On the 1st of October 2008, my new book
"WILDLIFE OF AUSTRALIA - a nature photographer’s journey" was released.

The book has been extremely well-received from all quarters. It is a 200 page hard-covered, coffee table book featuring Australia’s diverse wildlife species.

 

 

The October 2008 issue of Australian Photography Magazine features my photo of a White-lipped Green Tree Frog as their cover shot.

The South Australian Museum has used my photo of an Eastern Pygmy Possum as the "hero" image for their exhibition titled Balancing the Energy Equation, using it on the exhibition entry panel, large posters throughout the exhibition, invitations and museum newsletter. The exhibition runs from the 27th of September to the 16th of November 2008.

 

BBC Wildlife Magazine published my article and photos on the Albert’s Lyrebird in their September 2008 issue. This magazine is read by over 500 000 readers in 87 different countries. It was a pleasure to deal with such a professional magazine and I was very pleased with the final layout of the article. Please click on the link to view a pdf version of the article. "Longing for Lyrebirds" - BBC Wildlife Magazine - Sep 2008. To see BBC Wildlife Magazine’s website, click here

 

Wingspan magazine (Birds Australia) has used my photo of an Osprey powering out of the water with a fish, for their September 2008 cover.

 

 

During August, I took a number of trips to the Gold Coast, Queensland to photograph the majestic Humpback Whale. I did this onboard the 24 metre catamaran “Spirit of the Gold Coast” and at different times was able to photograph these majestic creatures performing various behaviours, including breaching. An amazing experience and one I hope to repeat in the future.

From Tuesday the 19th of August until Friday the 22nd of August 2008, I presented a “Nature Photography Break” at Binna Burra Mountain Lodge, in Lamington National Park. It was great to be presenting a photo workshop in the mountains once again. Participants learned numerous photography techniques over the 3 days and nights, in the stunning surrounds of Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast hinterland, Queensland.

 

 

In the winter of 1997, I started photographing nature and my first major project was photographing the male Albert’s Lyrebird displaying. I finally succeeded after 7 laborious weeks of sitting daily in a cramped hide (blind) and was only the fourth known photographer to achieve this feat. A few weeks ago, I decided to try and replicate this achievement again, but this time using a digital SLR camera, a higher quality lens and better, state-of-the-art flash units. As with the first time, I arose daily well before dawn, set up my equipment in the dark and sat and waited in my tiny hide, in the cold. After many days of trying over 2 weeks and numerous near-misses and mishaps, I finally succeeded once again in photographing the Albert’s Lyrebird male displaying . The time, effort and frustrations that went into photographing the lyrebird were at times very taxing, but well worth the end result.

 

Two of my feature articles appear in magazines this month. Australian Photography magazine has published my four page article on outdoor photography techniques titled "Improving Outdoors" in their June 2008 issue. Wingspan magazine (Birds Australia) has also published my three page article on Satin Bowerbirds, titled "The Playboy of the Forest", in their June 2008 issue.

 

Osprey House Environmental Centre , in Griffin, Queensland has used four of my osprey photos on a large, three metre display board. The four images show a sequence of events, starting with the osprey ready to pounce for a fish and finishing with it flying away with its catch. I visited the centre recently to look at the final product and it certainly looks impressive hanging on their feature wall.

 

After a successful photographic trip to Norfolk Island in February 2007, I returned there with my wife, Dena in April this year. My main aim was to concentrate on photographing Masked Boobies, a seabird that inhabits only one part of Norfolk Is. For one week, I awoke before sunrise and photographed these delightful birds as they roosted on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I also spent many hours capturing these birds in flight - the experience was simply magic.

 

I have joined forces with a Victorian-based company, Auswalk, to act as leader for their 4 day "Lamington Nature Photography Walk" in October 2008 and again in Feb 2009. To read about the tours, click on this link: http://www.auswalk.com.au/lamington-nature-photography-walking-holiday.html

In September 2007, Trekabout Photography Workshops was featured on the Great South East, a popular Channel 7 lifestyle program. The program is shown throughout Queensland and featured a segment that revolved around our nature photography workshops. I’m pleased to announce that this segment was repeated on Sunday 13th of January 2008 at 5.30pm .

 

Early Dec 2007 saw the release of a new wildlife book titled "Australian Journey - Wildlife", of which I am co-author with two other professional nature photographers, Andrew Teakle and Debra Doenges. This book is primarily a coffee table-style book, showcasing Australia's unique and beautiful wildlife. The book is in hardcover, 128 pages and published by New Holland. It is one part of a four-part nature and landscape series, titled "Australian Journey" and is available in many bookshops throughout Australia.

 

The Queensland Wildlife Artist's Society Incorporated (QWASI) chose me as their featured nature photographer for their biennial "International Wildlife" exhibition. This exhibition was held at the Logan Art Gallery from the 26th of November 2007 until the 5th of January 2008. I displayed six of my favourite wildlife photos, alongside the works of some of Australia's best wildlife artists.

 

In the second week of December, I travelled to Bundjalung National Park in northern New South Wales with my friend Andrew Teakle, co-author of "Australian Journey - Wildlife" for three days of photography. We camped right near the beach and arose before sunrise each morning, in readiness for some landscape photography at Black Rocks and surrounding areas. This area is stunningly beautiful and well worth visiting.

 

I have been asked by Wildlife Australia Magazine to be their regular wildlife photography columnist . The page is called Trekabout Photography and my first one was printed in the summer 2007 issue, featuring my photo of an Eastern Pygmy Possum. Each issue focuses on one particular photo and how I went about taking this photo.

