On The Beaton Track: August 2003
Travels and Treks
Springtime is normally an exciting time for a nature photographer like me when the drab bush explodes into colour. But the spring of 2002 in the Pilliga region of New South Wales was definitely not one of those. It was the year of the worst drought in 100 years. My assignment was for Australian Geographic and the writer, Peter Meredith, and I searched exhaustively for something in flower. Peter was not happy when it turned out to be a tree orchid two metres up a burnt ironbark and he had to help me get up there—with a tripod!
The Pilliga Mouse seemed to have suffered from the drought for we didn’t find a single one. The koalas, on the other hand, were certainly not affected; several had babies on their backs and they were everywhere. The Pilliga is their stronghold where 15,000 of them thrive in this small, unique habitat. Watch for the story in issue #73 of Australian Geographic.
My latest trip to the USA was different. Nick and I explored the Southwest—in winter! As we were crossing the mountains of New Mexico, I had to admit, begrudgingly, that there is a certain beauty to the Northern Hemisphere winter. The snow-encrusted landscape with its icy formations has an air of tranquility, of ponderous silence, that I’ve never found in Australia.
Back in California we headed north. I was determined to measure up the Redwoods against our Mountain Ash giants. These two species are in a race-off against which is the tallest tree in the world. The Mountain Ash lost the race 125 years ago when the tallest tree ever measured was chopped down in Victoria. They’re still trying to recover the record by searching in the Styx Valley of Tasmania for any undiscovered, unmeasured giants. In the meantime, the California Redwoods are indeed majestic and much more accessible to tourists. We should do the same for our magnificent Australian beauties. Rather than being hidden from view, they deserve an admiring audience.
Recent Publications
The current issue of Australian Geographic, #71, has two stories that I photographed. The Hawkesbury River piece was a Cecil B. de Mille affair. I couldn’t help myself: I had to explore every meander, every back road, every little outpost of habitation along every bend in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River. I spent nine months on the photography—way more than I normally do—simply because it’s my front doorstep. The story came out really well; the writer, Danielle Teutsch, managed to probe deep into the thoughts and hearts of the people who live along this mighty waterway.
In the same issue is a story on owls. I’m proud to announce that I managed to photograph all ten of Australia’s species—a job I couldn’t have done without the help of Featherdale Wildlife Park. It was amazing to see Rod Kavanagh, of NSW State Forests, at work. How can you entice an owl to come into your trap? We didn’t want to use live animals as bait! Rod (Australia’s only owl scientist—can you believe that?) devised an ingenious calling device. It was thrilling to sit in the forest, waiting through the cold, still night, and then suddenly seeing ghostlike wings flit through the trees towards us.
The Greater Glider is a gorgeous animal. It is strictly a leaf-eater and will sit calmly on a high branch of a eucalypt, not in the least afraid of humans. One of my glider portraits was used on the cover of the book Tree Hollows and another book, Wildlife on Farms, relied almost exclusively on my stock library for all the wildlife photos used in it. The cover of Nature Australia (Autumn 2003) also used the same greater glider photo.
David Lindenmayer and I continue to lobby for the plight of the endangered Leadbeater’s Possum through the pages of Nature Australia (Autumn 2002) and the children’s magazine Blast Off (March 2003).
See Features In Print for more spreads from these and other stories.
Presentations and Workshops
Most of my activities lately have centred around workshops and photography courses. I was invited to the lovely Warrumbungles by Ranger Tim Lanyon to help celebrate its 50th anniversary as a National Park.
Learning nature photography is not such a common hobby so I was surprised that as many as eleven showed up. We had a fabulous time. Although it was late autumn, we were treated to three days of magnificent weather. Tim pulled some strings with the Siding Springs Observatory to get us into special places that the public can’t normally go. I’m accustomed to camping out when I’m on the job, but in this case the accommodation was fantastic: rustic little cabins and three delicious meals a day at the Warrumbungle Holiday Camp. And by all reports, the participants loved it too—they even had time to learn a bit of photography!
So when the Australian Museum in Sydney approached me to conduct a course during the winter school holidays I was ready for more. The challenges here were to find wildlife in the city, as well as to hold the attention of young teenagers. Ken Bow, the organiser, knew we had succeeded when the entire contingent of 23 showed up in full force on the second day. No drop outs; they all wanted more of my antics. (At Hyde Park, one of our outdoor venues, I’d had to resort to some desperate measures like hopping around and screaming to be heard above the city noises.) All in all, they did learn some nature photography and did enjoy the course—as did I.
Until next time,
