PHOTO GALLERY
"You force yourself to watch and wait. You accept all the discomfort and disharmony... It may be very hot. It may be painfully cold. It may be sandy and windy, and you say, 'What am I doing here? What drives me to do this hard thing?' ”
Dorothea Lange
The photo gallery has a sampling of Edward Stokes’ images of Hong Kong and Australia. The Hong Kong nature landscape photos are from his conservation books. The Australian landscape images were taken for his books retracing the journeys of mid-nineteenth century explorers.
Ed Stokes’ early photography was inspired especially by the American Ansel Adams, the Australians Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, and New Zealander Brian Brake. The Hong Kong photos were taken using PENTAX 67 medium-format cameras, with FUJI Provia and Velvia film. The Australian images were shot with OLYMPUS 35mm cameras, using KODAK Kodachrome film.
Lake Mungo sand formation – NSW, Australia.
The best way to take landscape and nature photos is to study local light, sun angles, seasons, and the weather.
Besides subjects and vantage points, a central question in landscape photography is: “Where does the sun rise and set?” Unless one is on the Equator, the directions of sunrise and sunset vary significantly through the year. Today this can be quickly seen on “latitude and sun angle” apps. Those did not exist in the 1990s when Ed Stokes took these Photo Gallery Hong Kong photos – hence this map.
Hong Kong Photos
Australia Photos
To appreciate the trials and achievements of three Australian inland explorers, Ed Stokes retraced their routes to photograph the regions they had crossed.
Unlike photographic projects in a small area, such as Hong Kong or even a region of Australia, Ed’s Australian “explorer retracing” book expeditions could not have detailed pre-shooting surveys – since each of the journeys crossed thousands of kilometres across the continent. Nonetheless, once on site Ed’s normal photo methods – pre-envisioning and then shooting – came into play.
Kadoorie Farm photos: copyright Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden.