Presence #14 Ed. 2 of 10

Growing up in the closet, I only ever let certain parts of myself show through. I felt like I was made up of 3 parts. The one I revealed, the one I let myself feel, and the one that was secret & unknown.

I would reflect only certain parts of myself back to others. I tried to merge seamlessly into my surroundings. Like a mirror, keeping everything hidden behind the surface.

As an adult I find myself adopting the same patterns. Segmenting myself and only revealing those parts that fit.

Alone and making images in the landscape, I feel free of it all. There is nothing there but me and it.

This image was part of a series that won the international Minimalist Photography Awards 2023 in the creative category and came runner up in Australia's Top Emerging Photographer awards 2023.

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Luke is a Melbourne based photographer specialising in both beautiful and thought provoking images of the Australian landscape.

His work has been well recognised in 2023, winning the international Minimalist Photography Awards (conceptual), winning the Museum of Australian Photography Look! Prize (street), runner up in Australia’s Top Emerging Photographer Competition (art) and as a finalist in the Sony Alpha Awards (creative).

In prior years he came 2nd in the Australian Photography Awards, third in Australia’s Top Emerging Photographer Competition and as a finalist in both the Perth Centre for Photography CLIP Award and Mullins Conceptual Photography Award.

His work hangs in the prestigious Dorsett and Ritz Carlton hotels in Melbourne.