Hello, I’m Rob Potter. I am the owner and primary contributor to the ‘Grab Your Camera’ website.
At the beginning of 2023, I moved to Tasmania for family reasons. Before that, I lived in the Lake Macquarie area for six years. My childhood and twenties were primarily spent growing up in Western Sydney. So, as you can see, I have moved around a little in my 40 years on this earth.
How I got started in Landscape Photography
I got into photography by studying and later teaching Web Design at TAFE. A component of the web design course was using Adobe Photoshop to design websites, improve digital images and optimise them for a website.
As a creative person growing up, Adobe Photoshop opened a whole new world for me, and I quickly fell in love with this application. In fact, I still use Adobe Photoshop to post-process my landscape photos over, arguably, the more popular tool now, Adobe Lightroom.
It was during this initial period that I came across a photo of a jet fighter on a navy ship taken at sunrise or sunset. I was blown away by the depth and colour that this photo contained. I had never seen an image like it and still remember it now; such was its impact on me.
I read that it had been photographed using a technique known as High Dynamic Range Photography, or HDR. A quick google search, and I came across the HDR Tutorial on Trey Ratcliffe’s website, Stuck in Customs, and I was hooked! 😍
As I mentioned on the About page for Grab Your Camera, I started looking online for photography locations to visit but couldn’t find any good resources. This then started my passion for photographing and sharing fantastic photography hot spots online.
What I love about Landscape Photography
Getting to experience different locations
One of the main things I love about landscape photography is how it gets you up early, or staying out late, and heading to locations, you probably wouldn’t have visited otherwise. It gives you a reason to leave the house and go on an adventure.
In 2014, I organised a photography trip that saw me spend three days in Melbourne and then two days on the Great Ocean Road. Then in 2015, I spent a week travelling around Tasmania, snapping landscape photos and having an absolute blast!
These were both big trips, but they were chosen and organised based on photography and the opportunity to capture incredible Australian landscapes. And they were amazing!
I have great photos but, more importantly, fantastic memories from those trips.
Photography is a creative endeavour
I came from quite a creative family and grew up drawing. Most of my family members regularly partake in some style of art. For me, photography is essential as it gives me a creative outlet for this energy and focus. I get to go through the process of creating something that could be considered art.
I think most people need to have some form of creative outlet. It doesn’t have to be photography, but it doesn’t necessarily mean painting a picture on a canvas, either. A creative outlet could be in the form of dancing or gardening. It just needs to be something that engages the creative part of your brain and produces something.
This creative process is good for the mind and soul, and landscape photography satisfies that need for me.
Experienced with friends or alone
Photography can be one of those hobbies or vocations that can be done alone or in a group.
I have been fortunate enough to have developed some great friendships through photography. When I think back to some of my favourite memories with my camera, they were shared with friends, visiting and photographing different locations.
And there are other times, which is the majority of the time, when photography is a solitary sport, and you are out there alone. But these times are also nice as you can slow down, enjoy nature and your environment, and simply focus on getting a nice shot.
What’s in my camera bag
I feel like my camera gear might be a little underwhelming compared to what a lot of the other landscape photographers might carry. In a way, I have always been a bit embarrassed by my lack of gear.
However, while photography can be expensive, you only need one good camera, a good lens and a sturdy tripod, and you can capture great images for years to come. I like to think that I am an example of this. 😅
So, as of March 2023, my camera bag contains the following gear:
- Nikon D750
- Nikon 16-35mm f4
- Tamaron 24-70mm 2.8
- Nikon 50mm f1.8
- Manfrotto Tripod
- LowPro Camera Bag
Future Camera Gear Purchases
Depending on future finances, I would love to get a new lighter tripod and a larger camera bag. These two purchases are essential as I want to do some hiking in Tasmania and photograph this stunning island’s remote locations.
