EP101 Scott Portelli | 2025 Australian Photographer of the Year

[00:00:23] Speaker A: Well, good morning everybody and welcome to the Camera Life podcast. It's the 24th of July and this is episode 101 of the Camera Life podcast, proudly brought to you by Lucky Straps. If you're looking for a premium leather camera strap made right here in Australia, then head to Luckystraps.com and make sure you use the code Greg. That's greg for a 15% discount. There's no other codes, it's just Greg. You all know it. Welcome to yet another show. Yes, we had our 100th episode on Monday night. If you haven't watched that already, please make sure you do because there is, there is a Lucky Straps prize pack up for grabs for anyone that leaves a comment in the. Not in the live chat, but in the actual. In the. What do we call it? In the comments section of last Monday, Monday night's episode. If you leave a comment, you go into the running for a 650 Australian dollar lucky strap prize pack. So make sure you check that out. We have an incredible. We have photography royalty with us today and. But we knew him before he was famous, I promise. We are joined today by Scott Patelli who is an international award winning wildlife, nature, aerial and underwater photography. Such a hog of all the accolades but this week Scott was, was graced with the prize of the Australian Photographer of the Year. The Australian Photographer of the Year. Not for any category, just the. That's the category, all of them for the Australian Photographic Prize 2025. Congratulations Scott and welcome to the Camera Live podcast. It's really great to have you on. [00:02:00] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:02:02] Speaker A: Good to have you here. Have you, have you kind of come down off cloud nine from your recent win? [00:02:08] Speaker B: Yeah, it was a sort of bit of an emotional roller coaster. I had about three days before they were asking for a whole bunch of RAW files and I'm on the road in Outback Wa and I realized that hard drive was back home in Esperance so I had to get a friend, you know, get it, break into the house, go find the hard drives, upload them to Dropbox. Like literally it was in the nick of time, like hours before, you know, they were about to announce things that they just wanted to verify and then after that I was relaxed and. Yeah, but it's, it's been up and down but exciting at the same time. [00:02:45] Speaker C: That's crazy. [00:02:47] Speaker A: A huge achievement, seriously, you know, and there's a lot of amazing photographers because this is not just an Australian prize, it is actually also open to international photographers and there was an international photographer winner. We'll have a look at those images a little later on in the show. But just before we do, can you just give us the quick. The quick version of who you are and what you do? [00:03:11] Speaker B: Yeah. So, basically, majority of the time, I'm doing wildlife underwater. I'm probably more known for my underwater work, but over the last couple of years I've been dabbling in sort of a few different genres. I spend a bit more time wildlife above the water, a lot of nature stuff. I'm doing a lot more aerial work. Recently I found a bit of a passion for macros, so I'm starting to get into the macro world, world as well. And, you know, a bit of. A bit of astro as well. So I do a bit of everything, but, you know, I travel the world running different photography workshops, taking people to see wildlife in various places, trekking with gorillas in Rwanda, swimming with whales in Tonga, Norway with the orcas, Antarctica, so on and so forth. So when I get to get home and I'm able to do stuff in Australia, it's. It's great. You know, it's always nice to be home. [00:04:11] Speaker A: Nice. Thanks for sharing that with us. What I find is funny, most interesting about that, that little intro of yours, is that, you know, he talks about Antarctica and, and going to Tonga and so on and so forth is like you've already name dropped some amazing locations. And we're going to get into that in a bit more detail. But first, let's jump to the chat, Ch Justin, and say good morning to some people. [00:04:31] Speaker C: Say good morning to some people. Before I do that, I really just want to ask, because I read this somewhere. I read a little bit about you yesterday. I was doing some research. First of all, your awards page is the longest page on any website I've ever seen, ever. But secondly, is it true, and this was from a couple years ago, I think. Is it true you've been to Antarctica over 25 times? [00:04:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I. Besides running these sort of trips, I also work on an expedition ship. So I've spent a bit of time in Antarctica in, definitely in the last decade. And more recently, I've been doing sort of private yacht trips with photographers. So we take a group of seven photographers down on a yacht for one month in Antarctica and we just focus purely on photography. [00:05:20] Speaker C: Yeah, that'd be amazing. Yeah. Okay, we. We need to hear about that later. [00:05:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:05:26] Speaker C: All right. Oh, my gosh, the chat's going crazy. So Dennis Smith, in the chat, he had his alarm set and is very excited that you were here. [00:05:36] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:05:37] Speaker C: Rodney Nicholson Is here. He's got a coffee. [00:05:40] Speaker A: Yes, please. [00:05:41] Speaker C: This is a new one. Technique fpv. What's up? Drone Dromies. Must be a FPV drone guy. Oh, girl drone person. Philip Johnson. Good morning as always. Got Lisa Leech in the house. Says, good morning, gentlemen. I have my cuppa and I'm ready to be enlightened on all things photography. [00:06:00] Speaker A: Good to see you, Lisa, and thanks for the recommendation. Lisa's recommended another guest in the future, so thank you. [00:06:06] Speaker C: Which is awesome because we've also got Neil here as well. Morning, everyone. Team Leech are ready to go. So they're. They're both coffeeed up and ready. Ready to rumble. Yelena, as always, in the house. Hey, Kev Morse from Margate. Tassie. Ah, the new, the one and only Mike Hawk Photo. Good morning. We're enjoying having you along, Mike Hawk. It's a struggle to say your name without laughing, but we're getting there. Robert Varner from New Jersey. Good to see you. John Pickett, Good morning. And Anthony Stonehouse. Morning, gents. Long time listener, first time caller. I was just rocking my lucky strap at Frame Fest last weekend. Disappointed you didn't spot it? I was on the. I was on the lookout. I don't know if I saw you with a camera strap. You should have come up and said hi. Did you spot me? Anyway, Digifrog, Yes. Good to see you. And I think our LTK photo, I think that's it so far, but. Oh, and Pete Mellows, the one and only. Good morning, Pete. Great to see everybody. [00:07:13] Speaker A: Everybody. [00:07:14] Speaker C: It's going to be a good show. [00:07:15] Speaker A: It is going to be a good show. Just remember, guys, if you're new to the channel, if you're watching this for the first time with a live with us now or in the future, make sure you give us a like. It helps with the algorithms. YouTube will send it out to more people as a result. And if you haven't already, please make sure you subscribe to the channel hit the bell icon so that you get notifications of every upcoming episode of the Camera Life podcast. So, as I mentioned at the, at the top of the of the episode, we are joined by Scott Portelli, who is the Australian Photographic Prize winner, Australian Photographer of the Year. Let's just let that settle in. Of all the photographers in the country, you are the Australian photographer. I just, I just find that absolutely mind blowing that, that we've got you here on the show and we get a chance to talk to you about your experience and your journey. But Speaking of your journey, we'd like to roll back the clock a little bit to your earlier days, perhaps as a child or a teenager. When was it that you discovered that photography might be something for you? When did you first pick up a camera? Tell us that story. [00:08:24] Speaker B: Yeah, look, I think what started it was travel. I was probably 18 or 19 when I first sort of traveled outside the country. I think I went to New Zealand and I think because I started to travel, I realized that, you know, oh, I liked, you know, documenting things, taking photos of things. So it, it sort of started there. I think my first camera was a Minolta 7XI. So back in the film days. Yeah, Minolta don't exist anymore. And yeah, I think the more I traveled, the more I want to take photos. And then being in Australia, you know, we, we all live near the water basically. So I started to get a bit of a feel for underwater photography and I got myself a Nikonos 5 underwater camera. So I had all these like, you know, early film cameras that I was using, you know, to, to start, you know, learning photography. Yeah, and I think that was the first sort of kickoff and I didn't really take it serious. You know, it was all sort of a hobby slash passion for a number of years. And it probably wasn't till around, I want to say, 2007, 2005, 7 when digital started coming out that I started to be a bit more, you know, focused on, you know, wildlife and underwater sort of stuff. And yeah, and then I worked in advertising and marketing for 15 years and not even in a creative role, but it was one of those things that was a little bit soul destroying industry. So I took, I took that step to go full time photographer, which wasn't that long ago really in the big picture of things. So in 2015, I was made redundant from the advertising job I was working at. And then I thought, well, I know how to market and advertise, so maybe I should market and advertise myself. And then basically after 2015, I started entering competitions. I was lucky enough to win a few big ones in that year, which was a bit of a kick towards, you know, a more serious career in photography. [00:10:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And so growing up, were you surrounded by, you know, creative people? Were your, were your parents, you know, artistically minded, Were they business minded? The mentors that you had perhaps tell tell us a little bit about some of those early influences? [00:11:00] Speaker B: Yeah, no, my parents are very relaxed. They were sort of do whatever you want type of people and yeah, which is great. I always had freedom to do what I want. And I think, you know, I think like a lot of people, I was inspired, you know, by beautiful imagery. Maybe didn't sort of understand what that meant for a while until, you know, I started to get a bit more curious about things, you know, and over the years, like, you know, I've had, you know, a lot of people who inspire me, especially in the wildlife world. Like, I don't know if you've heard of people like Paul Nicklin, you know, the Brian Scaries that, you know, all the people that are Nat Geo photographers, BBC photographers, big BBC documentarians, you know, and I've been lucky enough over the years to meet a lot of these people that, you know, were my inspirational heroes. So it's, it's, it's been a, a great sort of journey in evolution, you know, going through this process. So yeah, my, my inspirations were, were varied, but I don't think I was. Like a lot of photographers are a bit more classically trained and they might have a bit more art background or graphic design background or, you know, know, some sort of creative background. Whereas mine was always when, even when I worked in the corporate world, I was a, I was a producer, I was a project manager. So I had the, you know, the project planning mentality, the, the finance hat on all the time. So the photography was the creative outlet for me. And then eventually, like I said, when I took the step and went full time, I sort of combined those skill sets to sort of create my own business, you know, to be able to do this, you know, do what I love. [00:12:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:12:56] Speaker C: What did that first year of business look like? Like what, what did you. Yeah, how did that go? You went, were you doing a little bit in the lead up to when you, when you left your job, were you doing some work for some clients or, and, and you just accelerated that or was it basically a fresh start? All right, here we go. Blank, blank piece of paper. [00:13:17] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that first year was scary to start with. So yeah, look, I was always doing a few things, like I was running a few tours to take people swimming with whales in Tonga and taking photos. That and I was doing a bit and pieces in between. You know, my full time job, I'd take time off and then I'd go do my photography job. But when the, the transition was very quick actually, because like I said in marketing and advertising, I was working on a government client for two years and then typical government fashion, they go, oh well, we don't need that project anymore, so we don't need you. And it was like, you know, it was that kick that sort of went, all right, well then I'll just go hold the whole hog and see what I could do. And yeah, that first year was, I didn't know if, you know, I would make any money or, you know, be able to make a living from this, but I was pretty focused. So it, it was a lot of, a lot of work, a lot of networking, a lot of trying to integrate into so many other things because I think at the time, you know, it's hard to just be a photographer because, you know, there's not many of us that are full time that make a living doing this genre. So I had to diversify, you know, you know, I was a social media person, I was a videographer, I was a, you know, photographer. I was, you know, speaking at events, you know, all that sort of stuff. So I tried to spread myself wide enough to cast a net that, you know, might open up opportunities. So I think, you know, it was more, you know, I had the momentum and you know, I was going to go either go hard or go get broke. So, you know, so yeah, it was, it was an interesting sort of, you know, journey. [00:15:08] Speaker A: And just on that, you know, you talked about bringing in your skills from your corporate life into starting a new business as a professional, full time professional photographer or elevating your business. How different do you think that would have been if you didn't have that, that sort of, that history in marketing and project management? How different do you think your journey would be? Do you think it would have, it would have still unfolded in a similar fashion or albeit a harder slog or. How do you think that's helped? [00:15:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I actually think it helped a great deal just from a, a business perspective. Like, I think a lot of creative people, very creative, but they don't necessarily, you know, want to, you know, touch the business side of things, you know, because like, I don't think people realize but 80 of my life is admin, you know, so, you know, the other 20 is amazing. But you know, you do do a lot of work and, and you know, just understanding, you know, like I'm, yeah, I am a bit of a, a spreadsheet