Latest / Reframe / 24: Luke Tscharke - Tasmania & the power of photography

Transcript

24: Luke Tscharke - Tasmania & the power of photography · Reframe

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever wondered what truly fuels a creative mind?
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: What ignites their passions and drives their creativity?
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: G'day, I'm Dean McGuire, an Australian fine art photographer.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: From the moment I stepped into the world of photography, I have been captivated by the community and the stories behind the lens.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Join me as we delve into humble beginnings, explore artistic visions, and discover how we as a collective reframe our minds through the power of creativity.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Before we dive into this episode, I'd like to give a quick shout out to the incredible team at Nisi Filters Australia.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Nisi offers world-class products like high-quality filters with minimal colour cast, an impressive range of cinematic lenses, and various other accessories to fuel your creative endeavours.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: NICI Australia actively supports the greater photography community through workshops, educational events, and live streaming webinars on YouTube and other social media channels.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: As a special treat, Misty Australia are offering all Reframe listeners a store-wide discount of 5% off.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: You can even combine this with sale items and other promotions for further discounts by using the code ReframePodcast at checkout.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Visit Mistyfilters.com.au today.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you and welcome to Reframe.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Today's guest, Luke Sharky, discusses his recent trip to the Gold Coast for a Sony event and the positive impact it had on his creativity and the connection with the photography community.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: He also shares his journey into photography, starting with his fascination with images in the Encyclopedia and National Geographic.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Luke talks about his transition from cityscape photography in Melbourne to landscape photography in Sydney and how being a part of photography groups and communities helped him grow as a photographer.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: He also discusses the role of competitions in his photography journey and the impact of finding a group or community to connect with.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: We also discussed Luke's journey from moving to Hobart, Tasmania, and starting his photography business.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: We also discussed Luke's journey of moving to Hobart, Tasmania, the challenges he faced leaving a successful photography business in Sydney and adapting to a smaller market in Hobart.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Luke also talks about his workshops and the importance of preserving dark skies and reducing light pollution.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I truly hope you enjoy this jam-packed episode.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: G'day, Sharky.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show, mate.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Dean, lovely to be on you, mate.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's been a while since we last talked.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, what have you been up to?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's um been a bit of a flat out time.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: I actually just got back from the Gold Coast where I was up there at a Sony event, which they called Kando.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of like an annual event that they're running now where a whole bunch of their creators and ambassadors and advocates all get together and um do some fun shooting and check out the latest gear.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, just uh it's a you can't help but come back feeling really energized from an experience like that.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's really cool.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty sure I just saw Clyde was up there with you.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's exactly it.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Clyde is up there and a few probably of the usual suspects.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, no, definitely um one of the best parts, of course, is you get to know these people over time, and so you're just hanging out there with your friends as well.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: So um definitely makes you feel very grateful to be involved with a brand like Sony.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, it's uh it's amazing the amount of effort and and probably money that they're spending on these sort of events just to keep the community engaged, which is very appreciated.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Being a Sony shooter myself, I'm actually interested to see why you merged over um from when you started and when Sony came out with their A7R.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, um, I really attribute that to one of the there must be a genius working at Sony at the time, where they decided to throw in a Metabones adapter by redemption way, way back in the day.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: So when Sony first released the A7R.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they only had about one or two lenses at the time.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so, and I was shooting Canon, and I was like, well, all I have to do is buy this body, which at the time was about$2,000, I think, or or maybe even less if you could find a good deal.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: And then you also got this adapter, which meant that all of your Canon lenses then worked on the Sony camera.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so by extension of that, you had, you know, probably a leading sensor in a camera at the time, the 36 megapixel sensor, XMOR sensor they had.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, I was yeah, able to just put all my lenses straight on.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: So it made a big difference.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, the image quality was so much better than the camera I was using at the time.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I met ended up that camera ended up getting mothballs and and uh the yeah, the the Sony one was was my body from then on.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Although I have to say, using a MetaBones with with um lenses on a on a camera that was very slow with autofocus already was it was it took me a few years before you know the the cameras and lenses could catch up and yeah, it was a little bit more usable, I guess you could say.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: But they did uh very well with that A7R2 once they brought that out.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um I had the A7R1 too, it was a bit like um like laggy in the shutter sometimes and it would send some shape, but that A7R2, then they brought that out, was like game changing again, and then every other camera behind that was insane.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: My my personal favorite was probably when it went from the A7R2 to the three, because that was when they changed the battery size, and so it went from being the the smaller uh MPFW50 battery, and it was a much higher capacity battery, and so I think when the A7R III came out was really when uh it was sort of you know the the the usability was at a professional level, I guess you could say prior to that there were a few struggles here and there.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I had the A7R2 and then I it went for a swim and I'd quit for two years around the same time as my my son was born.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: So then went to Nikon and bought the D850, and then now I'm back at Sony.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a good thing.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: With the we've got the 4R, so that's that's a buddy incredible butty camera.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's amazing, yeah.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I I love that camera as well.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: And then when the R5 came out, um that they've put this new flip screen on the on it, and it's kind of like one of my favorite things in the world uh because of how it articulates the different angles that I can shoot at.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so now it's incredibly hard to go to any other camera that doesn't have this flippy screen because you can be shooting in portrait and have it on the on the camera in portrait mode, and it flips out that way.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, it's just it's it's amazing.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: And the best thing it was that when I was at the Kando event, they had um some uh Sony corporate employees from Japan there, and we had a feedback session, and I was able to thank them in person for creating this um this amazing flip screen, which was which was um really nice to be able to do.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you said that because I was actually curious as to see how much people that have the flip screen use it because I'm I'm starting to do a little bit of commercial commercial work and you get in tight spaces, and I'm like, well, I could go off screen right now, but you answered the question.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: And and the obviously the R4 um and the the A7 IV has a flip screen, but it it um it's the kind of flip screen where it will bump into an L bracket.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: So the the genius of the design of the A7R5 flip screen is that you don't it doesn't get in the way of an L bracket, and uh that's a really a central piece of kit for me using a tripod so much.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: So that's really the the big difference in the usability there.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean we could talk about Sony gear all day because we're both users and and um but uh we're giving it we don't want to isolate your audience too much that way, so no, that's okay.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're we like Sony, it's all good.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing wrong with Nikon and Canon anymore, like they're they're they're they're good cameras as well.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like we're so lucky as photographers to have all of the equipment on our fingertips, um especially reflecting on like as we were 10 years ago or so, and and what we had to to use and what we have now.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's um it's pretty incredible.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100%.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty hard for you hard pressed to find bad camera these days.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: But um, in speaking about your photography, uh, where did it all begin for you, mate?
