Tasmania: A snowy Mt. Wellington sunrise.

In November, when the rest of Australia is usually well into the mid-late 20s, Tasmania still remains quite cold. Martin's brother messaged us two days before we were due to leave, to let us know that as Hobart wouldn't be warmer than 12ºC, we could expect snow atop Mt. Wellington. We would be leaving for Canada and its beautiful white winter 4-5 weeks later, but we couldn't help it: we had to see it.

Tasmania: Tasman National Park.

We couldn't leave Tasmania without visiting Tasman National Park. Tasman National Park, like other spots in the Tasmanian east coast, has beautiful turquoise water and beaches. Unlike the Bay of Fires and Freycinet National Park, however, the edge of this coast is made up of cliffs that once caused many a shipwreck. The ancient rock formations throughout Tasmania are one of the highlights of the natural scenery here, and definitely part of what makes Tasmania so unique. This tiny state has everything: mountains, beaches, volcanic rock, dairy country and alpine country.

The photos below were taken at Tasman Arch, Remarkable Cave and Tessellated Pavement. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do a hike, but there were many scenic walking tracks of various difficulties, from easy 40 minute walks to the bigger 3-5 hour treks.

As I mentioned in one of my other posts, no other Australian state quite has weather like Tasmania—these photos go from being completely bright and sunny to having dark storm clouds hovering across the horizon. Later that afternoon it started hailing, and raindrops began to freeze as they met our windshield.

Tasmania: Pumphouse Point (Day 2).

Pumphouse Point is a place for everybody. Whether you’re the kind of traveller that loves to lounge around, finally getting around to that pile of books you have to read, or the kind of traveller that loves walking and exploring. I’m more of the latter, although my one regret with my stay here is that I don’t feel like I got quality lounge time in such splendid accommodation. If only we could have stayed an extra day.

Each morning we'd get up early to have breakfast at the Shorehouse, enjoying local Tasmanian produce. Martin and I love sourdough so we couldn't go past asking for a loaf to take back to our room for later. Some of our fellow travellers from the previous evening had left, leaving us with new faces to meet the next day.

Tasmania: Pumphouse Point (Day 1).

If you asked me what the absolute highlight of our trip was, it probably would have been this. Our time in Cradle Mountain came in as very close competition, but I'm not sure I could say it beat staying at the top floor of the beautiful, award-winning Pumphouse Point at Lake St. Clair National Park. I felt pretty lucky to have been able to book it—I was booking 6 months in advance, but already nearly all surrounding dates were completely booked. To think this place has only been open from the 1st January, 2015!

The entire experience was something Tom Haverford & Donna Meagle would've been proud of. We were greeted at reception to a glass of champagne and a conversation. Not the bland kind of small talk that you briefly have before going over the totally banal details of checking into a typical hotel, prior to being rushed off to your room—but actual conversation, where there was absolutely no hurry in the act of getting to know one another.

Tasmania: Wombat Pool & Marion's Lookout, Cradle Mountain (Day 2).

After our sunrise walk around Dove Lake and a light birthday breakfast, we were ready for another adventure and drove back to the national park to do more hiking. Initially aiming to only complete the 2.5 hour circuit around Wombat Pool, we ended up going further and climbing to Marion's Lookout. It started pouring half-way during our hike, which meant I couldn't take many photos during our descent as we focused solely on hiking down the very rocky, steep terrain (most of which required the help of carefully placed chains) while raindrops relentlessly tapped the tops of our heads, dripping down our faces and severely reducing our visibility. Not to mention I had to protect what is arguably my most important asset from the rain—my camera!

Tasmania: Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain (Day 2).

I celebrated my 25th birthday watching the sun rise at Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain. We left while it was still dark, braving the winding, bumpy road to the national park with our high beams on, keeping our eyes wide open for wildlife (of which there were plenty, the little wallabies and possums spooked by our sudden presence). We both love animals so I don't know what we would have done had we hit one.

