Grove with my grandparents.

As an adult I've been there quite a few times for photography, and some of my images here have been featured in the Geelong Calendar, going out to over 100,000 homes.

Flinders Peak

Flinders Peak is the highest point in the You Yangs and rewards a steep but short 3 km return hike with sweeping views across the plains. Expect around 450 steps and 30–45 minutes each way, with plenty of granite boulders along the climb that make great natural shooting platforms before you even reach the small observation tower at the top.

Sunrise and sunset are magic here, especially with cloud catching the light — just check gate opening times if you’re going early and bring a head torch. My favourite compositions are found by continuing past the tower to a flat rocky area with brilliant foreground options, plus the giant boulders below the platform if you’re confident scrambling for a higher, cleaner angle.

View from a mountain overlooking a valley with large rocks and trees in the foreground, and a landscape of fields and water in the distance under a partially cloudy sky at sunset.

A scenic landscape with large boulders and green shrubbery in the foreground, rolling hills and farmland in the background, and a colorful, cloudy sky above.

Big Rock

Big Rock is another great spot to shoot. It's a massive, smooth granite outcrop on the west side of the You Yangs. It's like a massively giant round boulder. It drops off directly onto the plains below, so you can see for kilometres to the west. It's really impressive, but it's also quite flat and there aren't many features in the landscape. So, you will need to look around for pools of water, or small trees, rocks or cracks that you can put into your foreground to give your shots a bit of interest. It's *really* easy to get to, only a 5 minute walk from the car park. The shot to the left is taken with a really wide angle lens, very close to a puddle in the rocks. The emphasised the foreground, left a little slice of the flat landscape in the middle and made a feature of the sky and reflection.

Sunset sky with clouds reflected in a shallow pool on rocky terrain.

Sunset over a forest landscape with large rocks in the foreground and partly cloudy sky.

The Plantation

There is a trail that goes down below Big Rock and takes you back to the park entrance. There are some great plantation trees here, all in neat rows that could make for some great images in the right light. You can get here easily from the entrance and will most likely see quite a few people out on the walking tracks.

I want to go back one day to try a shot similar to this, but with beautiful side light coming through the trees illuminating the pale bark and casting shadows along the ground

A dense forest of tall, slender trees with light-colored bark, sunlight filtering through the canopy, and dry leaf litter on the ground.

Looking up at tall trees with green leaves against a clear blue sky.

Geelong & the Bellarine Peninsula

Dog Rocks

Dog Rocks in Batesford, just 15 minutes to the west of Geelong, it's a great little spot for photography. The area is a reserve with a small car park. It's only a 5 minute or so walk up to the main features, which are a collection of granite outcrops and boulders. The highlight of the area is a lone tree at the highest point that's reminiscent of the Wanaka Tree. The shot below is taken from near the car park, the rocks are just behind the trees, and the famous tree is just over the rise.

This spot is great during stormy weather, and golden hour. There are heaps of composition opportunities with the rocks and the tree. Try a wide lens for a sense of scale, but I find a longer lens to really compress the rocks and tree into a similar plane works well. I've seem some wonderful astro shots taken here if that's your thing too!

A solitary, slightly twisted tree with sparse leaves standing among large rocks in a grassy landscape under a partly cloudy sky.

A landscape featuring dry grass, leafless trees, and rocky hills under a cloudy sky.

Geelong Eastern Beach

This has got to be one of my favourite spots to photograph in Geelong itself. The Eastern beach has so many great spots to capture. The key area stretches between Cunningham Pier and the Eastern Beach Public Swimming Pool.

Sunset over a wooden lifeguard tower and pier, with colorful clouds in the sky.

A wooden pier extending into water during a colorful sunset with clouds, featuring a small lifeguard tower.

Silhouettes of people walking on a curved wooden pier during sunset, with a lifeguard tower and the ocean visible.

Corio

Corio is an industrial area where you can grab some images of huge impressive machinery and processing plants. I've only spent a few hours driving around here taking a few shots, but there is so much potential here! Pay attention to any signs forbidding photography, and be prepared to potentially talking to a few security guards here and there.

Black and white image of an industrial refinery with large cylindrical tanks, pipes, and metal staircases.

Black and white photo of a large, industrial spherical storage tank with visible wear and rust, mounted on supports with pipes and scaffolding around it.

Underneath a wooden pier extending into the ocean, with weathered wooden beams and supports, some covered in black protective sheeting and green moss, with water flowing around the supports.

Point Lonsdale is on the Bellarine Peninsula along with Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads and Queenscliff. As a child I spent almost every holiday here at my Grandparent's holiday house, so the area holds very special memories for me. One day soon I'll spend some more time here and photograph some of the spots that still sick in my memory (if they're still there!).

Point Lonsdale

The area is full of beautiful surf beaches, piers, bridges and rock pools. It's great for seascapes. There are quite a few great heritage buildings around if that's your thing.

One of my favourite spots to shoot here has got the be the Point Lonsdale Pier. Specifically underneath the pier! There is a great lighthouse just above that can make for some beautiful images also.