sort of guy. You know, I'm a planner. You know, I'm that sort of person which, like I said, I'm always at conflict with myself because that, you know, that, you know, side of my brain is working to sort of, you know, keep my business running. But the other side of my brain wants to be creative and Just go do amazing things. So I'm always, like, had a bit of a conflict, but definitely my background helped a lot in kicking off the career. And I think the other thing too is just being able to adapt. Like, you know, in. In the industry I was in, you know, you constantly change everything. Every day is a change. So understanding that, you know, if that's a normal part of process, then you can adapt to change with that and, you know, not be, you know, set in your ways. Because I think it's an industry where a lot of people, you know, you can specialize and be an amazing artist and have a specific style and stuff like that. But, you know, the way I do things and, you know, everything I'm trying to do means that, you know, I need to adapt. [00:17:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:14] Speaker C: Was there anything that you did that you can remember, if you can recall, initiatives that you took to try and get your name and your business and your brand out there in front of people? Is there anything you can remember that worked really well or that or that flopped really bad? You know, I'm trying to think of. I've seen people send out, you know, packages to potential clients and things like that with prints in them or books or anything. Was there anything that you come up with where you're like, all right, this is. This is how I'm going to get my name out there? [00:17:46] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a tricky one because I think it was a bit of everything. And I think, to tell you truth, like, the competition work a lot. Like when I'm, When I'm winning, obviously people want to, you know, come and do photography with me. Come on trips, come, you know, see. See what I'm seeing. So that, that definitely helps a lot. And I always tell people, you know, the competition side of things, it keeps you fresh, it keeps you, you know, thinking about how, like, you know, the caliber of photographers you're up against, sometimes it's just phenomenal. And, you know, it just keeps you thinking about new ideas, concepts and ideas. So, yeah, there was definitely one part of it, I think, you know, the other part was being open to opportunities and sort of also at the same time, I've tell people this a lot, but, you know, say no. Like, I say no. You know, so many people said, ah, when you're starting out, oh, we can give you, you know, we can give you credit, we can give you exposure, we can give you this and that stuff. But I just thought to myself, well, if I'm not going to be, you know, satisfied, you know, with doing a job and for free, then I'm not going to do it. I'd rather have no money than someone, you know, under value your work. So I was pretty stern about that. I was sort of like, I know when to say no. And I said no a lot, you know. But when, when the opportunities did come up, they were good opportunities, they weren't just shitty opportunities. [00:19:11] Speaker C: So does that mean you, you didn't. Sorry Greg, I just wanted to you. So you didn't do any free work or you really picked if it was something that you would have to do for free, it had to tick the boxes that you were looking for for some sort of creative pursuit or something you were going for? Yeah. Can you explain that a little bit? [00:19:28] Speaker B: Yeah, I'd say if it was free work. It was never free work. I always, always ask for something like even if it's minimal, you ask for something. So if someone says ah, I can do this for you. And let's say they, they own a car, they'll say okay, well great. If you can detail my car for the next three months, that's fantastic. So I'd always look, that's old school bartering, isn't it? Yeah, but it's the way you've got to do it, otherwise you will feel undervalued and you won't be motivated to do a job. So when I was starting out, it was a lot of, yeah, I can do a free job, but at the same time, yeah, maybe down the track you can give me this or you can help me with this or introduce me to that person. So I was trying to be as savvy and trying to avoid, you know, one off things that were really not gonna get me anywhere but, but you know, it was still a long slog. You know, I say I, I went full time in 2015. Ten years later, it's only sort of, I guess been in the five years, last five years that things have sort of come together professionally and except for the, the problem, covert caused a lot of problems. [00:20:43] Speaker A: You're preaching to the choir, sister. I want to talk to you about, about. You know, in the early days you, you began underwater photography and you are an OM ambassador. I want to put that out there. What was the first camera setup from OM that you took underwater? [00:21:06] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, it's one I still use even now. But it's a EM1 Mark II because they made an underwater housing for it. So Olympus used to make their own underwater housings which was fantastic. And they were just solid. Like I've never had a Piece of equipment that's solid that I could just do anything to and it'd be fine. And, you know, I use that for. I'm just trying to think. To say the Wildlife Photographer. The year a couple of years ago where I was in the category the. No, the one with the. As a leafy sea dragon and a sea line behind each other, that was taken on the Olympus camera. So I always tell people, I say, you know, like, a lot of my wards have actually been taken with the OM system. So, you know, it's. It's been fantastic. But, yeah, that was one of the first rigs I had set up on the OM system. Yeah. [00:21:57] Speaker A: This is the lead image on your product, on your website. [00:22:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:03] Speaker C: It'S a great shot. [00:22:07] Speaker B: Wow. [00:22:07] Speaker A: It just takes your breath away once you sort of observe. Because when I first glanced at your website when we were researching for this podcast, I just thought that was seaweed floating in front. [00:22:18] Speaker D: I only just learned that it wasn't. [00:22:20] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:22:23] Speaker B: It was. It was a great, like, you know, it was a great experience too, because when I was in London and they were announcing the awards and that photo, the guy was doing the intro and he's going, oh, and you see this beautiful sea lion and this kelp around, but when you stop and look in, you see, you know, there's a dragon there. The whole audience went, ah. Like, they didn't see it either. That was. That was like it. That was like, oh, that's cool. You know, everyone didn't notice it, but, you know, now they see it. [00:22:50] Speaker D: So that's hiding in plain sight. [00:22:52] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that was. [00:22:54] Speaker A: Yeah, actually. And. And just while we're on the topic of your underwater work. So what. What sort of. Were you. Were you a natural swimmer as a kid or as a young adult? Did you. Did you, like, enjoy diving before the camera came into it? [00:23:08] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, look, you know, like I said, being Australian and living by the coast, I think we're in the water as much as possible. But, yeah, no, I always love being in the water. I still love being in the water. I know when I started taking, you know, camera into water, that was probably a few years after I'd learned to scuba dive. So. And I think that was the thing, you know, I scuba dived and I thought, oh, I'm seeing all these cool things. I should get a little camera. And, yeah, eventually got a camera. Took some terrible shots, like, for years with it, because I didn't know how to shoot an underwater camera, what all the dials and buttons meant. But, yeah, like, the ocean and my affinity with the ocean's always been there and it's. It's just grown over years and, you know, it's grown from not only photography but to sort of, you know, have conservation protection, education aspect to it, as, you know, it's gone further on. So, you know, that's. That for me, that's, you know, very positive, you know, way to go. [00:24:10] Speaker A: Yeah. And. And just while we're on that topic, you're providing all the best segues. I don't need to do it anymore. I'm. I like a good, sloppy segue. But you're providing some nice clean segues. You. You do do some research and work with charitable organizations around conservation and raising awareness. You know, Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd. I don't know what the other ones are. W. World wdsc. [00:24:37] Speaker B: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. Yeah. [00:24:40] Speaker A: Yep. [00:24:41] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:41] Speaker A: So, yeah, how did you get involved with that? Was that a natural? Was that something that you sought out to do as part of your, I guess, you know, your business of running a photography company? Was that part of it that you wanted to seek out? Some way to give back, or did it. Did they come to you? [00:24:59] Speaker B: Yeah, it was. It's more indirect, actually. I wasn't seeking it, but a lot of organizations started to see my photos and they sort of said, you know, we've got a campaign coming out to save whales or to save something, you know, would you be able to help? It's probably the one area where, you know, when I knew it was a good cause and for an organization, I, you know, it was free. Like, that was when I worked for free. So they, they sought me out mainly just because of the type of imagery. And then over the years, it's become more of a, you know, I work with a lot of organizations now from a science point of view, so maybe I'm out in the field shooting something and I come back with a data set and say, here's all the data from, you know, that project and I give it to scientists, government, you know, researchers, citizen science, things like that. So it's become a bit more proactive now. So if I know I'm doing something specific, I might call, you know, University of Macquarie and say, hey, I'm doing this with citations and I'm going to get this data. Do you want it? You know, sometimes they say, not, not interested. Other times they say, oh, that's fantastic, great. You know, send it to us. So it. These days it's a bit more proactive, but in the early days it was more that they approached me because they, you know, were trying, you know, they had campaigns to, you know, deal with the, you know, various causes around the world. [00:26:21] Speaker A: Yeah, very cool. [00:26:25] Speaker C: Dennis has a question. I don't know if this will make sense or not, but he says, scott, we are in a catastrophic environmental situation, literally at the end of my street here in South Australia. What are your thoughts on this? [00:26:39] Speaker B: Yes, look, the South Australia situation is terrible at the moment. That algal bloom, like, killing so much marine life. Like, I'm not even sure what you could do there or if they've even assessed, you know, what the cause is, how it's happening. Obviously, everything we do as the human race, you know, is impacting the environment. You know, then, yeah, there is global warming, like, so you have no idea how it's affecting, you know, the entire planet. I'd say, you know, look, you can only change yourself. It's very hard to change others. So what I always advise people is do what you can to, you know, build awareness, to get involved, to see what you can change. And, and often it's. You can only change things in your own backyard. You know, it's hard to change things at a national, international, global level. But really, the more people that are aware of these sort of situations and what's going on, the more, you know, you get the right people involved and the, you know, the more, you know, we'll be able to help. Maybe. Yeah, but as a, as a photographer, like, you know, I like to put imagery out there that, you know, people question go, what's that? Or what's going on or what's happening? And I think, you know, situations like what's going on in South Australia at the moment, you know, know, are devastating for our marine environment. And, you know, I think the hardest thing, you know, it's such a strong marine community down there. Like, it's going to be hard to work out, you know, how long it's going to take to recover. Like, you know, we've all dive in these underwater worlds and there's unique, endemic Australian species that are found nowhere else in the world and they're dying. You know, they're. They're rare, they're endangered and they're dying. So it's. Yeah, it's a tough, tough question. But I would say if you can use your photography or your connections or your networks to build awareness, then you're taking a step forward. [00:28:36] Speaker A: I think that's a fair, It's a fair point, isn't it, that as photographers especially, you know, landscape. Not landscape, sorry, but nature and wildlife and underwater photographers such as yourself, you know, there is a unique opportunity there because it's a lot of the stuff that you see and experience the rest of us have no idea about. You know, we see, we see the odd picture and there'll be a, might be a little news story every now and then if you watch the news. But I guess through your photography of this nature, we can really put out there that, hey, this stuff is worth saving. This is how beautiful and magnificent it is. And it's, it's disappearing. [00:29:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Especially because a lot of people, like, not everyone knows what's going on in the world environmentally. And you know, it's not their fault. Like everyone lives day to day and, and I find it's, it's struggle too. Like, you know, I can educate a lot of people, but if you live out in the suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne and, you know, the most important thing might be that, you know, there's a pothole in your road that's causing damage. There's a, there's a light out. There's. Yeah. You know, the people have got to live life, you know, day to day. So it's harder to get that message out there. But, you know, it doesn't mean you don't try. And the more like the amount of people I've just spoken to and just walked up and said, hey, do you know what's happening here? With blah, blah, blah. And they've gone. I didn't even know that. I didn't even know these things happen, you know, so even just a conversation can, can make a difference. [00:30:02] Speaker C: Some great questions coming in from the chat. This one from Neil. Awesome work, Scott. How do you concentrate on your subject matter when lots of things want to eat you? [00:30:16] Speaker B: Yeah, look, I'm, I'm aware of all the, you know, the predators and critters and things that, you know, can harm you. I'm, you know, I'm good at, I'm. To tell you the truth, I'm, I'm really a behavioral photographer. Like, I really enjoy behavior of wildlife and animals and nature. So I, I try to observe and learn as much as I can before I interact with various things. So when it comes