A Photographer’s Guide to the Dandenong Ranges

Under an hour from the Melbourne CBD, the Dandenong Ranges offer some of the most rewarding landscape, wildlife and atmospheric photography locations in Victoria. Towering mountain ash forests, winding roads disappearing into ferns and fog, colourful autumn gardens and an abundance of native birdlife make this region a dream location for photographers year round.

Whether you’re chasing moody foggy mornings, vibrant autumn colour, or native wildlife hidden deep in the forest, this guide covers some of the best spots to explore.

Best Autumn Photography Locations

Autumn in the Dandenong Ranges is pretty special. Between late April and mid May, many gardens and forested roads explode with deep reds, oranges, and golds.

Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens

One of the most iconic autumn photography locations in Victoria and a big fav of mine. The gardens are packed with towering trees, fern gullies, ornamental lakes, and winding pathways that become covered in colourful leaves throughout autumn.

The small boathouse beside the lake is one of the standout compositions here, especially early in the morning when conditions are still and mist hangs low over the water. If you time it right a majority of the trees around that lake will be busting with colour.

Tips

Arrive early to avoid crowds, super popular on the socials in Autumn
Overcast conditions work best for colour saturation
A polariser helps remove glare from wet leaves and water,
Bring a telephoto lens to help zoom in and simplify scenes in busy situations

RJ Hamer Arboretum

Another great location for wide angle forest scenes and elevated views over the ranges. During autumn, the arboretum becomes packed with rich colour and offers excellent walking trails through towering a wide range of unique trees.

The lookout near the top can also produce incredible layered fog scenes at sunrise after cold nights. Parking up the top and making your way down is the best way to tackle this big area. Make sure to check out Dam Track, Mathias Road (near the S bend) and Simons Ave, those are some of my favourite areas.

George Tindale Memorial Gardens

Smaller and often quieter than Alfred Nicholas Gardens, this spot is killer for intimate forest compositions, macro photography and soft diffused light through Japanese maples.

Perfect if you enjoy slower paced photography and focusing on smaller details rather than sweeping landscapes, with minimal people which is always a win.

Best Wildlife & Bird Photography Locations

The Dandenong Ranges are full of native wildlife, particularly birdlife. Lyrebirds, cockatoos, rosellas, kookaburras, and even swamp wallabies just to name a few are spotted throughout the forests.

Sherbrooke Forest

Arguably the best wildlife photography location in the ranges.

This forest is famous for its population of wild lyrebirds, which are often seen scratching through leaf litter near walking tracks early in the morning. Patience is key here, but the rewards are worthwhile. Hackett Track and Monument Track are my go to walks in Sherbrooke, with some of the tallest trees in the entire ranges being here.

Other commonly photographed species include:

Crimson Rosellas
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos
Eastern Yellow Robins
Kookaburras
Swamp Wallabies

Photography Tips

Early morning gives the best wildlife activity
Use a longer lens if possible (200mm+ helps)
Usually faster the shutter the better to reduce movement, crank that iso!
Keep movement slow and quiet
Overcast days provide softer light beneath the forest canopy

Grants Picnic Ground

A great beginner friendly location for bird photography. The birdlife here is very active, and rosellas and cockatoos are commonly seen nearby.

Time to chuck a sicky, weekdays can often be the best time to visit here as the weekends can get quite busy. Early mornings are usually the best opportunities for close wildlife encounters.

Bleakly Track, Coles Ridge Track and Neuman Track never seem to let me down here.

Best Places to Capture Fog

Fog is one of the things that makes the Dandenong Ranges so photogenic. Cold mornings and dense forest create incredible atmospheric conditions, perfect for dreamy backdrops. Midday fog can usually be found in the Dandy's on those cold wet wintery days when cloud is low.

The best fog generally occurs:

After rain
During autumn and winter
On calm mornings around sunrise

Mount Dandenong

The winding roads and towering forests around Mount Dandenong become incredibly moody when fog rolls through. These conditions are perfect for minimalist road shots, layered forest scenes and cinematic compositions.

Look for side roads with tall tree tunnels and soft diffused light filtering through the mist.

Ferny Creek to Kallista

In my opinion this is one of the best areas region for watching fog drift through the trees and valleys. On the right morning, you can hike any of the tracks through the forests for hours being locked away in the clouds.

Depending on the day and where the fog is, my favourite hikes are along Hillclimb Track, Bleakly Track, Sassafras Creek Track and Paddy Track.

Kalorama Lookout

A lesser mentioned but excellent location for photographing low cloud and mist moving through the valleys beneath the ranges.

Telephoto lenses work particularly well here for compressing distant fog layers and mountain ridgelines.

Best Scenic Lookouts

Burkes Lookout

A classic lookout spot overlooking the Melbourne skyline. Sunset can be fantastic here when the city lights begin to glow beneath colourful skies. Parking near the Kyeema Track works best for this one.

This spot delivers year round. In winter you can catch a cloud inversion looking towards the city. A great spot in summer to watch storms rolling in from the west, just make sure to head out if there if lightning is around! Even in the autumn and spring months I've captured plenty of fog dense fog drifting through this spot.

Johns Hill Reserve

A quieter location on the outer edges of the Dandenong's, this lookout is still relatively unknown. It offers views stretching towards the Mornington Peninsula, as well as out to Warburton and the Yarra Ranges. An unreal vantage point for capturing rolling fog during the cooler months. I also like coming up here on clear nights for astrophotography when the skies open up.

Best Caffeine in the Nongs

No photography trip is complete without a solid coffee stop.

Proserpina Bakehouse

One of the most popular bakery and coffee stops in the ranges. Perfect for warming up after a cold sunrise session.

The pastries here are dangerously good, and the rustic mountain town atmosphere fits the Dandenong vibe perfectly.

Storehouse Roastery Olinda

My fav spot for coffee after a morning shoot. Some of the best coffee blends around and can’t say no to their cinnamon scrolls. A good relaxing place to review images from the morning out of the weather. Also there's usually plenty of doggo's to pat out front of the store.

Wrap Up

The Dandenong Ranges are one of those locations that never really photograph the same way twice. Fog, rain, changing seasons and shifting light constantly transform the landscape, which is exactly what makes it such an addictive place to shoot.

Some mornings you’ll come home with portfolio worthy images. Other times you’ll simply enjoy wandering through the forest with a camera and coffee in hand. Both are worth it!

If you’re visiting for the first time, don’t try to rush every location in one trip. Pick a couple of spots, slow down, and spend time exploring. The best images in the ranges often happen unexpectedly between the well known locations, sometimes the hardest part is finding somewhere to pull over to catch that light.

For further information on photographing this area or you’d like to book in a 1 on 1 session feel free to contact me.

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A Photographer’s Guide to the Dandenong Ranges