PHOTOGRAPHING THE EAST KIMBERLEY

(AND NOT GETTING EATEN BY A CROC)

with Ben Broady

Few people have captured the East Kimberley's stunning beauty better than local photographer and Wild Earth Ambassador Ben Broady. Here are his tips for doing the scenery there justice.

Instead of shivering away in the southern states all winter, there's an amazing way to beat the chill: escaping to the Top End’s East Kimberley. It’s vast, it’s rugged, it's warm, and you only have to drive ten minutes from the nearest township and you can be totally alone in the bush. What’s more, the photographic opportunities are phenomenal. Here are ten tips that will help you prepare for your outback journey to one of the world’s best landscapes.

6. Leave your command and concur attitude at home. The local Indigenous people have a saying: “Respect the land and the land will look after you.”

1.

We experience extreme weather (45°C days) from September to April; my advice is simply to give this joint a wide berth at that time of year. Even us locals struggle with the heat. May 'til August, however, is dry as a chip and heaven on earth, with daytime temps averaging 28ºC and nights around 12°C.

2. The East Kimberley is best viewed from the air, so if you can, bring a drone. Being so remote and rugged, accessibility can be an issue; sending dronie on her mission to open up the vast expanses and jagged ranges of this magnificent country. There are still plenty of bangers to be captured from a DSLR or mirrorless camera, though, so don’t leave all your highend gear at home.

3. While I’m a big fan of some of our iconic landscapes— like Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles), El Questro and Lake Argyle—make sure to check out some of the lesserknown places like Parry Creek Farm, King River Road and Diggers Rest. And some of my favourite locations to shoot are out around Wyndham.

4. There are plenty of gazetted hikes at places like El Questro, but most of the gold is out in the bush proper. Most of the hiking I do is in little-known places like the Cockburn Ranges. Be prepared to hike off-piste, straight through the bush and up the side of mountains.

5. Be respectful of the Traditional Owners of the land; seek permission if you are going to the lesser-known places. Kununurra and Lake Argyle are Miriuwung Gajerrong Country, Wyndham and the North Kimberley is Balangarra, and south of Warmup to Purnululu National Park is Gija.

7. If you find yourself at an epic lookout with a hundred other people, wait 'til the sun goes down and watch them all rejoice like they’ve accomplished something for the day and then watch them bugger right off. I find the best light conditions in the Kimberley are about thirty minutes after sunset 'til it gets dark. You’ll likely be the only mad dog out there, so enjoy.

8. We experience some of the darkest skies in the world, so if astro photography is your thing, or you want to try your hand at it, this place is like Disneyland. You don’t have to travel far from Kununurra to find an ancient boab tree or a rocky escarpment that you can set the stars against.

9. Having absolutely zero light pollution is a pro and a con. The pro: it’s dark, and the stars are blinging. The con: foregrounds can be completely black with no detail. My favourite time to shoot astro is not at nighttime at all, it’s just before, in a small window called astronomical twilight (roughly 6-7PM).

10. We have dinosaurs lurking in some of the waters. It’s actually pretty obvious where the saltwater crocodiles reside—anywhere in the ocean, anywhere that’s tidal, and in a part of the river in Kununurra called the Lower Ord. But there are some areas, like the Upper Ord, Lake Kununurra and Lake Argyle that are very safe to swim in. You’ll be sharing the water with about 50,000 freshwater crocodiles though, so if you’re lucky keep an eye out and you might share a special moment with one of our friendly smiling locals.

CONTRIBUTOR: Wild Earth Ambassador Ben Broady has been living in the Kimberley since he was one. He hopes his photography raises awareness about this majestic and ancient, albeit fragile, part of the world. Check out his work at BenBroady.com

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