Developing a technique and style

In the late 60s, when I began photographing fish, there were four people in Australia who shared this passion. Today, when I type "photographing Australian marine fish" into a search engine, I find over 600 sites listed, many belonging to marine photography organisations with large memberships. Instead of being one of a very few, I am part of a large group of equally obsessed enthusiasts.

This chapter focuses on the technological and physical techniques I have developed - and continue to develop, I might add - over the decades that I have spent recording Australia, in all its complexities and simply stunning beauty, on film. In deciding which areas of technique to focus on, I settled for those that, in my opinion, tell stories of the uniqueness of this continent: its flora, fauna, landforms, cities and people.

When composing any photograph, I consider the CMD (content, mood, design). When the CMD is finely tuned, it is likely to be a strong image.

The content of a landscape scene refers to the land itself. Mood is a combination of light and other natural elements. Design is multifaceted, involving composition, planes, angles of view and colour. Every time I approach a landscape, I consider all of them. It reminds me to capture each place in different styles for different applications - in documentary and artistic styles. Explore and work with content, mood and design. The more you explore landscape with your body, mind and soul, the better you will connect with the subject and, consequently, the more powerful your images will be.