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh um, yeah, it's it's been it's it's hard to know exactly how you put that into words, but I I the easiest memory, well, the earliest memory I have was actually sitting on the couch at home when I was really young and going through all dad's encyclopedias and like natural geographics and things and just looking at all of the amazing images that were in there and just thinking about how someone actually photographed these things and how amazing would it be if I could actually take photos like that.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I I definitely had some Steve Parrish books and a few other sort of of my local Aussie heroes there too, and their work.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a real inspiration for me to always thought about, I guess I'm a very visual person, and so uh it took a long time actually for me to connect with photography or have the ability.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: And and I would say it's really when digital first started to come out and I could afford to buy my own camera, that was when I got into it.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we're talking about about 2008, was probably when I got my first DSLR.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: Although I do have this old little um number here, which is my very first digital camera, which was a DSC V1, which is a five megapixel beast.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and um that's so that's I've been shooting, it's a Sony camera.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I was shooting Sony since I was, I think this is from 2004 or something like that, yep, or earlier.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, I sort of got into it from there.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: And the the the what actually credit uh for getting me into taking photos was actually when I moved to Melbourne and the the city skyline there was so impressive to me.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: I guess I was coming from Adelaide, so um any tall building was probably pretty impressive.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to just go out after work every night and just take photos of it and be really creative with it.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's how I really did get into it was actually shooting cityscapes around Melbourne, and that that transition gradually into doing landscapes.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: And when I moved to Sydney, um, Sydney's all about being at the beach and and shooting the rock pools and uh the blue mountains, and you have so much on offer, of course.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: The harbour with the harbour bridge and the opera house.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: So um Sydney really allowed me to fully immerse myself into landscape photography, and I was extremely lucky to um get involved with some um some photography groups in Sydney, as well as meeting some amazing groups of friends that were very passionate about photography.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: And we would be able to go out snow camping and canyoning and all sorts of amazing adventures.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: And by doing all of those kind of things, it would photography became much more than just taking photos.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: It was a way of me being able to explore the world and connect with it, and that that sort of just um fed on itself and created this level of passion in me, which um eventually helped me create uh well quit my job and do it full time.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: So sort of feel like I've given you my life history there.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: But that's what we need to but um so coming, I've got a bit of a loaded question coming up here for you.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: So prepare yourself.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: You've got um so you you were brought up at the Brossa Valley, moved to Melbourne, and then you moved to Sydney for work, and now you're in Tassie.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: How have all those locations shaped your passion and and your skill as a photographer?
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, um, that's a that's a really good question.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh no one's really asked me that before.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think uh definitely moving around has definitely made me helped me see more of the world.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: So that's been really useful.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think um, what do I say?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think I the big thing I had was the job that I had um before I did photography, which was I was working for the Coca-Cola Company and flying around Australia auditing um beverage production facilities.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: But the cool thing was that um yeah, I was able to stay on if I wanted to afterwards, um, especially if it was near a weekend.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I would be able to then you know go down to Margaret River and take some photos down there, or if I was in Adelaide, I could maybe go to the Murray River, or like I was able to sort of dovetail in some of this these photography opportunities and and see it shoot a little bit more around the world, uh around Australia rather, uh, and which which was really amazing.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, I think um it's it's been yeah, it's definitely been pretty amazing to be able to live in these different places and have more opportunity to see places more in depth and be able to explore them more and really find where I think the iconic or interesting locations are to actually photograph.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: And that that's that's certainly been a huge benefit.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: What about your the community that's um because we were talking off-air before, um, being obviously around that 2008, and then started um that's the start pivotal point about focus group and then landscape photographers network.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Do they play a big role in in photography and and do you see the need for a community in Australia as photographers?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, really good question.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: I look, I definitely would have uh being involved in a community accelerated my uh love for photography and my ability to have confidence in what I was doing.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that focus group you mentioned, um, having good results in their competition that they were running helped me kind of gauge um how I was going against, I guess, my peers there and and and more broadly just uh you know how how I think I was developing in my photography.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: I've definitely had one year where I think I won a few of the categories on the overall photographer as well, and and that that really gave a big boost to my confidence, I suppose, and and helping me understand.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I said the judges were sometimes people like Peter Eastway and things too.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it was it was quite a professional level within the competition and uh within the the group.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: And even now, a lot of the photographers involved with that group are you know are excelling in their photography.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: So it was a definitely a formative time.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say that I still feel very connected to the to that ethos of having group shoots, having events where the community can come together.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's why I really loved this Kando event I just did, for example, where you can have people come together and and share ideas and just it invigorates you, it makes you feel more passionate.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's getting a bit harder now, I guess, in that in that respect.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think as Instagram's backed off a bit and those sort of aspects.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: So um it may be harder to coordinate events where people can connect.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so that that's definitely uh, I think a downside to what's where things are currently.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: But I would encourage everyone, if they've got the ability to find a group or or join a local group, to get involved, because the passion that you can get feed feeding back from that um it can be quite remarkable and and really help you with your photography journey.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I could not gr agree more there.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've I was a part of a couple of um groups back in the day, Landscape Photographers Network was the one I was a part of.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I'm still part of a little group chat group now, but it's all over on um WhatsApp now.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: So we just have a little group chat and it's just uh about four or five guys in there that we just you know we chat away and and it's great.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually good for your for your mind just to float ideas through, like you were saying, critiquing um all that sort of stuff.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um speaking about awards, I'm going through your website as we speak, and you've won a few.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'd love to know your take um on competitions themselves, because it's kind of uh 50-50 and there's a love hate affair with a lot of photographers and artists with them.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to see your take on it.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um I can put it um in one sentence it's a game.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's what a competition is, it's a game, and not everyone plays the game.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So just because you've won a competition doesn't mean you're the best in the world, as you're just the best out of everyone that entered.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, but uh like any game, um, like I'm sure there's probably people that would be amazing, um, I don't know, track runners, for example, but then they they weren't in the race um or they haven't been training, they could have won.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: So the point is that you did enter and you did try, and so it's still something to be celebrated.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like it's an amazing tool for your own personal confidence, and as long as you don't kind of get run away with that and think if you do well, suddenly you're God's gift to the world.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, it's a really great way to track your progress.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: I also feel like um it they can be very demoralizing because you if you enter and you don't have a good result, uh, that can also be demotivating.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it's very important to understand that you know the judges are just they have their own preferences.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: You have to always take results with a grain of salt.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't actually mean that they weren't good photos.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so it's a it's a it's it like I said, it's a game.