© 2020 Nomadict. All rights reserved.
As a young girl I grew up in the country Victoria and always had the desire to travel to exotic places and have unique experiences. While away on overseas trips I felt compelled to capture the culture and scenery with whatever camera I had and that has stayed with me all through my life.
With the pandemic, restricted travel meant exploring local and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Visiting the same places over again helps me to find new perspectives. I can say that my favourite thing to do in my spare time is plan a place to visit and shoot sunrise or sunset landscapes. Being out in nature at a beautiful time of day, when there are few people around energises me – Yes, I’m an introvert!
But above all, photography adds to my identity. It is not only an avenue for promoting and celebrating my creativity and skills; I am able to be a representation of a woman in the photography industry, where like many other industries, it’s male-dominated. The statistics of women particularly in the drone industry and aviation overall are low so just showing presence and being involved as a woman in the industry is important. If I can encourage participation, and support networks, it’s an opportunity to have a positive impact.
Drones are a good example of the rapid pace technology is developing, which is pretty exciting. There are so many more tools available and accessible. When I started out in aerial photography, @droneswagger was born together with my enthusiasm for beautiful drone imagery. Originally, I intended to promote local aerial photographers in Melbourne, Australia, but that quickly grew to sharing content from talent and destinations around the globe. Today the hub specialises in travel landscape photography captured by drones and now often includes video footage from FPV (First Person View) drones.
For photography and outdoor enthusiasts, these communities can add a lot to their life. For me personally, people I know through photography I consider their friendships as meaningful and important, since we connect over the same passion and chat almost daily about the weather, upcoming road trips, places to explore and all things related to photography. In that regard, the use of Instagram has had a significant impact on my photography journey. It opened my eyes up to more possibilities through exposure to what other creatives were doing and the places they are visiting.
Since the beginning of me being active in the photography community and on the platforms, interacting and sharing my work, some great opportunities have come along my path such as commissions from Australia Post, being an Ambassador for organisations such as Women Who Drone, my work being published in UK Drone Magazine and features from prominent industry experts. Recognition gives me confidence for my work but I’m careful not to become too dependent on that for validation.
Although I have been shooting for many years, it’s only been in the last couple of years that I have progressed from not only documenting with photography but also processing those images outside the camera.
My editing style has evolved over the years with practise and growth in expertise. My objective is to capture an ordinary scene well and then add my artistic vision. I’m less concerned about the technicality of an image as I am about the possibility of creating a unique feeling through mood and atmosphere. These days my images are often described as dreamy or moody which I’m proud of.
In the example you see above, the original scene is a vibrant forest with a waterfall. To edit this image, I have made the colours softer by reducing the saturation and contrast in the greens. Orange was added for warmth, vignetting for framing and I made the waterfall the hero but upping the highlights and adding some gaussian blur to achieve that dreamy look. In the background you’ll also see a touch of light that adds more depth to the photo. Your eye travels through the image starting from the moss-covered rocks in the foreground, to the waterfall in the mid-section to the mysterious space in the distance.
A recent photo that I think represents me as an artist is a scene from a Redwood forest. It’s a simple scene with lots of symmetry and vertical lines, but I’ve edited it in such a way to tell a story. The role of lighting creates atmosphere. It highlights the colour of the big redwoods which is the eye catcher. The narrow row through the tree columns draws you in to a tree that is singled out because of its position and scale. Beyond that the background is radiant.
I chose this image as a representation of me, because it demonstrates mood, invokes feelings based on the viewer’s individual interpretation.
While photography plays a creative role in my life, as a form of expression, communication and connection, travel boosts my mind and soul – and contributes to the happiness in my life!
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© 2020 Nomadict. All rights reserved.