I think taking photos must be in my blood as my father was a very good photographer. I didn’t come to appreciate just how good he was until recently when I scanned a lot of his old slides. Whilst he mainly took the standard family and travel shots, he certainly had an eye for good composition and a great understanding of light.
Dad gave me an old Kodak box camera which I mucked around with and had a bit of fun during my childhood. However it was in my teenage years that I started to take photography seriously with a second hand Praktica IV.
My main interest at that time was Motocross which was a fairly tough training ground. I did however manage to get published in a number of motorcycle publications and also sold photos to a couple of bike manufacturers.
I then started experimenting with various other types of photography with waterfalls becoming a favourite subject. After leaving New Zealand, the Australian landscape captivated my imagination and I travelled extensively up and down the east coast by motorbike. Now that’s a challenge - camera gear, camping equipment and living essentials all on the bike. It was a great experience and I got to meet a lot of fantastic people. One of those was Wayne Ellis, a fellow photographer. He became a lifetime friend and inspiration.
Whilst living in Gladstone, Queensland in the early 80’s, I had the misfortune that the house I was living in burnt down. Whilst most of my equipment was saved (it was at work), I lost virtually all of my slides, very disheartening to say the least. Not long after the fire I was transferred to Darwin in the Northern Territory.
I basically didn’t pick up the camera again for 20 odd years. I started dabbling once again and then my old friend Wayne came to visit. Acting as the tour guide for him and watching him taking photos rekindled my interest and quite quickly the passion returned.
I now take every opportunity to capture the wonderful landscape and nature that surrounds us, particularly in the Top End of the Territory. I also get to regularly travel to Western Australia and Tasmania and take every available moment to explore the incredible photo opportunities that these places have to offer.
My wife, Josie, has a great love of animals (as do I). More recently I have started trying to capture the flora and fauna around us of which there is abundance in the Top End. This is a great opportunity for us to share our passions as at times a photographer’s life can be very solitary.
I trust that you will enjoy the images I have captured and hopefully obtain a greater understanding of the awesome place we are blessed to live in.
Nolan Caldwell
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