Australian Photography November 2022

‘What do you shoot?’ is a question photographers often ask other photographers, but have you ever noticed how most people will answer with just one or two genres? Maybe it’s because we’re encouraged to be specialists rather than generalists in life, or maybe we don’t want to sound like we’re jacks of all trades, but many photographers struggle with capturing a diversity of subject matter. I’m as guilty of this as anyone, with my preferred genres of travel and wildlife being the main lanes I find myself staying in. And this is despite spending much of my working day reading and writing about all different kinds of photography. Yet all the signs suggest if you capture a bit of everything, you’ll be a better photographer in the genres that really matter to…

JEFF FREESTONE Jeff is a landscape and nature photographer based in the Victorian High Country, where he has lived with his family since 2017. He spends his time trying to understand the intricacies, and capture the beauty, of this special part of Australia. See more at freestonephotography.com. DOUG GIMESY Doug is a professional conservation and wildlife photojournalist who focuses on Australian issues. His clients include National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, bioGraphic and others. See more at gimesy.com. ROBERT KEELEY Rob has been shooting various sports for over 30 years. He started with yachting, and has covered major soccer events, rugby, Australian Rules football, cricket, and several other sports. He is a former editor of AP. See more at robertkeeley.com.au. STEVE THOMAS Steve Thomas has been racing, shooting and writing about bikes and adventure travel for most of his…

Back in March, Sydney was caught in the relentless deluge of an East Coast low weather system caused by La Niña. My husband Tim and I were making our way south on an emergency trip to Jervis Bay to help our kids whose house was flooding. Halfway down the coast they rang to say they had been evacuated and we couldn’t be of any immediate help. So, we stopped over in Kiama for the night as the surf forecast the next day was for a seven metre swell right on high tide - a photographer’s dream forecast! The next morning the skies were grey but dry, and we headed to one of our favourite locations, Bombo Quarry. The compositional options at the quarry are endless - from just about any position on…

THE MONO AWARDS 2022 - THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNERS AFTER two weeks of online voting, we’re delighted to announce the winners of the People’s Choice Award in The Mono Awards 2022 presented by SanDisk. Run by Capture and Australian Photography, The Mono Awards celebrates the finest black-and-white photography across Australia and New Zealand over three categories, People, Places and Animals. Each category has its own People’s Choice winner, and each winner takes home a 12-month subscription to Australian Photography and Capture magazine. Taking out the People category with 433 votes was Jaziel Aguiña, his image Warangku, which depicts the photographer’s friend. “In 1963, the government ordered the closure of his former community (Old Mapoon),” says Jaziel. “Those who wanted to stay were forcibly removed by the police, who later set the community on fire. He was…

I’m in Kakadu. It’s 2022 and I’m thinking to myself how lucky I am to be out on Yellow Waters again. Every turn offers a new bird, plenty of crocodiles, and hopefully, a rare photo. After a couple of trips over two days, my group were ready for anything. The best settings were in use for action photography, and my well-trained trigger finger was ready. We spotted a mangrove heron, and the hunt was on. Our local guide Manoeuvred the boat perfectly, and just as we thought no shot was on due to the bird’s perched position on a busy branch, it plunged into the water. Cameras firing, no one was sure what they had captured. The whole experience was over in a couple of seconds, with the bird walking off with…

TEXTURE JULIANNE REID Smooth as silk EDITOR’S COMMENT Julianne Reid captured this image in Clifton Gardens, and writes “Water can be rough and abrasive, but this is when it is smooth as silk.” Water is a wonderful subject to explore with a theme like texture, as it is constantly changing. This image draws to mind the work of Sydney photographer Ralph Kerle, but also stands on its own as a lovely, cool, abstract image that deserves to be explored up close. Lovely work Julianne. TECHNICAL DETAILS Nikon D610, 70mm. 1/50s @ f5.6, ISO 200. MATT RUSSELL Untitled EDITOR’S COMMENT Matt Russell didn’t tell us much about the who/what/where of this image, but sometimes when the results are so strong, you can get away with it! What we loved about his winning image was the sense of depth – initially it looks like an…