I am a photographer with a fascination for getting very close to my subjects. I specialise in macro photography and my subjects are insects, spiders, frogs and reptiles mostly found locally in Sydney.
Always torn between pursuing a career in biology or following my passion for arts, I finally found photography to be the perfect marriage of both interests and have invested most of my spare time and energy into photographing nature. My love of macro photography began five years ago when I worked as a researcher on an Animal Planet documentary series about bugs, called “Buggin’ With Ruud”. I was so impressed by the images I encountered during my research that I immediately went out and bought a camera and macro lens with the determination that I would produce equally impressive images.
Over the last five years I have juggled working as a freelance photographer doing mostly commercial shoots as well as working on numerous documentary series as a researcher and producer. Most notably I have worked on National Geographic’s “Taboo”, the ABC science show, “Catalyst” and as mentioned, “Buggin’ With Ruud”. In the new year I will be taking up the role of senior researcher on the second season of the Dr Karl science show, “Sleek Geeks” which also airs on the ABC.
Over 90% of all life forms in the world are smaller than a fingernail. Sydney is no exception and is home to a diverse and fascinating array of creatures that are generally overlooked. Australian Crawl puts the spotlight on the smaller side of life and encourages people to take a closer look at what is around them. The aim is not simply to show off stunning macro shots but also to promote awareness and appreciation of the biodiversity right on our doorstep. Conservation efforts generally focus on larger, more “charismatic” animals yet invertebrates are becoming extinct even more rapidly than mammals and birds and their disappearance spells potential disaster for all creatures in their ecosystems, us included.
In many ways my approach to photographing invertebrates and reptiles doesn’t differ greatly to my approach with people. Admittedly the subjects are a little more difficult and reluctant to pose in front of the camera than my human models however the final goal in any shoot is the same, namely to capture them in a light that best captures their spirit and allows people to see them in a completely new way.
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