to your subject matter, know your subject matter, how they're going to interact, how they're going to react to you, how they react to other creatures. For example, if I'm shooting whales and there's a great white shark around, how does the, you know, the whales react to the shark and how does the shark react to me? And Vice versa. So you got to be thinking, what's going on in this circle of, you know, like, wildlife going on. So, you know, I do think about it and I'm conscious of it, and I do take precautions, know, for various things, but at the same time, it doesn't distract me from my focus. Like, it. It's more sort of. I'm aware of it. I, you know, would not put myself in a situation where it's going to be extremely dangerous by accident. It happens sometimes. Recently I was up in Northern Territory about three weeks ago, and we were swimming in Hot Springs up there, and there happened to be a croc in the water. And I had a quick look under a log and saw how big the croc was and thought, all right, I'm not going back there. So it can be accidental. But, you know, got out of the water, talked to the rages. They shut the park down for five days. But wow. [00:31:54] Speaker A: And you're in the. You're in the pond with them. Just a reminder to our international listeners and viewers that all the stuff you hear about Australian wildlife is true. We do. We do often have crocodiles in swimming holes and we do often have sharks on beaches. Well, not on the beach, obviously, but at the beach. And plenty else in between. Plenty more in between. [00:32:13] Speaker C: Gosh, that croc, that. That's terrifying. Yeah, yeah. Every time I've been up in Northern Territory and. And you swim places or there's swimming holes and stuff like that, I'm always like, how do they know there's no crocs in. [00:32:25] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, exactly. [00:32:26] Speaker C: They don't know, apparently. They just. [00:32:29] Speaker B: They don't know until someone gets bitter. [00:32:31] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:32:33] Speaker D: It's supposed to be a swimming hole that has no crocodile holes. [00:32:36] Speaker B: Is that. It's. No, it's. It's one that, you know, there's a lot of swimming holes that they know usually have maybe have fresh water or maybe they don't see them that often. But yeah, this one was definitely bigger. [00:32:50] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:32:50] Speaker B: Okay. [00:32:52] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:32:55] Speaker B: Yeah. And I didn't even take a photo, so you could see how concerned I was. [00:33:00] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:33:00] Speaker B: Okay. [00:33:01] Speaker C: So. So you do. You do put self preservation before photography. Photography when it comes to that. Okay. [00:33:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:33:08] Speaker A: Smart. [00:33:10] Speaker C: Another question, another question from Patrick J. Photography. How do you decide on where and what you're going to shoot next? [00:33:18] Speaker B: Yeah, good question. I'm, you know, I'm passionate about so many different species and stuff like that, and I want to see them all, but it depends. Sometimes I'll be working with an organization and a production crew who are filming something Specific. And because I've had experience with the species or I have the permits to allow me to do things, they tend to approach me. So sometimes that's part of the reason why I will, you know, go after a subject. Sometimes I suggest, yeah, there's a cool subject and I want to shoot it. Like up in Broome, there's mud skippers. I love them. I can lay in the mud for days on end and there's mud skippers jumping around everywhere. And I love photographing them. So sometimes it's about a concept. So, yeah, I'm always looking for a new idea, a new way, because there's a lot of stuff that's been shot a thousand times and it's been shot well, it's shot differently. So finding a subject that I haven't, you know, I'm interested in, or I want to shoot differently, or I want to show my audience a different perspective of looking at that subject. That's usually how I'm choosing the subject matter I'm going after and location as well. Like, if I'm in Antarctica, I might focus on leopard seals or penguins or things like that. Underwater. [00:34:39] Speaker C: Crazy. [00:34:40] Speaker D: What sort of crazy wetsuit do you have to shoot underwater in Antarctica? [00:34:44] Speaker B: So it's a dry suit. So I wear a. What's. What's called a tri laminate dry suit. And underneath it you're wearing, you know, warm onesies and thermals and stuff like that. So you're comfortable. But it's still like. It's like walking into an industrial freezer and sitting in there for 10 minutes. No matter how warm clothes you got on, you're still going to freeze. [00:35:04] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:35:05] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:35:05] Speaker D: But then your face is still. [00:35:07] Speaker B: Your face is a little bit exposed. But you get used to it after a while, you know, once, you know, you get used to the cold, you know, it's fine. You just go numb. [00:35:17] Speaker C: How long. How long might you be out for on a shoot like that in. In Antarctica or something in the water? [00:35:23] Speaker B: Like. [00:35:24] Speaker C: Like, what's the time limit on that? [00:35:27] Speaker B: I think the average time for me, if I'm just on snorkels, probably about an hour, hour and a quarter. If I'm on dive, 25 minutes before I'm freezing, like, it's pretty cold. Yeah. [00:35:39] Speaker A: It's not a big window of opportunity when you think about it, because you're also relying on wildlife to show up. [00:35:45] Speaker B: Exactly. So. And you got to be reactive. Like, you know, a lot of the time I'll be on the sailing yacht. We're sailing along, and then something's happening. And, you know, it's a dry suit on average. Takes about, let's say, 10 minutes to put on. I think I can get it on in about three. [00:36:02] Speaker A: Nice. [00:36:03] Speaker C: You should make a video of that. That would be amazing. It's like rapid getting ready for a shoot in Antarctica. [00:36:10] Speaker B: Yeah, that would be jumping. [00:36:12] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a documentary on its own right there. [00:36:16] Speaker C: Yep. [00:36:18] Speaker A: Now, of course, we have been talking and celebrating your recent win with the Australian Photographic Prize. I just want to bring up the image, if that's okay with you, Scott, from your win, just so we can have a little talk about it. Where is it? It's here. Just got to get this thing to work. Okay. So can everyone. I just want to. I want to show this comparison to begin with. So this is Scott's winning photograph on the left. Can you tell us about your photo and the setup and the situation, please, Scott? But just before you do, I found quite compelling the way that the Australian Photographer of the Year and the International Photographer of the Year, they've juxtapositions the two photos side by side. The international winner, whose name I won't even try to pronounce because I'll butcher it, has taken an aerial shot of Gaza with people praying next to utter destruction. And I think the juxtaposition of that against your photo, which talks about, you know, it's more about peace and connection, and it's just quite a compelling, you know, side by side comparison of. Of the world that we live in. But that. Anyway, that's just. That's just my random thoughts on the subject. I want to bring up your winning photo. Here we go. Here. Can we have a little info about this one? [00:37:45] Speaker C: If you just narrow your window a little bit, that might make that thing bigger, hopefully. Yeah. [00:37:51] Speaker A: I don't know. [00:37:52] Speaker C: Oh, okay. That's all right. [00:37:55] Speaker A: Sorry, guys. [00:37:57] Speaker B: Yeah. So this is a photo of two baby elephant seals, and it was taken in the Falkland Islands, I think it was. And basically, so the females have the babies, and then less than three weeks later, they. They leave. So they've been nursing the babies, giving them milk and everything, and then three weeks later, they leave and they're left to their own devices. So, you know, there's no parental guidance or, you know, how to go hunt for food and things like this. So what happens is these little wieners all sort of lay next to each other and, you know, stay in little crashes and groups until they're sort of ready to go out to sea and forage for themselves. And I always love these type of animals because they're like seals. They're what. What we call thigmotactic. They're. They're animals that like to touch each other. So they're always sort of touching each other. They're always rolling on top of each other. They're always like, you know, you know, these little fat little bundles of joy, you know, rolling around on top of each other. They're super curious as well. But in this. I saw this sort of moment where like, you know, one was putting his little fin over the other one and the other one was sort of snuggling up. And, yeah, it just had this beautiful connection and you could see the underbelly on one side and the dark back on the other side. And, you know, for me, it just drew that connection and that sort of, like, you know, bond between these sort of, you know, animals and, you know, how, you know, they're left to their devices and then, you know, that's it, you know, they've got to survive, you know, and they're in, you know, Antarctic sub. Antarctic waters and, you know, so they've got predators as well. So, you know, it's just that, like I said, that, that, that bond and connection, you know, that I. I felt, you know, sort of was exemplified through this image. And I try to keep it as subtle and simple as possible as well. And apparently I did the right job. [00:40:04] Speaker A: Yeah, clearly. I think, you know, often we're used to seeing, you know, predominantly with wildlife images, we tend to see more of, you know, headshots and full body shots. And, you know, you've cropped in really close on this to capture this really important connection that you've just described. And, you know, the image helps to tell that story. Can I ask what sort of lens you used in this situation? [00:40:31] Speaker B: What lens did I use? [00:40:34] Speaker A: Got you now. [00:40:35] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm thinking it was. It was probably a 70 to 200. Yeah, I think without looking. Sorry, I should have looked at my files, but that. [00:40:50] Speaker A: Oh, no, no, sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I was just curious, like, you know, what, what you're approaching this. And how close would you have been from the subject, do you reckon? [00:40:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I was. I was pretty close in the. In the Falklands. Yeah, the. The limits are a little bit different and, you know, I was probably up a bit higher, elevated. I'd say maybe on some rocks looking down onto the sandy beach. But, yeah, it's a pretty tight shot. Like, even if you look at the original, there is no. There's no Room, you know, it's a full frame. [00:41:25] Speaker A: Yep, yep. [00:41:26] Speaker C: Yeah, I was going to ask that. What. What. Do you remember if there were many other images sort of from this moment, like from the sequence and how you went about choosing this one? Or was it immediately apparent to you that this. This was the shot that you would submit from that moment? Or was it. Was there a few options that you had? [00:41:44] Speaker B: Yeah, there were a few frames. And often it's just a slight different movement or angle or, you know, line. Yeah, I'm looking for, obviously, the leading lines in this sort of, you know, drawing my attention through the image. But, yeah, like, often with a lot of shots, you know, I'll take multiple frames, but I don't take a huge amount if I know it's a subject that's not moving or sitting still. Because it's quite easy. I think if you look at the. When we looked at the. The leafy and the sea line shot from the wpy, I only had three frames in that. I had the first frame where the seal was looking to the right, second frame where it was looking to the left, and the one where it was looking right at the sea drag in the middle. So sometimes that's all you have is three frames. And out of those three frames, I got, you know, one that was perfect. So, yeah, depending on what I'm shooting, I'm trying to be a bit more conservative with my shots. It's harder with other subjects that are moving, like if it's birds or, you know, something that's, you know, running. I'll probably take thousands of shots and hope one's in focus. But. But, yeah, generally. Generally. Generally, I'm trying to keep it a fairly tight sort of, you know, number of frames. [00:42:56] Speaker A: Yep. And that must be only on the amplified in terms of difficulty. I imagine when you're underwater and you're wearing a mask and you're holding a camera. I think we've seen a photo of your camera. You're on one of your underwater setups where it's got the lighting. Are they like arms that come out for lighting? Is that right? [00:43:18] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. [00:43:20] Speaker A: And so talk to us about that process of actually taking shots underwater. What is that? How does that differ from. Sorry, guys. How does that differ from. From, you know, being above ground? Above water? [00:43:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Look, it's. It's a huge degree of difficulty when you take a camera into the underwater world because you're not only dealing with so many factors, like you've got to deal with your own buoyancy you know, underwater. Yeah. You've got to make sure that everything you're doing is working well, especially in places where there might be silt on the bottom. You don't want to stir it up and mess up your shot. There's the fact that the lower you, deeper you get in water, you lose red light. So you need to go, okay, well, that's why I've got flash units to add light into the subject to bring back the natural light, you know, how close you are to your subject because density of water will affect. You don't really get a really good depth of field because if water is not clear, then doesn't matter how big your, like, your aperture is. It's. It's not going to, you know, have any point of difference. So you've got to, you've got to think about so many more things just because of the water factor. And yeah, it's, it's, it literally is to a point where even, you know, where the lighting is like, it's not like traditional where you've got a flash, you've got some, you know, set up in a studio and it's great. The lights are in the same spot. Underwater, if you go too close to something too far away, it means shadow, it means harsh, you know, spotlights and even just me slightly moving strobe left or right makes a huge difference or putting one bit higher. So it's a lot more, you know, involved and it's a lot more thinking and it does make you be a better photographer and diver at the same time because you are literally doing everything manually to, you know, create a scene. [00:45:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Plus trying to avoid being eaten by sharks. [00:45:19] Speaker C: Do you have. I'm always looking for a shark to photograph it. Do you have any go to settings. So, and I know obviously everything, the situations change constantly, but underwater, I know, like, with stuff I've done in the past, I know, like, this is going to sound crazy comparing it to a dance floor at a wedding, but Jim and I, if Jim and I, we're shooting a wedding, we can jump on a dance floor in a wedding. We have a, we've got, you know, there's a foolproof setting you can use to get those shots and then you can experiment beyond there or adapt to the situation that you're in. Is there, there's sort of like, have you got like a go to aperture and shutter speed and then from there you start to tweak, you know, ISO and, and your lighting to suit the situation and then even, you know. But is it Like a. All right, I've got three minutes. I got my suit on, I'm going to jump in. And these are my starting sort of point settings for under underwater shots for, I guess, animals and wildlife. [00:46:17] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm trying to do as little as possible to change things underwater. So I will always probably have my ISO set the same. I'll pretty much have my shutter speed set the same. Because underwater, even with flash, you only can sync to about 1, 200 of a second. So that's never going to really change. So the only thing that really changes is my aperture. And even if I've got lighting, I don't really need to change my ISO because I know what I'm working with. So, yeah, there are definitely a starting point for underwater when you're doing lighting, when you haven't got lighting and you're doing natural light. It'll depend on the subject. Let's say I've got Australian fur seals zipping around like crazy. I need a fast shutter speed 1,000th of a second. I'll need to pump my ISO up. And aperture is not that important because you know they're going to come close and stuff. So with lighting, yep, I can have a set thing with non lighting. It's subject dependent. [00:47:15] Speaker C: Okay. John Pickett wanted to know in the chat here somewhere, how do you maintain and protect your camera gear beyond using enclosures? With all the underwater work that you do. [00:47:31] Speaker B: You know, most of the time if you're doing underwater work, definitely all the cameras are in a underwater housing. It doesn't mean they're safe, you know. You know, cameras get flooded. Yeah, minor things happen. You know, you've got O rings that seal everything. If a hair gets in the way, then bang, you know there's water in your camera. So you've got to be diligent about cleaning gear, making sure, you know, O rings are clean. You know, everything's greased up. Like with underwater kit, it's all about keeping the kit so perfectly, you know, in tune, otherwise, you know, you will make a mistake. And the other thing too is like, you know, you need to almost have a process in your head. I go, this is step 1, 2, 3, 4. Because if you miss one of those steps, you'll screw up your camera. But, you know, having gear above water, I shoot in so many conditions with water splashing on cameras. These days, most cameras are environmentally sealed, so I rely on that a bit, you know, to, you know, the stuff I've put the, the OM system through, like mud, water, sun, everything, snow, you Know, the good thing is most. Like I said, most cameras can deal with most things and, you know, I'm in extreme conditions all the time. So. Yeah, you gotta, you gotta know how to protect your gear. [00:48:49] Speaker A: And so have you ever. Have you. Sorry, Jim, you go. [00:48:52] Speaker D: I was gonna say, I don't think people realize how like, far you kind of can push the gear with, you know, modern rocks and sand and stuff. Like, they're a lot more, A lot less precious than what you maybe think. [00:49:07] Speaker C: Yeah, but it's like it. But on the other hand, they can be temperamental as well. Yeah, it's like we've done it both directions where they've been fully flooded, rained on and all that kind of stuff and been fine. And then they can also have funny problems from not much environmental stuff. So it's sort of. Yeah, it's. It's tricky. [00:49:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:49:27] Speaker A: Jumping. Jumping in a pool, for example, with a R5 mark 2. You know, it's a questionable decision when it's not. [00:49:34] Speaker C: When it's not in housing. Yeah, that was. Yeah, yeah, that was a mistake. [00:49:38] Speaker A: So, Scott, what, what have you ever lost? Like, have you ever had a catastrophic failure in, in, in an underwater rig and lost some gear or had some gear that severely? [00:49:48] Speaker B: Yeah, a few times. It's funny though. It usually is when I've set up gear for other people and they're using the gear, they make a mistake. But generally I'm. I'm pretty good. It's more stupid mistakes like leaving the lens cap on your lens when you put it in underwater environment, getting down on the dive and going, ah, has that really happened? Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. [00:50:14] Speaker A: That's classic. [00:50:15] Speaker C: Oh, that is so good to hear that. The 2025 Australian Photographer of the year could also leave a lens cap on. [00:50:25] Speaker B: Things like that. [00:50:25] Speaker A: It literally happens to the best of us. [00:50:31] Speaker C: That's funny. Well, that actually, that. So Anthony's got a question here that's kind of along those lines. How much gear do you take down with you? Is it just a single body and a lens, you know, in the housing, or do you sometimes carry two bodies for backup or a different lens focal length? [00:50:46] Speaker B: Yeah. You sort of have to make the decision about which lens and which body you take. So basically the rigs are so big and heavy and underwater they're neutral, but you want to take. Basically, if I'm shooting whales, I'm taking a wide angle lens, one body, and shooting small macro, I'm taking a macro lens, etc. So you only have one choice. It's not like you can go, I'm shooting macro. Oh, and a whale goes past just, you know, so you don't just have. [00:51:10] Speaker A: A second Cameron housing hanging off a lucky strap over your shoulder, just floating. Not, not yet. [00:51:19] Speaker B: It's hard enough just to do anything, but I always have, if I'm on a boat or something, I will definitely. I might even have two rigs set up, one for stills, one for video, depending on what I'm shooting. But generally you have to make one decision. [00:51:32] Speaker C: Yeah. So if you were doing that, you would just like pop up, swap, swap the rig over and then, and then go back under again and that kind of stuff working. [00:51:40] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. [00:51:41] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I, I just want to jump in with some thoughts. You know, I think a lot of people might take for granted just how difficult and you've explained some of that. But even just being on a, on a boat, trying to set up, you know, you, you're in Antarctica, you're on a boat, it's freezing, you know, your hands are numb. Even just setting up a camera on the boat before you even get anywhere near the water must be a challenge in its own right. [00:52:05] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, with, with boats, you know, there's always water splashing and, you know, it takes, takes one tiny thing, like even a bit of water droplet on your lens or on the dome port, you know, you know, kid making a. I knew, I worked with Discovery crew one time and they left their underwater housing open overnight just to keep it dry. And we're in the South Pacific and all of a sudden they, you know, they put all their gear on and they were down shooting and all of a sudden they seen these lines going across their dome. Apparently ants got into their, their dome port. So they were underwater and these little marching ants were going across the side of their dome. [00:52:49] Speaker A: Imagine what the ants thought. [00:52:51] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly. [00:52:53] Speaker B: Any tiny, any tiny thing can just ruin it. Like, you know, you know, you got to be like, everything you do underwater is sort of like, it's working. Double checked. Is there any marks on the glass? You know, so much stuff that's crazy. [00:53:08] Speaker C: I want to find out where you are right now because you're under the awning of your car, just hanging out. Whereabouts are you? [00:53:18] Speaker B: I'm in. Where am I? I'm in. I'm on the Give River Road. Yeah, I'm on the Give. Give River Road up in the Kimberleys. Sort of traveling across the, the sort of Kimberley area to get to Derby and Broome and then, and then slowly making my way back down the coast over the next month and. [00:53:41] Speaker A: So are you on a particular job or a project? Have you got a. Have you got something in mind that you want to achieve this trip, or are you following a familiar path where, you know, there's some cracking shots? [00:53:53] Speaker B: No, it's basically my wife and I are traveling because I've put three months off aside so I didn't have to work and I could go take photos and. But no, there's no particular goal in mind. It's just I haven't seen this part of Australia, so I wanted to go see it. So that's. Yeah, and getting some, you know, know, nice, cool photos along the way is a bonus. Yeah, nice. [00:54:15] Speaker C: I'm trying to zoom in on you at the moment, hopefully through this. Through this satellite system. I've got. Hang on. Where. Where am I? Where. Where. Where are you? Roughly? [00:54:25] Speaker B: If you. If you type in Ellen Bray Station. E, L, E. Ellen Braid. [00:54:30] Speaker C: E double L. Oh, E double L. Sorry. [00:54:33] Speaker B: Yeah. E, N, B. Oh, there it is. Yeah, that's where I am exactly. [00:54:38] Speaker C: Whoa. [00:54:39] Speaker A: Okay, look, you got your own airstrip. [00:54:41] Speaker C: It looks nice. Yeah, beautiful. Like an oasis. [00:54:45] Speaker B: Yeah, that's cool. [00:54:46] Speaker C: Okay, so let's zoom out a little bit and get a bit of. A bit of a. Okay. Not much, you're. Yeah, not much there. We'll zoom right out quickly for those that are joining us from all over the world. So for reference, Jim, Greg and I, we're down here. We're at the opposite corner. At the opposite. Yeah, you couldn't be further away from us, really. There's not many places that would be further away. [00:55:16] Speaker A: And for the. Yeah, and for the flat Earthers, we are in a sound stage in Miami, so we're not real. [00:55:25] Speaker C: Yeah, that's great. Okay, so you're enjoying the travels through there, through that area? [00:55:29] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it's. Yeah, it's. It's a lot more remote, which is nice, except for I've got no power here, so I have to rely on batteries and things like that going off. But no, it's great. You know, lots of different things that you see along the way. Wildlife, scenery, you know, beautiful clear skies. That's great for Astro, like, you know, it does. You know, I'm on. Basically, I'm on holiday, so it's, you know, it's nice. I've got no. [00:56:04] Speaker C: Oh, we lost him. [00:56:06] Speaker A: Got no Internet. [00:56:07] Speaker C: Got no. [00:56:08] Speaker A: We've lost your sky. Still here. Us. You've gone. You've gone. You've gone still on us. Just give it a. There we go. [00:56:18] Speaker B: Yeah, for A second. [00:56:21] Speaker A: Elon's not messing with us with Starling. [00:56:23] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm sure he's got a big. [00:56:25] Speaker A: Switch in his office and he just turns it off every now and then just for giggles. Wow. So that's a. That. Yeah, that's a. That's a long way. And so whereabouts do you hail from originally? Are you from. You're from Western Australia? [00:56:37] Speaker B: No, no, I'm from. No, I'm from Sydney. Okay, Sydney. Sydney born and bred. So live there all my life. But in the last couple of years, two and a half years, my wife and I decided to move to Esprits. Amazing part of Australia. Like so beautiful, beautiful beaches, good environment for us. There's wildlife, there's marine life, there's diving. There's like so many cool things. So it was, it was one of those places we were actually traveling during COVID We were on our. We were doing a lap around Australia but then this thing called Covert hit and we got stuck in WA for seven months, which was a good place to get stuck because it was like Covert didn't exist in wa, so. So we managed to travel around but we kept coming back to Esperance. So you know, we, we found that we had a connection with it. So we ended up, yeah, finding a place and now we. Now we're wa, Western Australia's. [00:57:42] Speaker C: Is. Is it. I heard a rumor, is it true that your wife is quite the photographer also? [00:57:49] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, she's a great photographer. She does a lot of underwater. She loves like the above water stuff. She likes lizards and snakes. She's. She's a snake handler as well. So she does a lot of cool stuff. Yeah, she's. She loves, yeah, nature. She. She gets involved in a lot of local community causes. Looks after kangaroos. He's got to do some volunteering with a bat hospital up in North Queensland next year. So yeah, she's. She's very involved. [00:58:22] Speaker C: That's awesome. Does she also use OM system equipment? [00:58:27] Speaker B: She does actually. Yeah. So mainly, mainly a lot of mine. So I have to fight to get my cameras back. But yeah, she, she definitely uses the OM kit. Yeah, no, no, we love it. It's nice. And yeah, with the new OM1 Mark II, I'm just like shooting like they've got a lot of these computational sort of cool things on it and it's making life so much easier. Like built in ND filters and star focus, all this sort of stuff. I go, oh wow, that's great. [00:59:00] Speaker C: Right? Actually, yeah, I'd love to hear. So what, what are they? The main computational features that you use. Do you use any of the other ones that are built in, in your, like in your regular work? I'd love to hear more about that. [00:59:13] Speaker B: It depends. It's. It's more of a. Of a need. Like if I've started just trying to use a lot of the stuff, they've got like gradient ND filters. So if you're doing like landscape stuff, you can now put a gradient in there, which is pretty cool. Like that school. Yeah, there's, there's a lot of. Yeah. Things. What else have I been using? Just trying to think because I've, I've been almost tackling every genre this last couple of months because I'm, I'm on a mission to learn as many genres as I can. So I've been doing, you know, macro astro, landscape, etc. [00:59:49] Speaker A: But yeah, maybe Jim. Maybe Jim's looking for a second shooter for some boudoir and weddings and wedding stuff. [00:59:56] Speaker C: Really, really expand. Yeah. The problem is Scott had come into those categories at the Australian Photographic Prize and sweep those as well. Everybody like, ah. [01:00:09] Speaker B: I, I think you're safe, Jim. Don't worry. [01:00:16] Speaker C: I mean, is it a good time to. I'd love to. So there's a couple other things we want to do on this show while, while your batteries are still lasting, one of them is look through some more of your images. But since we were talking about gear, it would be good to get a bit of a rundown of the kit that you use and any go to sort of favorites. But also I'd like to hear personally, just because we recently tested Greg and I tested the OM3 and I'm traditionally, you know, I've shot full frame for a long time and I was kind of thinking there are these tiny little sensors. They weren't. They won't even work, you know, they won't do anything. And I was pretty surprised about the output of that camera. