The many moods of South Australia’s
Lake Eyre have been captured in a new book to
be released soon by veteran photographer Peter Elfes.
Lake Eyre, at the centre of Australia, is a paradox, at once
hostile and inviting, varying between a barren salt plain and a mass of colour,
patterns and water when the rains finally come. Its beauty, mystery and variety
have been captured in a new book called The Green Desert.
Experienced
professional photographer Peter Elfes made it his photographic mission to
record all the moods of Lake Eyre, often from an
aerial perspective, and has already had a major exhibition of this portfolio of
images.
For the last few years he has been travelling to the Lake Eyre region
in central South Australia,
documenting the people, the landscape, the floods, the animals and wildlife.
His spectacular images re-define landscape photography, taking it into the
realm of art. Where others have only found an unchanging Australian desert, Elfes' lens reveals the spectrum of colours, the dramas and changes
which many artists and writers have sought to explain about this iconic location.
Accompanied by text from
author and critic Peter Timms, the images present a strange and dessicated
landscape which occasionally becomes a green desert.
Award-winning photographer
Elfes began taking photos at the age of five, following in the footsteps of his
father, who owned Sydney's
first photo studio. Honing his skills with jobs as varied as shooting the
Sydney Mardi Gras and making images for the Wilderness Society, Elfes has a
unique perspective on landscape photography. He currently lives in the Blue Mountains.
The Green Desert
by Peter Elfes will be released to
bookstores later this year. It’s published by Harper Collins Publishers imprint
ABC Books, and will sell for $59.99.
The Green Desert, features photography by Peter Elfes and captures the many moods of Lake Eyre.
Photo by Peter Elfes.
Photo by Peter Elfes.
Photo by Peter Elfes.