This summer I returned home to the South Coast of NSW. Grand visions of a collection of bold, colourful seascapes filled my head. I had planned to venture out each morning—and down to the far south coast via Bermagui—and capture first light as the sun lit up the coast.

Then the fires hit.

Smoke rolled across the land, lingering over the sea, choking the air and sunrise alike. 

The bellow image at Cathedral Rocks is a humble reminder of the beauty and terror of our land. With the incoming tide rushing into the cave, the sun ignited the haze, transmuting it into a golden glow.

With less time in the field this summer, I focused on revisiting some older images and was pleased with how my processing style has developed over the years.

With the fires raging, I took the time to write more, penning an article for PetaPixel, Create and Conserve in 2020: Extend Your Love for Landscape Photography to the Land:

This isn’t a piece debating the causes and effects of climate change. Breathing in smoke as fire rages through bone-dry bushland, I can attest that this environmental change is real. And my own country’s reckless resource grabs are much at fault. I’m not writing this to place blame.

This is a reflection on how landscape photographers—who so often profess fondness for being out in nature and the environment—can act to conserve the land they love to capture. Because it’s worth saving and restoring. It’s been done before.

This summer will remain with me, and many other Australians, for years to come. A sombre reminder of the beauty and terror of our natural world.

Take care in 2020,

Mitch