Vocation

Over the years I have had the immense pleasure of photographing some of the most interesting people.

Sure some have been celebrities - David Suzuki, Cathy Freeman, Kathy Lette - but the vast majority of them have been regular folks like you and me.

Only different. One thing that many of them have in common is passion. A sense of vocation.

Vocation - a job that you are passionate about. A job that you are called to do.

Passion is a big theme for me. I want to be passionate about my own photography. I love to photograph people who are passionate about what they are doing.

On a travel writer's forum I'm a member of someone posted a question the other day. In light of the fact that there's hardly any money in travel photography, magazines are either shrinking in size or going bust left right and centre - why the hell do we do it?

I don't know why anybody else does it, but certainly part of the reason I do it is because I can't imagine not doing it. Sure there are other things I am qualified to do - I used to work as a Japanese-English Medical interpreter!. But this is my vocation. Another part of it is that I want to show my children that you can live your dreams and follow your passions without having to compromise your values or morals.You can absolutely love going to work every day and be proud of what you accomplish.

Part of keeping up that passion is to photograph what you love. Which isn't always possible when your life involves shooting on assignment for clients who need you to photograph what THEY love. So this year I've decided to embark on a personal project. Vocation.

I want to photograph people in the north Queensland region who are passionate about what they do, and are making a positive difference to the world around them. The last few years have been hard in this part of the world. A high Aussie dollar and the GFC have meant that tourism numbers are down and a lot of businesses are hurting. All we ever seem to hear is how our unemployment rates are amongst the highest in the country.

And yet I've met wonderful, inspirational people who do fantastic work in their respective fields. From butterfly researchers like Darrell Kemp (above), to Buddhist monks. People following their own path. Walking their own walk and ignoring the naysayers.

So how can you help? If you know somebody who you think would make a perfect subject for this project I want you to let me know! Comment here, comment on my Facebook page, send me an email at info at dymond dot com dot au. Send me a letter if you're passionate about hand writing! I have a few ideas up my sleeve already but I'm only one man. I am sure there are a plethora of inspirational, passionate stories out there waiting to be told.

So if you could help me out I would be really appreciative. Pass this post on. Get the word out to as many people as possible. Let's show the world that Cairns may be down but that our passion will get us through this.

Fantastic FNQ photo Friday

Recently I had the opportunity to spend some time up on the beautiful Atherton Tablelands on assignment for the Mercedes Magazine, a stunning publication sent out for free to owners of Mercedes cars.

Part of my assignment was to photograph Lake Barrine, part of Australia's most biologically diverse national park, the Crater Lakes National Park. (that title swings between it and the Daintree as more species get discovered in different areas!)

One of the great things to do on Lake Barrine is a boat cruise around the lake. Here you'll spot heaps of wildlife out sunning itself on the banks of the lake - snakes, ducks, turtles,eels and these beautiful Bearded Forest Dragons. This fellow wasn't perturbed in the least about us coming right up to him for a close-up and I love the detail and subtle colours the soft lighting has pulled out in his scaly skin.

So if you have a chance to pop up to the Tablelands for a day trip, or even an overnighter, then I definitely recommend a trip to Lake Barrine.

For more of the images I shot on that day head over to the Lake Barrine images on my website.

Fantastic FNQ photo Friday

One of the great joys of living in far north Queensland is the wildlife.

Not only the wildlife found in the bush mind you, but that which lives all around the house.

It's the time of year where the green tree frogs keep you awake at night.

They climb up on the kitchen window to catch insects attracted to the light.

They get into your toilet and give you a heart attack when you lift the lid!

And they help the postman deliver the mail. This fella may look like he's sitting on the edge of a leaf but it's actually my mail box.

My boys were never so keen to go get the mail for me (even in the rain!) as when this little fella decided to take up residence. So whether you live here or are just visiting, keep an eye out for these cute little frogs around your property. And maybe bring a set of earplugs for a good night's sleep!

Are you following us on Facebook? I often post links to interesting articles on photography and great images there that I don't get around to posting here so if you're on Facebook pop on over and Like our page!

Paul Dymond to offer private photographic tuition in 2012

Jump for joy! Well those of you who live in Cairns anyway. If you haven't been following the Have Camera Will Travel page on Facebook. 
here's letting you know that as of February I will be offering private tuition in photography for those in the Cairns area. People have been asking me to do this for a while for various reasons - hard to make it to a course, need one on one help with specific problems, would like feedback on their images. Wel I've finally pulled my finger out and got myself organised to offer this service and I am really excited about it. You can find all the details in the press release. Hope to be working with you in 2012.

Why I want to be around creatives.

