Brett Wood is an Australian landscape photographer who loves exploring the Australian bush, New Zealand’s majestic vistas, or anywhere else in the world where the light is right and the scene is just so. Raised in the large country town of Wagga Wagga, NSW, Brett was never far from the Aussie bush and the endless possibilities it offered to a young explorer like Brett.
Like me (Greg), Brett was involved in the Scout movement and was an outdoor kid who loved to explore the world around him. The boyhood desire to be out and about in nature never went away. While Brett has always been fascinated with photography, his former career in the construction industry seems a thousand miles away from his life as a full-time photographer. With life comes change, and Brett reached a point where the call to travel, explore, and document the landscapes before him proved too strong.
Never one to stray far from nature, Brett now lives on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, with his wife Lisa and their dog Twizel - named after the town of Twizel on the South Island of New Zealand. With a shared love of the land of the long white cloud, Lisa and Brett run landscape photography tours throughout Australia and New Zealand, spending much of the year in their ‘spiritual home’ of New Zealand’s South Island. And who can blame them! New Zealand is one of the few remaining untouched landscapes that offer surprise, wonder, and awe no matter which way you face. Fortunately for Brett, his travels and work also allow him to enjoy his life’s passions of fishing, travelling, spending time with family, and Twizel. Oh, and Lisa too!
“I have a burning passion for seeing and capturing beautiful landscapes and nature scenery from Australia, New Zealand, and the world. There is no better feeling than being out in nature taking photographs, and enjoying the beautiful scenery and the adventure.”
Brett’s love of photographing landscapes extends to guiding and teaching other photographers through tours, workshops, and online experiences. As part of his business, Brett and Lisa host several workshops each year to awe-inspiring destinations such as Milford Sound, Wanaka, Twizel, and the McKenzie region in New Zealand. Being an Aussie, Brett also loves to lead workshops in his home region of the South Coast as well as Tasmania and the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. Brett and Lisa’s workshops are highly praised, with guests embarking on repeat workshops to absorb some of the landscape magic Brett seems to possess.
"We really like to take the time to have 1 on 1 time with each client and ensure they learn exactly what they wanted from the experience, as each person wants to achieve something different from the workshop, we don't rush locations, and we won't leave a location until we’ve seen the best light. It's very important to me that the clients maximise their learning opportunities and really enjoy all aspects of the workshop."
As a result of his experience running workshops, Brett has proven that he excels at guiding and teaching others. While not everyone has the time, money, or ability to join Brett and Lisa on a workshop, they do offer fantastic alternatives. Brett and Lisa offer online workshops, local South Coast masterclasses, and small group photo editing courses. But wait, there’s more! Brett has also built a sizeable YouTube site with over 140 videos covering every aspect of landscape photography in Australia and New Zealand. Brett is motivated and driven to share his knowledge and experiences with anyone wanting to learn the craft and master stunning landscape shots.
“I don't do this job for money, I do it because I love it and I'm passionate about it, I really am living my dream.”
I’ve always struggled to capture the majesty of nature and landscapes, but after spending time with Brett talking about his craft, I’m more than a little inspired to keep at it. Brett’s generosity of spirit, time, and knowledge stood out to me most during our conversation. I can see why his workshops are so popular and why guests keep returning for more. If you spend any amount of time studying Brett’s landscape images from Australia or New Zealand, or talking to him about his passion, you’ll quickly conclude that Brett is a master at the craft and is more committed to it than most. His images showcase the natural beauty of the lands we call home and extract the hidden magic from the scene to celebrate all it offers. In a world overwhelmed by fleeting visual media, it takes a true master of any craft to make us stop and marvel at what we are all missing out on.
If you’re unfamiliar with The Camera Life Podcast, be sure to take a look at our YouTube channel for the latest episodes and, of course, our back catalogue of weekly shows. Our shows are also available on popular audio podcast platforms. If you like what you see, please give us a thumbs up, subscribe to The Camera Life, and click on the bell icon to receive notifications of upcoming shows. We host two shows weekly, the first being every Thursday at 9am AEDT (Australia), where we interview amazing guests. The second show, The Random Photography Show, airs every Monday at 7:30 pm AEDT. The Random Photography show is a little random, a little loose, and a lot of fun! Be sure to check them out.
Find Brett:
- Website: https://www.brettwoodphotos.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brettwoodphotos/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrettWoodPhoto