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on what the pros and cons of a system with that sensor size are. [01:01:08] Speaker B: Yeah, look, I shot Canon for a number of years and I've worked with the Sony system as well. And when I first transitioned, I, you know, like, I thought the same thing. Like, I think I, you know, I got you so used to things working in a certain way and doing things a certain way that I felt, you know, I was going to be missing out and stuff. But I think what's happened over the years, I've. Like, when I started doing stuff with Olympus, I wasn't an Ambassador. I was just doing some projects with them and the gear was working for what I needed to or if it wasn't, I could find a way around working with the gear. But now it's got to a point where like with the OM Systems, like the OM 11 Mark 2, I, I'm not compromising on everything, anything. And from a working perspective it hasn't made any like difference because like I said, I'm, I'm using the kit for everything I do and you know, for the awards photos as well. But yeah, and the lenses, like, you know, they have some, you know, they're, they're an optical company. They, they make optics for medical, which is pretty cool. When you go into their office and you see this medical system set up and all these tiny little, you know, things, it's, it's amazing. So the fact that they've built optical for that and they've put it into their camera systems, you know, has made, you know, all the pro lenses 300, the sharp. [01:02:55] Speaker A: Just dropping out there a bit, mate. Sorry, we're just losing you again. Elon's playing around with that little switch. [01:03:01] Speaker D: Maybe got you back. [01:03:02] Speaker A: Are you back? Yeah, I think we got you back. [01:03:04] Speaker B: Okay, cool. [01:03:05] Speaker A: Sorry, you were talking about the lenses. [01:03:07] Speaker B: Yeah, so like most of the go to lenses, 300 mil is the one I use the most for most of, you know, birds and action stuff. The, the new 90 millimeter lens is fantastic. It's a two to one macro lens. Loving it. Like it's, it's fantastic for, you know, this focus stacking. So I'm doing a lot of that sort of stuff with the OM systems like bracketing and focus stacking like micro animals and insects. The, the 12 to 100 is the sort of lens, is my go to lens when I'm just randomly don't know what's going to happen. I shot a great shot of a, a mountain gorilla in Rwanda because I was sitting playing with my batteries and camera gear and all of a sudden this gorilla just walks up next to me and the only lens, the only lens I had in my hand was the 12 to 100 and the 12 was wide enough to get this, you know, big male silverback in frame like, you know, it was a spectacular sort of moment and just to be able to pull the camera out and go up, bang, shoot. Yeah. So and the 40 to 150 I use for a lot of action like if I'm you know, porpoising penguins and things like that. So they're probably the core four lenses. I Use, I use stuff when I'm playing with Astro and things like that and. But they're the core lenses, pro lens, it's fantastic. Combined with the OM1 Mark II. Yeah. You know, in terms of sensors and things like that, you know, quality is, you know, I'm not lacking in quality anywhere or losing anything. You know, if anything it's, it's making life easier. [01:04:50] Speaker C: I think it's good enough to win awards obviously. So I guess that means none of us have any excuses. Especially those people with those big GFX F Fuji medium format things. They should be winning eight awards for their photo. How do you find, how do you find high ISO and do you have a limit? Like what's your kind of like it's about as, as high as I'm comfortable going for for an image that needs to be used in a certain format. Or do you have any rules around that with the system? [01:05:19] Speaker B: To a degree. Because a lot of the situations I'm in depends on the situation. So if it's extremely dark or extremely light, you know, I will push it as far as it can go. But generally on the OM systems I'm sitting around 10001250 ISO for any sort of low light stuff I'm doing before I, I feel that, you know, I can't push it too far. Obviously Astro, it doesn't make a difference. You know, I'll sit anywhere from 2500 to 10,000 depending on what I need to shoot. But yeah, it's, it's probably around the 1000 ISO marks the highest I'll go for most low light stuff. And then everything else is, you know, with the macro stuff I'm shooting around the 200 ISO, the recommended stuff like I'm having. No, you know, there's no, what's the word I'm looking for? Yeah, no, if a real major impact on the range except for the situations I'm in. So I can push it, I can push the systems pretty far. So yeah, that's more issue for me. [01:06:36] Speaker C: Yeah, it's, it's very interesting because it's. Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with the capability of that system sensor after testing it compared to what my expectations were being the fact that it is, you know, significantly smaller than full frame. I kind of, yeah, I'd built it up into my head to maybe be more of a difference than it really is. Yeah, I think, yeah, you get sold that. [01:06:57] Speaker D: That's what you get. That's what the camera companies do, they sell you that you need. This is what you need. If you don't have this. You won't like. You can't be a professional photographer unless you've got a full frame camera. [01:07:10] Speaker B: I think. Yeah, and I think it depends too. Like, yeah, the dynamic range you need for the type of work I'm doing is, is within, you know, what I need to be. Maybe if you're a landscape photographer and you needed a Fuji or a Hasselblad or something like that because you want to, you know, drill down to, you know, a blade of grass and yeah, for sure that's, that's what you're going to use. And, and over the years, you know, I've used almost every system because, you know, with production, sometimes I'm using a red camera, sometimes I'm using various other Sony systems, but it's because that's what the client needs me to use and that's so and so so, you know. But for my personal stuff and for my own wildlife professional stuff, the OM system's doing everything I need it to do. [01:07:57] Speaker C: Yeah, I love it. [01:07:59] Speaker A: And so Scott, outside of your, your core OM kit, what else are you traveling with? You know, we've, we've, we've talked about that. You've got some, you're doing drone photography, you're doing, you know, some other work for clients or for a project. What else are you, are you packing on the daily? [01:08:17] Speaker B: Yeah, mainly like I've got, I've got probably, I think I've got three om1 and mark2s with me and I've got a Mavic 3 Pro, a backup. I'm got a Mavic 4. I've, you know, I've got a lot of, you know, because I'm on the road and stuff. I've got tripods I'm using for various things. You know, I've got star tracking units, I've got Syrup Genies, I've got, I've got a lot of stuff with me because, you know, I like said I'm trying to shoot so many different things. I'm using a Godx V860 flash on the macro because that's perfect for. I need that high speed sync so I can do 10 frames a second when I'm focus stacking. So yeah, most of the kit is accessorizing my OM gear to shoot all these specific genres and I've obviously got underwater housing with Marlux, which is a brand that also is, I'm an ambassador for. [01:09:31] Speaker A: Fair enough too. [01:09:32] Speaker C: Should we, should we bring up some photos maybe or you got. [01:09:35] Speaker A: Yeah, something else. [01:09:37] Speaker C: Yeah. What, what's the Best. Scott, is it best to bring up your Instagram or website to just have a look through? [01:09:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I'd say. I'd say Instagram's probably the best. [01:09:47] Speaker C: All right, I'll. I'll bring it up if you want, Greg. Then I can resize it if we need to. [01:09:51] Speaker A: Yeah, please. Just while Justin's doing that, Scott, got just a question about travels. I. I imagine you've been to every continent now. [01:10:01] Speaker B: Good question. I think I've been to the seven continents. It doesn't mean I've been everywhere. I've definitely. I've definitely stepped foot on the seven continents. [01:10:11] Speaker A: Nice. Not many photographers can say they've done that. But my question to you is, you know, you've traveled the world, you've seen some remarkable sites, you've seen the impacts of the environment and global warming. But on the lighter side of things, what's been the most memorable location you've ever been to as a photographer? [01:10:34] Speaker B: Wow. It's always a tricky question because I think every place has just an element or something amazing about it. But I think there's not many people that can say like that, like, Antarctica beats most things. Like Antarctica is that wild, remote wilderness that is still untouched, that is still not that impacted by human. So in that place, you've got towering icebergs, you've got wildlife everywhere. Whales in the water, penguins, leopard seals. You got everything going on on land. Like it's. It's such an extravaganza, like a visual feast that you just have too much to shoot. So it's a very hard, surprisingly very hard place to shoot because you really need to narrow your focus. And, you know, I'm lucky enough to spend a lot of time there. But other photographers might, you know, go down once or, you know, be on a ship where you're on a schedule and things like that. And, you know, you really have to sort of go, okay, you know, I've got, you know, a very narrow focus. But I'd say, I think once people go to Antarctica, they're addicted. You know, it's the one place on the planet you know, you'd be completely addicted. So, yeah, there's not many things to beat that. [01:11:56] Speaker A: Okay, that's fair. Although I'd still argue a bowl of ramen in the middle of Shibuya would be close. That's just me. That's just me. [01:12:06] Speaker C: Antarctic is definitely on my bucket list. It's just one of those ones that you just don't know. It's so expensive and you don't want to Be disappointed by not being able to do it properly or whatever. So, yeah, you push it back and push it back to make sure that when you do go that you can get the full experience, I guess. And that's, that's where it is. Yeah, tough. [01:12:29] Speaker B: It is hard because a lot of like, yeah, a lot of people don't realize if you're on a ship, you're on a schedule. So if something amazing is happening, it's like, oh, okay, we got to go. Whereas, and this is why I started doing the yacht charters and taking people to Antarctica on the yacht. Because we go down there, we're there for a month. You, from the moment you get up to the moment you go to sleep, you can shoot as much as you want. You can stay in one place. If you know there's whales jumping all around you, then you sit there for six hours and watch it, you know, and, you know, it's probably, if you're a serious photographer in that wants to do wildlife and really build your portfolio, that's really the only way to do it. Get on a yacht, come down to. [01:13:09] Speaker C: Antarctica for a month, just ballpark. Oh, sorry, you go first, Jim. [01:13:13] Speaker D: Well, Justin, you could jump on one of Scott's tours. Well, that's what I was just about 20, 27. [01:13:20] Speaker C: I know. I want to ask about the, the yacht because I just want to know roughly, you know, how many dual cab utes is that yacht trip worth? [01:13:31] Speaker A: You know, how many? [01:13:32] Speaker C: Like, like just ball. I don't know, does it have a. Do you have pricing for that or is it something that it's not really. It's more tailored per person or something, or can. Is there a ballpark you can give us? [01:13:43] Speaker B: Yeah, it's very specific, like, because we know we're down there for a month. So you've got, you've got 28 days down there. You know, all your meals, everything's covered, your accommodation, like the whole thing is inclusive, but you know, it's around the, the 30K mark. That's a lot less. [01:14:01] Speaker C: But that's still a lot less than I thought you were going to say. Based on what? Because a lot of those cruises are nudging up towards those prices. Exactly. And they're like a 10. [01:14:10] Speaker B: They're already gone exactly 10 days and stuff. So that's why we focus on, you know, biographers and filmmakers that come down on the yacht. Because then, you know, it's a very. [01:14:21] Speaker A: Specific journey then, isn't it? It's a. Yeah, it's a very. [01:14:24] Speaker B: It's for image Making. Yeah, yeah. [01:14:27] Speaker A: And so do you thought of that? You charter a boat every time. Sorry, Jim. [01:14:31] Speaker B: Yeah, so I charter a polar yacht vessel. It's about 77 foot. It. It fits nine of us. So it's usually myself and maybe another photography instructor. And we look after a group of seven guests and we have three crew and so the whole yacht is 12 people, including crew. And then, yeah, we sail down there. Sailing takes about four days to get down there. [01:14:58] Speaker A: So it is literally a sailing ship. [01:15:00] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a sailing ship. So it takes about four days to get down there and four days back. So the rest of the time you're down in Antarctica, but for most of it, you're, you know, you're on this vessel as your base for the whole time, which is great. A super. [01:15:15] Speaker A: Where does it depart from? [01:15:17] Speaker B: We depart from South America and yeah, we go. Go that way. [01:15:22] Speaker C: Oh, through the. Through the Drake Passage. I don't know if this boat is big enough for me to not throw up away and back again. [01:15:31] Speaker B: I still get seasick, but it's worth it. [01:15:33] Speaker C: It's worth it. [01:15:37] Speaker D: In lucky straps. [01:15:39] Speaker C: That's what I was going to ask. [01:15:41] Speaker A: Or are you looking for an old Sprinter Mercedes van or. [01:15:46] Speaker C: Well, one question I do have is, is if I could scrounge together that much money does. Is the hot tub on this boat, is it big enough for everybody or do you have to take turns? Or how does that work? [01:15:56] Speaker A: It's not a station. [01:15:58] Speaker B: There's no. There's no hot tub. But there is a hot shower. [01:16:01] Speaker C: There is a hot shower. Okay. So. So obviously it's not. And that's the difference is it's not. It's nothing like those kind of over. Not over. But, you know, the fancy cruises that are probably more tailored to having a bit of a cruise experience, slash a wildlife experience with where they pop you in the boats