CANOEING THE "RIVER OF MIRRORS" - NOOSA RIVER TRIP REPORT

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I was thirteen when I first kayaked the length of the Noosa River. My dad and I spent a few days camping along the tranquil snaking banks, swimming and slowly paddling up and back. Since then, I’ve hiked beside it, camped at its mouth with friends, and kayaked laps of it many times. Each time is slightly different, with fire scarring its banks and floods depositing debris; weather changing its façade and perspective and age changing my view of these everglades.

AIMING HIGH- SHOOTING HIGHLINING PHOTOGRAPHY AT BEECHMONT

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I got a slackline for Christmas a few years ago. After the classic Aussie Chrissy lunch, my sisters and I headed out to the front lawn to set it up. I remember grabbing hold of each of my sister’s shoulders as I wobbled on the line.

The slackline stayed set up for weeks after the 25th; conveniently it served as a barrier between the car parks and the house, which resulted in a lot of tripping. In those weeks, the most progress I made was around five steps before I’d bounce off the line and land on the prickly needles of the pine tree that guards our yard.

HOW TO CRUSH CAR PHOTOGRAPHY - FT. TUFFANT A BRISBANE-BASED BUSINESS!

Tuffant wheels were designed specifically for Land Rovers; they’re a Brisbane-based family-owned business that caters to the four-wheel-drive adventurer!!

In September, I was lucky enough to branch out from my normal extreme sport photography clients to help these guys take professional marketing photos for their social channels and website!

SEND BURNS AND BERMS - MOUNTAIN BIKE PHOTOGRAPHY

Shannon is your classic Aussie legend; way too humble for her own good.

She’s competed internationally in BMX and now travels nationwide for downhill and XC mountain biking. Despite this, road-biking and bike-packing don’t fall through her radar, and impressively, she’s able to balance leisure riding as well as competing.

MISTY MORNINGS AND STUNNING SUNSETS - AN OVERNIGHT HIKE UP MT BARNEY

But truly, your name doesn’t matter out there. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve spoken to someone on a track for multiple days without asking their name. Often by the time I realize it’s far too late.

It’s not just names that seem insignificant out there. Your job, your age, gender, area, history - wild landscapes fosters equality in a way that concrete never can.

TRAD IS RAD! SHOOTING ON A LINE AT FROG'S BUTTRESS, QLD

I’ve been reflecting on this conversation a bit since last weekend. At the time, I definitely agreed. Downhill racing is objectively dangerous. But at the time, we were dangling off the edge of a cliff. I was supported by a single rope anchored to a tree, and they were hanging off hunks of metal jammed into rock. Who are we to judge?

All of these extreme sports are about a strong mindset and mitigating external risk. If you have a strong head game and follow the set processes correctly, then all you have to contend with is chance. Weather, accidents, other people’s reactions. Definitely a lot, but that’s all you can do.

THE "FREE" THREE CAPES - AN EPIC MULTI-DAY TASMANIAN HIKE - REVIEW!!

I can clearly remember two pieces.

The first one is a throne, much larger than normal human size. It sits at the base of a hill, amongst a huge old-growth tree-fern forest. It is made of rough timber and bronzed metal. I had to clamber up into it to sit. I feel it implies that we are insignificant in comparison to this forest and that we need it.

A snake mosaic stretches part of the track to Cape Pillar; its head and its tail is separated by colorful mosaic tiles for at least a kilometer. I love how this piece is incorporated into the track; adding instead of subtracting.

SHOOTING SPORT CLIMBING AT SERPENT ON THE SUNSHINE COAST

So, when one of my mates suggested we get a crew together for a trip to Serpent, a lesser-known crag on the Sunny Coast, I was down. Online, it was clear that we were dealing with a multi-colored wave rock perched in a sea of ferns. Looked stunning and I was hyped.

Which raised the question - why is it such an underrated place?

I DID A DREAM SHOOT ON THE GOLD COAST - SUNRISE PARAGLIDING FOR PARAGLIDING QUEENSLAND!!