When we got to Dove Lake it was still pretty dark, and very cold. We stood on the banks of the lake, the tide gently lapping before us, waiting for the sun to show a little more. To our left was another photographer, who looked like he'd probably been there for some time, waiting.

The sun took a long time to come up over the mountains, and the overcast morning meant that it didn't always shine through the clouds, but it was unforgettable nonetheless. Clouds both wispy and thick continually and swiftly covered the all too recognisable tips of Cradle Mountain before hovering elsewhere, making it hard to get a shot of the mountains without cloud cover. I loved the bands of light that streaked across the mountains as the hours passed, and once again the sheer variety of different trees, plants, flowering shrubs and other vegetation didn't cease to amaze me.

We completed the 3 hour Dove Lake circuit in 2.5 hours, a fairly easy walk with lots of flat tracks and wooden boardwalks. I'd highly recommend it if you ever get the chance. We certainly earned our buffet breakfast—after all, we got up at 4:00am to watch the sun rise from here.

Tasmania: Peppers Lodge, Cradle Mountain (Day 1).

I am pretty excited to share this next round of posts with you. Cradle Mountain was, without argument, one of the highlights of the trip. I made sure we spent two nights here to have ample time to explore, and it still didn't feel like enough. If you can, definitely spend 4-6 nights there. This is a place I know I will keep coming back to, whenever I can.

Tasmania: Pyengana & Cataract Gorge, Launceston.

We left the Bay of Fires and headed inland, to Launceston, where we'd stay for a night. We drove through the beautiful, sunny dairy country, and soon fields with lambs and sheep were replaced with that of cows and calves. We stopped by Pyengana Dairy Company & the Holy Cow Café for a bite, then made our way to St. Columba Falls for a short stroll to the waterfall.

In the end, I do wish we had stayed 2 nights at Launceston. It's a quaint little city, and there's more to do than in the smaller towns. It's still far smaller than the major cities on the mainland, with a population of approximately 74,000 in 2011 (Hobart itself only has approximately 205,600 people as of 2012, which is a tenth of the size of Brisbane!), but that's part of its charm.

Tasmania: Bay of Fires.

We drove from Bicheno to St. Helen's, a slightly bigger town right next to the renowned Bay of Fires. When we checked into our little villa, we got chatting to the lovely receptionist and got all her local tips on the best places to go that weren't too crowded. Not wanting to waste time, we set off for Binalong Bay, hopping across the different rocks and sitting down for a while. The cloudy skies cast a different mood across bay, accentuating the green-blue tones in the water, contrasting beautifully with the orange lichen on the granite rocks. Contrary to popular belief, the Bay of Fires (or larapuna, its indigenous name) is not named after these striking rocks, but rather named after the fires of the Aboriginal people on the beaches, seen in 1773 by Captain Tobias Furneaux.

Tasmania: Freycinet National Park.

After two days in Hobart we began our adventure for real, leaving the city and driving up the east coast. Our first stop was Freycinet National Park, where we would stay in the nearby town of Bicheno.

Tasmania's east coast is warmer than Hobart, full of beautiful beaches and more vineyards than you can keep track of. We made our way to the iconic Wineglass Bay—I was hoping to do more hiking on some of the more scenic trails on this day but sadly we couldn't, as Martin's leg needed a rest from our climb up Mt. Wellington the day before. So we only did a small 45 minute hike to the Wineglass Bay lookout, where dozens of other people clamoured to see the view. I must admit it felt a little underwhelming especially given the scale of our experience the day prior, but had we hiked to the actual beach on Wineglass Bay (or done an aerial tour!) it probably would have been far more enjoyable.

Photography Basics Workshop: Brisbane, 2016.

In case you hadn't already heard: my Photography Basics Workshop in Brisbane is back! My first workshop for 2016 will be held at Workshop Brisbane on Saturday the 20th February from 1:30pm-4:30pm. Keep an eye on my Facebook, Twitter & Instagram for future dates.