and like you say you're on a schedule. This is a very different thing. Much more. [01:16:25] Speaker B: Yeah, this is definitely immersive because, like, we're encouraging, you know, people, if they want to get in the water, they can get in the water and shoot. If they don't want to get in the water, they can stay on land with the penguin colony all day. If they want, you know, if they want to shoot icebergs, they will go to the iceberg alley where there's like amazing iceberg. Like it's designed to really target the needs of the individual photographer. So we, we do see so much there that, that, you know, we can take our time because if, like, I Said if something amazing is happening, we just sit there on the yacht, pull up anchor and go, okay, we'll stay here another night. Or we'll stay here three days. Like, you know. [01:17:06] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:17:06] Speaker B: There is so, so much to see and do for everyone that it works out perfectly. And like, you know, I don't think I've ever. Most of the photographers that went on this recent trip in February are already talking about coming back with me on the Antarctica trip in 27. Also, we do a South Georgia trip, which is amazing. Like that's, that's the jewel of Antarctica is South Georgia Islands, like sub Antarctic islands, where you have millions of pairs of penguin colonies. Like, it's ridiculous. [01:17:36] Speaker A: Justin, what's that? [01:17:38] Speaker C: The South Georgia. [01:17:39] Speaker A: South Georgia Island. [01:17:40] Speaker C: Yeah, one, one momento. Just while we're doing that, David Fluttersuck says, take my money now. David. Dave, if your friend Nick Fletcher's interested in going, tell him to let me know and maybe I'll go with him if I can sell all of my human lead belongings between now and then. What are we doing? South Georgia Islands. Speaking of which. So Dave's here, David Clutterbuck is also here. Nick Fletcher's here. We've actually got. Jim's group is here. Jim's legal says, very disappointed to see that Jim is still looking like a lawn mowing contractor. I'd be careful, Jim. I think they're. [01:18:25] Speaker A: They're on teacher. [01:18:26] Speaker C: I think they're planning on sending you a few strongly worded letters. [01:18:30] Speaker A: Yeah, you might get served. [01:18:31] Speaker D: We're gonna collab soon. [01:18:33] Speaker C: Yeah, hang on, I've lost it. Oh, what's happened? Sorry, team. I just. I said share and it didn't share. Here we go. Am I anywhere in the right vicinity if I. Yeah, it zoomed right out. Of course. Is this it? [01:18:56] Speaker B: Yeah, that's South George Islands. [01:18:58] Speaker C: Okay, so what makes it so amazing because. So hang on, let's just get a bit of perspective compared to everything else. So it's not as like you don't have to go as far south because where would you normally go? [01:19:17] Speaker B: You. Yeah, you'd normally go down to the peninsula and you'd be on the west. No, east side of the peninsula. Yeah, east side of the finish. So you're basically going down the peninsula and following down south to around, you know, anywhere beyond 66 degrees. Somewhere between 66 and 70. 76 degrees. Greg just. I might have to switch devices because one's going to run out of battery. Give me a second. [01:19:50] Speaker A: Yeah, no worries. No, no, please. [01:19:53] Speaker C: We'll hold down the fort all right. [01:19:55] Speaker B: Okay. [01:19:57] Speaker C: Dana says, this is amazing. [01:19:59] Speaker B: Okay, I'm just going to switch devices. [01:20:02] Speaker C: One sec. [01:20:03] Speaker A: Yeah. And. [01:20:08] Speaker C: Nick Fletcher says, fun fact. I once commanded at South Georgia Island. That's crazy. Would love to go back. [01:20:17] Speaker A: Well, is that because he was in the military? [01:20:20] Speaker B: Hang on. [01:20:20] Speaker C: We got Scott again. [01:20:24] Speaker B: See me? [01:20:24] Speaker A: Yep. [01:20:24] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, we got you, man. [01:20:27] Speaker B: Okay. [01:20:28] Speaker C: Very cool. [01:20:30] Speaker B: Yes. Power is an issue in the middle of the outback when you don't. Solar panels. [01:20:36] Speaker D: You don't have solar or anything on the car? [01:20:38] Speaker B: No, no, because, you know, we're, we're doing a mini trip, so we didn't bring everything with us, but, you know, generally it's not a problem. [01:20:45] Speaker C: There was a question here before from Neil. As you're traveling now, you in swag van or tent? [01:20:55] Speaker B: Where we're in a. I could probably show you. Actually, we're in a. We've got a full wheel drive and, oh, the roof tent. Roof tent is down, but we have a roof tent on the top. And there's my wife. So, yeah, we're basically, we've got a four wheel drive. [01:21:14] Speaker A: We're. [01:21:14] Speaker B: We're kitted out with a roof tent and canopy. We've got all our gear in the back, so we've got all our recovery gear, compressors, all that sort of stuff. Because when you're on the road, you know, need all that stuff because, you know, you're in the middle of nowhere, so you've got to be able to look after yourself and put gear together. We've got fridge, we got food, we've got everything. Everything's running, you know, perfectly. Like what, you need to be a little bit remote. Normally when we travel with, you know, other vehicles and stuff, we, we can probably stay remote for about five to seven days, but with this one, because we're not kitted up for that long a stay, we can probably do two days without power. We can sort of rely on batteries for that long. But yeah, it's good. Like. [01:22:05] Speaker C: Oh, we lost him. [01:22:06] Speaker B: I think. [01:22:09] Speaker A: You'Ve just cut out there for a minute there. Sorry. [01:22:13] Speaker B: Yeah, sorry. [01:22:14] Speaker A: I think we've got you back. [01:22:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm back. [01:22:19] Speaker C: The, the big question from Roy Bixby was, got a coffee machine. [01:22:27] Speaker A: Oh. [01:22:27] Speaker C: Oh, no. How are you even alive? Oh. Oh, no. Well, I guess that's the end of the podcast then. Yeah. We'll see you later. [01:22:39] Speaker D: That's all right, Scott. [01:22:40] Speaker B: Either am. [01:22:41] Speaker C: I didn't know that. All right, well, we won't, we won't keep you too long since you're starting to run out of batteries. And batteries, but I really did want to. [01:22:50] Speaker B: I'm on my phone now, so we're good for a while. [01:22:52] Speaker C: Okay, sweet. All right, well, we'll see if you can see stuff since you're on your phone. Hopefully. Let me change the layouts again and get back to where we're at first before we have a look at some images. So just finally, I think everyone would love to know, yeah. What's so special about South Georgia Island? And you know what, what tips do you have for people hoping to get there one day? [01:23:17] Speaker B: Yeah. So South Georgia is, it's got the largest king penguin colony in the world. And so they've got 250,000 pairs of king penguins that are breeding there. It's quite mountainous, beautiful sort of snow capped mountains, but also lush green environments. Whales, seals, dolphins, everything around the islands. But it's very, it's very rugged and remote. Basically, we sail from the Falkland Islands over to South Georgia and that still takes about four days on a yacht because it's, it's still a bit of a distance. But you fly into the Falklands and then you get on the yacht and, you know, we go across. But yeah, the landscape alone is just the most dramatic landscape you've seen. You've probably seen it in lots of documentaries, but, yeah, there's, there's not much like it. It's, it's, you know, it's a, probably a paradise for wildlife photographers because you will just, you'll want to stay awake 24 hours. There's, there's so much going on. [01:24:31] Speaker A: A good friend of the show, Nick Fletcher, who was served in the military, he was once the commander of South Georgia Island. [01:24:39] Speaker B: Oh, wow. [01:24:40] Speaker A: He said, yeah, there's a detachment of Marines and some engineers on South Georgia to dissuade the Argentinians from any nonsense. [01:24:49] Speaker C: Well, if anyone could dissuade them, it would be Nick. [01:24:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:24:56] Speaker C: Right. So are there, you know, is it, is it kind of a one or the other, if you were trying to do a once in a lifetime trip to Antarctica, is it kind of like, hey, you're either gonna actually go to Antarctica proper or you can go to South Georgia Islands. And which one would you recommend people do? I'd say they only had one chance. [01:25:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I'd say the classic is Antarctica, because everyone wants to see Antarctica and there's a lot to offer there. I think the thing is, South Georgia is one of those things that if you've been to Antarctica, you most likely want to go to South Georgia, because everyone who goes to Antarctica just talks About South Georgia. It's quite funny. It's amazing. You get down to Antarctica, everyone's talking about South Georgia. So, yeah, it's. It's a hard one. Like, you know, eventually, if you could. If you only have one, you do Antarctica. But if. If you're a really focused photographer and you really wanted specifically to, you know, build an amazing portfolio, then I'd say South Georgia and even the Falkland Islands. Falkland Islands is phenomenal for wildlife, so I'd say that's what I would do. [01:26:09] Speaker C: Okay. [01:26:09] Speaker A: Yeah. And I guess you've gotten that close. You make it to South Georgia Island. It's only a couple of extra days sailing, and you're there, aren't you? [01:26:18] Speaker B: Not that easy. [01:26:21] Speaker A: I've never been. [01:26:22] Speaker C: So head over that way. We'll get there. All right. We'll have a. We'll have a quick look at some photos, which might be hard for you to see, but they're your photos. You'll know what they are. Let's. Let's have a look. And I don't even know. I don't know what the best way to go about this is because you've got so much work. Maybe just. We'll bring up anything that excites us. But otherwise, if there's any photos that you've got interesting stories behind or you want to talk about, just. Just tell me and I'll bring them up. [01:26:57] Speaker B: Yeah. I'll take your lead. You pick them, and I'll talk about them. [01:27:02] Speaker A: Let's go with that whale in the middle there. Yeah. [01:27:07] Speaker B: That's the only one that's not my shot. Oh, okay. [01:27:10] Speaker A: Let's choose another one. But that's the best out of all of them. [01:27:15] Speaker B: That's from our tours last year in Tonga. One of my team took this photo because we. We saw a baby white whale, which is rare. Like, they haven't been seen before in Tonga. So that's. That's why that one's in there. Yeah. So. [01:27:28] Speaker A: Wow. [01:27:29] Speaker B: But that's. That's the reason. [01:27:31] Speaker C: Well, maybe there's a good time to talk about those. The tours in Tonga as well, because I did have that written down as a question to ask. Just run us over, like, what. What's the deal with those? Nope. We lost him. I wonder if he's still on Starlink or if he's. There we go. [01:27:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, yeah. So we're just. We're just moving batteries around. One second. [01:28:00] Speaker C: Sorry. [01:28:01] Speaker D: You're doing so well. [01:28:03] Speaker C: This is great. I love that you're in the middle of the. The northern wa. [01:28:12] Speaker D: If anyone wondered, Tassie guests were remote. [01:28:15] Speaker C: Yeah, that's right. Just if anyone wonders if this show is actually live. [01:28:21] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [01:28:23] Speaker A: Just while we are waiting for Scott to rejoin us via the power of the Internet, I just want to remind everyone that this is the Camera Live podcast, proudly brought to you by Lucky Straps. If you're looking for a handcrafted genuine leather camera strap that will last you a lifetime if you look after it, head to Luckystraps.com we offer a huge range of full length and wrist straps. We also sell belts, we sell merch, we sell hoodies, and we also sell valorant gloves for winter. So please be sure to head over there and check it out. And while we're on the topic, the Camera Life podcast is two shows each week. Monday evening, 7.30pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, we have the random photography show where we just talk about what's going on in the industry. And then every Thursday morning, 9am Australian Eastern Standard Time, an interview with an amazing guest such as the Australian photographer of the year, Scott Portelli. You're back with us, Scott. Maybe still got a little lag there. [01:29:27] Speaker C: Oops, hang on. [01:29:28] Speaker D: His mics muted. [01:29:30] Speaker C: I'll bring him back on. He should be unmuted now. [01:29:33] Speaker A: Can you hear us, mate? [01:29:38] Speaker C: It's a funny face to freeze. Perfect. Okay, good. This is, this is the best. All right. If so if you can hear us, I thought now might be a good time to talk about what is swimming with gentle giants. Since you mentioned. Is that the trip that, the trips that run where that other photo was taken, maybe. [01:30:05] Speaker A: Can you hear us, Scott? I feel like Elon's playing funny buggers again. [01:30:15] Speaker C: He's probably bored just pulling the switch. [01:30:19] Speaker B: It's on. [01:30:19] Speaker D: It's just the microphone. [01:30:23] Speaker C: He's watching our show, just turning it off and on, being like ha. 34 media says morning all. Good to see you got the, you've got the blister pack Chat GPT photographer kit. Nice. Nicely done. Did you make one of those for yourself, Greg? [01:30:45] Speaker D: No, no, I didn't make one. I think Grant made me about five. [01:30:50] Speaker C: Yeah, we did. [01:30:55] Speaker A: Let's. Let's just go through some images while we're waiting for Scott to realign with the, with the satellite. [01:31:02] Speaker C: Try and find some images that were taken by him. Well, well picked, Greg. [01:31:08] Speaker D: There was. [01:31:09] Speaker C: Sorry guys. [01:31:10] Speaker A: So the one with the bubbles, the circular bubbles, that, that is another award winning. [01:31:14] Speaker C: It is, it's a real though. So I was going to try and find the actual. If he's got the shot posted, which he's probably posted it a thousand times going back a long way. But yeah, that. That seemed like opinion most awarded. Was it? [01:31:30] Speaker D: Maybe there was another one that was. [01:31:33] Speaker C: Sorry, but maybe it might be in this sequence. Yeah. So this is the crop of it, though. [01:31:40] Speaker A: So Scott won second place in the Sienna Awards 2024 for this image with the bubble wall or bubble net whale shot, as he calls it. He also won. Just trying to see what else he's won with that one. [01:31:58] Speaker C: Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the year 2024. [01:32:01] Speaker A: Yeah, I believe so. Overall winner. [01:32:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:32:05] Speaker A: But it's also appeared in. In. In his exhibitions. He's