Alphonse is a Secondary Teacher with a background in Engineering and Outdoor Education. He has been an avid bushwalker and landscape photographer for nearly 40 years, having walked, climbed, paddled, and photographed extensively in Australia, New Zealand, the US, and UK.  He has been published in many magazines including Wild, Rock and Outdoor Australia, and won numerous National Landscape Photography Competitions. 

 

Always seeking quality images to enable large printing, he used to carry a large format 4x5 bellows camera everywhere (you know – the head under the cloth type). The high cost of each sheet of film meant having to really slow down and check the composition, lighting, focus etc before pressing the shutter. This had a profound effect on how he continues to shoot – always taking time with composition in camera so minimal processing is required before printing. 

 

He has been shooting digitally for over 10 years and has recently taken to using a drone for aerial perspectives. He is particularly interested in simple abstract images where colour, shape, texture, pattern, and length of exposure inform the aesthetic. Salt lakes provide ample opportunity for this as the time of day, time of year, water levels (and mineral content) and weather are constantly changing – making it almost impossible to take a similar image on different occasions. 

 

His spare time is now occupied with exploring new and old salt lakes via 4WD and from the air. We are blessed to have hundreds in Western Victoria as well as Southwestern WA. It is his pleasure to be able to share some of his local images with you here at Sky Mirror. Enjoy.