Luke Tscharke (Shar-Key) is a highly acclaimed and awarded Australian landscape photographer based in Hobart, Tasmania's historical and stunning city. Luke is also an aurora nerd with extensive knowledge, skill, and experience shooting the southern aurora and promoting dark sky conservation.
If you’re unfamiliar with Tasmania, it’s the southernmost state of Australia, with Hobart being its capital city. Given its southern location and proximity to Antarctica, Hobart is also a home base for many Antarctic expeditions. Founded in 1804, Hobart is Australia’s second oldest city with a dark history as a penal colony. Tasmania is renowned for its natural beauty and scenic destinations - many are only accessible via long hikes spanning several days. For Luke Tscharke, Tasmania was the ideal spot for his creative passion of seeing and documenting majestic landscapes and natural wildlife.
Like many photographers, Luke’s visual journey began at a young age, where, in primary school, he completed a piece of work on where his life would be in 20 years. Luke wrote that he wanted to be a professional photographer. I believe that beats Lucinda Goodwin’s effort by a number of years. Luke dreamed of becoming a park ranger who also took landscape and nature photos to be published in magazines. As it turns out, Luke’s predictions were pretty much on the money! Luke was raised in the Barossa Valley of South Australia, one of Australia’s many world-class wine regions, surrounded by rolling hills and endless vineyards. He recalls his dad’s National Geographic magazine collection and being fascinated by the landscapes and vistas within. Luke’s early career as a scientist led him to Melbourne, where he photographed the city’s buildings, bridges, and architectural changes. A career change led him to Sydney and the concrete jungle of Australia’s largest metropolis. Photography was ever present, and the call of natural landscapes saw Luke spend every opportunity travelling to photograph landscapes, nature, and the night sky.
As is often the case, Luke found that his love of Tasmania’s natural beauty was stronger than his desire to stay in a corporate role in Sydney. He took the brave step to move to Hobart, Tasmania, to pursue his passion and build a career as a landscape photographer. In that respect, Luke truly answered the call of nature. Luke’s impressive work includes nature, aerial, landscapes, infrared, astro, and night sky photography. Given his history in science and quality assurance, he is incredibly detail-oriented and undertakes meticulous planning for any shoots. Luke uses weather forecasting data combined with his knowledge of local terrain and conditions to plan and execute multi-day hikes. His ultimate goal is to see and photograph stunning landscape locations to provide a unique view of the vista. A core element of Luke’s work is his passion for night or dark sky conservation through collaboration with Dark Sky Tasmania. Luke’s stunning night sky images of Aurora Australis and the Milky Way promote the magic and beauty of Tasmanian night skies. Furthermore, Luke’s images encourage others to recognise the importance of protecting night skies from excessive light pollution.
During our conversation on The Camera Life Podcast, it became clear that Luke is passionate about the beauty, protection, and promotion of the Tasmanian landscape and night sky. Luke aims to share the stunning beauty of nature to promote greater environmental awareness and impact consideration, and further connect his audience with the natural world. Luke’s passion was inspirational to hear, and his images only strengthen that connection and love of his work. While Luke isn’t chaining himself to 200-year-old trees in order to protect them, he has a profound respect for those who actively campaign for the protection of the natural world. However, Luke’s images campaign for greater awareness of the natural world and to build a greater appreciation for what’s being lost.
“Luke actively supports initiatives to maintain and expand dark sky areas in Tasmania and beyond, understanding that these pristine night skies are a precious and increasingly rare natural resource.”
As mentioned earlier, Luke Tscharke is an internationally award-winning landscape photographer. He claimed the top spots in the 2015 International Landscape Photographer of the Year award and the 2018 David Malin Astrophotography Award. He has been involved in countless competitions and has also served as a professional judge. He is a Sony shooter and even recalled owning and shooting with a very early 2000 Sony digital camera. It’s also fair to say that Luke is pretty stoked to be a Sony Digital Imaging Advocate, working alongside the brand to run events, workshops, and photo competitions. What’s most impressive is Luke’s dedication and commitment to his craft and subject matter. Luke’s love of the Tasmanian wilderness is evident in how he speaks of his journeys, projects, and efforts to capture the land's true essence.
Spending time with Luke Tscharke on The Camera Life podcast was an absolute pleasure. He’s been a guest at the top of our list for a while now, and we were all so impressed with his work and mindset. 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 9 am 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 Luke:
- Website: https://luketscharke.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tscharke