I also would like to get a new lens for wildlife photography. I would love to photograph wombats and have my eye on the Nikon 70-300mm F4.5 to 5.6 VR lens. It seems to be an affordable lens with good reviews. 🤞
My Favourite Photography Location
This could be considered a tricky question for some. Considering the number of photography locations I have visited, you might also think I would struggle to pick a single location as my favourite.
However, without a doubt, my favourite place to take landscape photos in Australia is the Dovelake Boatshed at Cradle Mountain.
The whole of Cradle Mountain is magnificent, not just the boatshed. But I can’t describe how much I love visiting the boatshed in particular. When you have those moments where you are the only one there, it is truly magical, and the place resonates deeply with me.
I certainly plan to photograph and document Cradle Mountain over the next 30 years, which is an exciting thought.
I am unsure if I will find another location in Australia that I like photographing more than the Boatshed at Cradle Mountain. But I am definitely going to keep exploring other places with the hope that something can top it or come close.
One of my proudest photography moments was being asked if one of my images could be used as the cover image for a book on the St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. (iPhone image | November 2014)
My 3 Proudest Photography Accomplishments
Releasing an ebook
I know this might sound like a shameless plug, but to date, my proudest achievement in photography was producing an ebook that shared the best photography locations in and around Sydney.
My ‘Sydney Photography Location Guide’ was years in the making and provided information on 30 locations across four areas of Sydney. The ebook was 122 pages long and contained over 200 images I captured myself.
When it was available, I sold over one hundred copies and received lots of positive feedback from those who grabbed a copy. This justified the hard work and many hours of travel, photographing, processing and designing the ebook.
It is funny, I took several years off from photography between 2016 and 2022, and when I took another look at that ebook recently, I was filled with pride in the level of photos and information it contained. 😊
I am going to be updating the Sydney Photography Location Guide ebook shortly. I will be swapping out some locations for other ones that are a little better and updating the branding from Photography Hot Spots to Grab Your Camera.
It is a project that I am very much looking forward to revisiting and working on again.
St Marys Cathedral Book
In 2014, I received an email from a person at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. They had seen one of my photos that I had taken of the cathedral online and hoped to use it on the cover of a book they would soon release. I was very flattered and agreed. 🙂
I used the opportunity and goodwill to ask if I could spend an afternoon photographing the church’s interior, to which they said yes!
This was a fantastic and rare opportunity, as using a camera and tripod is usually off-limits to the general public inside the church. Walking around the cathedral and snapping photos was a lot of fun and awe-inspiring.
In the end, some of the photos I took inside St Mary’s Cathedral also made their way into the book. This included a panorama I captured, which became a double-page spread within the book and was a photo that I was thrilled with.
I returned a couple of months later for the official book launch at the cathedral. The event was lovely, and I was presented with several copies of the finished book, which I still have today.
The Photography Hot Spots Website
As I mentioned on the About page, while the Photography Hot Spots website is no more, I am still very proud of that time and what I achieved through the side.
So much good came out of that website.
I was lucky to meet some truly remarkable people, some of whom are still good friends. That I am most thankful for! 😊
Towards the end of 2015, the website was getting well over ten thousand unique visitors per month, the Facebook page had about the same amount of followers, and I had over one thousand people who had signed up to receive my monthly email newsletter.
I am very proud of these metrics, and I hope to build the Grab Your Camera brand up to a similar level of engagement.
If you want to learn more about Photography Hot Spots and the story there, I have written about it on the ‘What is Grab Your Camera all about’ page. Hop over there to find out more information.
This photo, taken of the Sydney Habour Bridge from Kirribilli, is one of my favourite images that I have captured. Certainly not because I think it is a good photo, at least not now… But it was one of the first photos I took that excited me and made me feel I could be a good photographer. So for me, this image will always have a special place in my heart because of that. (HDR Image | Sunrise | 2010)
One of my favourite images
My first photo, taken from Kirribilli
Not necessarily my favourite photo, but this image would be in my top 10. I took the above photo way back in 2010 on one of my first photography outings. It was also one of the first HDR images I had taken and my first time visiting Sydney, where my only purpose was to take photos. So it was lots of firsts all rolled into one image! 🙂
Looking at this photo taken from Kirribilli, I know now that it is overdone in how it was processed. But at the time, this photo solidified in my mind that I could take nice photos. It also got quite a bit of attention on social media, which was a nice ego boost.
