Australia Landscape and Scenery Gallery - Gallery Pick of the Week

Gallery Pick of the Week

Instead of just showing pretty pictures only, here we have space for contributors to discuss their images every week.

This is a great opportunity to get some insight from the original photographer and the content is entirely open. It could be anything from the personal feeling of the photographer about the image to any photographic techniques or location knowledge he/she would like to share with our visitors.

Rob Gray - The VCR Principle, 22/7/10, Rob Gray

Years ago I owned a VCR and, with several years computing experience, I was even able to program it. When I was in danger of missing a good movie I would set the VCR to record it. I don’t recall ever actually watching one of those recorded masterpieces but it didn’t matter. All that was important was that I could watch them if I wanted to. I call this the VCR Principle.

A similar principle applies to the general public and their view of our wild places. The vast majority of Australians will never see, let alone experience, the wilderness. However by viewing the recorded image they know that it’s there, and that they can experience it if they want to.

As landscape photographers, we bridge the gap between the wilderness and the public. Thousands of people can view the wilderness through our eyes without actually going there and increasing the strain on the environment. A simple photograph can even remove apathy, causing normally complacent people to stop saying "What’s all the fuss about, there’s hundreds of rivers" and start saying "Enough is enough". The best example of a photo having such an affect is that of Peter Dombrovskis’ Rock Island Bend image. It is credited with saving one of Australia’s most pristine wilderness areas, the Franklin River.

It’s possible however that this is a two edged sword, removing apathy on one side and generating complacency on the other. As the wilderness decreases and becomes more difficult to find, the intrepid landscape photographer will try harder to create great photographs. The public will view these photos and feel warm and fuzzy knowing that there is still wilderness out there, somewhere.

The fact that the wild places depicted in their 2025 calendar were the last 13 remaining wilderness areas may go unnoticed, and when 2026 arrives and there is no calendar it’s too late.

So are landscape photographers the good guys or the bad guys? Are our images causing more harm by encouraging people into the wilderness and thereby overloading it, or do we help people find the courage to fight for a heritage which, whether they use it or not, is theirs to enjoy.

I believe that we are the good guys but I’m prepared to leave the question open. One thing I do know is that as much wilderness as possible should be preserved so future Australians have a choice.

July 2010

The VCR Principle, 22/7/10, Rob Gray
Insult to Photographers, 15/7/10, Rob Gray
Photographers and Tourism are in the Same Boat, 8/7/10, Pele Leung
The lone moments at Cape Schanck, 1/7/10, Pele Leung

June 2010

Lake Eildon, A Hidden Winter Wonderland, 24/6/10, Pele Leung
The Barrington Tops National Park, 17/6/10, Barbara Bryan
The Ultra Panorama of Gardens in Mount Dandenong Melbourne Australia, 3/6/10, Pele Leung

May 2010

Alpine Victoria, 27/5/10.Barbara Bryan
The Four Stages of Photography, 20/5/10, Pele Leung
The One Who First Discovered Panoramic Vision is a Genius, 13/5/10, Pele Leung
The Victoria High Country, 06/5/10, Pele Leung

April 2010

Crossing Deserts in Australia, 22/4/10, Pele Leung
Dicky Beach, 15/4/10, Victoria Purdie
Hidden Gems of Sydney - Walking around Sydney Harbour Foreshores – Part 3, 8/4/10, Barbara Bryan
Water, 1/4/10, Pele Leung

March 2010

Trees, 25/3/10, Pele Leung
The Walls of Jerusalem National Park in Tasmania, 18/3/10, Pele Leung
Waterfalls in Australia, 11/3/10, Pele Leung
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve - ACT, 4/3/10, Barbara Bryan

February 2010

Canola Landscape, 25/2/10, Pele Leung
Imagine There is No Such Thing Called 'Book' Anymore, 18/2/10, Pele Leung
Bruno's Art & Sculpture Garden in Marysville, 11/2/10, Pele Leung
Can We Make Our Photos Look Better But Without Changing Them?, 4/2/10, Pele Leung

January 2010

Monaro Plains, 21/1/10, Barbara Bryan
The Snowy Mountains - the Top of the Country, 14/01/10, Pele Leung
Our 2010 Plan, 7/1/10, Pele Leung

December 2009

Life Could be Much Shorter Than What We Might Think, 17/12/09, Pele Leung
Do You Really Want to be a Professional Photographer, 10/12/09, Pele Leung
Photographic Impressionism, 3/12/09, David Bruce

November 2009

Captain James Cook and Jessica Watson, 26/11/09, Pele Leung
Bring Down the Wall, 19/11/09, Janie News
Being a Nature Photographer - Part 2, 12/11/09, Rob Gray
Being a Nature Photographer - Part 1, 05/11/09, Rob Gray

October 2009

The Sydney Opera House, 22/10/09, Pele Leung
Walking in Australia, 15/10/09. Pele Leung
Whale Stranding Naracoopa King Island 2009, 8/10/09, John Nievaart
Surviving Australia 1/10/09, Pele Leung

September 2009

Golden Relics, 24/9/09, Gary Chapman
Bungle Bungle, 17/9/09, Pele Leung
Borrowed from Our Descendants 10/9/09, Pele Leung
Can We Do More for Domestic Tourism? 3/9/09, Pele Leung

August 2009

Australian Place Names, 27/8/09, Pele Leung
Blue Mountains - A Wilderness in Town, 20/8/09, Pele Leung
Flight Over Arnhem Land and Kakadu NP, 13/8/09, Barbara Bryan
Landscape Photography In The UK & Australia, 6/8/09, Peter and Jill Myers

July 2009

The Ultra Panorama of Yarra River Melbourne Australia, 30/7/09, Pele Leung
How Much Do We Know About Australia, 23/7/09, Pele Leung
Sydney Vivid Light Festival, 16/7/09, Barbara Bryan
The Australian Eden - Kakadu National Park, 9/7/09, Pele Leung
Around Australia the Hard Way in 1929, 2/7/09, Pele Leung

June 2009

Mackay and Surrounds, 25/6/09, Barbara Bryan
Arkaroola, 18/6/09, Pele Leung
Out there and Back, 11/6/09, Pele Leung
The Magic of Fog, 4/6/09, Gary Chapman

May 2009

Walkabout in the Melbourne City, 27/5/09, Pele Leung
What attract visitors to Australia, 20/5/09, Pele Leung
The Beauty of Mount Dandenong, 13/5/09, Pele Leung
A Flying Visit to Lake Eyre, 5/5/09, Monica O'Connor

April 2009

Isolation, 26/4/09, David Bruce
Assignments from Without or Within, 19/4/09, Rob Gray
Greenwich Circult, Walking around Sydney Lower Northshores – Part 2, 12/4/09, Barbara Bryan

March 2009

Black Saturday in Victoria, 29/3/09, Peter and Jill Myers
Hidden Gems of Sydney - Walking around Sydney Harbour foreshores – Part 1, 13/3/09, Barbara Bryan
Shooting Digitial Panoramas, 20/3/09, John Sheridan

February 2009