Raami LAWRENCE

Raami Lawrence grew up in Repton on the edge of the National Park, and his fascination with reptiles started at a young age. HE BEGAN TAKING PHOTOS OF REPTILES HE CAME ACROSS AND HIS PHOTOGRAPHY HAS DEVELOPED INTO A PASSION, SHOWCASING THE AMAZING CREATURES WE HAVE HERE ON THE COFFS COAST. Raami hopes to show people how beautiful reptiles are and that they are not something to be feared if they are treated with kindness.

Can you tell us about your background in photography and how you first became interested in reptile photography?

Well for as long as I can remember I have loved reptiles. Photography began after a few years of finding all these animals I was absolutely obsessed with. I wanted to start photographing them just as a hobby. I started out with a point and shoot camera I got for $100. I did what I could with that and then upgraded to an entry level DSLR, slowly got more gear specifically for photographing reptiles, I have constantly been upgrading and trying new things, that is part of what I have been enjoying so much about photography. What is it about reptiles in particular that you find so interesting?

I have always had an interest in reptiles, they’re such misunderstood animals, they’re often seen as aggressive, which is entirely untrue, I hope I can educate people about their behaviours and how interesting they are. I grew up south of Coffs Harbour, in a small town called Repton on the southern end of Bongil Bongil National Park.The house was surrounded by all sorts of wildlife, which meant from a young age I was constantly finding new species and watching Steve Irwin, as most kids did, helped to foster my interests in animals, especially reptiles. My Dad, who always was interested in snakes, would often show my siblings and I what was in and around our house and we often had carpet pythons in the house with red bellied black and marsh snakes in the garden, and would find snakes on the road every night in summer driving home. I was 15 when I decided to get more serious about learning as much as

I could about reptiles, their behaviours and habitat preferences. I found it fascinating and from there, photography has become a passion to travel Australia and photograph new species.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face when photographing reptiles, and how do you overcome them?

I am very big on trying not to stress out the subject animal and not interfere with them. I admire and photograph them from a distance, making it safer for all involved. The weather is a big factor when it comes to photographing reptiles, Coffs Harbour has been so wet for the past few years due to the La Nina, it can be quite hard to get out and photograph anything in the rain. The camera gear can also be a big challenge, sometimes a flash decides to stop working or humidity fogging up the lens, all sorts of issues can arise and things like leeches and mosquitoes are always a factor, especially when photographing frogs. How do you approach capturing the personality and behaviour of each individual reptile in your photos?

I always prefer to make the subject look non-threatening so as to show the subject in a different light rather than getting a photo of something that looks aggressive or agitated. Photographing animals in a relaxed and stress free state, allows for more natural behaviour and will often show greater detail of the subjects to be shown. Frogs would have to be my favourite subjects to photograph, they’re such photogenic animals often sitting in their poses ready to be photographed with no interruption or stress on the animal which is what I strive for, it’s much more fulfilling when an animal is in-situ and you can just photograph it.

Continued over...

Can you walk us through a typical shoot, from preparation to post-production?

Starts with having a subject to photograph and an idea for how I want the photo to turn out. I always have an idea in my head of exactly what I want to get out of a photo shoot. I often do photo shoots for people’s pet reptiles so that is always great practice. Making sure you have a setup to make it safe for the animal and myself, make sure camera gear is working, batteries are charged and there’s SD cards in the camera. I usually take test shots to check my settings and adjust accordingly. I use an off camera flash setup so I can adjust the angle and how close I have the flash for more control. Lighting is one of the most important components when it comes to photographing reptiles, especially since many are nocturnal. With lighting, many photographers use a method to create a more creative back lit photo which is something I will start implementing into my own work.

I only minimally edit my photos, only really adjusting highlights and shadows. I try to get the photo right in the field so I have less work to do in post processing. What sort of reptiles do you typically find here on the Coffs Coast?

The Coffs Coast has a great diversity of reptiles as we have quite a number of different habitats, from subtropical rainforest to paperbark swamps to sandstone escarpments, so depending on the area you’re in you can see many different species. The more common snakes you’ll see around Coffs Harbour are red bellied black snakes and common tree snakes, often called green tree snakes and of course the good ol’ carpet python. In the drier areas you also get eastern brown snakes and loads of different skinks and lizards. With an abundance of waterfalls, swimming holes and walking trails around Coffs it is important to be aware of snakes and always carry first aid, a snakebite bandage is a must if you’re out in the bush. Never try handling or moving snakes yourself, take a photo and contact a snake catcher if it’s on your own property, they will be able to identify the snake and give you advice about dealing with snakes in the future. If you see a snake in the wild, just leave it alone, it will continue on its own path.

How do you ensure the safety and wellbeing of the reptiles you photograph during a shoot?

Photographing from a distance is a start, making sure you don’t touch the animal is a big one for frogs, especially as many frogs

In NSW are having a hard time because of chytrid fungus. Not handling these animals helps to ensure the safety of them and yourself, which are equally important when it comes to photographing reptiles.

What do you hope to achieve through your reptile photography, and what message do you hope to convey to your audience?

At this time I am trying to improve my photography as much as I can and continuing to share my photos and hopefully changing negative opinions about reptiles. In hopes that the next time someone has a snake in their yard it doesn’t get unnecessarily killed and they call a snake catcher to remove it. Most snake bites in Australia are a result of people trying to catch or kill snakes, so helping to educate people on safely dealing with snakes and reptiles is a big aim of my photography.

Who have been some of your biggest influences or mentors in your photography career?

As I mentioned earlier, Steve Irwin was a huge inspiration when I was young, binge watching all his documentaries was something I would do often as a kid. His passion for wildlife was something I wanted, and am glad that I now have that. I’ve gotten to know some amazing photographers all over Australia such as Rob Valentic (@www.gondwanareptileproductions. com) a very well known and well respected photographer. He has been an absolute wealth of knowledge when it comes to any photography questions and has always been willing to help me become a better photographer. My best mate Joel Briso who I’ve done a lot of my trips with, has provided me with constant friendly competition. He is also a phenomenal photographer, we both try to top each other's photos which makes the hobby even more enjoyable. There are many more I’ve met over the last few years and followed on social media that I take inspiration from.

Looking ahead, what are your goals for the future of your reptile photography career, and how do you plan to achieve them?

I will be looking forward to continue getting out and about, I enjoy being out in the bush and if I can get some nice photos whilst out there that’s awesome, just being out in the bush is the biggest part for me with photography coming as a bonus. Branching out into other styles of photography such as landscape and astrophotography is something I will be getting into in the future, and hope that I may be able to combine some of these to improve my reptile photography even more.

Thanks Raami

Suspending Age Pension