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: You have to understand that there's the rules and you have to play by the rules, and and um you don't always win every game you play, but um if you enter, if you try hard enough, eventually um you will you will succeed.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: And and so that's a you know, that on that list, there's not a list of all the competitions I didn't win or didn't get a result in.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's only the ones that I did do okay in.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: So that there is that as well.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so there's there's a lot of times you if you if you you know result list of results come out, like the short list for the Osgeo Nature Photography of the Year, I didn't make any posts.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder why.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't do very well this year.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: So it doesn't always go your way.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um mind you, I was in Antarctica at the time, so it was a bit hard to upload all my photos over there.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great excuse.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: It is pretty good.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: It literally opened after I left and it um closed before I was back.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: So mate, I know what I'd rather be doing.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: I actually am working on my David Mailin entries, which is a big astrophotography competition at the um actually today.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: It closes um at 11.59 tonight, so I've got a bit of editing to do after uh chat.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: And you got runner up last year, I see.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, uh in in the nightscapes, yeah, that was that was pretty cool.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a great competition.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: I won that competition a few years ago, and um I was able to buy a printer from the from the winnings, and that printer's been really useful for me um in selling prints and things like that.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: So it's amazing how these competitions can kind of um you know create future opportunities.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of them are too are really good at promoting the winners, and so you actually get additional exposure from that as well.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely um a huge part of my journey was entering competitions and even just for proving to myself that I could do this full time and that the quality of my work was worthy of you know, calling myself professional, I suppose.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh I'm glad you brought up printing.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: So what's a better feeling?
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: Selling a print or winning a competition?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh you know what?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um it really depends on who's buying the print, I think, sometimes.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: But look, I I don't know, actually um yeah it's a tough one.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think um it depends on it depends on what the competition means, but I I think that the the likelihood of the the likelihood of actually winning or doing well in a competition is actually pretty low at the end of the day.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: And but I so I would say um winning a competition feels better, but selling a print to me is still you know very rewarding, and and the fact that someone uh you know is willing to invest in my work like that uh is obviously very um meaningful.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you know you you're always very grateful for for whatever positive result you have in in either of those areas.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: But um I think for for having your work uh I know what you I know where you're coming from there.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's like is it better for the general public to to acknowledge your work or for your peers, I guess.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: And um I in some ways I would say, well, the peers kind of know what a good photo photo is sometimes, whereas the general public um they connect more with whatever they like.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so I in some ways I'm more attracted to know what my peers think because at least um I'm I'm getting some uh it's it's a more educated feedback, I suppose, in that respect.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um so that's probably why I'd answer that way.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I'd I'd I get you.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm not a big fan.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, not that I'm a big fan, I just don't enter too many competitions.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um I did lose to you in the monochrome awards one year.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but that's we won't go there, but I know.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: You're happy to when you see your monochromes, um, uh you're happy to lose to someone like that, like those images that you do, which I would like to talk about is your infrared photography.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like where did that idea come from and and why and and what's the passion and the drive behind that?
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I I would like to credit um an incredible photographer, Peter Hill, I think.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh he wasn't the only one I saw at the time, but Peter Hill, um Blue Mountains-based photographer, uh shot a lot of, I think he it primarily shoots infrared.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: He does.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: Beautiful waterfalls and and uh other other photography from up in the Blue Mountains.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um spoken to him many times and yeah, really lovely guy.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I that that work was definitely influential in me looking at doing a conversion.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I also did see a lot of work also from another photographer called Andy Lee.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and he's I I don't know if he's very active at the moment, but he had some incredible images from Iceland in particular that were taken in infrared.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I was I've always been interested in black and white, and and I also have a science brain, I've got a science degree, and so I love the fact that uh you can photograph in this kind of uh spectrum of light that no one can actually see.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you can convert your camera and do all this nerdy stuff to kind of get different looks and things, and and to me, that was just to me, it still is the next level.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: And now I've got a a um a full spectrum converted A7 III Sony camera, and I can fit whatever filters I want in that, so I can shoot in whatever what light spectrum I want to shoot in.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and it can really give you some very ethereal, uh it's a point of difference.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think um one thing, even with my astrophotography and other work that I like to do, it's nice to find Areas that are make your work stand out.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, I got into Astro really early as well when there wasn't much high-end sort of astro work because there wasn't too many camera bodies that could still push that hard.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, that's why I bought the A7S.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I guess I'm trying to make a case for always trying to use equipment that gives you a point of difference.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, infrared did that with my um black and white photography as well.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: So that's probably a big, big part of it too, just creating those really unique looks.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: For those for those who aren't too familiar with infrared, do you want to take them through the process of converting a camera?
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like what you're the decision of choosing the strength and for for lack of a better term, I've forgotten the the terminology for it at the minute.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: It escapes my mind.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, could you take us through the the reason you choose a certain strength and and what camera to use and all things like that?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sure, absolutely.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so generally the best camera to choose is the one that's sitting in your closet that that you've upgraded from, and there's one sitting there that's just not being used at all.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: Having said that, um, not all cameras are good candidates for a conversion.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: So just so you do have to bear that in mind.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's better to talk to the conversion companies that that do the work so that to just to make sure that your camera is kind of compatible and it's gonna work that way.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: What I'd recommend is looking at there's actually a local company called Camera Clinic based in Melbourne.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they they shut uh their sort of repairs business down, but they're still doing conversions.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's who I'd used my recent conversion.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: You're probably looking around five to six hundred dollars for a conversion.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: And what they're actually gonna do is you you post them the camera, so it's not something you can do yourself, and you send it over, and then they'll actually remove, um, take a camera apart and remove a little um filter that's over the front of your sensor, and that's called a hot mirror filter.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: And the job of that filter is actually to block uh any of the infrared or UV light so that you're only photographing in the visible color spectrum, and that's important because the infrared light can cause different uh color casts and other things that you is undesirable uh for for our photos.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: But um those filters are blocking the infrared and UV, and we want to photograph the infrared and UV in these cameras.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, what they're actually doing is they're almost putting the opposite filter back on.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: They're putting a filter on that blocks all of the visible light and then and maybe the UV, depending on what you're wanting to photograph, and um and only lets the infrared in.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so you're so now your photo, your camera is basically uh converted in a way where it can only photograph the infrared light.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and that's that's um that's why you only want to do it to a mothballed camera, right?
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Because you you you can't take normal coloured photos with these cameras.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: The another conversion you can do, which is um one that I've done now, is I actually rather than putting one on that blocks the visible color and only lets the infrared in, it actually lets everything in.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: So this is called a full spectrum.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it's letting all of the wavelengths of the whole uh visible and invisible spectrum into the camera's sensor, and then you can choose later what filter to apply over the camera sensor so that you can pick and choose your wavelengths.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: And there's there's pros and cons to doing either way.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: I would say if you're looking to only do infrared, maybe just get them to put the infrared filter on.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and if you're looking to experiment and tinker like I like to do, then you might put on uh and get a full spectrum conversion.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: Generally they cost the same.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: Which um if somebody was interested in getting into um infrared photography, would you recommend buying a fill an inexpensive filter first just to see whether you can get a handle and whether you like it or before they convert a camera?
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's a pretty good suggestion.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um that definitely, and and also look at infrared work first just to understand that you actually do like that look because it has a very distinctive look.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Also understand that not everything looks amazing in infrared.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: It might, it might you really need the right light hitting your subjects.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: Often foliage really pops because it's got um, you know, the the chlorophyll in the leaves actually causes a really white reaction or reflection of the infrared.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: And the other thing is that um when it's really dark and there's not much sunlight around, infrared looks really awful because there's no illumination from anything.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to bear those things in mind.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I definitely think that's a good way of getting into it, at least to play around.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: You can just bearing in mind also that because you've got a sensor or a filter over your sensor that's blocking the infrared, by putting an infrared filter on there, you're um blocking all the visible light, and then your camera is then blocking all the infrared.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: So it means that you're gonna have to do a really long exposure if you want to get all of that.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, of course.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: Often you're looking at a 30-second minimum.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so the big reason why you're getting an infrared conversion is that you can actually handhold your infrared.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I I really enjoyed using it.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: I was in Antarctica earlier this year and shooting infrared, um, using just handheld, it can all the full autofocus works, everything works just like normal, uh, and able to capture action shots in infrared and things like that.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's just a very different uh way of uh interpreting or displaying what your the world and how it is.
• 27:10
  unknown: Yeah.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: If there's any listeners out there that are looking at infrared and haven't seen anyone's work, I cannot recommend going and looking at Luke's and Peter Hill's work because I can tell you now they're the two people that have influenced me into wanting one as well.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, I mean it's it's a it's a bit of a you know, if you don't have a can a camera that's a candidate initially, then that's a problem.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um I do have an A7R Mark I.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: My my original A7R Mark I was converted infrared, and that's an incredibly good infrared camera.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um A7 III is also a really lovely candidate as well.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you'll you'll find that there's a whole list of great cameras that are candidates, and and you can certainly go and just buy a secondhand one and get it converted, or even talk to the conversion companies because often they will sell already converted cameras to you as well.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a few different methods.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: I I actually bought an A7 IV and um I sold my my A7 III to my partner, and then she then I had to buy it back from her when I realized that I needed to um you know convert it to infrared because the A7 IV wasn't a good candidate.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: So it can create, you know, you have to really think about the camera you choose.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm really glad you said the A7R4 is not good because I was about to buy, I'm I'm actually interested in buying a five, so I could convert the four.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a good that's good.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, um of them have a little um internal LED that's used for timing in the shadow mechanism, and that internal LED can emit some infrared that can cause some casting.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so you just have to talk to the conversion company about that because if you if it has any problems, then they're gonna hear about it and they don't want to have to deal with it.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: So um just uh check in with them, uh, you know, just making sure.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: But that's a that's a pretty good little way of doing it.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um I would personally, if you if you can bother with the filters, it's probably better to go full spectrum, just because you um then can choose if you go with a uh a more heavier look with your infrared, which is normally around an 850 nanometer filter, or you could go with more of a 720, which is more of a classic um um wavelength to go with as a filter.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: And what that means is it's letting in any wavelength of light beyond 720 nanometers or beyond 850.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so beyond 850, it's pretty much entirely infrared, so it's a very deep black and white, whereas after 720, it's a more of a softer look, less contrasty.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's yeah, kind of, but it's nice to be able to change.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: When I had the A7R Mark I um I found that um I you you have a fixed, those are fixed conversions.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I had a 720 conversion, and then I saw Pete DeHill's work and I was like, oh, I should get an 850.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: So then I changed it.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: I actually reconverted it.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then I was like, oh, but the eight net then it makes it harder to handhold because it's a because it's a stronger filter, you're getting less light in.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I was actually having to push ISO up a bit just to get handheld shutter speeds.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: So um there's always trade-offs, right?
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: I know which one I'd do.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's um I'd probably go the 850 to be honest.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: I think 850 um would be the way to go.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: Some do 820 around that sort of mark, but uh I do like that look a lot, and um often I'll push that contrast anyway, so you might as well just take the photo uh initially like that.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, moving on because we could talk about black and white photography all day because yeah, I really could.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'd like to jump in, jump forward into Tasmania like the the decision for you to move from Sydney and take up uh full-time photography and a move to uh Tassie.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, well that that wasn't it wasn't a um that's an interesting one.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what what really happened there was I fell in love with Tassie um quite late on in reality.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think it was only maybe my first trip to Tassie was like 2012, 2013.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I ended up moving in 2017.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it wasn't like a huge amount of time I'd been down there, but I had been pretty much to Tassie at least two or three times a year prior to moving, because it was all I could really think about in terms of the trips I was doing.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe that in Kosyosko and maybe the areas of the Blue Mountains really excited me too.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: But I just remember always thinking, what's the next trip I'm gonna do in Tassie?