There’s nothing more inspiring or rewarding as dangling off the side of a cliff desperately burst-mode-ing shots of a furiously-concentrating pumped climber reaching for the crux on a challenging outdoor sport route or the pure focus of a mountain-biker shooting around a berm. I respect the grit and endurance of athletes sending hard in all conditions, and the flow-state and pure concentration it produces.

Q&A - LARAPINTA FALLS HIKE - OFFTRACK IN LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK

You can get lost literally anywhere, but yes, as the route is only marked with pink tape, the likelihood of getting lost here is more significant than on most other hikes. In some places, the creek splits into two forks and choosing which branch requires using either a topographic map, GPS, or reliable app.

INTRINSICALLY – HIKING THE LARAPINTA TRAIL AT NINETEEN SOLO

Three weeks after returning to Queensland, I navigated to a suburb on the North side of Brisbane for the first time and got a tattoo of a ghost gum with a little Larapinta Trail marker.

I absolutely love it.

The ghost gum is the hardiest little tree, growing exposed on top of barren cliffs, battered day in and night by wind.

After touching it with your bare hands, the bark will scar. Damo taught me that.

THUNDER AND LIGHTNING FALLS - OFF-TRACK DOWN BLACK CANYON IN LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK

In my notes app, I always have a list called ‘bucket list hikes QLD + NSW'.

Thunder and Lightning Falls lived at the top of this list for over eighteen months. It was only in April that I finally took action to remove it, and me and an a mate set off with full, heavy packs to conquer what was a lot more than an epic name on top of a list. In reality, behind the name is truly an extreme adventure.

SHIFTING SANDS - MY ACCOUNT OF THE K'GARI (FRASER ISLAND) GREAT WALK!

The whole week was a simple time, and that was the beauty of it.

Each day was spent meandering along wide sandy paths, bellies full of too much food, until mid-afternoon. We'd lazily set up our camp, and then relax all afternoon in the golden light by a crystal clear lake. Just as the morning would start with a brilliant sunset over clear waters, we'd watch the sky light on fire above yet another blue expanse further north at the end of the day.

A Spotlight on Adventurous Elopements in Australia - Lindi + Courtney

The whole thing was magical - from the first-light portraits on the deck of the hotel, to the golden glow over the couple as they said their vows, to the precious memories they made on the beach (and in the ocean!!) afterwards.

How Does An Adventurous Engagement Photography Session Work?

So, you’re interested in an adventurous engagement session but you want some more information first? Don’t worry, I got you! In this post, I’ll walk you through the process from booking a shoot to receiving your fully edited gallery.

The Du Cane Range Traverse - A Photo Story

There are countless accounts of the Du Cane Range Traverse, which is off the quintessential Overland Track in Tasmania. I read these accounts before heading off on this adventure and they didn’t convince me that the walk would be the most stunning hike I’ve ever done - in fact, I thought that it would seriously inferior to the Western Arthurs. But man, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Wild, windswept peaks. Uninterrupted 360 degree views. Empty campsites beside perched lakes. The golden glow on jagged peaks in the still of dusk. I’ll let the following photos speak for themselves.

Capturing Climbing at Coolum

The popular Sunshine Coast climbing destination Coolum Cave had drawn a crowd of at least thirty people one humid day in January. Many people squinted upwards as they belayed a partner above, or stood chatting, recovering, or learning from others. But mostly, raw emotion and elation controlled the atmosphere in the area. The crowd stood with bated breath, watching Satoshi Ogawa on his final attempt of ‘Evil Wears No Pants’ (30) before his return to Japan. Not even a shoulder injury would prevent him from having a final go at his long-term project.

Claire + Jack's Engagement Session on Mt Maroon

Claire and Jack did a parkrun the day they met and have continued to do one most weeks in the five year period since. They generally travel to each event, which has enabled them to see a lot of this country - these guys are planning to move to their third state together later this year!

Three months into their relationship, Jack started a tradition that included Claire, but that she didn’t know about. He began taking photos of her in every place they went with a parkrun tag in the foreground. The tag said ‘will you marry me?”