A short promotional video from 2016 about our North Queensland workshops at Jams Cook University’s Orpheus Island Research Station and Daintree Rainforest Observatory research and education centres.
DAINTREE 2024:
Reluctantly we had to postpone our Daintree 2024 event when the area from Cairns to Cape Tribulation experienced its most disastrous weather event in recorded history due to Cyclone Jasper. This caused major flooding and severe landslides along the Cape Tribulation Road presenting long term challenges to make the road passable for trucks and large vehicles. Additional extreme weather events during the wet season only exacerbated the problem, and further intensified the logistical issues for our workshop. And along with escalating costs and ongoing COVID infections, we have concluded it is no longer viable to run this workshop, at least not as we have enjoyed and perfected it over the past 20 wonderful years. And being dedicated ‘to doing no less well than we can possibly do’, it is therefore time to look for new ways to share what we know to help and inspire others.
Below is a brief historical overview of our Nth Queensland events, and an in-depth account of our Daintree workshop is also available at:
Orpheus-Daintree 2005-2023:
Photography Retreat – Face to Face
The origins of our Nth. Queensland photography retreats go back to 2003 and my initial collaborations with James Cook University (JCU) and our very dear friends, business partners and the event organisers John and Pam de Rooy. The workshop was originally created to support accredited professional photographers (AIPP/ACMP/NZIPP) making the transition to digital photography, but within two years enthusiast photographers and teachers, lecturers and students had ‘heard about’ the workshop and consequently made up approximately two-thirds of our delegates.
Our first residential retreat was held in 2005 at the magnificent Orpheus Island Research Station (OIRS) (JCU’s Great Barrier Reef research station), and in 2016 after twelve consecutive years on Orpheus we moved the workshop further north to the equally incredible James Cook University Daintree Rainforest Observatory (DRO) and its exceptional research and student centred facilities. These unique locations also inspire unique workshop aims and outcomes, such that it is hard to imagine this workshop being presented anywhere else.
Our Sponsors:
And from the outset the support we received from our sponsors was utterly phenomenal. Everything and anything we needed was generously provided from the finest Epson large format printers, inksets and the most beautiful Canson Infinity papers, with state-of-the-art EIZO ColorEdge monitors, and spectacular Hasselbald and Phase One medium format cameras with exceptional lenses, lighting, and other equipment to work with. In particular Robert Gatto from Kayell Australia ensured our delegates were never left wanting as they gleefully took home piles of stunning prints, sponsored awards, and generously discounted pricing on all the equipment we worked with.
The Program:
Orpheus-Daintree was an eight day contemporary photography retreat for anyone who wondered ‘how do I get to the next level’? That is, ‘how do I progress beyond merely beautiful images and prints, beyond the mastery of camera craft and production skills, workflows, clients, and competitions to develop and infuse my work with more meaning, significance and purpose?’
This is no easy task, and there are many prerequisites: we need time and space away from the hurly-burly distractions of everyday life. We need an unbelievably beautiful and inspiring location that only asks the best of us. We need state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities that won’t let us down. And we need incredibly experienced teachers and mentors who not only work ‘at that next level’, but also possess the empathy, compassion, understanding and intellectual frameworks needed to facilitate your journey ‘to the other side’. These are rarely found qualities, but at Daintree we supplied them in abundance. Read More
Our Presenters:
With my son, business partner and RMIT School of Art lecturer Andrey Walkling, we worked with many incredible co-presenters over all these years, beginning on Orpheus in 2005 with Nth Queensland landscape photographer and conservationist Steven Nowakowski, followed by Damien Bredberg 2006, David Simmonds 2007, Greg Hocking 2008, Peter Eastway 2009, Darren Jew 2011 & 2012, Tony Hewitt 2013 & 2014, Richard Bennett 2014 (Hidden Valley), Christian Fletcher 2015, Doug Spowart & Victoria Cooper 2016 (Orpheus), Peter Eastway 2016 (Daintree), Christian Fletcher 2017, Jackie Ranken & Mike Langford 2018, Tony Hewitt 2019, Steven Nowakowski, Geoff Thompson, Stanley Breeden, and Brian Cassey 2022, Steven Nowakowski and Christian Fletcher 2023.