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: Where am I gonna go?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: What hike am I gonna do?
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it was just all about that.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and certain places in Tassie really changed my life and in terms of the photos I was able to get there and also just the the experiences that I've had there.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it was always a big connection.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I had a relationship breakup when I was living in Sydney, uh, and I just quit my corporate job to do photography full-time.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I was really kind of at a bit of a loss, and I'm not originally from Sydney, actually, don't have any family in Sydney.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I was kind of, hmm, what do I do now?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: I guess in theory, I don't need to be in Sydney anymore.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_01: And then I was like, well, maybe I'll get a van and then I'll, you know, cruise around Australia and take photos, a bit like my friend Adam Williams did.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh he got some incredible photos doing that.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: I think Ken Duncan um definitely did that too back in his career.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so I was like, it seems to be what all the good landscape photographers are doing.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe I'll do that.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: But then I was like, well, I just broke it up.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not a I'm actually more of a I'm a very um sort of uh how do you say it?
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: I I do a lot of alone time as it is, and so being on my own all the time.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's very, very um introverted.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I was like, well, that's probably not a great thing to do.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: So if I was gonna do a road trip that way, then well, where would I actually finish the road trip and stay on after that?
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, shit, well, can I say that?
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh um, you know what?
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um Hobart would be where I'd want to end up for sure.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's where I feel the most at home.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then it was the only way I sort of came around to the idea that that actually made sense to do.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that because I I didn't have any family down there, I had definitely had some friends down there, but there was no other direct connection.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so, apart from the landscape and and all of the environment that I really love to photograph.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, so that's sort of how the decision came about, really.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: And then I told my friend Um Nick Monk about it, and then the next minute he's got this post-up going, Oh, a friend um of mine is looking for a place um in in Hobart, and I didn't ask him to do that.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then he he actually found like someone actually got back to him and said, Oh, you've got a room.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: And and um, yeah, I think within about a few days I'd I'd had it all sorted out just like that.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so I was kind of uh I I can't remember actually feeling as excited as I felt at that time.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think that may have been the most exciting I've ever felt excited I've ever felt in my life when I knew I was actually gonna be moving down there and moving there just for me.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: There was no other reason uh at all.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so I still can't maybe when I see a massive aurora or something like that.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, that that was that was really how it all happened.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: It really sounds like you made um lemons, you've l made lemonade lemonades for that situation.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I guess that's true.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I it was a it was a bittersweet time for sure.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and um, but it was um, you know, obviously in the grand scheme of things, uh I I do remember talking to my partner that that I broke up with and saying, Oh, maybe we should move to Hobart, but that was never going to happen.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: So it was nice to be able to get it to happen that way.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: What was some of the I didn't break up the move, but just make that clear.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: What were some of the big challenges that you faced in that first few months of moving down to Tassie?
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, um, it was more like the probably the biggest challenge was I I only just really started my photography business in Sydney, probably for a year or so, and I was doing really well in Sydney actually, because there's a lot of population there.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: I was working really closely with who you work with, Nissy, um, and amazing, amazing guys.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I had a whole bunch of workshops lined up in Sydney.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it was actually a very inconvenient move.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember I was flying back to Sydney to run stuff all the time.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember a friend goes said when I was posting about flying back, I was like, Oh, if you're spending a lot of time in Sydney, maybe you should move there.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'll need to move to Hobart.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: But um, but the but the idea there was that I was going to scale that back and it did happen.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: So because uh so that was challenging then because in Sydney and you know there is a population base there, there's a lot of people looking to learn photography.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I guess people have a little bit more money there.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_01: And down in Hobart, it's uh very, very much the opposite.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I really flipped around and and started to do more um corporate work, working with bush commercial bushwalking companies.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, did a lot of work with Tourism Tasmania and um just you you you eventually find your niche there and and find a way to make it work.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: Fortunately, also in Tasmania, you don't need to earn as much money um and that kind of thing for to survive, I suppose.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: The cost of living is a little bit, well, that's definitely getting up, but definitely a bit lower down here too.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: So that definitely helped a lot.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's a winner.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, that was kind of how I made it all work in a way, but it was hard.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: It was definitely tricky to to balance it all.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, from the outside in you kind of look like you hit the ground running, which is good, but I'm sure you're like a duck on water, really, with that situation.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, it's it was um yeah, it's a it's a tough one too when you're starting a new business and and you you know you have a lot of opportunity.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um the way I say it sometimes is oh the world's my oyster, and then holy crap, the world's my oyster, you know, like is in you've got all this opportunity, but then you have to do something with it.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: And how do you choose what to do and how what do you do with all of that?
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: And what's the best thing to invest your time in?
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, you know, it's very easy to get distracted and and work on other things.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: So that that's really the where the the real hard challenge was.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think it took many years, and in some ways, even now, I'm still re you know, every six months I'm kind of uh kind of reinventing myself, I suppose.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it's uh you I think you uh when you work for yourself as a freelancer, you're always kind of having to check in and and um you know work out is is what you're doing the best idea and and re-ralign yourself.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's um it's a challenge.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I know that feeling.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: I work as a freelancer in um broadcast television, and yeah, you're always looking over your shoulder, seeing where the next bit of work's coming up and and chasing that next thing it can be a bit stressful.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about your you brought up workshops.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to really dive into that.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um the reason why, like obviously the the money's uh uh to business, but um what's the main thing that you get out of running workshops and taking people through your love of photography and obviously the the locations that you take them to?
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I mean it's it's it is a it's a real gift to be able to do it for sure.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's no doubt about it because you get to take these people that are completely excited about being down there.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh like I most of my workshops now are running in Tassie, so I get to go to my favorite places with these people and and show them how to photograph these places.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I also have a lot of skills in terms of being able to understand the weather, uh following auroras and things.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I can bring all of the knowledge that I have together to create this experience for these people and I try to do it with only about three or four people, so they're quite small groups, and just um have a commit completely immersive and experience where we can really get the most out of the conditions that we have.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so, and then I get to you know also see these places that I really love.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, one other downside to being a freelancer is sometimes it's very hard to actually leave your desk because there's always emails and there's always things to do.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: So when you run a workshop, you you are forced to go back out into the field.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm I'm pretty poor at doing that otherwise.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: So that that's another really amazing aspect to it as well.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely um helping people become connected and more understand more about TAS and the amazing places that we have here is is uh is a gift for sure.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: For somebody who would be interested in taking one of your um workshops, what is what would they expect along the journey of your say your seven night or your seven-day, five days?
