Echidna Chasm
“Purnululu”—you have to be aboriginal to say it right. Formerly these mountains in Western Australia were called Bungle Bungles—also an aboriginal term—but easier on the tongue. The many beehive-shaped domes are pierced by long winding gullies. One of these gullies, Echidna Chasm, holds relics of tropical, water-loving vegetation and ends in a gorge full of water, echoes and frogs.
It was so powerfully hot that I only carried the lightest of camera equipment in order to leave more room to carry water. I wanted to take something different (don’t we all?) and so I turned my fisheye lens up into the sky. It was bleakly white but by making a nice pattern with the branches of ghost gums and palms it turns into an interesting shot. I’ve learned over the years that if you have a large area of white in your composition, it’s best to keep it in the centre rather than the edges of your frame.
