A bit about me...
My first recollections of photography are at age 10. I took my first photo ( which I still have ) on an old “Box Brownie” in Centennial Park, Sydney. At age 22, I recall “sticky taping” a number of printed images together in order to create a single wide panoramic image – my first venture into the world of “panos”.
It was a medical condition in my mid 40’s that resulted in me finding solace and comfort on my first trip to the Australian outback, Kakadu to be exact. I spent three wonderful solitary weeks travelling through this amazing part of Australia. This turned out to be a life changing experience for me. That is when my love for “country” and the Australian landscape began. I started to take a few images here and there but nothing too serious. Even after a few trips to the outback, my images were more “happy snaps” than anything else.
It wasn’t until my mid 50’s that I started to take my photography a little more seriously. I bought myself a decent camera and I continued on my solo and regular outback sojourns. What I did start to notice ( and as obvious as this may sound ), was that looking through my camera lens enticed me to venture much deeper into the landscape and to study it in more detail. I started to appreciate just what a beautiful and incredible country we live in. I also recognised how the different landscapes were positively impacting on me both emotionally and spiritually. The powerful combination of spending quality time in the Outback along with my camera became my very own “medicine”.
I vividly recall how I felt after climbing to the top of the escarpment at Ubirr, in Kakadu for the first time. I was sitting on the ledge watching the sunset over the other side of the flood plain. The sky suddenly exploded into the most brilliant of colours. There were birds flying, wild bulls and other animals roaming the plain, mobs of kangaroos doing their thing, yet, despite all this activity beneath me, it was eerily quiet and serene. I was awe struck by what I was experiencing emotionally, spiritually and by the sheer beauty of it all. I can laugh now, but I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot I had to climb back down the escarpment and find my way back to the car in the dark and without a torch or a headlight. I’m not afraid to admit it now, but to say I was just a little scared would definitely be an understatement.
As of a few months ago, I brought to a close my 40+ years as a director of my own design and construction business in Sydney. It is now time to move on to the next chapter in my life with my beautiful wife. We will be travelling through very remote regions throughout Australia indefinitely, with the view to capturing unique and emotional images of this land of ours. This will certainly be a change for me after being in such a regulated industry for so long. Yes, it can be difficult to get out of bed at 3:00 am or 4:00 am on a cold winter’s morning, but there is also such a sense of freedom and excitement to have the flexibility to do that.
It will give me such pleasure to bring these images to my family, friends and to anyone else who may be interested in seeing what a beautiful country we live in. I’m even playing around with the idea of producing Youtube videos to show our adventures and how some of the images were taken. Who knows, maybe one day you may even be inspired enough to make the effort to see our land as well.