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um what what's the start to finish um outlook look like?
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, um I I offer different experiences depending on what's what's going on, but generally uh I like to focus on a particular region.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: So for example, I've got a Brunei Island workshop coming up, um, which is sold out, but that's um we we're just gonna be based in Brunei Island for three nights uh and uh we're going there at a time of year where there's a heightened auroral activity uh around the equinox.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's all about night photography.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so we'll be trying to maximize our chances based on what's going on and and prioritizing that.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, then often uh I also run workshops which are actually chase type workshops, and those ones are very unique in a way because there is no accommodation up front, and we actually look at the weather together and work out the best um place to go based on in Tasmania, based on the weather.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: So that allows us to be able to rather than be based at a spot that has poor weather, we can actually move and go to a place where the weather's a little bit better.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_01: So that's a that's a pretty uh fun thing to do, although very stressful to last-minute accommodation, of course.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then the the multi-days are more about just joining those ones where you have an accommodation base together so that you can have sorry, more multi-location.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so you could have like I'm doing one uh where I've got a little base up in Bay of Fires, and then I have another base down in Fracenet.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so between those two areas over the, I think it's a I'm not gonna remember now many nights, I think it's a five-day workshop.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_01: We're actually having uh a huge amount of uh six days, sorry, we're having a huge amount of time we can spend at these places and really see them in depth rather than um sort of moving around.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I generally don't like doing road trip type ones because you just don't have enough time to really immerse yourself in a place and um get the full experience of a place.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd rather people did, you know, a shorter one that's more immersive and then they can always come back and do another one later at a different place, if that makes sense.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_01: Especially is also run them over weekends so people can actually um, you know, join on the you know, don't have to take much leave to do that, which is always nice.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: Would you say staying sticking around in one place I can actually get to experience the cameras and the techniques more as well instead of hopping and being always constantly on the move?
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's also less exhausting as well, and uh managing your energy levels on a workshop is one of the most important things.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: So being able to, you know, you're getting up often, you know, before sunrise to shoot sunrise, and you're staying up late to sunset, you might have an Aurora Astro, so then you've got even more time there.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_01: So you know, having a base means you can have a rest as well, and that's really important.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and yeah, I think landscape photography is inherently about connecting with the landscape, and if you're always moving on all the time, you you don't really, you're just there for you know, minutes, you know, and it's not a you don't don't get a chance to revisit and and think about hey, you shot it last time and and try something different the next time.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I see a lot of value in having something a little bit more immersive.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_01: You could argue even two two or three days really isn't long enough, but it's still um honoring it gives you enough enough time to really uh capture the essence of a place, I think.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: But what it also does is it allows people that can't afford to go and do one of your seven-day, six-night um masterclasses, it gives them a chance and opportunity to actually learn from someone like yourself as well.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's right.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_01: I try to keep the pricing affordable for people as well and and comfortable, uh, and at the same time, yeah, be able to still see a lot and be able to really explore a particular area.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always picking the areas that I love.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd like to think everyone else will love them too, because they're very photogenic and uh you know, really beautiful spots.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: So so that's definitely um, yeah, that's definitely a big motivator.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: Having a lot of these workshops in Tassie itself and and Tasmania being quite uh temperamental landscape, what are some of the steps you take to uh preserve your footprint in these locations, not only with workshops, but as your personal work as well?
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um it's sort of like a two-pronged question there because it's it's sort of like having contingencies in terms of poor weather, but then also managing your own impact when you actually get there.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: And to the first part, um, it's really about having flexible itineraries and being able to manage what you do uh at particular times.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_01: So most of the workshops, I won't actually say we're going to shoot this location this morning in like up front.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be more like we'll try to get to this spot, but we'll actually pick the best morning for that.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where it's a big advantage going with someone that that's from down here that kind of understands.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm not originally, I never can say that, but uh but I I you know I look at the weather all the time, and so I have a really good understanding of um how a particular shoot would align with the weather, and that's a that's a really big benefit.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: In you know, if you're shooting a waterfall, you can go there after it's rained, not before, aspects like that.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: In terms of the impact, um there's it's definitely.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: A challenge in terms of your own impact on the landscape.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_01: And especially it's really important that I, if I'm running a workshop, that my participants are aware of that.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_01: So we talk a lot about leave no trace just in terms of like your own footprints and where you're standing, but also how you represent places online after you're sharing the pictures and what you say about locations, and if you even need to nominate or or mention where a particular photograph was taken, because it might be a sensitive place that doesn't really need any more visitors.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_01: There's enough people going there already.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to make a place be loved to death essentially.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's actually getting degraded.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's a that's definitely another aspect that that I'm I'm very conscious of, I suppose.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_00: How much um conversation do you have with the author the Tasmanian authorities before you plan workshops and go and go further before you um outlay them?
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um that's that's a big big um piece of work as well.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I've got a commercial operators permit with Parks Tasmania.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's a really good thing to look out for if you're going to book a workshop to make sure that um if you're working with or or traveling with someone or paying someone that they're actually legitimately uh allowed to be operating in that particular place.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and so it's very important for me that I have all the right paperwork around any activity I do in national parks because I want to make sure that I'm looking after both the you know parks and wildlife service.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not creating any damage.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm getting they send updates so they'll let you know if a place is closed or if there's any hazards that you need to be aware of.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_01: So that can that communication and connection is very important to me.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: Both to honor my guests that that are paying me money to take them to these places, I think they would expect that you know I'm allowed to be doing that.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and also on top of that, um, so that you know, I I've um you know just can keep everybody safe as well.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a huge amount of work to do, but it's definitely worth doing to to um yeah, just to to to make sure you're aligned to how the park should be working.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: No wonder you sit on the computer a lot, you've got a lot of emails to send back and forth.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's uh it's one of those um one of those sad things that uh I probably took more photos before I was a full-time professional photographer than than um after.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_01: But um that's uh you know it's it's it's one of those necessary evils, I guess you could say.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_01: But I can tell you it feels bloody amazing when you do end up getting out there and being able to take some shots and it's very exciting.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_01: So it's um you just have to think about those times, I guess.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: What do you reckon one of the proudest moments would have been on your workshops with your guests?