run exhibitions with Australian Geographic. There was a wow Vision exhibition in Iceland, a whole bunch of stuff there. But if you head to Scott's website, you can actually go to his awards page and just marvel at some of the stuff he's done. [01:32:26] Speaker C: Set aside half an hour if you're going to go to his awards page because. Yeah, it'll take you a while to get through it. It's insane. [01:32:32] Speaker A: I think we've got him back. [01:32:33] Speaker C: He's back. Hey, what's up? [01:32:38] Speaker B: I think that time it was Starlink. Starlink just decided not to work. Yeah, that. [01:32:42] Speaker C: That does happen. I've done a couple of podcasts with Starlink and I've had good and bad experiences, but it's pretty amazing considering, like. [01:32:51] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, well, yeah, like it's the only option sometimes in the middle of nowhere. So it's good. Anyway, I'm back. [01:32:58] Speaker C: You're back. We're just. We're actually just talking about. Is this is the. Where was it? [01:33:03] Speaker A: There it is on the left here. [01:33:06] Speaker C: Is this your most awarded, most famous image, would you say? [01:33:12] Speaker B: Yeah, it did get a lot of attention last year, obviously. I won the Australian Geographic Wildlife Photography Year and also in Siena, it's at the Sienna Awards, which is a big international awards that was watered there. So, yeah, it's. It's definitely done the rounds. Um, which was, you know, which was nice. You know, nice to do. We. I went to Siena for the awards, which was pretty cool. Um, so, yeah, it's. Sometimes it's just fun going to these awards events, like, you know. So, yeah, it's. You either have a year where things are winning and then you have a year where nothing happens with. [01:33:52] Speaker C: So with awards, you've obviously, you said you've done them for a long time, basically since 2015. That's when you started getting into it as. As. I guess. Was it primarily marketing to start with or primarily a way to push your. I guess, push Your photography skills or was it just a mixture of both? [01:34:13] Speaker B: No, I think it was definitely the, the goal was to push the photography skills and just, you know, I guess get some reiteration, sort of like, you know, is the work good? Do other people, people think it's good? Is it, does it, you know, stand up against, you know, the best in the industry, that sort of stuff, because then, you know, you're either going in the right direction or, you know, you, you're challenging yourself. So I think a bit of everything, but, you know, and you know, like, obviously I'm not saying awards are the end all and be all, but from a promotional marketing point of view, they always, they do help me. You know, not every photographer enters award competitions and they do amazingly and they have, you know, amazing businesses. But yeah, it's just a path that I've gone down. It helps me improve as well as, you know, helps, you know, with the business side of things. [01:35:09] Speaker A: It's interesting, isn't it, because we've spoken to other guests who have won awards and Micah Boynton comes to mind for her landscape work. When she first took up photography, she was, she was teaching in the Kimberley's, I think, or at least in a remote area. And she would enter awards as a means to getting feedback because she didn't have any peers who lived around her or there wasn't a photographic community around her. So she used the award process to gain constant feedback on her work so that she could then refine and improve her approach. And I think there's a lot to be said for, you know, peer feedback of that nature, provided you're prepared to put up with or prepared to accept, you know, the realities of feedback and put aside ego and look at it as a learning opportunity? [01:35:59] Speaker B: Yeah, completely. Like, I think you've got to look at it as a learning experience as well. And even, even if you're not winning, you know, you're still getting feedback. Yeah, it's, you know, for me, like, it's always been, you know, a way to understand, you know, how, like how I'm growing as a photographer as well. So, yeah, it's great. And, and yeah, like, you know, me talking about Mika's work is amazing. Like, you know, she's, she's always producing just this high quality work. So if that was her goal at the beginning, she's definitely achieved more than she set out to do. [01:36:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:36:38] Speaker C: Have you, have you ever entered an image into awards that you thought was just, it was like your favorite, just gonna crush it, your favorite image and it didn't, like, it didn't rank as high as you had hoped. Does that happen? [01:36:54] Speaker B: Yeah, that's. That's 90% of the time. Oh, I love that photo. That's amazing. Amazing. And I think it's. The problem is that it's amazing because of either the story or my connection to it. Sometimes it's not amazing because, you know, maybe the judges don't see it the same way I see it, which is fine. Like I said, it's. It's. It's more, you know, if you still love your work and you're passionate about your work and, you know, enjoy it, then it doesn't matter really what the end result is. So. [01:37:31] Speaker C: Some beautiful work. Yeah. It's crazy. It's crazy scanning through it. Do you have. Do you have a. I mean, you're probably going to say no, but do you have any favorite subject when it comes to Antarctic and. And Falkland Islands and. And all South Georgia? Like, is there. Is there anywhere that if you're like, well, if there's one thing I'm down there to photograph, it's this. I have a favorite. [01:38:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's gonna have to be leopard seals. Like, leopard seals. Yeah, they're an apex predator there. They're dominant down there. Like, you know, they're top of the food chain, but they're, you know, they're. They're sort of. Yeah, they get a bad rap, but they're. They're quite curious, intelligent animal. And, you know, just because they've got these massive teeth, it doesn't mean they're gonna eat you, but they're just very amazing creatures to interact with. Like, they're just beautiful, very prehistoric looking. When you look at their face, they look more reptilian than seal. They're definitely down in the polar regions. It's that in. It's. Funny enough, in Australia, I'm addicted to sea dragons. I love leafy sea dragons, so anything underwater will be about leafy sea dragons with me these days. So. But, yeah, in the polar regions. Yeah. You can't go past the leopard seal. [01:38:57] Speaker C: That's a scary. That's a scary smile on that seal. [01:39:04] Speaker D: They look vicious, those teeth. [01:39:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I can see what you mean about this sort of, you know, this prehistoric kind of, you know, it's almost like a dinosaur in some ways. It's. It's crazy. [01:39:16] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [01:39:21] Speaker C: What else Talk to us about any of these images, because they're all stunning. [01:39:27] Speaker B: Yeah, I guess, like I said, like, a lot of that stuff is on my Instagram is a Lot of underwater stuff. Because, like I said, I'm more well known for my underwater photography and surprisingly, when I put other genres up there, I. I sort of lose followers, really. It's a funny way that the. How the whole social media works. Like it's, you know, predominantly that's there, but, you know, then I've got a few other Instagram accounts that have got purely aerial photography and, you know, others that just Australian photography and things like that. But, you know, the turtle one. Have a look at the turtle one with the jellyfish, for example. So that's a, you know, that's a shot I took up in Byron Bay. I was out on a dive and these jellyfish were eating these. Sorry, the turtles were eating these jellyfish and what they do is they eat the tentacle parts first and the underside of the jellyfish. These are giant jellyfish as well. So these things are massive and they're. The turtles fight over the jellyfish, like, you know. So they're fighting each other, though. Yeah. Grab the jellyfish and pull it away. But, yeah, it's one of those things. And. And I have a few versions of these turtles. And that's another photo, like the. The whale spiraling one, where it's done really well in the competition circuit over the years. So, yeah, it's an interesting, Interesting species to shoot in. In doing behavioral stuff. But like I said, a lot of my work is behavioural worker. I enjoy watching behavior and showing people, like, you know, people go, oh, I didn't know, you know, turtles ate jellyfish. You know, that sort of. When you get that response, quite, quite good. [01:41:11] Speaker A: Yeah. And I'm really fascinated about your experience. I think you mentioned earlier in Rwanda about photographing. Was it. You're photographing gorillas in Rwanda? [01:41:22] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, Rwanda. There should be a shot in there of a mountain gorilla. It's a black and white shot. It might be further down, but yeah, so I take people trekking with the mountain gorillas. Like, there's only, you know, there's less than a thousand left in the wild. Yeah, so that's that shot I was telling you about where I had the 12 to 100 Olympus lens and this gorilla basically came out of the forest behind and I was the only one in this little clearing by myself. And I was sitting down next to my camera bag and he just came right in front of me and I was at 12 millimeter here. So that's. That's the full frame. That's close. He was. But, yeah, I take people to Rwanda. We. We trek up in the mountains. We do two or three days. We photograph, you know, various different family and we do, you know, we do a whole week there. So we do golden monkeys. We do. We get the gorilla doctors to come out and they. They do a whole lecture about, you know, how they look after the gorilla families and, you know, keeping the. The species alive, that sort of stuff. So it's a. It's a great experience. And, you know, Rwanda is such a beautiful country. And it's. It's like, you know, one of the most, I guess, the safest countries in Africa. Like, they've been named the safest country in Africa. But very beautiful, very lush, green, and an amazing experience. [01:42:54] Speaker A: Yeah, it's pretty phenomenal. [01:42:56] Speaker C: Roy. Roy Bixby says 12 millimeter sounds dangerous. It's. It is dangerous, but remember, that is. That'll be on om system, so it's equivalent of 24, I think. Is that right? [01:43:09] Speaker A: Still dangerous, Justin. [01:43:11] Speaker C: I know, but I'm just. If that was 12 mil on a full frame, he would basically be licking that gorilla like that. You would be. [01:43:20] Speaker A: That's for sure. [01:43:22] Speaker C: Yeah, but still terrifying. Is there any fear with that? Like, is there any risk that it could decide that it doesn't want you in its space or something? I know they're not. They're not predators, but they're. They could be a great defensive. [01:43:35] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. They can be defensive because, you know, when you're seeing them, you're usually seeing them around when they're feeding and things like that, or when they're interacting socially with their families. So they can. They could. They're wild animals, so they can change at any point in time. But, you know, you follow a set standard of rules and protocols. Sort of like how you look at the gorillas and, you know, how you be submissive and they even have a language, you know, a language. You sort of make certain sounds that sort of say, hey, I'm a friend. You know, I'm not. I'm not here to, you know, cause any problems. So they have. They have language. So it's. It's quite an amazing experience to sort of, you know, understand all that aspects of when you're having this experience. And that's how you keep yourself, you know, fairly protected from wildlife. [01:44:22] Speaker A: So I imagine that you're. When you run a tour to the space, you know, you're giving this sort of information to your participants well before you even, you know, see a gorilla. Is that right? Like, you take them through a bit of a training kind of, you know. [01:44:42] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, don't make eye contact. [01:44:44] Speaker A: Do make eye contact, whatever it may be. [01:44:46] Speaker B: Yeah. So the, the guides you have with you are very well educated guides and they, they sort of go through the sounds. They go like, you know, when we walk into a forest, you want to go and that means, hey, we're coming into the forest. Yeah, but we're not a threat. And then there's, you know, some, the gorillas make, if they want you out of the way, they'll go like. So there's very specific sounds and noises they make. So they brief you on all this and they encourage you to, to speak the gorilla language as you sort of move through the. So it is, it is, like I said, it's beyond just a, an interaction with wild animals. You know, these are intelligent creatures that are, you know, interacting at your level. [01:45:29] Speaker A: Yeah, that's pretty phenomenal. [01:45:32] Speaker C: So it sounds like you've got just every possible amazing experience for photographers available in, in some way where, like how do we. And they're in different spots, different websites from what I can see some of them like, where's the best place if someone wants to go on experience with you? How do they get started? Trying to figure out what experience would be for them. [01:45:53] Speaker B: Yeah, look, I guess my Scottportelli.com website is all about my photography related tours. The tours, the workshops, the experiences, the other ones that are more specific, like Swimming with Gentle Giants is about swimming with whales. So whales in Tonga, Wales in Norway, Wales in Australia. It's a different sort of experience and not always, like sometimes it's for photographers, but it's more for people who want that experience. Whereas on, on my website alone I, I focus on locations, photography, places, experiences. Like sometimes, you know, I'll do a recce. Like, you know, I, I spent a couple of months up in Baffin island in the Arctic doing a recce on a snowmobile in, you know, minus 30 degrees to see if that was going to be a viable place to take people to photograph their bears. [01:46:46] Speaker A: And minus 30. [01:46:48] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, doesn't sound very viable to me. [01:46:51] Speaker B: Yeah, it was definitely cold. [01:46:56] Speaker A: I thought it was chilly here in South Yara this morning. Wow, that's nothing. [01:46:59] Speaker B: So, yeah, so a lot of the time I'm doing, you know, I spend a bit of time doing recce to places like the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland. I'm trying to find sort of unique locations for photography or experiences and to get people, you know, to come and see these places and photograph them. And it's tricky too because I'm trying to, you know, find places that haven't been photographed a lot. So then people, you know, will have a unique experience. So it's a constant moving feast in terms of, you know, what the tours I offer are and