Time with nature provides an endless source of inspiration. It’s almost as if nature is a reflection of ourselves, she is our teacher. She shares our struggles and changing moods. She grows, breathes and adapts to the changes around her. She speaks directly to our souls if we take the time to listen.
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The Longer I Stand
2018, Toolangi, Victoria
This small section of rain forest in Toolangi feels ancient and can be overwhelming to take in, I mean to really take in. Many pass through within a few moments. I find the longer I stand, the more I see. I begin to see details and relationships I had missed before. Sometimes a photograph needs time, just like an ancient forest.
These two images, Daydream and The Longer I Stand were both moments where I came to a realisation. While the concept wasn’t quite new, they were moments where I realised I was photographing ideas, thoughts and emotions rather than simply capturing the places I found inspiring. They were moments that brought me full circle, back to the experiences I’d had years before exploring the landscape. They made me realise that capturing the experience of nature, capturing the effects and a love of nature was a completely different concept to simply making pictures of the places I visited, as I used to do on those early explorations. In a way, these pictures bring me closer to my childhood memories of those far away and seemingly untouched lands.
A Walk In The Rainforest
2021, Black Spur, Victoria
To capture the Black Spur on camera, or any place for that matter, is a lot to ask from a multi sensory experience. This image was merged from a static and dynamic frame to give a sense ‘being there’ which really pleases me.
The Black Spur is often foggy, but the combination of light and atmosphere needs just the right balance to deliver rays this spectacular. I had been walking through the Black Spur when I spotted a deer hiding in the trees just a few meters away. It’s deafening call broke the silence and startled me. When I turned around again, the blue-gray morning had transformed and I suddenly felt about three inches tall, an incredible moment.
Each year I’ve made a new image of these wonderful chestnut trees as the branches find themselves nearly bare. Each image has a different colour palette which is inspired by the light and colour on the day.
Vale of Belvoir
2019, Vale of Belvoir, Tasmania
Strong winds and a thick fog enveloped the Vale. The Vale of Belvoir in northern Tasmania remains relatively unknown with it’s often bleak appearance, at least in comparison to Tassie’s better known landscapes. It’s been used as grazing land over the last century or so and is now reserved primarily for the conservation of its unique grasslands, old-growth rainforest and at-risk species like the Tassie Devil and spotted-tail Quoll.
Mutawintji, in outback New South Wales has seen its fair share of land degradation and cultural destruction. To me at least, this tree living beside a canyon wall symbolises resilience in the land and a hope for the future.
Snow gums, scattered boulders and fresh air; my childhood memories of Lake Mountain. Unfortunately this area is still recovering from the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and will remain forever changed.
