In a new 12-part series, Australian Photography + digital talks to leading travel photographers about their favourite place to shoot and how they make the most of each location photographically. In week one, photographer Len Metcalf takes us to the majestic Blue Mountains in NSW.
Without a doubt my favourite landscape location for photography is the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. It wasn’t hard to find - it was at my door step as a young child. The mountains are a very special place for me. Although, having now lived there for two extended periods of my life, I now find myself based in Sydney teaching photography with Len's School. Yet the ‘Bluies’, as the locals call them, keeps luring me back by tugging at my heart strings. Each visit brings new visual delights. I feel a deep spiritual connection to the landscape when I am there. Just by walking in the Blue Mountains landscape brings me inner peace, so we are definitely deeply connected.
As someone who chooses the road less traveled, the Blue Mountains has plenty to discover, with the majority of its 10,000 squared kilometres a designated wilderness area that is only access is by foot. There is a life times worth of exploring to do in this natural wonderland.
My favourite photographic spots are the tumbling creeks and the canyons they run through. The creeks litter the escarpments and cut deep swathes through the plateau forming world renowned slot canyons. Deep in these slots are the most beautiful scenes of pools, running water, waterfalls, green mosses and ferns, and arching water worn sandstone. I am passionate about the mist. I become very restless if I am not out with my camera on those beautiful days when the Blue Mountains is swallowed in a thick still fog usually caused by low clouds. With the moisture laden air and soft diffused light which saturates the colours, it is in the mist that the wet greenery radiates and the gum trees glow. With thoughtful composition the subjects can just pop off out of the photograph. Clean backgrounds become a breeze to work with and the sense of depth can become a dramatic visual element.
Easily accessible places to start are Leura Cascades and Charles Darwin Walk or for those who are fitter I recommend Valley of the Waters at Wentworth Falls, the Grand Canyon in Blackheath and the glow worm tunnel (the best spot here is on the other side of the tunnel so take a torch to get there).
