My name is Kate and I live in Queensland, but I have always called Tasmania home. Returning ‘home’ is like recalling a fond memory, or visiting a favourite childhood location. As soon as I arrive, I’m greeted by blue mountains and crip, fresh air. Even the drinking water in Tasmania is delicious!
After I catch up with family, my favourite thing to do is ‘go bush’ (as I call it). I take my cameras and go off in search of wild Tasmanian animals to photograph for my art works. It isn’t hard to find beauty in this awe-inspiring part of Australia. I enjoy walking amongst the gums, tree ferns, casuarinas and wattles where I feel the energy of the bush reenergising my soul.
Tasmania is full of so many wild animals who are willing to pose in front of my camera lens. There’s just something about that wild expression in their eye that I love to capture in my art. I chose my locations depending on what I want to photograph but wherever I go, I know that I’m going to capture something truly special.
Maria Island has wombats, forester kangaroos, Cape Barron geese and pademelons. The city of Burnie will have an assortment of robin species during spring. Yellow-tailed cockatoos, green rosellas, grey fantails and superb fairy wrens can also be found in the northern areas. To the south, I like to photograph Bennett’s wallabies and Swift parrots (or ‘Swifties’ as the locals call them) in the mountains of Hobart. On the roadside, there are wondering short-beaked echidna on the hunt for food. Some are shy and bury themselves in the ground but if lucky, one might be brave enough to pose for the camera.
There are so many fantastic wild animals to photograph in Tasmania that I haven’t been able to name them all. The animals are wild, but will happily let people photograph them if they are quiet and respectful. It’s so easy to hire a car and travel around the island while enjoying the local produce and seeing all the habitats the island has to offer. There are options to go completely remote or visit areas that are more populated – it doesn’t matter as the animals are guaranteed to be there. I enjoy going home and seeing what wild animal I will encounter, knowing they will inspire my creativity and love of the land.
