While working on the book, 'The River People' my colleague, writer James Cowan were sitting by a lake, contemplating the busy bird and animal life the lake supported and we decided it would be a great idea for a book. We would call it 'Lake Life' but which lake? A few years prior I had visited a wonderful swampland called Banidji, popularly called 'Goose Camp' because of the seasonal congregation of thousands of Magpie Geese arriving from their migratory journeys to breed. I contacted the Aboriginal custodian of the area, Toby Gangele' who remembered me and he agreed to support us.
Wespent about five weeks camped on a small peninsula within the swamp chosen by Toby who remarked "you'll be okay here provided the crocs don't eat you." I set up a hide in the swamp and the scenes that greeted me each morning were magical. Thousands of birds were wading , feeding, squabbling - Egrets, Pied Herons, Spoonbills. Magpie Geese, Wood and Burdekin duck and Pelicans and the solitary Jabiru Storks patrolling around the edges.
Toby visited us regularly talking to us about Aboriginal belief and, in particular, the concept of 'Totems' - a belief that all life is connected and that each individual has, within nature, a kindred spirit. And so, although I had never photographed wild life before I set about trying to capture the magic of the swamp. Mostly, the activity occurred at night or the very early dawn when there was minimal light for photography. But I had an idea. The moonlight was magical but required long exposures. So, to help sharpen the images I planted a series of small, battery operated flash guns in the swamp with light sensors attached linked to the camera. It worked. The moonlight gave the photographs a romantic, even spiritual aura while the flash guns provided some sharpness. We decided to call the book we were contemplating, 'This Earth, My Mother.'