As we start a new year there's a lot of optimism floating around. People all over the world always consider this a great time to re-evaluate their lives, make promises to themselves that they may or may not keep, and generally start off 2012 with a wave of enthusiasm.

I love being surrounded by creatives because they keep that feeling of optimism throughout the year. They don't need a date on the calendar to fire up their enthusiasm, it seems to pervade their every waking moment. And I think I know why. It's because they have dreams. Not regular I'd like to pay my house mortage off kind of dreams, but huge, life altering dreams.

Of course one dream that they all have involves the crazy notion that they can build a career and business out of what they are passionate about. When I first decided I wanted to be a travel photographer it never occurred to me that it was a crazy thing to do. I didn't personally know anybody who'd done it, but there were obviously people who were doing it. Ergo it must be doable.

Whether I had succeeded or not i think the most important thing was having the dream. Having a lofty goal that spurs you on, fuels your enthusiasm and ignites your passion. There are so many people in the world who have no goals outside of their immediate vicinity. They want to pay off their houses, get a new boat to go fishing in, take a month's holiday every year. Nothing wrong with that at all, just not inpiring enough for me.

I want to be surrounded by people who have dreams that seem impossible. Dreams that seem as crazy as trying to grab the stars in your hands. People who want to change the world, not just their own situations. And that's why I love being surrounded by photographers, writers and other creatives. The people who remind me that you don't need January the 1st to put crazy ideas into motion. You can do it any day of the year and ideally should be doing it every day of the year. Dream big, dare to fail. Go for it. The dreaming is more important than the result. Without the dream you may as well just resign yourself to a life of mediocrity and who wants that? Not me.

Happy New Year!

Wherever you are in the world I hope you had a fantastic New Year's Eve and that your 2012 will be absolutely wonderful. What do I have planned? More photography work that I absolutely love!

I'll be honest, last year was a big challenge for me. It was my fourth year as a stay-at-home Dad and all the fun and enjoyment that entails. It was also the first year my youngest son went to school, which suddenly left me with week days between the hours of 9 and 3 to myself. I envisioned myself getting back into work full-time but life is never what we plan. Instead I found myself trying to determine exactly what kind of photography work I can do in these limited hours, and discovered that it doesn't look anything like what I imagined, or what my previous decade in the industry had me doing.

So this year will be all about trying new things, mixing it up and gradually transitioning my business away from the spend a lot of time overseas pattern that I've known up till know. I want to photograph far North Queensland in-depth. I want to photograph interesting people and their stories. I want to work on finding my voice and my niche in a city which has more 'professional' photographer than you can poke a stick at!

Last year I ran a private photography tutorial or two and I'd like to continue doing that. I really enjoy teaching, and if the feedback is to be believed, I'm pretty good at taking complicated concepts and putting them into layman's terms. I'd also like to run a few more courses - maybe even organise a day trip or two. Most of all I want to focus on my core competencies. The stuff wild horses couldn't drag me away from. I have stuff that I'm really good at and stuff that I'm not so hot at. I want to pass the not-so-hot stuff on to colleagues and concentrate on hitting every assignment out of the park.

What about the blog? Well I'm going to try and post more regularly but it will still be my usual rants on the state of the industry, the spiritual side of this amazingly creative profession and lots of pictures from my travels around the local area and the world. I'm thinking of making things longer. No more of these short posts that are nice to look at but ultimately don't cause you to think too much. I want to spark some conversations, some thoughts and hopefully help launch some creative dreams.

So as we go forward into 2012 I wish all of you a fantastic twelve months and hope that all your wildest fantasies come true (just don't tell me about the ones involving animals!).I hope you'll join me every so often to keep up with what's happening in my world, and come and follow me over on my Facebook Page - see the link on the right.

Fantastic FNQ photo Friday

Welcome to Fantastic FNQ photo Friday, the regular day of the week where I pay homage to the sights of beautiful Far North Queensland - or FNQ as we call it locally.

As a Cairns photographer perhaps more well known for my jaunts to foreign lands it's nice for me to be able to show pictures of the place I call home, and remind everybody that I photograph locally as well.

At the recent Queensland Tourism Awards in Brisbane this place, the Daintree Discovery Centre, won the Qantas Award for Excellence in Sustainability. I've been in here a few times over the years and it just keeps on getting better and better.

This image is of the giant aerial walkway that leads to a 23 metre tower that lets you get up above the rainforest treetops. It's a spectacular view and one usually only seen by our feathered friends.

If you make it up to the Daintree then this is definitely one place you should put on your bucket list. And if you come during the wet season make sure you bring your umbrella - or handy plastic poncho as these folks have! Click on over to my website to see more of my photos of the Daintree.