Why landscape?

So, we have already discussed what sparked my passion for photography in the blog titled ‘What a Croc’ but as much as this was a starting point. Growing up in Darwin, we had so much access to unbelievably stunning surroundings.

While most bodies of water were not safe to swim in, those that you can, are unforgeable and only a few hour’s drive from home was a national park that is larger than mainland Wales. On just about every long weekend, we would go camping and for many years, my parents would take us kids to the beach on a Friday afternoon for a fish and chip dinner and let us run wild. The sunsets when viewed from some of these beaches are so stunning that it is given a round of applause (see Mindil Beach Markets).

 There was so much to do and see, and as I got older and started to drive, I could go exploring more and go to places I had never been to before. It was about this time that I got my first digital camera and started to document my adventures. At the time I didn’t know much about manual settings, but I started hanging out with a group of storm chasers and quickly figured it out with a little help. I will discuss storm chasing at another time as it is still one of my favourite forms of photography.

One of the places I loved to visit, and honestly, it is probably my favourite location not just for photography, but it was also a place where I could clear my mind. It is a place called Fogg Dam and it really isn’t much at first glance, it has a couple of bushwalks and a very small levy with a few lookouts over the wetlands. However, the wildlife that can be found there is foraminal, there are countless bird species that can be found there, I have seen wallabies and of course, the thing that every visit to this part of the world must include. The crocodile. In fact, Fogg Dam is where my wife saw her first crocodile in the wild. Without knowing it I was practising mindfulness which is probably a big reason why I love this place so much, this is a subject that I will cover in a later post.

After moving to the UK I had to take a short hiatus from photography due to the age of the kids and having so many of them, but the last few years have been kind to us in the aspect of being ablet to take them with me while taking photos

Fogg Dam is one of the places I miss most in Australia, and without a doubt, I’m sure it will be one of not only mine but also my wife and kids’ favourite places to visit when we call Australia home again. And I am certain that I will be capturing many, many more landscape images there once we are back home.