FROM THE FIELD
November–December 2015 129ABOVE: HEATH HOLDEN; RIGHT: LUKE HANSON
IF YOU’RE INTO bird photography then Lord
Howe Island – a short fl ight from Sydney or
Brisbane – is the perfect spot to get close to a
wide range of diff erent species, says AG’s editor,
John Pickrell, right. He had a series of close
encounters with seabirds while he was cover-
ing our feature on the island’s bushwalking
and nature experiences. “I wasn’t prepared
for just how close we’d get to many species,
such as red-tailed tropicbirds and masked
boobies, which in some spots were nesting
alongside or actually on the walking tracks.”
On one day, John went to the backyard of
a local who was hand-rearing tiny white
tern chicks that had been abandoned by
their parents, or fallen from precarious
nests on bare branches. “I was standing
just a metre or so from these curious
little chicks sitting on branches around
the yard. It’s rare that you get to enjoy
being so close to wild animals, but the
birds here seem to universally have
very little fear of people.”Lord of the lens
A NATUR AL BEAUTYDust busters
R ED DUST, GOLD HEARTSHOOTING SEVERAL features for us
in the Northern Territory was a fantastic
experience for new AG photographer
Heath Holden. He snapped off this selfi e,
above, while writer Ken Eastwood concen-
trated on driving along the dusty, corrugated
dirt roads on the way to Davenport Ranges
National Park. “Shot opportunities at the
Tennant Creek camp draft and rodeo were
overwhelming – the mix of the dust, action
and low lighting was diffi cult but made for
beautiful shots,” Heath says. “The challenge
was not missing anything signifi cant. But Ken
[an AG veteran] communicated really well as
to what he was focusing on, and the shots we
needed to fi t the story. Witnessing the diver-
sity of locals out at Tennant Creek was also
very interesting, Heath adds. “Spending
time with them, hearing their stories and
photographing them really was a dream.
The Northern Territory is beautiful – you
really don’t know what is going to pop up until
you go round the next bend.”68 88