Wildiaries

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Australia | Monday, September 6, 2010 | flickr photos

Months before the US oil spill, I helped WWF survey wildlife after a similar oil well blow-out over the Sahul Banks off NW Australia. In my spare time, I took photos.

The spill inundated 45,000km2 of ocean with 'light crude'. It was doubly challenging to depict. The oil was almost invisible, despite being toxic. Also, I'd been to the location before and knew the environment would be harsh. It was a small boat with limited spots to shoot and I couldn't get below deck-height. The light was severe, even at sunrise and sunset. The landscape was featureless and wildlife encounters were infrequent. In short, coincidences between visible oil, animals and me would be few and far between.

Like most photographers – maybe – I began to imagine a busy, multi-dimensional image, or the sort that 'shocks' – e.g. an oiled bird. But that wouldn't have been an honest portrayal. The threat came from the sheer scale and isolation of the effect. So it was fitting to use empty space for composition and portray the insidiousness of the effect, and the vast, lonely situation. During the trip it occurred to me that oil on water also has ironic natural beauty. Maybe like a good book, images can leave something to the imagination and have a final 'twist'.

I've always seen photography as an art but until this trip had never been forced to think outside the square. I'm glad, because I've started to look differently through the lens now. But each time I do, it throws up new challenges. After years using film, I now mostly use digital but the medium is frustrating, being in some ways more flexible and in other ways heavily limiting. I have a lifetime to learn but the opportunity to train alongside Jason would be an amazing head start.