My pics up big on the Quorn silos

Quorn Silo Light Show. Possibly the biggest I've ever seen my images.

Plus, a couple of others on my wander back to the pub to defrost. Quorn is super pretty at night.

Flinders Ranges - why I love it.

Why Flinders? 

With interstate border regulations changing daily, I'm looking at different ways to get my adventure and discovery fix locally. I always love the beach, but being in the big wide open spaces also pulls me. 

In recent years I have travelled to the Flinders Ranges quite a few times for work. I used to go camping with family and relatives as a child too. I am amazed at how many people haven't been, missing out on such a unique area. It's such a special place, close to Adelaide and very doable as a weekender. 

I asked people what stops them from going? The main stop signs were...

1. I don't have a 4WD

2. I don't like camping

3. I don't know what to do out there

Well, here are my answers to those points.

I don't have a 4WD

I have done it in my VW Golf! But taking the Mitsubishi Outlander and Pajero Sport made it easier and a little less 'bumpy'. 

There are many sealed roads, and even the unsealed ones (that we went on) are pretty good. An SUV will get you even further. We went to Bendleby Ranges, a station known for it's four-wheel drive tracks. The tracks are varied, so check where you can go before tackling any. Being a novice 4wd'er, we did do a handful in the Mitsubishi with no problems. 

Yes, you can't go everywhere, but hey, don't you want to do some hiking anyway? That's where you get the real immersion. 

I don't like camping

I do like camping, but I'm also known as a bit of a hotel buff. And Flinders Ranges has the variety. Bush camping right through to luxurious digs. There's also eco tents, fly-in luxury camp stays and shearers quarters on stations for some real life. 

Check out www.flindersandoutback.com.au and www.stationstayssa.com.au for some of the options ready for you. 

I don't know what to do

Well... there's hiking, biking, flying, 4WDing (and mere driving), eating, drinking... and a vast landscape that is in constant change. The feeling I get when in the Flinders is like a surrender: peace and strength, a reset button. There is a spiritual presence in this ancient place that I always feel. 

My fave things (so far)...

Flying over Flinders Ranges - by helicopter or plane (I’ve been up with Wrights Air and Arkaroola)

Strzelecki and Oodnadatta Track drives

Prairie Hotel food and sundowners

Flinders Bush Retreats Eco tent and Homestead stays

Bike riding in Melrose

Tour at Holowiliena Station

Eating at Flinders Food Co

Have you been? What can you add to this?

How Important are Photos in Your Marketing Strategy?

Your photo library is the visual foundation on which any marketing strategy is built. 

Research says you have eight seconds to catch the eye of a Gen Z.

And for print - the decision to read or reject pamphlets and direct mail pieces is made by readers in

just 2.5 seconds. 

Travellers want to visualise potential new experiences. How will it make them feel? To stand out in the tourism industry and inspire travellers to book you over competitors, place compelling visuals centre-stage throughout your marketing. There are two types - hero images and

stock/complementary images.

'Hero Shots' are your defining images - what sets you apart. 

They are "wow" photographs that make the viewer think "I want to be there now"; They grab attention quickly in a saturation of images. A library of promotional images complements the hero shots. These images are less memorable but just as necessary to tell the story.  Just like a magazine with their hero image on the cover, and the additional photos within the article.

Your appeal and uniqueness

+

great idea/concept

+

awesome team

=

Hero image

Uniqueness/appeal could be a landmark, a feeling or an experience.

The great idea revolves around a story. What does your ideal audience want to see? Weather, atmosphere, activity, talent similar to themselves? Let your audience imagine it could be them

there, enjoying your destination.

Find the production team you need and trust. Look at their portfolio, get to know them, find recommendations. You have to be comfortable and confident.

Finally, make sure your images (hero and stock) sit firmly within your marketing brand. They should be images that define you and make you unique.

Thousands of dollars are being spent taking those images into the marketplace - websites, promotional collateral, travel shows, social media - it makes sense to do it properly from the start.

Southern Flinders Ranges

Look closely; there's so much to discover! I wish I had before now.

There's art, wine, trails, pubs, fishing, food... and the beautiful landscape that makes the Flinders Ranges. But closer to Adelaide - making it a more accessible option for a quick getaway.

Over two days, I discovered the area, photographing it for Flinders Ranges and Outback tourism. From being in awe of the Wirrabara silo art detail (which I eventually remembered how to pronounce) to hiking through the bush. 'Just around the corner' taking us further and further inland to find the ideal spot to photograph. Not that I cared, it was all beautiful, and I love hiking. Warming up with coffee by the fire at Over the Edge and wine by the big fire later that night at Under the Mount made it all the sweeter.

My favourite town here is Melrose. She melted me: the buildings, the surrounding landscape, the country friendliness. I wanted to stay longer. Perhaps without the sub-zero morning temperatures though.

