Benedict tells us his photo of Pantoneys Crown in the Gardens of Stone national park was taken with a Nikon D600 (24-70, f/2.8).
What’s your background in wilderness photography? What got you started any where do you find inspiration?
I grew up in south-east England where it’s always hustling and bustling, too many people for the land mass. This gave me a strong passion for very wild and open landscapes. Naturally I discovered a love for mountains; I want to visit every alpine range in the world!
My inspiration for photography grew out of my love for the outdoors, camping and bushcraft. It was just combining interests.
Pantoneys Crown at sunrise. Captured by Benedict Grey.
What’s special about the Gardens of Stone for you?
The Gardens of Stone is a unique wilderness area because of the rock formations called pagodas. There are the ironstone tabletop-like structures and then the curved pagodas that are equally interesting and very rare. Both are in fact. There’s also the fact there are no visible tracks and it’s so wild; you get the feeling that the last people to camp there were the Aboriginal Australians and they have a kind of lasting presence there. All living things and even the rocks feel like they have an individual, vital presence in the landscape.
Finally, there’s Pantoneys Crown, the tabletop mountain, which features so heavily in my photos because its so symmetrical and unique, the way the sun caught it at sunrise was beautiful.
Pantoneys Crown in black and white. Photo: Benedict Grey.
Where are you planning your next wilderness shoot? Are there any destinations you’d love to get to?
My next wilderness adventure will be in the south island of New Zealand – I leave on Saturday for Queenstown. I’m headed for Mount Aspiring National Park more specifically, because so much of it is untapped wilderness, there may yet be places to discover with my camera that have never been recorded in that way.
When I return to the UK I am going to find a way to venture to Patagonia – it is my top destination at the minute, although the Himalayas and Karakoram are close behind.
See more of Benedict’s photos on his blog.