Desert Flower, Photographer Paul Hoelen
Kimberley Desert Aerial Art Print
Paul Hoelen was originally born in New Zealand to a Dutch Sailor and an American Nun (now that’s quite a story in itself), Paul has managed to put his four passports to excellent use through his wide and varied travels. Paul is currently based in the beautiful, wild island of Tasmania.
Hoelen is renowned for his exquisite landscape imagery, particularly from an aerial perspective. Self taught, travel hungry and with a healthy thirst for adventure you’re hard pressed to catch him sitting on a couch, more likely planning his next expedition or adventure.
A Master of Photography in the AIPP and Fellow of the NZIPP, two times Overseas Photographer of the Year in NZ, three times Tasmanian AIPP Professional Photographer of the Year and five times Tasmanian AIPP Landscape Photographer of the Year. He judges regularly at a state, national and international level, runs photography workshops worldwide, writes photography articles for numerous magazines and exhibits regularly in both Australia and the USA.
From the photographer, the story behind capturing this Kimberly desert aerial art print.
“A tidal mud flat on the edge of the King Sound in the Western Kimberley Region briefly reveals it’s delicate fractal patterning before the massive flow of the tide returns. This area has the highest tidal range of anywhere in Australia reaching heights of well over 11 metres. The fractal patterns displayed here are often repeated throughout nature on both a micro and macro level. Here they give a sense of a flower blooming in the desert, or a delicate leaf laid out on the sand.
To capture this I needed to research when the spring tides were at their lowest and wait until the peak of the low tide to fly over it. This allowed the patterns to dry and come into brief structural form, before the enormous tides come rushing back in wash them away.”
