Exhibitions

By Michael McNamara
Web: maxpix.com.au

Michael McNamara is a photographic artist specialising in travel landscapes and aerial photographs. From age twelve, Michael’s father taught him how to develop and contact print photographs, instilling a love that would continue for decades.

• “A couple of years later, my father gave me his Voigtlander rangefinder camera … and I was hooked!”

Michael has since carried a camera close by for artistic and business purposes. However, only in recent years has he had the time and opportunity to merge his passion for travel and photography, especially landscape.

Michael has travelled with professional photographers through Arizona’s Grand Canyon, Utah’s Salt Flats, and Bolivia’s Lowlands and Alto Plano. Learning and sharing collaboratively has amplified his talents in capturing the wild and varied landscapes he has had the privilege to experience.

• “The opportunity to travel with like-minded photographers and celebrated professionals has been a thrill and a pleasure, to say nothing of being able to shoot and interpret parts of the world that might not otherwise be visited.”

Michael is particularly attracted to landscapes in all forms, from mountains to plains, valleys and any pile of rocks where there might be a geological or historical story to explore and tell. From an aerial perspective, Michael prefers to capture landscape patterns of varied tones and shapes from above in an “old school” style by hanging out of a light plane rather than using drone technology that is so often relied upon. By employing a fast shutter speed and good image stabilization, Michael can capture astonishing images of texture and colour unable to be seen from the ground’s perspective.

In “Mangrove Coast”, the shrubs look like an array of tiny purple fluffy clouds along a sunset strip, whilst in “Dunes Underwater”, remote sand bars look like elegant shawls draped over azure blue fabrics. The ochre colours of “Red Reef” and “River Past” are distinctly Australian and reminiscent of aboriginal ochre paintings. The wildly varied formations of these locations are captured with great skill and gentle sensitivity.

Michael took these photographs at Shark Bay, a World Heritage site approximately 800 Km North of Perth and the westernmost point of Australia. The best-known area is Monkey Mia. The large peninsula that created the bay area is known for its exceptional sea life and seagrass beds, contributing to the incredible colours and patterns in the waters around the peninsula. The gentle tides create the most beautiful flow patterns that can only be appreciated from the air. The sea is relatively shallow, and the surrounding land is also quite low and flat, with incredible landscapes created by past flooding and erosion.

All photos were taken during four flights over the Bays and Peninsulas of the World Heritage site in May 2024, including Dirk Hartog Island and “Useless Bay”.

Come peruse 14 of Michael’s most stunning aerial photographs over a glass or two of fine wine.

The exhibition is on until Sunday 08 June 2025
Open Wednesday – Sunday 4PM until 10PM