So, this image really kicked things off for me in terms of photography and an obsession with chasing great landscape images. Because of this, it is still very much a photo that I look back on fondly.
Check out my favourite landscape photography images
I am fortunate in that there are many photos that I have taken over the years that I love. Out of writing about my love for my first Kirribilli image, I have decided to write an article showcasing my ten favourite landscape images that I have taken and the stories behind them.
So keep an eye out for that! 🤓
My favourite article I have written
NSW Lighthouses, blogpost
In January 2023, I published an article on the Grab Your Camera website titled ‘Photographing Lighthouses in NSW’. This article is my favourite that I have written to date! 😀
This is because of the long process of visiting each of these lighthouses and then putting all of the information together into a single blog post. I love lighthouses, so it was a passion project and an article I thoroughly enjoyed writing.
Hornby Lighthouse, which, spoiler alert, is my favourite lighthouse to photograph, was photographed back in 2012. So in a way, you could say that this article was over ten years in the making. It had certainly been on my mind to write for a very long time, so it is great to see it published on this website.
In 2014, I went on a week-long Victorian photo trip which saw me spend some time in Melbourne and along the Great Ocean Road. Hosier Lane in Melbourne was one of my favourite landscape photography locations on this trip. The street art was incredible, and being a Pixar fan, I couldn’t resist getting a photo in front of Mike and Sulley! (iPhone Image | October 2014)
Other Interests and hobbies
My son, Christopher
I have a young son, Christopher, who I love spending time with when he stays with me.
He is four and has shown an interest in photography. I have given him an old digital camera I don’t use any more, and he enjoys walking around and taking photos of various things. Hopefully, this interest in photography will continue to develop as he does.
Taking him out during the day to scout for new photography locations has also been fun. I am keen to get him out of the house and away from the TV, so this has become a welcome distraction and something we can do together.
The gym
Most mornings, I am in the gym if I am not standing next to my tripod and camera photographing the sunrise. I love the gym and am what you would call a ‘gym junkie’. I have been doing it for many years and certainly don’t plan to stop anytime soon.
Reading books
Three years ago, I set myself a goal of reading each night for 15 minutes before bed. This challenge came about as I had always wanted to read more but never quite found the time.
I can say that this minor change to my daily routine has had a tremendous impact on me, and I look forward to finishing each day with a book.
I like various genres, including biographies and memoirs of people who have achieved incredible things or overcome significant adversaries. I also enjoy fantasy novels with wizards and large battle scenes.
I am very much looking forward to reading through all of Tolkien’s books on Middle Earth, like the Lord of the Rings, very soon.
My 9-to-5 job
I currently work for TAFE NSW as a teacher, which I have done for many years. While I have taught several different topics, I began teaching Web Design and Photoshop before moving into teaching Training and Assessment and Digital Marketing units.
I enjoy my role as a teacher and helping people learn new topics and develop their skills in a particular vocation.
This fact is another reason why Grab Your Camera appeals to me. It is another avenue in which I get to help people through teaching. 🙂
If you want to see more of my professional journey, please check out my LinkedIn Profile. You can also send me a connection request if you like. Just let me know that you found me via the Grab Your Camera website.
Contact Me
The best way to get in touch with me would be via my social media channels for Grab Your Camera, like Instagram or Facebook. While there, also make sure to follow me on these platforms to stay up to date with any upcoming adventures and new content I produce.
I don’t currently have a ‘contact page’ on this website, simply due to the amount of automated spam that can be received. Some paid apps can help with this, and I might look to add a contact page in the future.
But for now, if you need to get in touch with me, please do so via social media.
Thanks so much for reading!
Kind regards,
Rob Potter