Right place, right time and a modicum of good luck. Along with mastery of your camera, these are the essentials for taking an image worthy of inclusion in OUTBACK’s annual diary and calendar.
Story Kirsty McKenzie Photo Andrew Hull
Mildura-based storyteller and photographer Andrew Hull, whose shot of pelicans around a skeletal tree in the Menindee Lakes of western NSW leads this essay, says to a certain extent he makes his own luck.
“I’d been out there maybe a half a dozen times, so I knew it was important for the lake to be at the right level and to be there at nesting time when there would be lots of birds about,” he says. “Sunset provides an extra dimension, but my preference is to look away from the obvious and shoot into the other side of the setting sun. That way the light is on the birds and they’re highlighted rather than silhouetted. The water also serves as a giant reflector.”
Andrew adds that great shots are rarely found anywhere near a motel, so his vehicle is set up for travelling to, and camping in, remote locations. “The last thing you want is to be driving two hours back to town in the dark,” he says. “Also, staying on location means you get another crack at the good light at dawn.”
A scan of the shots selected for these pages also reveals that patience and perseverance are integral to the photographer’s art. Cooma-based Charles Davis has spent so much time in the Monaro High Country and Kosciuszko National Park that he’s practically part of the wildlife, Kerry Lorimer trekked the Larapinta Trail for her capture of Birthday Waterhole and James Braszell has spent so much time in shearing sheds they’re almost his second home. Kate Newsome braved a Hitchcockian onslaught from nesting gulls and terns for her capture of the lighthouse against the night sky on Barunguba/Montague Island. “Fortunately I had an offsider who helped me wash the lighthouse with torchlight so I could get the shot,” she says.
With OUTBACK’s calendar on your wall and diary on your desk, you can share these far-flung experiences and locations from the comfort of your home, no matter where you live.
This story excerpt is from Issue #169
Outback Magazine: Oct/Nov 2026