My takeaway. Stay longer.

https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/flinders-ranges-outback/mount-remarkable-national-park - great for bike riding and hikes

https://otesports.com/locations/melrose/ - cafe and all things bikes

https://www.underthemount.com.au/ - has to be the best fire in town!

https://wirrabara.com.au/silo-art - silo art that inspires

https://reservoirs.sa.gov.au/reservoirs/beetaloo - fishing

Flinders Ranges

Who's been to the Flinders? I used to go as a child. Camping, hiking, Grandpa catching rabbits for tea that night, my cousins and I making graves, complete with named headstones, for the baby ones caught.

I've taken my kids camping up there too.

But recently I've been working around the Flinders - and discovering how much there is. Station stays, food, helicopter flights, beautiful accommodation. It's not all camping and hiking. The landscape, the feeling, the weathered peaks and rocky gorges... they are a given. It really is one of the most dramatic and beautiful landscapes I've seen.

The Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about 200 km north of Adelaide and stretch for over 400km. I follow the main highways, back roads to stations and even some scenic off-road tracks (in my little VW Golf) when I take the wrong way. It's all quite an entertaining adventure.

Pics below:

https://www.facebook.com/flindersfoodco/ - delicious food in Hawker

https://southaustralia.com/products/flinders-ranges/attraction/kanyaka-ruins-station - some history

https://www.barossahelicopters.com.au/parachilna/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4MmwlZvo5AIVjYRwCh2PWAA4EAAYASAAEgJaMPD_BwE - fly over the Flinders

http://www.stationstayssa.com.au/station/mt-little-station/ - farm stay

https://www.jeffmorgangallery.com.au/ - art gallery in Hawker

https://southaustralia.com/products/flinders-ranges/attraction/old-wilpena-station - some history at Wilpena

Prairie Hotel, Parachilna

When I first started doing vision boards, a photo of the Prairie Hotel was on one. It was actually a journal I had covered with photos of what I want to do, where I want to go, and who I want to be.

I didn't know much about the hotel, but I knew it looked awesome, was in the middle of nowhere and you could stand outside have a drink looking out over vast empty land. And it was in northern South Australia, in the Flinders Ranges. All very doable.

I 'ticked' it off my list a few years ago, visiting for lunch while camping at Wilpena Pound. I love how we can 'pop over' to Parachilna, two hours from Wilpena, for lunch, but yet in Adelaide a 45 minute drive is a consideration for lunch.

A couple of months ago, I stayed at Prairie Hotel en route to Innamincka. I sat by the outside fire, glass of wine in hand, chatting to people. I watched people come and go in the front bar while sipping my (err, third) coffee next morning. I even 'oohed' and 'ahhed' over the inspiring views I had with a chopper flight over the Flinders Ranges early morning.

Why go to the Prairie Hotel? The yummy food, the comfy bed, and the quiet vastness that envelopes the hotel are my fave reasons. It's also a great place to refresh on your drive.

CLIENT: Upalinna Station, Flinders Ranges

Upalinna means 'Little Water' in the Adnyamathana language.

Upalinna is a family-owned and operated working sheep station, located on the Eastern side of Ikara Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Don't do what I did and take The Outback Highway (towards Parachilna) out of Hawker then have to traverse the Moralana Scenic Drive track in a little VW. Makes for slow progress on the dirt and rock. Take the Flinders Ranges Way (towards Wilpena).

There are bush campsites and shearers quarters. Some very fancy shearers quarters that sleep 14 people.

Five bedrooms, classically styled kitchen, dining and lounge room with open fireplace and bread oven that's great for cooking pizza in. Outside is an entertaining area with bbq plus a firepit down by the creek. I loved standing virtually on top of the fire defrosting after photographing in the cold all day.

Check out the pics... a bit nice.

http://www.upalinnastation.com.au/

CLIENT SHOWCASE: Flinders Bush Retreats

Billy tea and scones by the campfire in the Gorge

How old are the Flinders Ranges? I don't know, but apparently, some of the worlds oldest fossils have been found here.

View from the property

I used to camp up at the Flinders Ranges with my grandparents and family as a child. We’d set up camp by a creek, sit around campfires at night, hike during the day and construct gravestones for the baby rabbits accidentally caught in my Grandpa’s traps that day. We’d name them, bury them, have a ceremony and put a headstone on top. 

Mt Scott Homestead kitchen

Twenty years later, and a few visits in between, I’m back. But this time I’m not camping, I'm staying in a three bedroom home complete with indoor fire, fire pit outside and bath overlooking the gorge hills. There is even a coffee machine. Luxurious. There is a water trough out the back which emus come and drink. Each day I take a bath mid-afternoon, so I can laze back and watch the sun play hide and seek with the stormy clouds while the emus slurp away. I laugh as sheep come running to the trough and scatter the emus one afternoon. I wonder who rules the roost?

