ollowinga long
associationwith
Camera& Cine
magazineunderthe
editorshipsofAllan
MoultandTerry
Duckham(lastissue
in December1978),
I becameinvolved
withIrisPublishingandPaulCurtis
whowastheeditorofthefirst
issueofCameraCraft.
HereI encounteredyoungsters
JohnBack,PaulBurrows
andPeterEastway.It’sbeen
wonderfulwatchingeveryone’s
careerstakeflight;Paulbecame
editorofCameraandProPhoto,
whilePeterwentontolaunch
hisownmagazinecalledBetter
Photography. MargaretBrown–
anearlyCameraCraftcontributor
wholaterassumedtheroleof
technicaleditorforPhotoReview–
alsobecamea fastfriendand
fora decadeorsowehave,
withourpartners,beengetting
togetherin Sydneytotalkon
photography,andoccasionally
meetupin remoteplaces.
In the“who’swho”ofthat
firstissuebackin 1979,I was
introducedashavinganeclectic
stylewitha willingnesstoexplore
newdirectionsasaneternal
student.Myphilosophywas
summarisedasthatofpersonal
imagesatisfactionirrespective
ofpraise,criticismorreward–
stronglyunderliningtheCamera
Craftmottothat,aboveallelse,
photographyshouldbefun.Forty
yearslaterbothmymottoand
personaloutlookhaven’tchanged.TheJourney
My50-plusyearsasa
photographerhasbeenquitea
journey,withsignificanttransitions
onthetechnicalfront– fromblack
andwhitefilm,chemicalsand
thedarkroomtodigitalcameras,
computersandinkjetprinters.
WhenI firstvisitedthe
Outbackit wasa rough-and-ready
experiencewithveryfewfacilities.
Thecampinggroundwascloseto
Uluru,wehadunrestrictedaccess
toKatajuta(theOlgas)andeven
visitedRainbowValleyin a pristine
statewhenit wasprivateland.
Therewereveryfew,if any,otherStrzeleckiDesertstorm– 45degrees
Celsiusandsand-blastedknees.CAMERA 4O
th
ANNIVERSARY