Lal Lal

Lal Lal is a real hidden gem just 20 minutes from Ballarat, with a trio of waterfalls and a vast, dramatic reservoir. Lal Lal Falls is an easy stroll from the car park, while Moorabool and Granite Falls are a much longer hike than expected — at least half an hour each way — but they lead you through some surprisingly beautiful terrain.

The track skirts the edge of a deep valley above the river feeding the reservoir, with towering trees on the slopes and glimpses down to the water below. It feels wildly remote for the middle of farming country, and the views alone make the walk worthwhile, especially with wind farms dotting the ridges near the end. I can’t wait to return when the falls are actually flowing.

A river winding through a lush green landscape with trees on both sides, under a partly cloudy sky.

A large tree with mostly bare branches in a grassy field during late autumn or early winter, with the sun setting behind the tree, casting a starburst of light through the branches.

A natural landscape featuring trees in a grassy field with a backdrop of forest and a cloudy sky.

Fallen dry tree branches on tall golden grass in a natural landscape with trees in the background.

A scenic view of a lush, green landscape with a river at the valley bottom, surrounded by trees and hills, under a partly cloudy sky. A large tree trunk is visible on the right foreground.

Scenic view of a lush, green valley with trees, rolling hills, and a body of water under a partly cloudy sky.

A wooden bench overlooking a river with green trees and hills in the background.

Wind Farms

Ok, now I have a bit of a thing for wind farms. Unlike certain Australian politicians, I think they look amazing. For me they are a symbol of hope that we are moving in the right direction as civilisation. They are visible proof that we are evolving towards a clearer future. I also love the contrast between these high tech giant machines, and the farm land they are generally on. The area between Fiskville to Ballarat and out to Waubra has some great wind farms that are easily accessible via the country roads.

A field of tall, dry grass with several wind turbines under a clear blue sky.

A scenic landscape at sunset with grassy fields, wind turbines on a hill, and a partly cloudy sky.

A herd of black and white cows standing behind a barbed wire fence in a grassy field, with wind turbines and a cloudy sky in the background at sunset.

Wind turbines on a green field during sunset with a dirt path and trees in the background.

Wind turbines in a dry, grassy landscape with trees in the foreground under a blue sky.

A landscape at sunset with pink, purple, and blue clouds, featuring two wind turbines on a grassy field with a tree in the foreground.

A field with multiple wind turbines at sunset, with pink and purple clouds in the sky.

CANOLA FIELDS & FARMS

Drive out west during spring and you'll be rewarded with fields of vibrant yellow canola flowers. They can be absolutely stunning on the right day. These images were taken in-between Rowsley and Fiskville. Since I was here last, I think there are some wind farms that have been constructed near the canola fields, so I'm keen to get out this spring and see if I can find a great composition. Ideally you can find a lone tree, hay stack or shed to bring into your composition. A polarising filter is recommended to really make the colour pop and cut down on any unwanted glare.

A rural landscape with three tall trees, a yellow flower field, and an old corrugated metal building under a partly cloudy sky.

A vast field of yellow flowers under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds.

A vast field of bright yellow flowers with several large trees with green leaves and some bare branches, under a partly cloudy sky.

Keep an eye out for the region’s beautiful stone walls — but remember they’re usually on private land, so shoot from the right side of the fence! Despite the convict myth, these walls were built by skilled migrants from the UK who brought the craft to the Western District.

Post-and-wire fencing led to their decline in the late 1800s, and the trade all but disappeared during the Depression, surviving with a few local experts into the 1970s before re-emerging as a boutique craft.

A stone wall running through a grassy field at sunset with a partly cloudy sky and trees in the distance.

The Silo Art Trail

The Silo Art trend is breathing artistic life into rural Australia. All around the country huge murals are being painted on massive grain silos out in the country. The trend started in Western Australia and then in the Wimmera-Mallee region of Victoria. Since 2018 the trend has spread across the country with art celebrating the people of our land on everything from inner city public housing towers to water tanks and rural silos. I visited the original Wimmera-Mallee silos in 2018, shown below. I wrote a blog post with a lot of detail that you can still find here. The Silos are just incredible, and really deserve a night or two as there is a lot of driving involved. Take the chance to see the country and some of the beautiful local towns. The highlights are the silos, but the country towns are worth a wander as there are some beautiful old heritage buildings and country houses to capture. I really recommend trying to get to some of the towers in the early morning or close to sunset to make best use of great directional light.

It's around a 3 hour drive to the first silo at Rupanyup, and then a further 2 hour drive to the furthest silo shown here at Patchewollock. So without stops it's a 5 hour trip.

There are some newer silos up Shepparton way, around a 2 hour drive to the north of Melbourne.

Large industrial silos painted with murals of a woman looking upward and a man wearing glasses, set against a sunset sky with a power line in the foreground.

A large building with a mural of historical figures painted on silos, with the sun shining through a gap between the silos.

Murals of four faces painted on large industrial silos, depicting diverse people with vibrant colors and a sunset background, under a clear blue sky.

Large silo with a mural of a man's face and hand painted on it, set in a rural area under a partly cloudy sky.

Silhouette of a senior woman with short hair on the side of a grain silo.

Colorful murals painted on industrial storage silos depicting a girl with a swing, a girl on her back with a bird, and a sunset sky with clouds and trees.

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