Karnivool guitarist, Drew Goddard kept finding himself drawn back to Coolgardie in the WA Goldfields. When he ran out of reasons to visit, he moved there…

Before marrying Dianne, Terry was living at the northern end of Leonora’s main street, in the house he’d grown up in. An avid collector, Terry has spent many, many hours treasure-hunting at the Leonora tip…

Self-described environmentalists, Jean and Russell salvage and repurpose what would otherwise end up at the tip. Between them they own five gophers (disability scooters) which they ride around town doing their shopping and running errands, because they’re more economical than a car.

I spotted this snappy-dressed gent, tapping away on his iPhone, as I drove down the main street of Boulder in the Goldfields recently…

…I supposed he’d meet some interesting characters in his line of work. He agreed, “I’ve had a gun pointed at me a few times! One time I even came away three grand better off”…

Beyond the Traffic Lights - I’ve finally shared some photos and words about my recent exhibition on Yagan Tower, featuring 100-plus portraits taken on our 6-month meander around Western Australia last year.

I’m so excited to be able to share the news that I’m a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020…and better still, I’ve had two images selected amongst the 50 finalists, and they were both taken during our meander around Western Australia this year.

As we strolled into the iconic outback hotel, Steve was telling me that the last time he was there was 30 years ago. He was playing pool when there was suddenly an almighty crash behind him - he turned round to see a donkey in the bar. With perfect timing, just as he finished his story, Bella appeared behind the bar…she’s a five year old great dane cross with excellent hospitality skills.

Most of the characters I’ve photographed along the way have been discovered after we’ve arrived somewhere. Lazy Les was someone we’d heard about over the years and we had our fingers crossed that he’d be around when we visited gold prospecting friends of ours near Leonora.

Just a couple of kilometres from Cue we started spotting life-size metal cutouts of blue sheep, and red dogs on kayaks. A little further down the road we saw Eric, sporting a crazy hat and obviously trying to get some phone reception, as he paced around his quad bike complete with Aussie flag, proudly fluttering in the wind. I’d barely started asking the question, and Steve was already slowing down to do a U-turn!

Grocery shopping in Cue is an altogether different experience. Bell’s Emporium opened in 1904 and is still operating from the same premises all these decades later…

…While Steve was having a rest one day, I took myself and my camera down to the lunchtime session Marble Bar’s iconic Iron Clad Hotel. I found a few locals getting in a bit of practice before the Friday night pool competition.

Pretty much everyone we got to know in Marble Bar, we met in the Iron Clad Hotel, including Tim. Like so many people in this outback town, gold is in Tim’s blood. While Tim uses a metal detector his mother Katie used a yandi. Shallow multi-purpose dishes, yandis were traditionally used by Aboriginal women to carry water and bush tucker, but they could also use them to sort chaff from seeds, and in these parts, to separate gold from dirt.

Driving into town, after a few months on the road, we’d already adjusted to Broome’s relaxed pace of life and were ready to enjoy its laid-back lifestyle and perfect dry season climate - 17-31C, cloudless skies and sunshine.

I found myself barely picking up my camera - too busy living life to photograph it. So, this blog post is more a collection of Broome snap shots. …

…Sobrane was racing around getting ready for her upcoming one-night-only Out of Africa exhibition - moving house and hosting a concert in one week wasn’t enough for this powerhouse of a human being. Between sips of herbal tea we grabbed a few photos before she dashed off to paint a huge mural of zebras. The glorious natural light didn’t go to waste as the Nomadic Cyclists (18 years cycling the world and no sign of slowing down yet), Katya from Slovenia and her partner, Slovakian Mirko were there, along with Francesca from Italy…

Astronomer Greg Quicke’s Astro Tours is on many people’s bucket list when they visit Broome, especially since he’s been a presenter on ABC and BBC TV’s Stargazing show alongside Dr Brian Cox...

…Parts of the Kimberley may have their resorts and wealth, diamonds and pearls, but Wyndham is the hidden gem. 

A friend to both Pixie and Honest John, Bushy is another Wyndham local adding colour to this small town. Honest John took me to meet Bushy at his home which still shows many signs of its past life as the Post Office.

…Welcoming me inside, I was introduced to Elizabeth - the beautiful and fashionable mannequin standing in his kitchen. “I was hoping she’d clean and cook” said Honest John, “But she doesn’t lift a finger.” Elizabeth was a souvenir from his days as “fashion advisor to the ladies of the Kimberley” when he had “a boutique” in downtown Wyndham. One of many businesses he’s owned and operated around the town, from all accounts…

…Physically petite with a big personality, Pixie has that quick witted, dry humoured, fast-tongued way about her that film-goers around the world hoped all outback Aussies would be like back after watching Crocodile Dundee back in the early eighties…