Mt Scott Homestead

The Quarters

Eco tent

Eco tent

Flinders Bush Retreats is a working station about 10 minutes out of Hawker. There is a range of accommodation. Bush campsites, Eco tent, The Quarters (which are quite luxe shearers quarters) and where I’m staying, Mount Scott Homestead. Something for everyone, I’d like to think. 

Getting hands on and learning in the shearing shed

I love the isolation of Mount Scott Homestead. Five minutes drive from the nearest house through paddocks. I hear nothing but the wind, birds and occasional creak from the trees. I sit at the breakfast bar and see the outback farm for as far as my short sighted eyes can see. Adventuring up into the hills of the Willow Waters Gorge, I am comfortable knowing if I get lost I only need to head west, and I’ll see ‘home’. 

Walking through the Gorge

I am alone, but I can imagine having a few nights away with friends or family. Willow Waters Gorge, the gorge on the property is old. Very old. Boringly old apparently. So the scientific folk said when they came to survey the area. But it is perfect for wandering. It’s small enough not to get lost but big enough to walk for a few hours each day. I climb up to a peak one chilly morning and get a 360-degree view of the gorge. It’s a little utopia amongst the barren farmland over the other side of the hills. 

One of the campsites

Another day I climb up the hills, losing the track I'm meant to walk up, but find my way around on the goat and kangaroo tracks. I get over to the gorge side of the hills, but rain and wind lash in. I retreat, slipping down the hill on the scree. Just as I get back to Mount Scott Homestead, the sky opens and a storm rolls in. The wind makes a song as it hurtles across the farmland and through the gum trees lining the front of the house. I’m glad I turned back when I did. The hills were steep, and I can imagine the wind picking me up and throwing me somewhere further down if I’d been up on top still. 

Meet and greet with the farm animals

Sharon and Allen McInnes are working farmers. They live nearby with their children and have a farm of animals for guests to meet. Mini ponies, geese, chooks, sheep, pigs, cat, dogs… City kids (big and small) will be amazed. Unfortunately, due to weather, I missed out on shearing, but at the right time of year, guests can get involved with farm chores too. 

The Eco tent view

5 tips for building your photo library

Special family times...

Your photo library is the visual foundation on which any marketing strategy is built. Photographs show the appeal – and the competitiveness – of a company or destination.

Research says you have 8 seconds to catch the eye of a Gen Z. And for print... the decision to read or reject pamphlets and direct mail pieces is made by readers in just 2.5 seconds. 

Considering thousands of dollars are being spent taking those images into the marketplace - think websites, promotional collateral, travel shows, social media... it makes sense to do it properly from the start. Good photographs are the foundations of your marketing. 

Here are a couple of suggestions to make sure your foundations are sturdy. 

1. Don't rush it. Plan to build your library over several assignments. You are unlikely to get all the images you need in a single assignment. Consider different light, times of year, emotions, feelings, events... Develop a shot list with your photographer, taking into consideration seasons, major events, travel time and accessibility. Then prioritise. Work out what you can do straight away and what you have to wait for. 

2. Recognise the difference between “Stock Shots” (the necessary pictures that show the range of attractions you have to offer) and “Hero Shots” (the flagship photographs that are likely to lead your promotional effort). Like a magazine with their hero cover shot and then the additional feature shots inside the article. Plan to it.

Stock shot of accommodation...

Hero shot showing emotion and experience...

3. Build your library on professional standards from the start. For example... ensure all images are licensed to you and your stakeholders to use for promotional purposes, you have Talent Releases for all people in the photographs, and the images are of a professional standard (i.e., size, colour space, etc.).

4. Work out the most effective way of keeping and distributing your library of images. This will save you hours searching for images in your next campaign. And save you from losing any. Your photographer can also offer advice on how they do it/what they recommend.

5. Make sure your images (hero and stock) sit firmly within your marketing brand. Images that define you and make you unique. 

Getting back to nature...

Quirky...

Big open spaces...

If you want to start showing off to the world - the best way you can... contact me. We can chat, I can give you ideas, and of course, I can make beautiful photos for you.

All pics taken at www.almertastation.com.au - a place where ‘Kids can be kids and adults can reconnect.’

Regional photo tour update

Just a quick update on my regional photo tours.... 

Last week I headed north to Flinders Ranges and Burra. I have about 700 photos to go through so will share some with you soon. In the meantime, here are a couple I took on my iPhone. Just to prove it's not the tool - it's the way you use it. :)  

How amazing is this landscape? I'm a coastal girl but this has something special about it. 

Almerta Station at sunset

This weekend and next week I am over on Yorke and Eyre Peninsula. Would love to fill a couple of spots on Monday/Tuesday at Port Lincoln... if you or anyone you know is in need of some photo updates... 

$400 gets one hour of photography and up to twenty images. Plus, I'm going to be putting together a regional social media stock photo pack - and you get this for free. Valued at $100. 

Email me ASAP to discuss.