Christian and Andrey 2023
The Venues:
Our first event in 2005 was at James Cook University’s world-class Orpheus Island Research Station (OIRS) and in 2016 we relocated to James Cook University’s equally world-class Daintree Rainforest Observatory (DRO) education and research centre at Cape Tribulation in far North Queensland. The OIRS is in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the DRO is adjacent to Australia’s World Heritage listed wet tropics lowland rainforests which are home to a substantial proportion of Australia’s biodiversity. The Daintree is also one of the few areas in the world where the ‘reef meets the rainforest’ and the only place where two World Heritage Areas sit side by side.
Looking South from Orpheus towards Curacoa and Palm Islands
Both venues featured modern teaching and conference facilities designed for student-centred learning and inquiry-focused practice. On Orpheus we enjoyed pristine seascapes fringed with coral reefs and crystal clear waters, while at Daintree we were surrounded by dramatic vistas of rainforest-clad mountains and sweeping views over the Coral Sea. The brand new accommodation and catering infrastructure, well-equipped laboratories and the DRO’s tower crane provided canopy access to nearly 1 hectare of rainforest. Both venues provided unforgettable hands-on experiences in unique and inspirational environments.
Looking North from the DRO towards Mt Sorrow
Our Crew:
The James Cook University facilities and support staff at Orpheus Island and Daintree began in 2005 with Kylie and Rod Eddie and continued with numerous wonderful and helpful staff and finally with Dr Michele Schiffer at Daintree Rainforest Observatory.
Our incredible support team included Richard “Rattles” Ohman, Stephen Jones, Anthony and Ann Vardanega, Rob Parsons, Rod Tibbey, Muzza, Ross Eason, Perrin Clarke, Brendan de Rooy and his band of IT experts.
And our workshops were equally well known for the fine north Queensland produce and the work of our wonderful chefs from Jorg Glauser, Julia Gadd, Brenda Mitchell, Natalie Cashin, Veronica Sheather, Peter Walsh (also boat and bus driver), Jack Hawkins, Dave Ross, Chris Devlin, Shirley O’Keefe, Roger van Mulken, Arun, Paul Milburn and Kim. The logistics of bringing this fine dining to remote areas is not insignificant – in 2007 we discovered the eggs had not made the journey across the water, so our eggs arrived by helicopter thanks to Andrew and Trish Gricks.
Brenda Mitchell – Our Head Chef, 2006 – 2019
The Syllabus:
The workshop began with a thorough analysis of individual workflows which we then set about refining and polishing from capture to print. The aim was to ensure everyone’s workflow was ‘working’ so well that they were not distracted by it. We were then able to focus on ’what comes next’ – and how to take our photography there.
DRO Education Centre Interior
Guidance, inspiration and support flowed from the history of photography, painting, sculpture, music, literature and philosophy, as we formed a deeper understanding of how pictures capture ‘hearts and minds’ while trading in ‘secrets and mysteries’ beyond our immediate understanding. We learned from other artists and their production methods, artist statements, finished works of art, historical circumstances and what is required in order to convey significant and lasting impressions, not just through our pictures, but also to our artistic confidence.
DRO Education Centre Exterior
Facilitation:
We photographed in pristine environments, processed and edited our files with fully colour managed professional workflows, and made prints of the highest quality with the most beautiful papers and profiles available. With our chefs and support crew taking exceptional care of everything else, all we had to do was work on refining and extending our photography, and thereby changing not only our relationship to our ‘hardware and software’, but even more significantly, take our ourselves and our pictures to that ‘next level and beyond’.
Highlights of the workshop included formal presentations, small group tutorials, extensive one to one consultations and opportunities to practice and consolidate everything in a supportive and supervised 24/7 working environment.
Les Walkling – Orpheus Island 2005
These were ambitious workshops that I couldn’t imagine presenting without my 30+ years’ experience of doing this day in and day out for generations of undergraduate and postgraduate fine art and media arts students. I also couldn’t imagine presenting Daintree without over a decade’s experience running our annual Orpheus Island residential workshop. And I certainly couldn’t imagine doing this without the incredible talent and support of our co-presenters, tutors, chefs, organisers, sponsors and our six hundred plus attendees who encouraged us to dedicate a workshop to such ideals.
And this was that workshop.
Updated 13 December 2024