DAVID ADAMS talks to Ken Duncan about his latest book, Chasing the Light, with a detailed look at the story behind seven of the eye-catching images inside…
World renowned photographer Ken Duncan has released his latest book, Chasing the Light, featuring scores of spectacular images taken at locations around Australia.
While some of the images presented in the book are recent, others are among the many thousands sitting in the photographer’s expansive archive.
“Some of them have been in my archives for a while…and they’ve been just smouldering there and I just thought ‘Gee, it’s about time I do something with that,” says Duncan.
He adds that while some of the images were taken in a moment – “you’re lucky and you capture the image” – others took a lot more effort to achieve the desired result.
“It’s by building a relationship with an area (that) you often find these little hidden treasures…So some I will come back to on quite a few occasions to get that right light or the right time of year when the sun’s at the right angle or right season…I’m not really content until I’ve got something that captures the essence of a place.”
Duncan says it’s often the “story and adventure” behind the taking of a picture that makes it significant.
“And also it’s the experience for you. There’s not much experience in going home (and) sticking it altogether in Photoshop so…it’s trying to keep it as natural as possible so that people can one day go there and hopefully experience something similar if they wait for that magical moment.”
Ken Duncan talks to DAVID ADAMS about seven of the images contained in the book…
All images: © Ken Duncan.
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HEAVEN DECLARES, MULLIMBURRA POINT, NSW
Duncan says he came across the spot depicted in the image during a week-long trip to New South Wales’ south coast.
“I spent a week exploring down there and I found that location…” he says. “I’d been there a couple of days and I just thought, ‘Gee, this could look really good at night’.”
Duncan says he needed a night with minimal moonlight – “because if you have the moon, you wouldn’t get the stars like that” – and had to use a special high ISO camera.
“We shot quite a few combinations but it just worked magically and all came together,” he recalls.
He says he called it ‘Heaven Declares’ based on his own life experience.
“For me, when you’re personally stressed out or you’re just not sure about anything, you look up at the stars and it sort of puts everything back into perspective…So, to me the pinnacle is an arrow pointing up to the heavens and saying ‘Look this way’.”
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ORGAN PIPES, GLEN HELEN GORGE, NORTHERN TERRITORY
“This is one I’ve been working on for years…” says Duncan. “It’s probably one of my favorite areas- the MacDonnell Ranges – in Australia…so I’ve been out there a few times and I’ve walked through the gorge, I’ve gone to that location before, but there wasn’t water in the creek or river.”
This time there was and, arriving early one morning, Duncan swam through the gorge with his camera gear in a dry pack. It was still dark when he arrived at the Organ Pipes and so he sat and waited for the sun to rise.
“It was really beautiful at sunrise but it didn’t have the drama and so I just waited there and waited there and as the sun came over the mountain behind me, it was just like ‘wham-o’ – it hit it with full intensity…” he says, describing the sun like a spotlight being shone upon the rock feature.
“I watched it actually coming down the (rock) face…It was just so intense – the color – and it only lasted, that richness, for about five minutes…It was just a magical moment.”
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HEAVENLY, HILL INLET, QUEENSLAND
“Hill Inlet is probably the most beautiful area, I think, beach-wise in the world that I’ve ever seen,” says Duncan. “It’s unbelieveable…”
Duncan says he loves the way the tides and sand create swirling patterns. “You just get these amazing changing patterns with the white sand and the turquoise blue water.”
He said the tiny boats featured in the image – which was taken “hanging out” of a helicopter – help to provide some perspective.
“Often you need some little elements – just subtle little elements – that gives people a connection, otherwise they’re not too sure what’s going on. They’re the little things to look for to help make the picture work so that…as a big print on the wall you go ‘Wow, I want to be there’.”
“That’s what my job is really – getting the beauty of creation in people’s homes and their workplaces (and) trying to create, hopefully, a balance in their lives.”
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REGGIE’S HUT, BURRA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Duncan shot one of his most famous images not far from this one – featuring the Burra Homestead, it appeared on the iconic cover of the Midnight Oil album Diesel and Dust.
Returning to the area, he sought out some more of the ruined properties there and came across Reggie’s Hut, apparently named for a former owner.
“Whereas Burra – the Midnight Oil one – was down on the plains looking back at the mountain, this one was on top of the mountain…” he says.
“There’s a person’s dreams there…” Duncan notes, adding that, to him, it shows “we can’t take anything with us”.
“Our dreams stay planted in a field,” he says. “So when I see an old house like that, I always think ‘Well, what’s the story there?’…I can’t help myself and I want to go and find out the story…I just think shots like that make you think about what you’re building in life…It puts in perspective some of the things that you might be building.”
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BAY OF FIRES, TASMANIA
While he’s shot images in the area before, Duncan says he hadn’t shot any images from this particular location before.
“I just love this (picture) because it was a beautiful day and (there were) those beautiful rocks. I’ve shot in Bay of Fires – the area – but I wanted to do it differently with this really wide camera that I have…” says Duncan, who shot the image a few years ago. “I just wanted to get from the beach to the beautiful rocks to the ocean – it was the connection of everything together.”
While the image is presented in 2D, Duncan says he actually shot it in stereo. “I’m shooting some of the stuff in 3D because in the future I believe that’s where we’re going to go.”
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GOLDEN GROVE, OMEO, VICTORIA
Duncan was exploring the district around Omeo in his car when he spotted this scene at one of the area’s oldest homesteads.
“It was perfect timing – there were just all these poplar trees, so golden, and I thought ‘Wow, this is amazing’.”
Duncan describes the scene as like looking at a natural ticker-tape parade – “When I was shooting that shot, leaves were falling at a rapid pace” – and adds that the image captures something of the grandeur of Australia’s past.
“It’s definitely not an Australian tree but they had been brought there to bring a bit of the nostalgia of home there. It was a grand old station.”
The framing of the image – which crops off the tops of the trees – was aimed at creating a sense of intimacy with the trees. “What I was trying to do was more show the color and just the amounts of trees and compress them…If you used a wider lens, it would all be too far away.”
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SUNRISE, KING GEORGE FALLS, KIMBERLEY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Duncan’s relationship with the isolated King George Falls goes back more than 30 years. But despite having visited in the past, he was particularly looking to capture some images when the water was plentiful – during the wet season – and when the colors were at their most vibrant – at sunrise and sunset.
“We went in there on a boat and climbed up through there and waited for the sunrise – and that was what we saw,” he says of the image.
“It’s a spectacular place…and the reason I had to shoot it prior to sunrise was (that it was)…a reasonably flat light so you’re not getting too intense a shadow. Once the sun comes up, you’re dead.”
While he shot the image a few years ago, Duncan said when he revisited more recently (during the making of a documentary), he couldn’t recapture it. “I did another shot – but it was nowhere near as good as that one.”