the places I go to. [01:47:38] Speaker C: The host of the show, Grant Fleming, is in the chat. He's going to follow you now. He does. He doesn't host as much anymore. He was one of the original hosts of the show and he said I was going to put my drone up for sale. But maybe not now. After seeing your work, how, how did drones come into your work? I know you've done drone cinematography a lot for, for clients. Is that how it came into your personal work or did it go the other direction? [01:48:10] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's funny because I think when the introduction of drones, like, you know, in the initial stage, you know, it was to capture, you know, photos and videos and stuff like that. But you know, now the, the systems are more professional and, you know, reliable and the quality of the lenses stuff, it's, it's changed dramatically. But I think the main thing was, you know, for all us photographers who used helicopters and planes, they're extremely expensive. And yet drones opened up the world for doing photography and seeing a different perspective. And I think that's the thing, like most people, you know, either for or against drones, doesn't matter either way, but it's, it's giving more opportunities to, you know, see landscapes that people have never seen before or be, you know, have a different perspective on things that you normally couldn't have gotten. So yeah, it's definitely a big part of my work now, like integrate, you know, if I'm shooting for, you know, production company, they want underwater footage, they want aerial footage, they want land based footage. You know, if I'm shooting, you know, for tourism, they want the same sort of thing, you know, and it's just more cost effective and, and you know, there's the right way to do it. Like I talked to you before, like about permits. I have ridiculous amount of government permits that I apply for each year just so I can shoot in certain places around the world, around Australia. So, you know, having the right permissions in place, having, you know, all this sort of stuff, you know, it's part of a professional business. So when people come to me to, you know, do these things, they know that I've legitimately got a permit for something or I've legitimately got a license or, you know, and that's the thing. I think there's a beautiful amount of photography that's out in the world, you know, that People go, oh, that's amazing. This is that. But, you know, for me, if I don't do it properly with permits, then like, you know, down the track it could bite me professionally. So I always do it. Yeah. Legitimately. Yeah. Yeah. [01:50:15] Speaker A: But, yeah, and I think it's also important, given that you're going to such, you know, kind of, you know, areas where conservation is really important. The last thing you want is some cowboy throwing up a drone that's going to take down a, a rare bird species or, you know, you need to be sensible about it at the same time, don't you? [01:50:31] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And at the same, at the same time, I'm not there to police those people like they want. If they want to do something stupid like, you know, a croc eats their drone, then, yeah. [01:50:43] Speaker A: That'D be an interesting FPV perspective, wouldn't it? [01:50:46] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:50:48] Speaker B: You know, I don't think I could afford to lose trains like that. [01:50:52] Speaker A: No, not, not a worthy experiment, maybe a GoPro, but that's about it. [01:50:55] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [01:50:56] Speaker D: Probably far less, like, far less invasive as well. Like flying a drone versus say, you know, jumping in a chopper or. [01:51:06] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and I think, and I think that's the thing, people sort of don't realize that, like, the decibels on a drone is so much lower than a helicopter are playing a boat, a boat motor, you know, things like that. You just go. And I was. People think that, oh, it's, you know, it's this and that it's going to be a negative thing. I thought, well, it doesn't have to be like, yeah, a simple, like, to me it's just another tool of the trade. Like, it's like any other tool. I've got, you know, I've got it. I've got a camera, I've got underwater housing, I've got lighting. I've got. It's another tool that I need, you know, to create what I create. [01:51:40] Speaker C: Speaking of creating what you create, have you got any cool projects or trips that planned that you're excited about coming up? [01:51:49] Speaker B: Good question. Yeah, well, sort of. Like I, I have my regular projects, so, like my Falkland Islands trip every year, which is, you know, wildlife related, but this year I'm heading down to Antarctica, but I'm heading down to the Ross Sea part of Antarctica, which is off the Australia and New Zealand side. So I haven't, haven't done that for a number of years, but it's, it's a lot further away than the South American side. So going out of New Zealand down to Antarctica. I'm going to be there for a month and a half on a ship, but still it's. I'm pretty excited about that because it's a region I haven't been to, you know, properly for a long time. But, yeah, personal projects. I've always, I'm always looking for new personal projects. I'm always working on some personal projects. But this year the focus was to stay home in Australia because it's, you know, most of the time it's 10 months of the year overseas. Overseas. So this year I've managed to be in Australia for, you know, the whole year. So I'm. That's. That's pretty cool. [01:52:57] Speaker C: Yeah, that's awesome. But still, still moving around all over the place, though, and exploring. Yeah. [01:53:04] Speaker A: Still plenty to see, isn't there? It's not like you're. [01:53:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:53:11] Speaker C: Nick Fletcher says. Such a cool dude. I agree. Very cool dude. Yeah. It's been so good to have you on, especially just days after being announced as the 2025 Australian Photographer of the Year. That was crazy timing. Very lucky for us. [01:53:27] Speaker B: Oh, thank you. [01:53:29] Speaker C: We didn't, we didn't pay the judges off at all to try and boost up this podcast. [01:53:34] Speaker B: Yeah. Nice. [01:53:37] Speaker C: I didn't actually realize. Was that really Julie from Nikon that announced it? Was that. [01:53:41] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [01:53:42] Speaker C: I didn't even. I, I watched it and I wasn't, I didn't. I don't know why I didn't recognize it. I, I mustn't have been paying attention. I was mainly waiting for you to come on. [01:53:50] Speaker A: It was a bit pixelated too. [01:53:53] Speaker B: It was also one of those moments where Starlink dropped out for about 10 seconds. [01:53:57] Speaker C: Oh, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, that's a good point. I should just mention that to anyone that's listening if you're interested. The Australian Photographic Prize YouTube channel has the live streams of not only the, the award ceremony, which is what we're talking about now, where they brought Scott on, but, but the actual judging, you can watch a 2 hour and 45 minute judging live stream and, and, you know, see what it's all about and how it goes. And, and then that's for the wildlife section. They've got it for all of the, all of the sections. So you can just spend hours watching the judging and I think that that's probably a great thing to do if you plan on ever entering some awards. I think that would be a good way to get a bit of an idea of how it works and what goes on. [01:54:49] Speaker A: Yeah. And just some of the language and Some of the areas that people focus on when they do judge images, it can just help form a bit of a background for you when you take your own shots. Now, Scott, I'm very conscious of time because you've been with us for just shy of two hours now. And, you know, we. Granted, you don't need to save power for a coffee machine, but we do need you to have some power left by the end of the day. But other than. Other than the. The Australian side of the. Sorry, Antarctic trip you've got coming up, any other projects, exhibitions, any other exciting plans for the rest of this year that we can look forward to? [01:55:28] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm just trying to think. I've got. Yeah, like I said from, you know, I've usually got my usually regular sort of trips running each. Yeah, I, I don't know if there's anything specific because, like I said, I tried to take the year off just to do Australia, but. Yeah, so if, if I list them out, I've got, you know, I've got Antarctica. I've got Falklands in December. I've got Antarctica in December, January into February. I've got. I'm doing a lake air aerial thing next year with another photographer, Ari Rex, that'll be in April, May. I'm doing gorillas in April. I'm doing minky whales in June. So it's a, It's a constant flow of various, um, projects. Personal project. I've got one personal project I'm working on at the moment I've been working on for the last four years. However, I can't really tell you. [01:56:28] Speaker A: No, that's okay. Maybe we'll get you back on when you're ready to reveal that one. [01:56:33] Speaker B: It's one of those passion projects I've been working on for about three or four years and I think I've got another year on it and then I'll be happy with whatever I develop from that body. [01:56:41] Speaker A: Well, if you're looking for somebody to showcase it, we're here for it. We're here for you. If you want to come back on when that happens, we'd love to talk about it and share that with the world. So stay tuned for that one, folks. Justin or Jim, did you have any other questions that you wanted to cover off before we wrap? [01:56:57] Speaker C: Nah, just. Just keep an eye on the. The booking form for your 2027 Antarctica yacht trip. I'll start selling stuff. [01:57:07] Speaker A: Definitely going to need the 100 to 500 for that, Justin. [01:57:10] Speaker C: Oh, well, that'd be the whole other issue. It's like, what year would I have to buy to make the most of that trip? [01:57:16] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that would be crazy. [01:57:19] Speaker C: Because I assume so on a trip like that, everyone that's booking on that kind of trip, they've got their own housings, they've got the full setups, their own wet suits, every, like they're, it's not like a hosted trip where things are provided for you. It's. You're bringing all of your own equipment ready to go in the water and shoot pretty much. [01:57:37] Speaker B: And like I said, not, not everyone's like a full underwater photographer. So they tend to either hire a dry suit or buy a cheap one and then, you know, get an underwater housing and, you know, usually they use it that one time. But it's funny, the last trip I had underwater photographers and people who were not underwater photographers, but everyone stayed in the water like for the whole month. Like there was no one that didn't want to get in the water. So I think it's one of those things, once you hit the water, you go, I'm in Antarctica. I'm looking at an iceberg in front of me. I'm looking at deals and penguins zipping past me underwater. Oh, here comes a big whale right in front of me. Like when that, all that action is happening, even if you're not an underwater photographer, you will, you'll, you know. Yeah, be excited about it. [01:58:21] Speaker A: Hard to ignore, isn't it? Yeah, very hard to ignore. Now, Justin does have one last question for you. Do you want to ask him the, the zombie question? Jay? [01:58:29] Speaker C: I had forgotten about it. I'd forgotten about. I got distracted by Rodney Nicholson's comment saying he looks like a green tea man as opposed to coffee. I was like, I better check green tea. If you, if it was the, if it was the end of the world zombie apocalypse and you know, you were down in Antarctica and there were zombies floating around in the frigid cold waters down there. If you had to pick one camera and one lens to document the end of the world, what would it be and why? [01:59:00] Speaker B: Oh, well, I'd say have to be my om1 mark2. I'd say my, my trusty 12 to 100 lens because then I could capture that wide apocalypse, you know. Plus I could also have, you know, a close up shot of a zombie's mouth, you know, coming over the top of the camera. And because I've had that experience with wildlife doing the same thing, I know how to. [01:59:25] Speaker C: Do it. You could do it well, I think you could really build a good body of work around it, an apocalypse. [01:59:32] Speaker A: And no doubt you would learn their language too. You could grunt right back at them. Your experiences, I think you'd be safe. I think you'd be fine. But look, on that note, folks, I think we are going to wrap today's episode of the Camera Life podcast. But before anything else, one final congratulations to you, Scott, on winning the Australian Photographic Prize 2025 as the Australian Photographer of the Year. We, us, fellow Aussies and fellow photographers are incredibly proud of you and I think it's phenomenal achievement. But looking at your body of work and the lengths that you go to to capture an image, definitely well deserved. So on behalf of us, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been an absolute delight and treasure to have you on. We are very fortunate to have you on only days after finding out that you are the Australian Photographer of the Year. But, but for anyone who's keen to look into more of Scott's work, we're going to link in the comments, his website and his Instagram. You can go check it out for yourself, have a look at the tours that are on offer and, and think about the, the once in a lifetime opportunity that one of those tours may present to you. It's definitely something to work towards, I would say. But, but, yeah, look, I think on that note, we're going to roll the music and we're going to say our farewells to the chat. But, yeah, Scott, thank you once again, absolute pleasure. [02:01:03] Speaker B: Thank you. Thanks for having me and it's been fun. Thank you. [02:01:06] Speaker C: Thanks so much. [02:01:09] Speaker D: All right, enjoy the rest. [02:01:10] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, Enjoy the trip. Have fun. Yeah, yeah, send. Yeah, make sure you, you, I don't know, throw a few cool stories on Instagram so we can follow the, the journey in the great outdoors. [02:01:24] Speaker B: Indeed. [02:01:25] Speaker C: All right, let's see what's going on with you crazy guys in the chat while we go because, like, good to see you, Lisa. And Neil, 34 Media says. Congrats, Scott. Great job. Nice to meet you. Roy Bigsby says zombies in Australia are known as art directors. Robert Varner, always good to see you. Shots by Jeremy, like the sound effects. What's up, Jeremy? Thanks, Grant. Thanks for viewing catches. Good show. Good job, Scott. And I don't know. That's it. Oh, Philip Johnson, as always, the best. Roddy Nicholson, legend. Nick Fletcher, legend. You're all great. [02:02:01] Speaker A: All right, Pete Mellows, Neil. [02:02:05] Speaker C: Samantha Olson, catch us in the next one. [02:02:09] Speaker A: Yeah, be safe.