Travel Series: Australia, A Trip Down Under

August 3rd, 2015
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The first installment of our travel series took readers on Safari in Africa. The second installment took us over to Nepal. This third installment of our travel series takes us way across the pond to Australia. Travel photographer Jeremy Rasnic, based in Jackson, Tennessee, was lucky enough to be selected to go on a dream trip where he spent three weeks exploring and photographing the land down under.

**Added later: Take a look at our top travel workshops and plan your own photo adventure.**

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What was your reason for going to Australia?

The trip was sponsored by Image Brief. They’re an image licensing company that I license my photos through. They offered me what they called a dream shoot: you had to be one of their agents who licenses their photos and uses their services and tell them where in the world you want to go and why. Adorama provided me with a new camera, and I chose Canon 5DS. I picked Australia because it’s a place I’ve always wanted to go. I’ve been to five of the seven continents, and now I have South America and Antarctica left. We went to Rock Hampton, all the way down to Sydney, a private Island, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and much more.

wildlife

Tell us about your adventures there.

Image Brief had a videographer that followed me over portions of the trip: the rainforest, the Gulf Coast and Sydney. I went to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, which has a beautiful scenic drive on the way up with a nice lookout. I was doing a video interview right around the time the sunset started, and I  had to stop the interview, get my camera out, set it up and take a shot—it was a sunset shot looking over mountains with an orange flowering plant lighting the foregrounds with beautiful sunset you could see for miles.

I also spent between five and 14 miles per day hiking in different areas and got quite the workout. Three years ago, I ruptured a disk and had to have back surgery in the ER. I thought that was the end of my photography career, but here I am, three years later, hiking up to 14 miles a day and climbing over boulders with a heavy pack and camera gear. To my surprise, I feel great!

cows

What was your favorite spot?

A little spot called Dorrigo, in New South Wales. There’s not much there there—they have a couple of pubs and no famous touristy areas. However, they have a phenomenal national park and an abandoned train museum with some neat shops in the area. I got a great photo of a waterfall during sunset, and the colors on the hill were various hues of red, orange and magenta. I found a nice silhouette of trees and the area seemed to have a lot of character to it.

rainforest

How does Australia measure up to other places you’ve visited?

There’s more variety in Australia. It has small towns, waterfalls, rainforests, plenty of flowering plants, private islands, coral reefs, and sharks.

Plus, while I was in Australia, the Milky Way was probably the brightest I’ve ever seen and I was able to take some great photos of it.

sunset

What do you love about travel photography?

Being able to see what’s out there and enjoy nature. If you stay in your hometown you pass by the same things every day. But if you bring a friend who is new to the area, then everything will be novel to them. They will see and appreciate things you would usually take for granted, like architecture, beautiful lighting, nearby scenery and far off views.

My least favorite part is leaving my family behind. I love my kids and my wife, and sometimes it’s hard to pack up and go somewhere for a while, knowing that I am missing out on some aspects of their lives.

Through Image Brief, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to choose one place anywhere in the world and they’ll cover the cost. The only caveat is that I license my images through them, which I have no qualms doing. It has opened up doors for me: it’s not just locals selling prints; it’s also large corporations like Canon USA, Facebook, AutoZone, etc.

waterfall

What is your next travel photography adventure?

Next summer, I’ll head to upstate New York and do some photography there, and probably go to Canada and then head to Missouri, Kansas City and north plains Kansas, Nebraska, etc. Next spring, I’ll take a trip out to the Grand Canyon with my family.

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jrazz2Jeremy is a full-time travel and landscape photographer based in Jackson, Tenn. Starting off as a videographer; he switched to the still-frame world, bringing his Canon on all of his travels.  He has three children and a loving wife who he often brings on his adventures. Learn more at jrazzcreations.com.

 

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