Two years spent photographing every National Park in Victoria, Australia

By Jason Freeman | 12 October 2020

As a weekend photographer and keen explorer of our natural spaces, I set myself a photo project of capturing every land-based national park in my home state of Victoria, located in the south-east corner of Australia.

Visiting all 45 of them took two years of regular trips, outside work and other travels. The largest park is Alpine NP at 646,000ha (1.6 million acres) – an area that you could devote a lifetime of exploration to and barely touch the surface. At the other end of the scale is Lind NP at 1370ha with no tracks passing through it at all.

Many of these parks are within three hours' drive of Melbourne and, as you can see, comprise a wide range of environments from snow, beach, desert, rainforest to dry eucalypt bushland.

Many areas are accessible by a family car, but you'll need to hike for the best locations.

I hope you'll consider looking up a few of these spots – but if you're not, hopefully you'll be inspired to take up a similar photo project in your home area. If you've been to a few of these places, I'd love to hear about your favourite spots!

I'm currently using a Nikon D610 DSLR which gives me full frame quality in a package that's not too heavy or bulky – something you appreciate when hiking up steep hills with it!

When not multi-day hiking, I'll usually use a lightweight travel tripod – a Benro GoPlus Travel FGP18C CF with a RRS BH30 ball head. Although the tripod limits the spontaneity, I find it lets you evaluate the composition more precisely, allowing small adjustments for more impact.

For the glassware, Nikkor 16-35mm f4 VR and Nikkor 50mm 1.4 lenses do most of the heavy lifting, often with a polarising filter. I almost always shoot with manual exposure and 14-bit uncompressed raw files and use a di-GPS Eco ProSumer M unit to encode location metadata. Processing is generally kept to a minimum.

Alpine National Park. Alpine Peak Storm – Summer rain and lightning approach Mt Feathertop after sunset. This is a composite of two sequential shots, combining two lightning strikes. The lightning was infrequent, so I used the intervalometer mode of 10s shooting and 1s gap.
Nikon D600, 16-35 mm f/4 at 32 mm, 10.0 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, tripod — Alpine National Park. Alpine Peak Storm – Summer rain and lightning approach Mt Feathertop after sunset. This is a composite of two sequential shots, combining two lightning strikes. The lightning was infrequent, so I used the intervalometer mode of 10s shooting and 1s gap. Nikon D600, 16-35 mm f/4 at 32 mm, 10.0 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, tripod

Croajingolong NP
Nature's Mirror – Thurra River mouth in late afternoon light. A simple shot, using the natural look of the 50mm prime. No need for any fancy techniques with light like this!
Nikon D600, 50 mm f/1.4, 1/10 sec at f/16, ISO 100, tripod — Croajingolong NP Nature's Mirror – Thurra River mouth in late afternoon light. A simple shot, using the natural look of the 50mm prime. No need for any fancy techniques with light like this! Nikon D600, 50 mm f/1.4, 1/10 sec at f/16, ISO 100, tripod

Grampians NP
Timber Frame – Sunrise over Mt Abrupt from The Picanninny. A long exposure to capture the breezy conditions and add some life to an otherwise static scene. Stopping down and focussing at hyperfocal distance allowed good depth of field throughout. A focus stack could have been used, at a sharper aperture, but the moving objects may not have blended well.
Nikon D300, 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 at 18 mm, 4.0 sec at f/22, ISO 100, tripod — Grampians NP Timber Frame – Sunrise over Mt Abrupt from The Picanninny. A long exposure to capture the breezy conditions and add some life to an otherwise static scene. Stopping down and focussing at hyperfocal distance allowed good depth of field throughout. A focus stack could have been used, at a sharper aperture, but the moving objects may not have blended well. Nikon D300, 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 at 18 mm, 4.0 sec at f/22, ISO 100, tripod

Hattah-Kulkyne NP
Mournpall Morning – Painterly sunrise textures of flooded trees on Lake Mournpall. HDR composite of three frames, with a 2-stop spread.
Nikon D600, 16-35 mm f/4 at 30 mm, 1.0 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, tripod — Hattah-Kulkyne NP Mournpall Morning – Painterly sunrise textures of flooded trees on Lake Mournpall. HDR composite of three frames, with a 2-stop spread. Nikon D600, 16-35 mm f/4 at 30 mm, 1.0 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, tripod

Lower Glenelg NP
Twisted Reality – Australian grass trees in flower. The tripod helped a difficult composition here, with a busy background and competing subject elements.
Nikon D600, 16-35 mm f/4 at 16 mm, 1/500 sec at f/8.0, ISO 800, tripod — Lower Glenelg NP Twisted Reality – Australian grass trees in flower. The tripod helped a difficult composition here, with a busy background and competing subject elements. Nikon D600, 16-35 mm f/4 at 16 mm, 1/500 sec at f/8.0, ISO 800, tripod