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_01: Proudest would definitely be when I just happened to be able to line up an Aurora with um with the guests being on there.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it it has happened more than a few times, and to be able to see um people's excitement and reaction, um it's it's it's very uh it's very rewarding, I suppose, or or just getting them into a particular spot at the right time to capture the action, uh, even if it's just an astrophotography shoot.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's it's it is definitely nice because there's there's a planning that's gone in before that.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_01: I've even picked the right time to be there based on the weather patterns and other aspects.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of thinking that goes behind these things, and it's really just nice when it all can come together and people get the images that they're really hoping to get.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, awesome.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_00: Just looking forward here, you've got um a couple of projects coming up.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'd like to know a bit more about Dark Sky Tasmania, if we could.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so Dark Sky Tasmania is an organization that their mission is to reduce the amount of light pollution in Tasmania and also help to uh protect certain regions of Tasmania by conserving them under sort of dark sky sanctuary status, which essentially means that there's some uh I guess the government or or the local bodies have agreed that they won't be putting in additional installations or of lights, or or they'll can consider how they manage the light pollution in that area so that in the future we won't lose the magnificent dark skies that we actually have.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_01: And their largest project or or um campaign at the moment is actually to make the Southwest National Park into a dark sky sanctuary, which I'm completely aligned with.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's one of my favorite places in the world, if not the favorite.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_01: So being able to contribute my imagery to organizations like theirs and uh help to just help them link in with other people.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's often people that are interested in something, and I'll be have you got Dark Sky Tazn involved in this, because that would be great.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just nice to be involved.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was on their board at one point, um, but it's just a bit too much work for me with all the other things I had going on.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_01: But it that yeah, they're a brilliant organization, full run by volunteers.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: And in fact, now also the Wilderness Society has now picked up um a similar campaign as well to make the Southwest National Park into a dark sky reserve as well.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a there's a few different voices now jumping onto that, and I've been assisting um with those organizations in terms of you know helping them with their mission, because you know, obviously it's in I think in every photographer's interest to have our our dark skies conserved and and people thinking about the impact that the lighting that they're using is having on the overall um night sky.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_00: How does um in uh pardon my ignorance here, but with torches, if you're going to an area and that does does torches come into play with these sort of areas?
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like are you you meant to uh how's that sort of work?
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, torches is more like because they're like more uh what would you say, like they're they're they're not permanent light installations, essentially.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_01: So this is probably more around like if you're gonna put in a fish farm and it's got lighting over it, and then someone's gonna be taking a photo of the aurora and then that fish farm in the photo, or if there's uh you know developments that are going in and there's gonna be additional light sources around as as more development happens, the the dark skies start to diminish.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_01: And they've they've got data, there's actually websites you can go to that shows the amount of light pollution and how it's changed over times, and they can kind of calculate that pretty easily just from aerial satellite maps that are taken at night, and you can see how much more light there actually is dissipated across the landscape.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so, yeah, that it's more about um organizations shielding their lights, they don't have to have the lights shining upwards and creating uh light pollution, they can just have that light reflected back down and illuminating the areas that they just need to.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_01: And the the really interesting part about it is often the solution is actually saving the companies money because that they're just putting more efficient and effective lighting in rather than often it's the cheap ones that are just shining light everywhere.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_01: People get up because they're cheap, but it in the long run they they might actually use more power and and um they're not as effective.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it's actually a a really nice way of helping people be more effective in their how they're using their lighting.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of people just don't think about it, they just see the lights on next door, so they just put in the same thing.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's it's really nice to to to work on things like that because there's uh there's more more benefit to it than just light pollution reduction as well.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_00: Does it um affect the animals and the and and the agriculture sort of thing as well, that having so much light pollution?
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, light pollution can be a real problem with animals and bats.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um it affects how insects move, and then the any um birds that prey on those insects will then have their behavior changed.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_01: There's a there's cases of shear waters coming back, they've flown all the way back from the northern hemisphere, and the the they see the lights on the Tasman Bridge at night and think it's the moonlight or something like that, and they'll fly straight into the bridge and get killed.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a there's quite a lot of um evidence uh around how light pollution affects how animals behave or uh how how their um affects the ecosystem, I suppose, or how they interact with their what they eat.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_01: So it's definitely uh another factor and certainly part of Dark Sky Tassis, one of the um one of the ladies on the board at the moment is actually a uh I think it's Cepitologist, a bat um expert.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so she brings some really interesting uh information around that sort of area into it and and the impact that it has actually for wildlife and things.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: Are there ways that uh just the average person can get involved with something like this?
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, say for Dark Sky Tasmania, that you can sign up and get some updates through them.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you can also, there's also uh would be Dark Sky organizations uh in your local geography as well.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_01: And there's also the Dark Sky International uh page as well, which I'm a member of, and that that also has some information around lighting and what we can do in that in that sort of space.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, it's one of those things where it's a a group effort, like um if you can do your bit, but um sort of everyone else has to do their bit too for it to have an overall impact.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_01: But um, generally speaking, I I feel it's a it's a very apolitical kind of um thing that we can all do to make sure that we can see the most amazing stars ever.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we're so lucky in Australia to be able to do that.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_01: So uh yeah, it's just a really nice uh community kind of thing to get involved with.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: Unreal, it does sound like a great cause because I can tell you some there's nothing better than walking outside and looking up and going, there's all the stars, and instead of seeing just washed out skies because you've got too much bloody light everywhere, like you do in major cities.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's right.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_01: And and a lot of that's just caused by you know lighting that isn't really um efficient or or shielded correctly and not shining where it it's shining way more than it really in more directions than it really needs to go, you know.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um I mean it's still important to be safe, like we still need lighting for safety, but often we probably need a lot less lighting than than we actually think we need uh in in that sort of related in that sort of sense.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_01: And on top of that, you know, if it was lit less, or then you're saving money and power as well.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_01: So there's huge, huge amount of um win-wins everywhere.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: So apart from Dark Skies, uh, what have you got coming up in the future?