If you have any questions about the workshops, or if you'd like to request a specific workshop in the future (for example, a workshop on photo editing, travel photography, or composition in-depth), please feel free to get in touch: hello@camillenathania.com.au. For all the details and to book tickets, head over here. See you there!

Update: Another Photography Basics workshop will be underway in April, and then again in June!

Tasmania: Mt. Wellington, Hobart.

This is the first of many Tasmania photo stories I'll be posting on the blog over the next couple of weeks. November seems so far away now, especially since I've spent almost a month in an entirely different country since then, but I will never forget a day like this one: setting out to hike around Hobart's Kunanyi/Mt. Wellington (1271m above sea level), only to end up hiking all the way to the top and back down again.

This took Martin and I 8.5 hours, and in the end I think we walked something like 22 kilometers (but that's a guesstimate: I didn't record the hike on my phone so that's just a calculation we made after adding all the trail distances listed on Google Maps). We were, to put it mildly, wrecked. Talk about redefining the meaning of the word “holiday”.

Yoga With Camille: A 365 Photo Challenge.

While I was in Canada, I decided to start a 365 photo challenge to honour my love of photography and yoga: one yoga photo a day for the whole year. Not only will it help me to open up about my practice, it will also help me do a little bit of yoga every day (it's not safe to simply “get into a pose” without doing any prep or warm-up beforehand), force me to get outside pretty much every day to take the photo, and allow me to improve my alignment as I'll be able to see where I may not be balanced in my poses. It will also help me with my teaching, as I try my best to write about the pose, how to prepare for it and its benefits—writing about yoga will help me get my words out for my future classes. Above all else, I'm just going to take it easy and have fun with it!

I included some of the photos below, but you can follow along on my new Instagram account: @yogawithcamille.

Sophia.

On Saturday I spent an afternoon at the beach with my beautiful and talented friend, Sophia Mary Mac. I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon—even the 30 minutes of heavy rain we had at the start didn't dampen our spirits, and Sophia was so easy to shoot with, rarely needing direction (maybe huddling under a single umbrella in the rain was a very critical pre-shoot bonding experience).

It's been a long time since I've done a shoot like this, where it's just me, my camera and a friend (...and maybe some distracted surfers, wedding ceremony guests and the occasional passerby spectating). It reminded me all the more how much I love photographing people. It's not something I feel one can do well and do rushed—you both have to feel comfortable, confident and open to each other. It takes a little bit of guidance, mindfulness and intuition.

To capture a side of someone that may not always be seen; to create a space for them to completely let go in front of you, is to make a unique connection with them. To photograph another person is to try and tell the unique story of who they are in that very moment, knowing that they will never be that same person twice; their impermanent being permanently captured in the frame. That, to me, is the most precious part of being a photographer.

Photography Basics Workshop: Brisbane.

Some of you will know that I've been dithering over whether or not to run a photography workshop over the last few months. Well, intentions and dreams became reality and now I'm super pleased to be running a photography workshop with Work-Shop Brisbane on Saturday, the 17th October!

This workshop will be perfect for aspiring amateurs and serious enthusiasts who have all the gear but haven't yet been able to take it to the next level. If you or somebody you know would love to brush up on their skills and knowledge with the camera, join us!

For more info including ticket prices, location and what the day will cover, be sure to check out the workshop page. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a shout via email or on any of my social media channels.

Featured in the photo above: my friend Joe, taking photos at Bondi Beach earlier this year.

A summer back home.

You don't need to be a photographer to know how easy it is for life to move on and for our personal photos to sit buried in our hard drives never to be seen again, so I'm relieved I can finally share some of these, because they're important to me. These photos are from our time going back home to The Philippines in late December (2014—yes, better late than never).

Since leaving The Philippines in 1996 we've only been back home to visit in 2004, 2011, and now in 2014. Every moment I get with both of my (very large) extended families is a deeply cherished one. Years usually pass between our visits and thankfully we can all stay in touch through the Internet now, but there was once a time when all we'd really get were very brief phone calls every so often. We have about 45 family members on my mother's side and about 70 on my father's, so that's a lot of stuff to miss out on.