Mornington Peninsula NP
Sunrise On The Pulpit – First light of day illuminates Pulpit Rock, Cape Schanck. Leaving home at 4am to catch sunrise here was well worth it, with only a few surfers nearby, I otherwise had the place to myself.
Nikon D610, 50 mm f/1.4, 30.0 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, tripod — Mornington Peninsula NP Sunrise On The Pulpit – First light of day illuminates Pulpit Rock, Cape Schanck. Leaving home at 4am to catch sunrise here was well worth it, with only a few surfers nearby, I otherwise had the place to myself. Nikon D610, 50 mm f/1.4, 30.0 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, tripod

Port Campbell NP
Apostle Dreaming – With waves smoothed out by a long exposure the scene takes on a softer and calmer appearance, hiding the turbulent, eroding waves. The promontory in the distance was packed with tourists, all shooting into the sun. I went 1km further up and had this spot to myself, with a striking front light.
Nikon D610, 16-35 mm f/4 at 22 mm, 8.0 sec at f/16, ISO 100, tripod — Port Campbell NP Apostle Dreaming – With waves smoothed out by a long exposure the scene takes on a softer and calmer appearance, hiding the turbulent, eroding waves. The promontory in the distance was packed with tourists, all shooting into the sun. I went 1km further up and had this spot to myself, with a striking front light. Nikon D610, 16-35 mm f/4 at 22 mm, 8.0 sec at f/16, ISO 100, tripod

Wilsons Promontory NP
Beach For Two – View from Mt Oberon of Norman Beach. With drone use restricted in Victorian national parks, you need to climb a mountain for these sort of views. The 1-hour slog was worth it and the crowds left at sunset, missing a great afterglow and starry sky with green airglow. Bring a torch for your return journey and drive slowly – I had to avoid 14 wombats on the road home at 1am!
Nikon D300, 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 at 200 mm, 1/750 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, tripod — Wilsons Promontory NP Beach For Two – View from Mt Oberon of Norman Beach. With drone use restricted in Victorian national parks, you need to climb a mountain for these sort of views. The 1-hour slog was worth it and the crowds left at sunset, missing a great afterglow and starry sky with green airglow. Bring a torch for your return journey and drive slowly – I had to avoid 14 wombats on the road home at 1am! Nikon D300, 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 at 200 mm, 1/750 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, tripod

Mount Buffalo NP
Vertical Limits – Two climbers on Ozymandias (grade 22 M4), Australia's most popular aid climbing route.
Nikon D300, 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 at 200 mm, 1/250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld — Mount Buffalo NP Vertical Limits – Two climbers on Ozymandias (grade 22 M4), Australia's most popular aid climbing route. Nikon D300, 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 at 200 mm, 1/250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld

Here's a quick glimpse of the other 36 Victorian national park – sometimes a wide vista, sometimes the native residents or just the small details. Each location has its own unique charm...

Clockwise from top-left: Budj Bim NP, Snowy River NP, Point Nepean NP, French Island NP

Clockwise from top-left: Baw Baw NP, Yarra Ranges NP, Kara Kara NP, Greater Bendigo NP

Clockwise from top-left: Burrowa-Pine Mountain NP, Barmah NP, Alfred NP, Lind NP

Clockwise from top-left: Brisbane Ranges NP, Coopracambra NP, Tarra-Bulga NP, Cobboboonee NP

Clockwise from top-left: Errinundra NP, Wyperfeld NP, Little Desert NP, Mitchell River NP

Clockwise from top-left: Kinglake NP, Warby-Ovens NP, Churchill NP, Morwell NP

Mount Richmond NP, Heathcote-Graytown NP, Great Otway NP, Dandenong Ranges NP

Clockwise from top-left: Organ Pipes NP, Lower Goulburn NP, Chiltern-Mount Pilot NP, Lake Eildon NP

Clockwise from top-left: Murray-Sunset NP, Terrick Terrick NP, Gunbower NP, The Lakes NP

About the author: Jason Freeman is a graphic designer based in Melbourne, Australia. After completing a Bachelor of Applied Science in Photography, he began work in aerial surveying, transitioning to creative roles in multimedia, video and print. He is an Adobe Certified Expert in InDesign, Photoshop & Lightroom. As a keen hiker and traveller, the camera is always close at hand.

To view his latest images, or for comments or questions, visit his folio site GoWild Images.