The wet season of the Kimberley region in remote North-Western Australia usually runs from November until April. It is a time of revival for the sunburned land. After months without rain, water courses freely through the long river beds and deep rock pools. Life is renewed. The local Aboriginal tribes believe the clouds, storms and rain represent a visible expression of the Wandjina, ancestral spirits who created the world.

Each afternoon, I sat on the barren marsh surrounding the small outback town of Derby, to witness the power of the Wandjina. One day, I spotted an active storm far in the distance, moving quickly, shifting and evolving before my eyes. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the front-lit cloud turned an unusual magenta hue. On this occasion I had left my lightning trigger at home, so I shot continuously, selecting a shutter speed long enough to catch a lightning strike, yet fast enough to minimise cloud movement. I was fortunate to capture a bolt that burst through the low-level clouds with energy and vigour, in perfect counterpoint to the rising moon. I feel the elements in this photograph come together to convey the harsh beauty, remoteness and spirituality for which the Kimberley is famed.

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A couple of days ago I was fortunate to be out on the Derby marsh, camera and tripod in hand, when the fiercest storm I’ve seen up here ripped through overhead. In some respects there is a huge element of luck in play to capture a special landscape photograph, but planning and persistence can also pay dividends.

If you’ve followed my uploads recently, you may have noticed a suspicious number of dramatic clouds and storms creeping into my portfolio. In the Kimberley at this time of the year, most of the roads between towns are flooded, and access the beautiful surrounding gorges is very limited. This means I’ve been restricted to roaming around Derby. Derby is a small town which honestly can be covered in 15 minutes, so 3 months is ample time to get to know it well. It’s charming, but not overly photogenic, so I’ve turned my attention to the sky instead.

The day before yesterday, I was out on the marsh 45 minutes before sunset, and things weren’t looking great. The sky was overcast and flat, the clouds grey and lifeless. The wind was blowing strongly, so I thought some motion in the grass would be interesting.

A valiant attempt, but not really working out. I walked out onto the mudflat which was surprisingly firm given it had been raining in recent days. The patterns in the cracked mud were great. There were some deep footprints left from an excited and probably very muddy dog which could add a little foreground interest, so I experimented with some compositions.

Eventually I found one that could possibly work.

The sky was still pretty grey, but some definition was forming in the sky. I was intrigued by the sliver of sun which peeked out under the oppressive weight of cloud.

A couple of minutes later, the sun approached the horizon, and things started to get interesting. The sky turned a fascinating blue-green. A storm front materialised and started heading in my direction! I rushed back to my previous composition.

Flashes of lightning started hitting the ground. The storm was approaching rapidly. I wanted to capture some lightning, but my lightning trigger didn’t seem to trip the shutter fast enough. In desperation, I fired off frames continuously.

As it got darker, the colours became even more vivid. I wanted to keep shooting, to capture a lightning bolt marking a special moment in time where everything comes together: the storm front perfectly timed with the sunset. However it wasn’t to be. Eventually I figured it wasn’t smart to place myself as the only object taller than half a metre on the flat marsh, and hurried back to the car.

Still, I’m quite pleased with the captures. The moral? If you’re facing a boring sunset, be persistent and stay out there, as you never know when you’ll get lucky!

Click here to see more Kimberley photos.

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The wet season is underway here in Derby. A few afternoons every week, the oppressive daytime heat and humidity is washed away by a tropical storm.

In some ways we’re fortunate to be surrounding by marshland in Derby. There is open space in every direction to watch the storms pass by as they head out to sea. The downside is that interesting foregrounds can be difficult to find.

In the above photo, dense rain blocked out the cloud texture. The isolated bolt is elegant, yet mysterious and powerful.

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It seems the Mayans got it wrong, and the end of the world is not going to happen. With the new year rapidly approaching, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on 2012. Read on to follow my photographic highlights this year in remote North-Western Australia.

In the middle of the year I moved to the remote town of Derby in Western Australia for work. Living in a town with a population of only 3000 has provided it’s own challenges: a lack of readily available good coffee comes to mind! First world troubles, I know. Derby has a reputation for excellent fishing. Unfortunately I wouldn’t know what end of the fishing rod the bait goes on, so I’ve had plenty of time for other pursuits. Thankfully living in the heart of the beautiful Kimberley region of Australia has been a huge boon for landscape photography.

We arrived at the height of the dry season that runs from May to November. An excellent time for hiking and camping, the featureless skies made it a good time to explore the many gorges dotted along the Gibb River Road.

Broome offers good beer (Matso’s Microbrewery) and good food (though our favourite restaurant Noodlefish has sadly closed). Cape Leveque is a relatively short (for Western Australia), and sandy drive with spectacular coastal scenery.

After we had explored most of the Kimberley region, we set our sights further afield. Karijini National Park is a 15 hour drive from Derby, but thankfully we called in Shawn our enthusiatic driver! You can read more about our Karijini trip here. Karijini has amazing gorges, and while the walks are steeper than the Kimberley, they are generally shorter.

For the last month the Kimberley monsoon season has been swinging into gear. Access to many gorges and camping sites is closed as the creek crossings flood, so I’ve generally been stuck in town. Although Derby doesn’t feature in the typical tourist’s itinerary, it is a great location to watch dramatic sunsets unfold as thunderstorms roll close by. It’s absolutely fantastic having multiple great sunset locations within only 5-10 minutes drive, a luxury we don’t have in built up cities.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you stop by in 2013!

Click here to see all of my Australia Photos.

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