I never forget my parents' incredible sacrifice—to spend years away from their own siblings, moving to countries they have no idea about at all (and at the time, there was no Googling it), not being able to be home for when illness arrives and steals more moments away from the already limited time we all have. My gratitude for that runs so deep, it permeates everything I do in my daily life: the one that I would not have had it not been for their choices.

After Christmas it was my mother's family's turn to have us. One sunny day, knowing that the monsoon was near, we spontaneously decided to go to a little island called Atulayan, not far from our hometown of Naga. This was just another one of those times where, despite the passing years and sometimes feeling as if you're meeting each other anew every time, we fall into a rhythm. The rhythm and familiarity that only comes from being with blood; from being home.

Leigh.

There's been a common theme for me this year, and it's that of old connections becoming new ones; where social media has actually contributed to a proper connection with someone IRL. Up until Friday, I hadn't seen Leigh in 8 years. I had volunteered to shoot a launch event for Headspace Tweed Heads where Leigh works and rather than driving all the way back to Brisbane, I stayed the night. We talked plenty in the morning before we both had to leave, but I couldn't go before gathering the courage to ask if we could take some quick photos—I have absolutely no regrets.

Brisbane Wedding: Logan & Lachlan.

Logan and I went to the same high school. We only shared a couple of classes together (visual art being one) and we'd not seen or spoken to each other since leaving school (nearly a decade ago). Earlier in the year, I was surprised and delighted to get a Facebook message from her asking if I'd be free to shoot her April wedding. To reconnect with someone in this way is so wonderful, and again I'm grateful and fascinated by the ways in which life weaves its magic.

I love what weddings have the opportunity to do for photographers. All these different families open up and welcome you into one of the most intimate days of their lives. We see what the bride and groom don't often get a moment to notice, and we're handy to have when the unexpected happens, like when the mother-of-the-bride steaming the dresses suddenly sets off the fire alarm and the fire brigade appear at the hotel. That's definitely a story we'll be telling over and over.

Ceremony venue: Our Lady of Victories Church, Bowen Hills
Dress: Grace Loves Lace

A day at: Nobby Beach & Springbrook.

On Sunday, M & I left home early to meet my family at Nobby Beach for my father's birthday. It's been a little while since we've had a family day out (or in my case, a day out at all)—with my sister living interstate and me having moved out of home since 2012, opportunities to have a day like this are so rare. It was one of Dad's requests that we have brunch and go on a “road trip” (can you really call it that when your destination is only an hour or so away?), so I suggested brunch at the coast and a trip to Springbrook and he was instantly on board.

We got there a little earlier than my family so we spent some time by the beach. I spent 3 years going to uni on the Gold Coast so I have a special affinity for this place, which I think sometimes gets a bad rap. Little do most Brisbane folk know that the Gold Coast is brimming with the same kinds of hip cafés, small fashion boutiques and handmade markets that we do—and luckier still, most folk live within walking distance to one of the best beaches in the world.

My parents, siblings and Martin haven't been to the Natural Bridge in Springbrook National Park before and the last time I went was years ago, so it was great to be able to do something new together. Long weekends are made for this: exploring, playing tourist in your own city, and then having the next day off to relax and make like it's Sunday all over again. We won't have another long weekend until October, and I'm already dreaming of what I can do to make the most of it.

Café photos below taken at Sparrow Eating House.

Garden exploration.

M and I ended our four-day Easter long weekend with a spontaneous late-afternoon trip through the Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. We both realised we hadn't been in years. It's funny how you can forget about all these amazing (and free) things to do around your city, but it always pays off to play tourist for a day.

It was the perfect precursor to a crazy fortnight of yoga teacher training, shooting Typism, attending a wedding and shooting my first wedding of the year—the fortnight I'm currently in the middle of. Looking forward to getting through all of my Typism shots and sharing them with you!