Notes from the field: Tall tales
“As a nature and wildlife photographer I’m used to difficult field work,” Esther says.
“My last few assignments for Australian Geographic were about mammals – nocturnal ones such as brushtail possums and long-nosed bandicoots, which are only active at night. It was difficult enough to get lenses and cameras to focus in the dark, but I also had to stumble around managing all my lighting set-ups on my own. So for my next assignment I wanted something ‘easy’ – something that doesn’t hide, sneak away, bite or scratch.
“I had just moved to the Sunshine Coast of Queensland and I kept seeing these tall, dark shapes poking up on the horizon. I was dead centre in the land of the bunya tree – a geological marvel with enormous cones and edible nuts. And I could shoot it in the daytime!”
It turned out bunya was way more than ‘a tree’. It was the lifeblood of the First Nations people of this area, both past and present. Esther wanted to gain their trust.
“It was a great moment for me when, after a meeting with Paul Dawson, general manager of Bunya Peoples’ Aboriginal Corporation, I was given the okay to photograph the rangers at work. When I showed up at our meeting point, it was not just Paul and a couple of rangers there, but the whole mob including the prestigious Elder, Lurlene Henderson, who included me in the round of full-body hugs,” Esther says.
“It was fun to wander through the eerie forests of the Bunya Mountains with minimal gear,” she adds.
“What was an even better discovery was the joyous spirit of complete forgiveness among today’s First Nations people. Becoming involved with the people of bunya and being able to tell their story gave me, surprisingly, a feeling of home. I’ve been welcomed, I’ve been acknowledged, I belong.”
