Hi, I am a landscape and nature photographer based in Melbourne, Australia and enjoy using my camera to explore our remaining wild places and better connect with nature.
One of the joys of landscape photography is exploring the natural world seeking to capture the beauty of the landscape. There is nothing better than a couple of days out in the wild with a camera. In this blog I discuss how I undertake a long bushwalk to explore a new area while also taking photos.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by.” Robert Frost
There is nothing more exciting than exploring somewhere new with a lot of spectacular scenery. For example, in late 2022, I spent 8 days walking the Overland Track and up into Pine Valley in the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clare National Park in Tasmania. While the Overland Track is 65 kilometres, normally done over 6 days, my walk was well over 100 kilometres due to the amazing side trips on offer.
I have previously described two of these side trips – to Waterfall Valley on the second day (here) and up into The Labyrinth from Pine Valley on day 7 (here).
But there were many other side trips to choose from, nearly all of which are spectacular, like the views across the World Heritage Area in South West Tasmania from the summit of Mt Ossa, Tasmania’s highest peak (with Paul and Sarah who I met on the trail).
Like the Overland Track, most multi-day hikes have an itinerary that require a certain amount of distance covered each day and a range of options for exploration. Invariably, the desire to explore an area, especially a new location, means days are filled with walking from one destination to the next.
Sometimes the conditions and compositions required for a great photo become apparent on a cursory glance. But all too often, my photos taken while I am in this ‘get from A to B mode’ are more about documenting where I went and what I saw, rather than bring a sense of place. (All the images in this blog where taken on the go).
My landscape photography, on the other hand, works best when I can take my time, wandering across the landscape following my curiosity. Being able to sit down and contemplate my surrounds allows new compositions to emerge or to get a sense of the changing light.
This is why I feel my best landscape photography emerges on repeat visits to a location. However, when visiting somewhere new, or a location that I won’t be returning to anytime soon, the question I always remind myself of – am I here to walk the landscape or photograph the landscape?
How I answer this question will change how I do the walk. If I am there to explore the landscape, I take all those attractive side trips which add miles but I get to see more. If I am there to take photos, I need to choose to spend time moving slowly looking for scenes.
Making this choice can be hard, especially when others doing the walk are taking all these side trips. FOMO is very real. Plenty of people in person and on social media boast about how many kilometres they cover each day, how may side trips they did or how few days it takes them to do a particular walk. I also used to be very mileage focused, but now my priority is photography and I need to take a different approach.
Any journey requires choosing between different locations – no one can see everything. I make sure I prioritise those locations likely to provide the photos I want to take. For example, I choose to spend the morning of the second day of the Overland track exploring Waterfall Valley rather than climbing cloud shrouded peaks.
Successful photography on a multi-day trip requires managing the required mileage and not being too tired, cold/hot, hungry/dehydrated that then compromises my ability to spend time and energy looking for photographs.
When exploring a new area, my ideal day (given my current approach to photography and fitness) is about 10 kilometres with my pack which allows plenty time to spend several hours at the beginning and end of the day and to stop along the way to look for photographs.
Of course, most walks require more than 10 kilometres per day, so I find that longer days (kilometres and time on your feet) will result in a gradual increase in fatigue as the trip progresses.
Having the right equipment to stay dry and warm and the skills to ensure good eating, rest and sleep are important. So is fitness. Being efficient at taking photos also helps. I find it really helps to ensure that your camera gear is easily accessible even in terrible conditions.
For overnight trips I have a Lowe Pro Nova 2 AW camera bag that I hang off the backpack harness so that it sits in front of me. This provides additional carrying capacity rather than taking up space in the backpack, protects the equipment relatively well from the weather and knocks, and means the camera and other essentials can be accessed without taking off the pack.
Ultimately compromise is required. Some days the priority will be covering the distance or climbing a peak just “because it’s there”; at other times the priority will be photographing an area. Being a bit of both doesn’t work, it needs to be one or the other and accept the compromise that this entails.
[Side note: I do have one golden rule – regardless of how rushed, wet or tired I am, if I come across really good light, I ALWAYS stop to take the best photos I can. Do not plan to come back another time – the light is never as good.]
On my Overland Track walk, my side trips to Waterfall Valley and The Labyrinth were very focussed on my photography. Climbing Mt Ossa was about taking the opportunity of perfect conditions to scale a mountain – any decent photos were a bonus.
Exploring new areas is great fun, and that first experience of an area can result in some special photographs. However, prioritising photography means making choices about the distance travelled and locations visited while energy expenditure is conserved. Continually reminding myself that I am here to photograph the landscape helps prioritise taking the time to look closely.
There is always the opportunity for repeat visits. When I get to know an area, I can start to identify key locations and focus on getting quickly to a location before thinking about photography. I will discuss this approach in my next post.
Beautiful images as always James, the colour tones and the light are lovely. It was good to read the thought process behind your trips and how you approach your photography.
I don't spend that much time these day traveling to new locations instead I prefer to revisit places and really get to know them. For me there is so much to be gained from building a connection with the place I am photographing.
your pictures are fire! Like to see more of it