About
Edan Raw
I was lucky enough to win the biological lottery and was born in the lucky country Australia, and what a beautiful country it is. I was fortunate enough to be brought into this world by two parents that instilled in me a strong sense of gratitude and appreciation for the environment and the amazing landscapes that surround us on the Sunshine Coast.
Growing up in the aptly named Forest Glen, I spent my younger years running amuck through the wilderness reserve my parents property backed onto. It was those formative years that shaped my view of the world around me and my appreciation of the natural world untouched by the hand of man.
“I developed an appreciation for Landscape Photography through the lens of other Australian Landscape Photography masters”
I guess being a teenager and all the distractions that come with it kept photography at bay for the time being. It was not until at the age of 23 that I landed my first fly-in fly-out mining construction job in the Pilbara region of Western Australia that my photographic flame was reignited by the awe inspiring landscapes of the Pilbara. Home to some of the most richly contrasting country on the planet, it was there in the Pilbara that I viewed my first of the iconic Pilbara sunrises on my way to work. It seemed every day had either an incredible sunrise or sunset, day after day, for months. It was then that I purchased my first DSLR camera. It was a Canon 500D – a pretty solid, entry level camera with enough pixels to get me started. I played around with that for a few years not really taking my landscape photography too seriously, and didn’t really dare envision myself doing anything more than taking photos for my own personal satisfaction.
It wasn’t until I was working again in the Pilbara a few years later when I was in transit coming back from another four week swing, that I found one of the Australian photography landscape master Ken Duncan‘s coffee table books ‘Walking in The Light‘. I was so struck by the beauty of his images and the perspectives that he was able to capture in the 3:1 panoramic photography format, I knew from the first time I looked through that book that I wanted to go down that same path with my photography – and not just as a hobby.
“My eyes were wide open & Panoramic Landscape Photography became my passion”
All cashed up from working away, a camera update was the on the cards. Along came the Canon 5D Mark III, and I haven’t looked back. That was almost three years ago and I have been running around the Sunshine Coast feverishly ever since capturing the beauty of this place I am so lucky to call home. I am happy with how far I have come in the past three years as a landscape photographer, and personally always try and capture unique perspectives and artistic compositions of places that have been shot to death, as well as looking for fresh locations to capture.
I think the measure of a great photographer is being able to take a special photo at a not so special location, and through camera technique and composition, make something evocative out of nothing were others maybe couldn’t. To create an image that transcends the location, so you are struck by the emotion evoked by the image – not the location itself. To turn your back on the obvious composition and try something different and unique. That is what photography is about for me, and that is what I challenge myself to do every time I pick up my camera.
I hope everyone can get something out of my Australian landscape photography, and enjoy my photography as much as I enjoy being in the moment taking the photographs. One day I wish to have my photographic prints for sale in galleries around the world, showcasing not only the beauty of the Sunshine Coast but Australia for all to see.
