Back when I was photographing architecture and mucking around with street photography in Belfast and Melbourne I used to be quite creative sometimes. I used to be good at finding images that were a little unusual - images that involved trying to see a familiar places with fresh eyes and using the camera to turn the ordinary into something interesting. It's almost as if that urban setting forced me to look harder and try to see things a little differently. And then somewhere along the way I became a landscape photographer and somewhere along the way I think I lost some of that creativity. It's almost as if these amazing Kimberley landscapes required less trickery - they just needed to be photographed in a conventional way and at the right time of the day. The danger is that, as amazing as the subject might be, the photos can become pretty obvious and uninspired. That obviousness doesn't necessarily make it easy but it can feel a lot less creative sometimes. Really good landscape photographers manage to tick both boxes - they capture the essence of a place and tell a story but they do it with their own unique style and a creativity that steers them away from the obvious. It's a good reminder that as a photographer there is still lots to learn and lots of room for improvement - lots of room to create images that are unique and memorable. Having photographed Mitchell Falls from every conceivable angle over the last 4 months the series below is a simple - and perhaps less obvious - attempt at telling a different side of that same story. It might not have the same broad appeal as the postcard-perfect long exposure at sunset but it captures an aspect of the falls as I experienced it, standing there next to the water crashing and that fine mist bellowing in the air.
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