Summer in Central Park

Cab Horses, NYC

USA | Friday, October 15, 2010 | 5 photos

The midday heat on the midtown streets sets Central Park’s cab horses drooping. They’ve already spent six hours at work, and they’re not looking forward to six more. Harold tries to give his driver a hint, nuzzling the water bottle clutched in his hand. Eventually the one tonne Clydesdale gets a bucket of oats and a flock of pidgins to share it with. I over-exposed for a ‘white hot’ look, attempting to capture just how drained the horses get in summer, hauling tourists to and fro through the city’s melee of traffic.

A few months ago I received a scholarship to Columbia University, where I study for a Masters in documentary film as a fellow of the Stabile Centre for Investigative Journalism. I’ve freelanced for The Diplomat in Canberra, The Guardian in London and am a UN correspondent for The Diplomatic Courier in Washington.
Growing up in the rugged south west of Australia, I dreamed of travelling the world’s wild places with a film crew in tow. Nat Geo remains my fantasy job. I graduated in 2009 having studied International Relations and Environmental Science. I’ve worked for Oxfam and WWF on national climate change awareness campaigns, and was a guest speaker at the Australian National Science Festival and the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva on science in the media. I was also an executive officer of the Australian National University Mountaineering Club, where I coached bush skills and rock-climbing.

While writing is my forte, photography is my passion. According to my professor I have a knack for composition; now it’s time to master depth of field. A slick new SLR is at the top of on my Christmas wish list. How better to use it than in Bhutan, linking a lifetime’s passion for conservation with the art of sharing it's beauty.