Dark Calm (2022)

I was hiking near Rams Head Range, looking for a composition as the sun was setting. The last beams of sunlight peeked through the clouds creating a tranquil, moody sky.

Biding Time (2022)

A lot of my time spent shooting is actually spent sitting and waiting. In this case, waiting for the sun to rise. But it’s such a pleasure to sit and wait in the quiet stillness of the moments before the sun comes up. I was searching for compositions in the dimly lit landscape only to discover this intersection of frost in the cold grass. I set up and waited for sunrise in the quiet calm of early morning.

Rohirrim (2022)

While making my way though through a mountain range, I suddenly fell through a cave roof, after checking everything wasn’t broken (camera & self) I took advantage this fortunate accidental composition. While the sunset, a herd of wild brumbies cantered through the valley and I managed to capture them. I felt like I was looking through a window into a secret world.

Winter Tor (2021)

After capturing Summer Tor, I knew I wanted to see this landscape in winter. I captured this as the sun was setting in the calm before a storm.

 Breathe (2022)

This was the calm between storms; waiting and watching for the right moment. I wanted to capture the dual simplicity and complexity of the shadows across a snowy landscape.

Exosphere (2022)

The exosphere is the last layer of Earth’s atmosphere. As the sun set over the snow covered valley, it felt like another world. One of the things drawing me back to Kosciusko is this sense of otherworldliness – in the harsh winter landscape, it couldn’t feel more different to my usual coastal surrounds.

Galactic Volcano (2021)

Let me set the scene for you: it was freezing cold, I’d lost my gloves, stepped in a puddle so my feet were slowly losing all sense of feeling. My camera battery was dying. I’d managed to get this composition so I wasn’t going to stop there. I’m glad I persisted and captured this galaxy above the rocks.

Leviathan Waits (2022)

In some ways, the snow reminds me of the ocean. We can see the surface, but we don’t really know what lurks underneath. There is a certain eeriness. The snow is so transformative to the landscape: it hides everything beneath it.

Mystic (2022)

I was running to capture this image in between white outs and storms. The atmosphere on this day was often opaque from the fog – so I felt very lucky to be able to capture this in the fleeting moments of visibility.

Court (2021)

I’ve captured several compositions of Aries and yet, I will still go back to capture more. There is something so uniquely remarkable about this incredible rock structure against a resplendent starry sky.

– Acknowledgements –

I’d like to acknowledge that the area in which these pictures were taken is on Ngarigo country.

I’d like to pick out these paintings (below) & their painter Eugene von Guérard (1811 – 1901) as one of the reasons for wanting to get up on the mountain. He brought the ideas of Romanticism & Realism (spending time in nature to accurately depict it) along with the Düsseldorf  school art style to landscape paintings in Australia.

I’d like to thank Luke Hasaart a local photographer for being at the right place & right time to accidentally capture an image of myself & my group hiking into the area for the first time back in 2020.

Finally I’d like to thank those who have & continue to trust me with their safety as a guide in this area. It takes a lot of logistics to get in & out safe.

Mount Kosciusko, seen from the Victorian border (Mount Hope Ranges) – Eugene von Guerard – 1863

If you’d like to learn more about hiking in Kosciuszko National Park I have an article on doing that here

I’m also working on offering landscape photography workshops in Kosciuszko National Park & this area – If you’re interested in that please sign up below & tick the box