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, look, I'm I'm doing a actually working on my first book, which is super exciting.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that that's that's something that um I actually saw Ken Duncan recently and and uh I've known Ken for a while and he was saying to me, um, he came down to to for a camera house thing and caught up with him and I was like, when when's the book coming out, Luke?
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so he was he's been putting some pressure on me.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I better um better better do what Uncle Ken says and do something about that.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_00: You can put me down for one, I'll buy one.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, so that that that was kind of fun.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_01: So that that's been nice to I I've been it's been in the works for a while.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_01: A friend of mine, you may know, um Doward Dykstra um Dex.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he's um doing all of the design work for it.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it's um coming along.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and then um I've got a couple exhibitions next year, which sort of dovetail nicely into the book launch.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I need to get my skates on.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_01: I've got a lot coming up.
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so that's that's really what I'm focused on over the next few months until um all my workshops start happening.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_00: Where where about to get your whereabouts are the exhibitions going to be?
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh in the Salamanca Art Center.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I've got a group one coming up with some friends um in August and um and next year, and then also um one later next year as well, which is a a joint exhibition between myself and my partner Joe, so which is also very exciting.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so it's um never really done an exhibition before.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's gonna be nice to not not a not one that I've sort of been part of organizing in that sense.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I thought it's gonna be pretty special.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: And Salamanca's a great spot too.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_01: So yes, yes, it's very um prominent, very accessible.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's kind of the place to be if you if you're gonna be doing anything like that.
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a good couple of restaurants down there too.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_00: I've been you suggesting it's a great area.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um on the during the summer, and it'd be snowing and you'd be somewhere like what the hell's going on here?
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, um, I actually saw Mount Wellington's absolutely caked uh snow this morning.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we had a big snow dump overnight.
• 56:17
  SPEAKER_01: So um yeah, I'm actually I'm hoping to get up there tomorrow and and see a bit and maybe do a bit of um scoping out for some shots.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it'd be pretty fun.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_00: I have not been up there in many years.
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_00: I I haven't been actually haven't been to Tassie probably in a good five, six years now.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it's um I think I'm I think I need to get down there, but I don't know if I'd be allowed to shoot the way I shoot down there in Tassie because it's a bit bit different.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think I'll do the landscape kind of the fire of those guys.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, don't worry about that.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_00: There is a spot right in Hobart that I will want to go to.
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_00: I won't say it out loud just yet, but yeah, it's you'd know about it.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's green and it's on the water.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yes, yes, yes.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_01: There's some there's some really awesome spots, and even just things like Tasman Bridge, um, and there's some really great um uh like caves and um pylons.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um one of my favorites is Mortimer Bay, which is like this fence that just goes up into nowhere.
• 57:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh amazing rock shelves around.
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, there's there's there's plenty of stuff, even just around Hobart, um, and um and the channel, whole channel area as well, which is south of Hobart and Brunei Island.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's um there's plenty to do, it's for sure.
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, even like South Arm's got some nice little places that are a little bit hidden and a little bit um unshot before.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's a few people have been around there, but yeah, South Arm's quite nice as well.
• 57:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's what one of the things I really love about Tassie, especially living down here, is that generally if people are coming for a visit, they go to the hot spots, which is spots everyone else knows.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you live down here, you you've got the opportunity to really explore and find your own photos, or um you know, go to spots where you know people have shot before, but you can really do it in your own way.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's very hard to do Cradle Mountain in your own way, uh, but you definitely do that with some of these other places.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'll give it a crack.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'd give Cradle Mountain a crack in my own way.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you've still got to do it.
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that doesn't no, um yeah, definitely.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm only stirring, I'm only stirring.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_00: No, Tazzy is definitely one of those uh photographers and create and um creative um playgrounds down there.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's just everywhere looks amazing.
• 58:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's definitely a big, big reason why I moved down here, just because of the variety of um and scope of what you have to photograph.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_01: Pretty much got don't really have any deserts, but we've got um we've got most things.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_01: It'd be nice to have a glacier, maybe or something like that.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_01: But generally speaking, we've got um pretty much everything you could need.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's um we don't have an IKEA though or anything like that or an Aldi, so you know that's that's that's uh bit of a miss, but uh there's a franchise for you.
• 58:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, I think I'm I'm just um I um you know if if I if my photography business um side of things uh doesn't work out, then you know maybe I could look into that.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_01: But um yeah, yeah.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_00: So before we get um we wrap kind of gonna wrap it up now, we're getting to about an hour roughly.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um where can people find your work?
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um I'm probably most active.
• 59:21
  SPEAKER_01: I've been really poorly active on Instagram, but if you're welcome to go to my Instagram, which is my last name at Sharky, T-S-C-H-A-R-K-E, for those playing at home.
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh also uh Luke Sharky photography on Facebook uh is is what I also post there, and then my website, which is lukesharky.com.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and um I'm I'm working at the moment.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um now that I've had a bit of I've got a bit of time to focus on edits and things, I'm going to start posting more and and a bit more work out because I'm I tend to I've built a lot of images in the back catalogue, but not much is actually um going out for people to see.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I need to change that.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_01: But that's um, yeah, that's where they can find my work.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_00: And all your workshops are on your website, is that correct?
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_01: On my website, a lot of my workshops I sell through the Sony platform called Sony scene as well.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_01: But you don't have to shoot Sony to come on a workshop at all.
• 1:00:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's um it's just a way of um advertising it and selling it.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, I do shoot Sony, so that's always a part of things, but um obviously um I don't I don't um uh no I don't discriminate in terms of the camera or anything or anything else by the way.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_00: We'll um we'll let you get going and get to your editing, mate.
• 1:00:34
  SPEAKER_00: But um thank you for joining me and I hope everyone here has learned a little bit more about Luke Sharky.
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well it's been a pleasure to have you on, mate, and and um looking forward to catching up on the other episodes.
• 1:00:46
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, mate, and um I hopefully I can get down to Tassie someday soon.
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_00: We'll catch you soon, mate.
• 1:00:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_00: See ya.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_00: Wait,