Wilderness Landscape Photography -- The Practicalities of Getting Out There

Ever dreamed of travelling to isolated wildernessTorrens shows up on the satellite images confirming
areas to photograph the landscape but beenwhat I suspected from the elevation contours on the
defeated by the practicalities of getting there?topographic map.Wilderness Landscape Photography
Wished you had a helicopter? Wondered how youTrip
could hike with a heavy pack and camp out for daysIt's 82 km from the bitumen to Bosworth
at a time?Well, this Australian amateur wildernessHomestead, travelling right across Arcoona Station on
landscape photographer did it. Here's the story of thethe way. Parking the car beside a shearers hut, and
daunting task that lay ahead and how I overcameafter some good geographic and topographic advice
the obstacles.Backgroundfrom the pastoralist, I jumped on the bike and
My son works at Olympic Dam Mine situated aboutheaded out along the track that follows the western
90km north of Woomera in outback South Australia,side of Station Creek to Andamooka Island and
and lives with his wife and little family at Roxbymade camp as the sun was setting.Now, I've always
Downs, the town constructed to service the mine.wanted to camp on an island since I read "The
He's an electrician, and besides taking a few picturesAdventures of Robinson Crusoe", as a boy.
of electrical installations, the massive machinery heAndamooka Island, about 40 km long and up to 10
often works on, and my granddaughter, has littlekm wide is in Lake Torrens and separated from the
interest in photography.I drove for 21 hours from themainland by a channel varying in width from a couple
Far South Coast of New South Wales, to visit myof hundred meters to a couple of kilometres.The
son and to see this arid desert region, which hasshallower parts of the channel were dry, so crossing
become his home for the foreseeablewas no trouble. Extensive salt water holes in the
future.Opportunity for Wilderness Landscapechannel, super saturated and with the salt crystallizing
Photographyout, provided micro and full view landscape images
Well, the desert is fairly flat and quite bland at firstover coming days. With the sky subtly reflected in
glance but that's not the full story.With dry salt lakes,the base of salt crystals covered with shallow water,
myall trees, stone strewn clay pans, and red sandthe stark vista was a wilderness landscape
dunes, wilderness landscape photography imagesphotography opportunity to be seized. Sights to blow
clamour for my attention from Roxby Downs toyour mind!Camping Out
Andamooka and beyond to Lake Torrens.GettingCamping, as you would imagine, was pretty basic.
Around the DesertYou can't carry much on an ATV. No esky means no
But how can I get around? Distance is so vast andfresh meat, but tinned tuna on top of tinned beans
the country so inhospitable. It will kill you just forand spaghetti goes down well when you're
being there if you don't look out. The family stationhungry.Priorities in Wilderness Landscape Photography
wagon won't go far off the bitumen. The tracks arePhotography took precedence over eating. Each day:
so rough, and when it rains in this six-inch rainfallout of bed, on the bike and off photographing
country, even a 4x4 will bog down or slip in the claybefore sunrise. Back to camp for brunch about noon.
soil. There's no way I could afford a 4x4 goodOff photographing again till late and then try to get
enough for the trip from the coast to the centre andback to camp before the diminishing glow of the
reliable enough to go out alone into that country.setting sun left me in the dark. Although I have good
Furthermore, you wouldn't take a good-lookinglights on the bike, the country is just too rough to
vehicle on those rocky, desert tracks.So I decided oncover in the dark.Hidden Dangers in the Desert
an ATV. That's an "All Terrain Vehicle," "Quad Bike,"Although rare, this country is known to host the
"four wheel motorbike." I can transport it in a trailerworld's most venomous snake, the inland taipan, as
behind the car and go to the end of the road, thenwell as the king brown and several other dangerous
jump on the bike.Setting Up The ATVspecies. There are also said to be scorpions about.
The bike, set up with boxes on the back and frontI'm told that the dingoes have been eradicated from
racks, pulls a small trailer. With this configuration I notthis area, south of the dog fence, but the nights
only get myself way out beyond where a 4x4 will gowere still pretty scary. Every time the breeze rustled
without too much walking, but also my camera gear,the tent I'd wake, laying tense and listening for the
tools, emergency supplies, water, fuel and my campsound of pads on the rocks. Needles to say, I gave
as well. In a nutshell, that's about it.Navigating themy sleeping bag a good shake out before getting in
Wilderness Landscapeeach night.Coming Wilderness Landscape Photography
Navigation is with a topographic map, compass andTrip
GPS. Using the coordinates from the GPS, I knowWell, I came home with a heap of digital images,
where I am on the map which is so much simplersome colour film to send for processing and some
than trying to identify distant features on a flatB&W to process myself. I'm going again, you know.
landscape.For months, in my spare time, I studied theWant to come with me? Then go to my website,
maps, getting the feel of the geography andsend an e-mail and we'll talk about it.Laurie McArthur
topography and comparing this to the satellite imagesis a wilderness landscape photographer based on the
on Google Earth. This way I identified areas of likelyNew South Wales Far South Coast, Australia.
interest. It's amazing how the salt build up in Lake