Our aim with this book was to combine a collection of beautiful photographs that capture the quintessential character of the Australian landscape with eight short stories. It will appeal to readers who enjoy short stories, and those who like fine photography and have a deep respect for the environment. At a time when people are aware of the environment like never before, this publication will have wider appeal as well.



The stories have been inspired by the photos in a very general sense, and like them, they seek to provide a snapshot not of the landscape per se but of a moment in a character’s life for whom the landscape figures in some way. They seek to provide reflections on life and the land such that the landscape is sometimes comforting and sometimes threatening, sometimes a mirror image of a character’s internal emotional landscape, sometimes vulnerable and often a witness to human experience and its secrets, always beautiful and imposing, and the silent bearer of earth’s history.



The characters in these stories carry no names, and like them, the locations are nameless. Their stories provide a variety of perspectives based on very different life experiences. Among them you will meet the woman who reflects on the loss of her mother, the young trail bike rider injured in an open forest, the old woman who is driven by her disturbing dreams to find connections to her past, the bushwalker in a remote and wild landscape, the young girl whose sensitivities are at odds with her peers, the farmer who loves his land, the woman who comes to terms with a primary but destructive relationship, young teenagers about to discover the pleasure of each other’s bodies, and the woman having to face a decision about her unborn child.



This book is printed on the finest pearl photo paper made by Mohawk Fine Papers, one of the most respected makers of paper for use in photography and design books.