Local Karen Burgess has a good eye when it comes to photography and capturing the beauty of Wollondilly Shire. What started as an innocent photo she took on her iPhone a few short years ago has progressed to winning the Create Wollondilly Art Competition and to now sharing her beautiful landscape photography with all to see.
“I haven’t always been interested in photography. I used to draw mostly. It’s perhaps just the last 4 years or so that I have really started to take photos. It started with a photo I took on my iPhone of a Cawdor sunset. I posted it to social media, and it gained some attention. A local HSC student contacted me and asked if she could use that photo, and two others, for her HSC Art Major Works (she painted them on paint tin lids.) I readily agreed the only provision being that she sent me some pictures of what she had done. She stayed true to her word and I was thrilled with her efforts” Karen told the Mulgoa Valley Gazette.
With the ongoing encouragement of friends and people she didn’t know, Karen soon pulled out and dusted off the unused SLR camera and started snapping. “So, I guess that’s where it started, with the realisation I could take a photo and they weren’t too bad. I entered Wollondilly Council’s Create Wollondilly Art Competition, with a photo and a caption, and won. I have never trained in photography or undertaken any courses and I remain an amateur photographer” she said.
With over 2,000 square kilometres of National Parks, dams (Sydney’s water supply), rivers, waterways, lakes, mountains, farmland, rolling hills, plains and all its towns and villages, we are spoilt for beautiful scenery in Wollondilly Shire. “Landscape photography, I’ve discovered, is my forte. Sunsets always remain a favourite subject, but I also love photographing anything with water or a view that showcases just how vast, diverse and stunning Wollondilly is” Karen explained.
Her photography is rarely planned, and the camera is always on board when Karen is enjoying a local drive and exploring the backroads. It’s hard for her to choose a favourite location as she is always discovering new ones, however, Wollondilly’s waterways and the Razorback Range always afford wonderful views.
So, what’s the secret to taking the perfect photo you might ask? “I think that is different for every photographer. I’m passionate about where I live, so there is no shortage of opportunities for a perfect photo. Take lots of photos, make mistakes, learn and photograph what you are passionate about. Most importantly, do what you love, love what you do!” smiled Karen.
For more information, search ‘Kaptured By Karen’ on Facebook.