A work trip to Broken Hill turned into an unexpected chance to explore one of Australia's most fascinating regional cities, from the vast desert landscapes of Mundi Mundi Lookout to the industrial relics hidden throughout town. Between filming, location scouting, and squeezing in some photography of my own, I came away with a renewed appreciation for the far west and a strong desire to return with more time to properly explore it.

Just a nice simple Sunday afternoon wandering around the Armidale Pine Forest with Evelyn.

After a long day shooting the Australian Celtic Festival, we stopped by Thunderbolts Cave for a quiet reset and a quick portrait test as the sun dropped. The results were mixed, but it’s a location I’m keen to revisit—and at the very least, we left far more relaxed than we arrived.

The Australian Celtic Festival returned bigger than ever this year, with multiple events running at once and barely enough time to capture everything before rushing off to the next location. Despite the chaos, the shorter shoot day, and my first-ever taste of haggis, I still came away with some shots I’m really happy with—and a bottle of mulled wine for a rainy day.

Quoll Headquarters’ annual open day saw smaller crowds this year, but it was still a rewarding experience as I volunteered to photograph the event and made the early drive out to Tenterfield. With new areas now open and ongoing conservation work on display, it was great to see the team’s progress—and I’m hopeful for a future collaboration on educational video projects.

In the final days before daylight saving ended, I experimented with shooting on my phone, creating a small series called Stories that I originally shared on Instagram. With the early morning light now lacking mood, I’m keen to revisit the idea soon—possibly with my everyday camera setup for a grittier, low-light approach.

The Cascades Project continues with Lisa as my second subject, returning to the Cascade Trail under much drier conditions and very different light, resulting in another set of dreamy, atmospheric images. With winter approaching and drought setting in, the project is now a race against time and weather to bring it all together.