You may have seen his photographs of the Daintree Rainforest already as Dean Jewell has been capturing the beauty of this region for many years. Travel NQ recently caught up with him to find out why he loves Far North Queensland.
Dean originally grew up in Sydney and fell in love with photography at the age of 14.
After completing a four year photography course and taking photos of everything from surfing and underwater pictures through to urban street scenes and rock bands, he decided to head north.
Dean and his partner packed up their old Valiant and drove as far as the Daintree.
They’ve been locals ever since.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]What do you love about living in the Daintree?[/headline]
Far North Queensland has endless photo opportunities from amazing beach sunrises, beautiful creeks and rainforests through to incredible wildlife like the Musky Rat kangaroo, frogs, wallabies, cassowaries and Victoria’s Rifle Bird.
I love the ever-changing mood and lighting of both wet and dry season here in the tropics and love experiencing everything nature has to offer.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]favourite places in the region?[/headline]
Apart from the Daintree, I love visiting the outback towns of Chillagoe and Mount Mulligan for the change in landscape, birdlife and the clear night sky.
It’s quite a contrast to the greenery of the Daintree region and warm ochres and open spaces are quite appealing.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]Favourite places to photograph?[/headline]
Definitely the Daintree and Cape Tribulation.
One of my mates often takes me out in his helicopter and I get to explore the coast and islands, photographing remote rivers, beaches, islands, reefs and untouched waterfalls.
I love aerial photography, there is something really magical about it.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]favourite things to photograph?[/headline]
Basically anything to do with nature so generally wildlife, sunsets, the night sky and of course aerial images of nature at its best.
It is very easy to be inspired by nature and the environment around you, especially in such a unique heritage-listed region like this.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]most challenging photography experience?[/headline]
It would probably be trying to photograph the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, in the Yukon Territory in Canada.
The light display is fairly quick and the sever temperature was minus 25 when I was there, but it was an incredible experience.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]inspiration?[/headline]
I think always trying to get the perfect shot and being inspired by other photographers.
You can take hundreds of photos of something that inspires you as you want to capture it’s beauty, whether its a sunset or wildlife in their natural habitat.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]cameras?[/headline]
Nikon D810 and Nikon D600 full frame digital cameras with a range of Nikon lenses from 10mm up to 500.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]elements of taking a good photo?[/headline]
Good lighting is the most important thing so its always advisable to try to take photos during the golden hours which are from 6am to 9am.
If you aren’t able to take photos at this time, that’s okay, just consider the lighting and where it falls when taking your photos.
[headline size=”small” align=”left”]tips for amateur photographers?[/headline]
Don’t get dismayed as you won’t get the perfect shot every time, nobody does, even professional photographers.
Always keep learning, try new things, unusual angles and most of all, have fun and enjoy photography.
