Photos by Josh Smith
Narrabri-born-and-bred IT manager Josh Smith has been in the right place at the right time this year. His hobby of photography has paid dividends as he’s been capturing the rising floodwaters around his town and surrounding areas of the New South Wales north-west.
After growing up on a small wheat and cattle farm, Josh spent several years away from Narrabri, returning to the country to give his two children the same upbringing he enjoyed.
He hopes his photographs go some way towards bridging the city-country divide. “Everyone eats three meals a day and that comes from somewhere,” Josh says. “Some crops have been destroyed and everyone focuses on the disaster, but the point is we are going to have some great seasons off the back of this after eight to 10 years of drought.”
The eastern side of Narrabri was inundated in late January and early February and nearby Wee Waa was cut off for days. This was against a backdrop of torrential rains that caused widespread flooding that has affected five of Australia’s states.
Josh has been interested in photography since he received an award for it at the Narrabri Show when he was aged seven or eight. “I always look at something with a view to framing it up,” he says. “I am always on the lookout for that definitive moment. There is so much wildlife and a constantly changing landscape out here. Every day on my way to work I see so much to photograph.”
This story excerpt is from Issue #82
Outback Magazine: Apr/May 2012
