Australian Photographer of the year 2023 - Highly Commended
Limited edition of 10 prints in this size - signed and numbered on the front.
The evaporation of seawater at Corio, near Geelong, was once the largest source of salt in Victoria, but almost all production is now from the semi-arid Mallee and Wimmera regions of the northwest of the state.
In these areas, the inland lakes are partially filled during winter by rising groundwater rich in sodium chloride and other salts, which are precipitated as the water evaporates during summer.
Salt is harvested both in its naturally occurring form, directly from the lake bed, and from specially prepared crystallising areas in which salt from the lake, dissolved by winter rains, is recrystallised during spring and summer. Each of the lakes get their vibrant coloured hues from salt-loving algae that are attracted to the high salinity levels found in the water.
This image was captured over salt pans, the changing orange hues representing the various stages of evaporation. If you look closely, you can see the old vehicle tyres used to mark the roadways between the evaporation pans.
From a viewpoint of less than 50 metres above the surface of the earth, it can be seen how nature - sometimes modified by human hand - paints its own abstract images, unique and perfect. And these images are constantly changing with the wind, rain and seasons. In this sense, my photographs also represent impermanence and fragility.
My intention, by presenting a different view of the landscape, is to cause the viewer to pause, consider and reflect on the ineluctable modality of the visible and perhaps to reconsider their own point of view.