Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/103334
outbackodyssey Scott Bridle has often searched for the Above: Watering heifers on Limestone Dam, Lake Nash, NT. bird's-eye view in his photographs and has always loved the bush. Growing up in western Queensland, his childhood was spent exploring his family's sheep and cattle property south of Roma. After getting his first camera at the age of eight and doing art at his boarding school in Toowoomba, Scott spent his school holidays documenting daily life and raw landscapes. He preferred unusual vantage points, whether perched on top of a windmill or standing atop the cab of a ute. Scott says he was proud of our country and lifestyle from a young age. Having worked as a stockman and pilot in Queensland and the Northern Territory for the past 20 years, Scott is no stranger to the Outback. After becoming a helicopter pilot in 2002, Scott was able to get a true bird's-eye view of the Outback, swooping his helicopter down to muster cattle in the vast, inhospitable Barkly Tableland near Mount Isa, the Gulf region and other hostile environments. The harsh sun, the unpredictable terrain, the milling beasts and the people who live and work the immense cattle ranches are the subjects of his photography. His knack for capturing the landscape and its spirit is evident in Outback, his debut photography book. Scott produces his aerial images by manoeuvring his helicopter and simultaneously taking beautiful shots – sometimes using one hand – of Australia's rich and varied landscape. Scott's stunning aerial images of Australia's vast cattle stations and patterned natural landscapes are accompanied by his shots of the characters who live in the Outback – from young jackaroos and people who have lived in the bush their whole lives to Aboriginal elders – who each have a story to tell. Outback by Scott Bridle, Viking, RRP $49.99. "Scott produces his aerial images by manoeuvring his helicopter and simultaneously taking beautiful shots." 32