I believe everyone should have the opportunity to connect with nature every day. To help people bring nature into their home or office, I have compiled a series of print galleries that feature images of Australia’s stunning wild places, animals and plants. I have also included montages that showcase the colours, designs, textures and abstract beauty of nature.
Every image represents a special moment for me. I know, having spoken to many folk over the years, that these images are also very special to other people.
More photographs will be added to the galleries over time. If you have a favourite image that hasn’t yet been included, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would love to hear your feedback.
Outback Gallery
This Gallery is a collection of images taken of Australia’s vast interior. The term “outback” refers to almost anywhere west of the Great Dividing Range. Heavily represented here are the regions of the highly accessible Flinders Ranges, with its moody ranges and gum-lined creeks and billabongs. Of course, many photographers relate to the Red Centre, with its ancient meandering rivers, colossal arid ranges and overwhelming desert monoliths, such as Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The Kimberley district is also depicted here as are the escarpments of western Arnhem Land and Kakadu National Park – both landscapes of great diversity and visual splendour.
Seascapes Gallery
Sand between your toes, wind in your hair, the smell of salt air and the rhythmic sounds of the waves – these are ingredients that have the power to soothe your soul. The waves pounding on beaches or crashing over granite boulders are exuberant, and the tidal mangrove flats, white coral beaches and azure seas are captivating. Australia’s seashores have lured me to create images of them my whole career. Whether I am beneath the waves, crawling around the rocky pools, wading the muddy banks or just sitting and watching from afar, I feel blessed to have experienced these exhilarating wild places.
Mountains & Forests Gallery
I am transfixed by waterfalls – the tinkling of falling water, the misty spray of water coating my skin, the verdant ferns rustling in the breeze, the drenched forest floor, and the smooth, water-worn rocks. Each element infuses me with a sense of wellbeing that penetrates deep within my soul. The diversity of habitats found along the Great Dividing Range and the mountains and ranges of Tasmania are grandiose. Whether specked with snow, or glistening with summer rain, these alluring natural cathedrals inspire our connection with nature like no other environment on Earth. When in a forest, I am in such a relaxed yet contemplative state that my mind cannot drift beyond the here and now. Even when viewing an image of these sacred places, they still have the power to invigorate our senses, make our spirits sing and evoke an overwhelming sense of wellbeing.
Botanical Gallery
The shape and texture of bark peeling from the trunk of a gum tree, the sinuous curves of the petals of a spider orchid, and the colour-splashed dunes of the Red Centre when wildflowers are in bloom, this is my world of botanical photography. Throughout my career I have approached photographing the botanical world more as an artist than a naturalist. I tend to approach flora in a state of play, regardless of whether it is the botanical rich world of a rainforest as a whole, or the colours and shapes of a gum blossom.
Wildlife Gallery One
The ever-challenging world of wildlife has been the primary focus of my lifelong interest as a naturalist and photographer, and later as a writer and publisher. When I set out to create images, my ultimate challenge is to blend my own emotions with the spirit of the animal. However, most living creatures, apart from sessile invertebrates, become nervous when a human enters their comfort zone. There are also many enigmatic mammals that are nocturnal and shy when it comes to contact with people. These factors pose challenges that need to be creatively overcome when taking pictures.
Wildlife Gallery Two
Here is a collection of images showcasing a variety of wildlife groups. The images displayed represent special moments of encounter. When I work with these animals my aim is to go well beyond the “art” of the projected outcome of the image itself, beyond ego if you like, into a more metaphysical relationship between myself and the life force of the animal whose space I momentarily share. At times I feel an incredibly deep connection. Even beyond my own “connections”, which in the larger scheme of things is perhaps trivial, I am also committed to making images that reach out and touch people at an emotional level. Based on feedback, I know that viewing powerful images of nature lights a fire in a person’s spirit. Ultimately, this feeling ensures that they too will care enough to defend the environment from the many threats it faces. This second wildlife collection is a small representation of a variety of special encounters with both vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Contained within these various groups are some of the most biologically intriguing and visually stunning creatures – it is a pleasure to share what will become a larger collection of images over time.
Art of Land
The Art of Land project was inspired by the flooding of the Australian landscape, especially the Queensland section of the Great Artesian Basin. The results of three successive years of inundation brought much of the arid areas of Queensland, south-eastern Northern Territory, north-western New South Wales and north-eastern South Australia back to life after decades of drought. While flying over Lake Eyre in April 2010, I became motivated to start a project that would include many of Australia’s major habitats and geological features photographed with a large format digital camera. I wanted images that highlighted the effect the harsh Australian elements had on these features. This Gallery displays images of South Australia’s Torrens, Frome and Eyre salt lakes and the surrounding deserts.
Nature Montages Galleries
The element of “play” in my work came to the fore in my thirties. A friend gave me a book written by artist, printmaker and teacher Desiderius Orban, entitled What is Art all About? Orban wrote: “…Competitiveness and the desire for success should be eliminated. We are happiest when we are most unaware of ourselves and of what we are doing, but enjoy doing it. This process leads us through the wide open gates to creativeness”. He goes on to say, “If the play brings results without conscious effort, that is excellent”. Over time I began to understand Orban’s idea — art was about the process, not the end result. With that in mind, I began to cultivate a more playful approach to photography. I created images that were meaningful to my playful spirit and that allowed me to express areas of my work that had more to do with “art” than science. In “playing” I also developed a fascination with juxtaposition and pattern. Nature is filled with gorgeous patterns, shapes and forms. Most look wonderful as they are, naturally, but can also be accentuated in montages. I am now sharing these three Galleries – Landscape, Botanical and Wildlife – for the first time to a worldwide audience.
