Hi everyone,
although I'm French and live near Paris (not ideal for landscapes), I've lived for a couple of years in Melbourne, Australia. I fell in love with Tasmania, where there is a strong community of bushwalkers (don't call them hikers they hate it). For some reason, I've never seen any images of Tasmania on the various photography youtube channels I follow. Sometimes you see a shot in Australia, sadly it's often urban photography, like Melbourne or Sydney. Sometimes it's the Reef, or well known places like the Great Ocean Road. Even Peter Lik, though an Aussie, only has a couple of photos shot here... Tasmania however is a photographer's paradise. The weather on the Western half of the island is very similar to Scotland : wild and rainy. On the Eastern half, it's a lot sunnier. The landscapes are incredibly varied, with rocky mountains, ocean cliffs, white sand beaches (the whitest you've ever seen), temperate rainforest (the Tarkine), Alpine plateaux, giant wild national parks, snow in winter (yes it snows in Australia) and a flora/fauna you're really not familiar with. You can see trees that are taller than sequoias, some that have rainbow colored bark, plenty of bush tucker (wild fruits or nuts), birds like eagles and parrots, oceanic mammals like seals and whales, and of course marsupials (Tassie devils, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, quolls, pademelons...). Here are a few old shots I took, back in the day (2011-2013) that was with a compact camera, so pardon me for the poor quality, I didn't even know about composition back then. But hopefuly that gives you a better taste of what Tasmania looks like. I love New Zealand as well, but feel like Tassie has more interesting trees and wildlife, with an absolutely crazy weather that photographers are sure to fall in love with. Oh and accommodation/food is quite cheap compared to mainland Australia/New Zealand, and you can (will) be alone when photographing. Any other people on Fstoppers who've been to Tasmania ?
Why you should go to Tasmania
It is a stunning place! Hoping to move there within the next year or so :)
Hi Nick. Yes I have been there and am also an Aussie.A great place to take photos and generally visit.I last visited in the film days and just really getting started in photography so my shots are transparencies. Tasmania does have at least one famous Landscape Photographer, the late Peter Dombroskis. Don't just come to Tasmania but South Australia as well.In South Australia we have Kangaroo Island one of the world's best kept secrets. It is a bit like a miniature Tasmania. Many local South Australians haven't been there either.Also we have the magnificent Flinders Ranges and the great outback.
Hi Geoff, I'll look into Peter Dombroskis then thanks. I've been once to Kangaroo Island, but that was during my first road trip with friends in Australia. So I made all the usual mistakes : too many things, too fast, and only stayed about 1.5 days on KI. We only did the touristy stuff, found Remarkable Rocks to be a selfie spot full of tourists, and were a bit annoyed that you had to pay for everything. Tasmania felt more liberating. I think I would enjoy it a lot more by myself, taking my time to explore all the secret coves and cliffs. Also Tassie is for me one of those places where I have this feeling of nostalgia, like I belong here. Everything is very harmonious there, the people are great and the food is great as well. A few bogans here and there, some issues with mining and logging, but every place has its problems.
Thanks Nick ,don't get me wrong I love Tassie too. It has a totally different feel to the mainland and the locals sort of seem to go with the almost another country idea.A self drive tour around Kangaroo Island is the way to go and I recommend staying in the Hanson Bay log cabins. I had the privilege of photographing a friends daughter's wedding on Kangaroo Island a few years ago and it was one of my most enjoyable wedding shoots I've had.