THE WEEKLY #212: RUNNING WILD ON KANGAROO ISLAND

I’m a big fan of people who deliver on their ideas. In this industry, ‘big ideas’ come and go, too often you hear the grand plan but there’s no execution or end product. Everyone is ‘working on something big’ or about to launch a huge project but then we never see the end product. It’s a common trend that has made me wary and possibly a little bit cynical.

However, when you find someone reliable, who you believe in they’re easy to invest energy into, you can get emotionally involved without being disappointed when their interest or motivation drops off down the track. It’s called reliability and in the world of freelancing and entrepreneurship, it’s not a regular trait.

When Josh said he wanted to run a Kangaroo Island workshop focused on running and personal development, we had a quick chat about it and by the end of the conversation, I knew he was going to make it happen. I didn’t need all the details or for it to be locked in. I could just see he was 100% committed to the idea. So, when he asked me to come over on a week-long trip to adventure and shoot photos and video creating promotional content for his workshop… I packed my bags and off we went.

As a squad of four, we set off for Kangaroo Island on a Monday and after some slight ferry delays, we arrived at the island late at night, grabbed a pub meal then checked in to our cottage-style accommodation. The next four days would be a whirlwind of adventure.

More and more, I am enjoying a challenge and a focus when it comes to photography. Having pressed the shutter hundreds of thousands of times over the last 6 years, having a bit of purpose with each click is reinvigorating. A personal challenge I set myself for this week was to create some of the most epic running photos Kangaroo Island has ever seen. This would give Josh some great material to promote his upcoming workshop and for me, it would emulate working on an official project with certain requirements and a level of quality to achieve. Something to strive for.

It had been a while since I’ve shot too much, having opted to give the camera a rest for the majority of the four months I’ve been in lockdown in Australia. Things quickly came back to me as did the adrenaline of capturing scenes during golden light and framing shots. It was all the fun stuff with a great group of guys.

We were lucky to have three great sunrises and some beautiful sunny weather throughout the trip, which made things very easy from a photography point of view. We also threw in a couple of hikes and a number of trail runs to keep the blood flowing throughout the week. I’m going to share my favorite photos from my week on Kangaroo Island shooting landscapes but also the running focused images, which will be used to promote the Kangaroo Island Session.