Chasing the light
As shorter days bring dappled light and falling leaves in fiery reds and golden yellows, Tasmania transforms into a photographer’s dream. Nola James speaks to four local snappers about their top tips for capturing the season’s beauty and their favourite locations to frame the perfect autumn shot.
Adam Gibson, architectural and lifestyle photographer
Commercial photographer Adam Gibson travels the world shooting award-winning houses, high-end resorts and 24-hour mega cities for the likes of Gourmet Traveller, Qantas and Conde Nast.
While Adam works predominately within the architecture space, when he’s at home, the Tassie based photographer can be found outdoors. “My passion for photography was born from the landscape,” says Adam, who never shoots personal work on a clear day. “The rain and storms, the brutal weather, that’s the most exciting time. Anyone can take a nice photo of a sunset, but I am drawn to the wild side. I feel that taps into the vibe of Tasmania.”
Cradle Mountain is one of his favourite spots; so too is Mount Field. If you’d like to follow his lead, prepare to get up early. “For me, the time to shoot is pre-dawn. It’s magic, that 15 to 20 minutes just before the sun rises. I do a lot of driving in the dark.”
Sometimes, the journey is the destination, Adam adds. “Often, I’ll be driving, and I’ll stop the car and shoot out the window.” If you keep your eyes open to the world around you, chances are you’ll see something great.
“I am drawn to the wild side. I feel that taps into the vibe of Tasmania.”
Credit: Adam Gibson
Credit: Adam Gibson
Dearna Bond, lifestyle photographer
Hobart-based stylist Dearna Bond, who grew up in Tassie’s northeast, fell into photography when she started a food blog in the early 2010s. “I’ve always been really interested in food, and I picked up photography to document what was I eating. It kind of just took off from there, and the blog fell by the wayside.”
Her work regularly takes her out into Tasmania’s vineyards, which she says are especially resplendent in autumn. “The Coal Valley sometimes gets fog in the morning,” she says, “which is beautiful with the turning colour of the leaves.”
Launceston is another favourite locale this time of year. With a mix of old colonial buildings, gothic churches and brutalist design, plus low buildings that don’t cast long shadows, she says it’s a great city for architectural photography.
Dearna prefers to shoot later in the day, when the light is softer. “I think in autumn, the light is still bright, but cloud cover can diffuse that.” She encourages aspiring snappers to get out in all weather conditions too. “Moodier weather is dynamic in autumn, and not as difficult to navigate as it is in winter.
“Any photographer will tell you that the most important thing is light, but when you’re learning it’s hard to understand what that means,” she adds. “The autumn light does an amazing job of making the ordinary extraordinary.”
Credit: Dearna Bond
Credit: Dearna Bond
Anna Critchley, content creator
It took Anna Critchley just one weekend to decide to relocate from the Hunter Valley to Hobart. “We came here on holiday in 2022 and loved it so much we moved here four months later,” Anna says. “This is an island of dreams, honestly.”
The move also gave Anna, who has a retail styling background, the confidence to focus on photography full time. Her natural, ethereal aesthetic is a hit with the bed-and-breakfast set – she’s worked with Camp Nowhere in the Central Highlands, the Ship Inn Stanley and Flinders Island hospitality precinct On Island Time – and she shoots social media content for The Agrarian Kitchen. “It’s just me and my camera,” she says. “I like my photos to be authentic. I love it when people say, ‘I didn’t even know you were there.’”
One of the first things Anna noticed when she moved here is that the light was much softer than in NSW. “It’s a ‘dreamy’ quality of light,” she says. “That’s a word I use a lot since moving to Tasmania.”
To make the most of it, she says, move yourself, not the camera. “Move about. Get high. Get low. Move to the left. If you’re looking at a sunset, don’t just shoot that. Look at the way the light hits the world around you.” And don’t let bad weather stop you, either. “Tasmania looks the most beautiful when it’s wild.”
Credit: Anna Critchley
Credit: Anna Critchley
Samuel Shelley, commercial photographer
Born and bred in Tassie, Taroona-based photographer Samuel Shelley is largely self-taught. He studied geomatics at uni, but a chance sharehouse encounter proved pivotal. “I’ve always been keen on art and whatnot. My flatmate had a camera, and I was using it more than him. Not long after that I went freelance.”
Every day looks different for Sam, who shoots lifestyle campaigns for clients such as Lark Distillery, Mures and Tourism Tasmania. “Tomorrow I am shooting some people in a vineyard, then I am doing headshots in the afternoon, and next week I’m shooting a chicken farm. And then probably at Banjo’s after that,” Sam says.
While autumn brings cloudy conditions, Sam says they’re perfect for portraits. “Diffused light means skin tones will be more even, with not as many harsh shadows on faces.” A keen trout fisherman, Sam likes to head to the Central Highlands in autumn. “I’ll try and take a few photos in between fishing, which is hard because I love fishing. I’ll take photos of my friends, and little slices of the landscape there, which can have a barren or ‘harsh’ quality, so that makes for more points of interest.”
Sam says the autumn light is so good, he once moved a shoot for a walking company set in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park from mid-summer to March. “In autumn the sun is at a lower angle for most of the day; you’ve got a longer shooting window where the light is nicer.”
Credit: Samuel Shelley
Credit: Samuel Shelley
How to take better smartphone photos
Given that most of us leave the house armed with little more than a smartphone, our photographers share their advice for making the most of your device.
Keep your camera straight
“Because phones generally have quite wide-angle lenses, I keep the camera as perpendicular to the ground as possible,” Samuel Shelley says.
Download an app
“I use the Lightroom app to edit everything,” Anna Critchley says. “You can raise and lower brightness, and crop and straighten. There’s even an auto button.”
Open your eyes
“Look for different angles, something you haven’t seen before, and don’t be afraid to fail,” Adam Gibson says. “Remember the camera is just a tool. And phone photos are free!”
Enrol in a class
“Everything is easier when someone shows you how,” Dearna Bond says. This year, she’s hosting phone photography classes around the state. See dearnabond.com for more information.