Freedom: The Shark Bay Expedition
Photographic Essay, Aerial Photography, Fine Art Photography, Abstract Photography, Shark Bay, Shark Bay Aviation, Discover Shark Bay, World Heritage Sites, Western Australia, Australia, Travel
Freedom is the overarching theme for last week's epic Shark Bay Expedition. On the way to Sydney airport I realised this was my first trip by myself in 11 years. Not since the year before my sudden cardiac death in 2014 had I been on the road alone. Before that I was constantly roaming the globe. It was a big realisation and a nod to how far I'd come on my heart health journey in the intervening years. From rock bottom, at death's door and unable to lift my head off my hospital pillow for many months, to this point - about to embark on an aerial photography adventure I couldn't dream of doing until relatively recently.
My flight on an Airbus went smoothly to Perth, where I transitioned to a smaller turboprop Saab 340 to Shark Bay Airport. Arriving there reminded me of flying decades ago: there was no security check-in; there were no long lines of harried passengers hurrying; there was only silence and a handful of fellow adventurers waiting for our bags to come into the terminal, which was little more than a shed. And then onto Monkey Mia, where life moves "on dolphin time". On the ground it is a beautiful place and we witnessed an incredible sunset the first night, an unforgettable sunrise the next morning and then from the cliffs at Eagle Bluff, yet another amazing sunset. The next morning we were back at Shark Bay Airport for our first open door aerial photography flight aboard a Cessna 172 high wing, single engine, four-seater aircraft.
From the sky Shark Bay really lights up. It wasn't long before we were over Little Lagoon, a birrada filled with the most iridescent blue water I'd ever seen. Over the next few days we traversed the Bay, Australia's largest, for six hours by air. The sheer scale of the place and its incredible beauty were truly mind blowing. On previous aerial photography flights my go to was to shoot on medium burst. However, the extremely talented Dani Watson, with whom I was doing this expedition, suggested at the outset that I consider shooting single shot. This was to be a radical departure and, ultimately, a breakthrough for me. I took my time framing my shots more and got to enjoy the experience much more. I think that the results speak for themselves. I had a far higher hit rate of keepers than before.
In this essay, I've included a few photos as well as some behind the scenes images that give a flavour for the experience. My favorite moment: on the last morning we made our way across the bay to Dirk Hartog Island and had about 10 minutes of downtime. It was a cooler start, but as we reached cruising altitude of 3,000 feet the sun came streaming through the open door and warmed my face. I closed my eyes and soaked in the moment, present to the experience and grateful to everyone who has helped me over the years to make my journey possible, most of all to my heart donor to whom I am eternally grateful.
I felt the joy of freedom in that moment and hope that my images portray this to you. Enjoy!
The first photo, above, was taken at Useless Loop, which sits on Denham Sound within the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is Shark Bay. Useless Loop is a salt mining operation and the photo captures the vivid colours in the salt crystallisation ponds, basking in late afternoon light. Useless Loop got its name from the French explorer Henri-Louis de Saulces de Freycinet who thought the harbour was blocked by a sandbar and was therefore "useless" - Havre Inutile.
A RAMSAR internationally important wetland, Faure Island is situated on the Peron Peninsula within Shark Bay. It was named by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin in 1801, in honour of the geographer Pierre Faure, aboard his ship Le Naturaliste.
A rather unique feature of Shark Bay is the salt-lagoon birrada. Most of them are dry with a thin crystalline salt crust, but some have been re-flooded by the sea, creating inland bays teeming with life.
We did a huge 4WD trip out to Cape Peron - 1.5 hours of bump and grind each way. On our return, at dusk, our eagle-eyed driver spotted this tiny Moloch horridus, otherwise known as a thorny devil. They grown to 21 cm or 8.3 inches and can live for up to 20 years. Sadly this little fellow had recently passed, otherwise Bec would not have picked him up. He had the most beautiful camouflaging shades of desert browns and tans, but his eyes were what swooned me.
If you'd like to delve deeper into my photography visit my website and Instagram (@randleebdutoit). Please reach out if you'd like to suggest a collaboration.
All images are copyright Rand Leeb-du Toit, 2024
Some lovely shots here Rand! Looks like it was a fulfilling trip.