Close to home

With COVID-19 restrictions keeping photographers close to home, the OUTBACK team had to look far and wide for fresh, original imagery for the 2021 Calendar and Diary.

 Photo Cam Blake

“We solved this problem by seeking out photographers who didn’t need to go far from home to produce fantastic images of the Australian landscape and rural life,” says OUTBACK editor-in-chief Mark Muller. 

One of these is Western Australian pastoralist Stacey Ford, who taught herself photography while co-managing Kimberley cattle station Fossil Downs with her husband Rick Ford. Stacey can jump on a motorbike to capture a cattle muster, hang off the rails to snap yard action or accompany Rick in the cockpit of the station chopper for an aerial view. All without leaving home. 

“I’ve also got the advantage of being able to capture my four young daughters in fantastic scenes,” Stacey says. The Ford girls, who range in age from 10 to 17, are all comfortable in a saddle or under a wide-brimmed hat. “My daughters love working and playing on the station,” Stacey says. Two of them have starring roles in the 2021 Calendar and Diary. 

South Australian photographer Robert Lang stumbled upon a startling image of a starry sky (opposite) on his first foray out bush after his state’s national parks reopened in early June. Robert headed to Googs Track for a ‘boys on the beers’ camping trip. “After the lockdown, it was like I was let out of a cage,” he says. “I just needed to get out of the house.” Luckily, he packed his cameras as well as his swag.

Despite the difficulties of COVID-19, OUTBACK has gathered a wonderful array of outback scenery to accompany the year to come. Through the Calendar and Diary you’ll enjoy distinctive wildlife, trees displaying the rhythms of the seasons, raging waterfalls and evocative rural scenes. It’s a great way to see in a very welcome new year.