 

The December 2007 issue of Australian Photography magazine published my article on how to photograph Australian mammals, titled "Furry Encounters" as one of their feature articles. It is on page 38 and is the fourth feature I have written for this magazine in the past 2 years.

 

 

In early November, I travelled to Casino in northern New South Wales to spend a couple of days photographing birds at the Jabiru Geneebeinga wetlands. I also travelled to Byron Bay for a day and photographed birds at the West-Byron wetlands. At both locations I did most of my photography either early in the morning or late afternoon, trying to capture the subtle light.

On November 12th, Mark Rayner and I, as co-owners of Trekabout Photography Workshops, did a presentation each at the Photographic Society of Queensland's Annual Barbecue. Mark did an audiovisual presentation on macro photography techniques while mine was on wildlife photography techniques.

Mid-November also saw Mark Rayner and I conduct our first weekend photographic workshop at O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat/Lamington National Park in south-east Queensland. The weekend went extremely well and was deemed a success by all those who attended.

On November 24th, I presented a one-day nature photography workshop for members of the public, hosted by the Pine Rivers Shire Council. It was held at Mt Glorious in Brisbane, right in the heart of the rainforest and was attended by some very enthusiastic participants.

 

The results of the ANZANG Nature and Landscape “Photographer of the Year Competition” 2007 have been released and I’m pleased to announce that I won two highly commended awards. The first was in the “Animal Behaviour” section with my photo of a Pacific Baza with chick, bringing a stick to the nest. The second award was in the “Threatened Animals and Plants” section with a photo of a Northern Quoll. The competition this year had 1250 entries, a record for this competition thus far.

 

 

Trekabout Photography Workshops was featured on the Great South East, a popular Channel 7 lifestyle program. It was aired on Sunday 23rd of September, at 5.30pm. The program is shown throughout Queensland and featured a segment that revolved around our nature photography workshops.
www.trekaboutphotography.com

 

 

After my successful trip to Far North Queensland in July, I again had an opportunity to return there, to work on a couple of new projects. I took photos in Mossman Gorge as well as returning to the Daintree River and Port Douglas mangroves. Some of my wildlife subjects included Ospreys, Brahminy Kites and Saltwater Crocodiles, as well as various landscapes. It certainly is a beautiful part of the world and I look forward to returning there sometime in the future.

 

 

 

In July, I spent 6 glorious days photographing the wildlife and landscapes of Far North Queensland . Most of my time was divided between photographing in the Daintree rainforest, on a boat on the Daintree River and cruising the mangroves of Port Douglas inlet. While I was there, the Weekend Australian Magazine commissioned me to do a shoot for an up-and-coming feature on Rainforest Rescue and their Daintree “Buy Back and Protect Forever” Project.
www.rainforestrescue.org.au

 

 

Trekabout Photography Workshops is launched as a business partnership with my good friend and nature photographer, Mark Rayner. Our first full-day nature photography workshop is held at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park, south-east Queensland on the 16th of June, 2007. The day consists of Mark and I showing participants techniques on wildlife, landscape and macro photography, lots of one-on-one tuition, explaining digital technology as well as some post-processing/computer techniques. Feedback from the day is extremely positive and certainly a great start to our new venture. For more details regarding our one and two day photographic workshops, please visit www.trekaboutphotography.com

My article on “Frog and Reptile Photography Techniques” was chosen as the feature article for the June 2007 issue of Australia’s best-selling photography magazine, Australian Photography. This issue also featured my photo of a Magnificent Tree Frog as the cover shot. This is my third feature article for Australian Photography , following an article on “Bird Photography Techniques” (March 2006) and “Alternate Landscape Photography Techniques” (Nov 2006).

 

Wildlife Australia Magazine used my photos of various Australian quolls, to accompany an informative article by Martin Fingland for its autumn 2007 issue. My photo of a Northern Quoll was also used on the cover.

Since the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland was founded in 1962, its flagship journal, Wildlife Australia Magazine, has played a pivotal role in encouraging public awareness of vital conservation goals.

 

In February, my wife Dena and I travelled to Norfolk Island for 10 days. Some of the time was spent photographing the scenery of the island but emphasis was placed on getting photos of the large array of birds flying around the coastline. On a number of mornings, I was “perched” (pun intended!) on Bird Rock, photographing the various birds flying past me at fantastic speeds – a real challenge indeed. One bird in particular that I concentrated quite a bit of time on was the beautiful Red-tailed Tropic Bird, getting flight shots as well as finding a few nests with chicks in abandoned Mutton Bird nests.

Starting on February 25th, I presented “Binna Burra Photography Week” at Binna Burra Mountain Lodge, Lamington National Park, south-east Queensland. This is my fifth time presenting this nature photography course at Binna Burra and each one has been a great experience for all. Topics covered included wildlife, landscape and macro photography techniques, correct settings for different situations, lighting, digital technology as well as reviewing and critiquing participant’s photos.

 

Wildlife Australia Magazine used my photos of various Australian pythons, to accompany a feature article by Martin Fingland and Greg Prostamo, for its summer 2006 issue. My photo of a Green Tree Python was also used as the cover photo.

 

A book titled “A Guide to Lamington National Park” is released by the Lamington Natural History Association and features my photo of Antarctic Beech Trees on the cover. The book is published by Envirobook

 

In October, I judged the annual “Brian Hall Nature Photography Awards” , hosted by the Gold Coast Photographic Society. Choosing winners and places was quite difficult, due to the high quality of entrants. The overall winner of the competition was Rob Nicholls, from the Gold Coast, with his stunning portrait of a gorilla.