A short article about my north east Tasmania photography trip, that ended in entering a local photography competition.
Even though a lot of our family originated from the Fingal Valley area in North East Tasmania, I never spent any time there until recently. Due to a death in the family I had to make many trips to the Fingal and St Marys area clearing out an estate.
Of course I never travel without my camera. The scenery and the history in the valley are amazing. Rolling green hills, heavy forested areas, and quaint little towns, come of them long deserted, offer great opportunities to photograph Tasmania how it used to be. After travelling there every weekend for a few months we spotted a photography competition in a local paper and the subject was ‘Landmarks of the Valley”.
I made more trips down there just to get the photos perfect. I always try and take photos from near to ground level as I can giving the area more diversity and treating each subject as it should be as if the subject is larger than life. These images make great Canvas prints, showcasing Tasmania as it is today.
I like to take photos using the HDR program, especially when it is old buildings, graveyards and churches, so every detail is shown by layering two photos together.
This photo competition takes me back to the area twice a year, first to concentrate on perfecting the photo and secondly for the cocktail party to announce who won.
I have won peoples choice three years running now. St Marys is a small town on the way to the sunny east coast of Tasmania and right on the tourist route, so each tourist that calls into the café where the photos are displayed are asked to vote.
Tasmania offers many opportunities to take gorgeous photographs for reproducing onto canvas prints and glossy paper. The natural environment, when mixed with early colonial architecture, provide stunning opportunities to get that perfect shot.