Around Australia on a motorcycle with a 4×5 camera. Janet Naismith

Gary Chapman & Janet Naismith’s 1991 – 1992 adventure on a motorcycle with a 4×5 camera.

Our dream was to travel around Australia for one year by motorcycle with a Wisner 4×5 camera, Mamiya 6, and canon AE1 35mm. The story is about the cameras and images that we captured. Our mode of travel was on a BMW K100 motor cycle, the challenge was can this be done using large format cameras with limited space, to store cameras, tripods, camping gear, film, food, not forgetting clothes. The cameras were a brand new Wisner 4×5 camera and a brand new Mamiya 6 medium format camera.

Our journey began in the Glass House Mountains Queensland, we left on a clear spring day heading south down the coast. Our aim was to travel on rural roads and camp in National Parks.

It felt good to be on the road after our extensive packing and unpacking, however it all seemed to fit snugly in various locations on the motorcycle. We could hardly believe our luck as each day bought us new and wonderful sights to photograph, we were on and off the bike many times a day waiting for the right light, to set up our cameras. We settled into a pattern of photographing daily travel. Each day we loaded double darks for the 4×5, this was achieved by waiting until dark checking that there was no other light near us. Gary would crawl into our double sleeping bag, to check the boxes for any damage lucky only one was damaged, with tape the box was restored. This way he loaded his double darks.

At Mount Hotham in the Victorian Alps, with a storm approaching, Gary in his haste to capture the amazing cloud formation accidentally ran over his bag of exposed 4×5 negatives, with a heavy heart the damage will not be apparent until he processes his film in Melbourne. 

Some stories from on the road.

MacKillops Bridge & Snowy River National Park

MacKillops Bridge in the Snowy River National Park, Victoria, showed camping facilities on the map, I was excited to see the Snowy River with romantic ideas in my head from poems and stories of this area.

MacKillops Bridge is in a remote area of the range promising good images, until Gary stepped across a tiger snake asleep on a rock, lucky for his long legs we froze as it raised its head and body for a strike, believe me we were like statues not a flicker of movement. Slowly the snack relaxed, lower his body, and disappeared in the bush. Not one photo was taken, we scrambled up the embankment to our campsite. Checked out the fireplace for a much-needed coffee, only to be confronted with red back spiders. Not trusting our luck in this area, jumped on the bike and headed for a more user – friendly camping site. 

Hill End

Another place we visited on our adventure was Hill End near Bathurst in NSW. We could not resist the lure of a gold mining historical site, where artists such as Donald Friend, Margaret Olley, Russell Drysdale had previously lived and worked leaving some of their finest works ever made in Australia.

We drove into Hill End down Bayer’s Avenue as it was sleeting, visibility was low however the Avenue ended at the camp site, we set up camp in record time it was freezing cold and walked back to the pub and stepped into history.  A roaring fire and a hot drink restoring us the locals looked like they had been sitting there for the last hundred years.

Next morning, we woke to a lovely sunny day and set to work with our cameras on our backs, tripods tucked up under our arms. You can feel the inspiration previous artists felt as they looked at the buildings, mining sites and the orange and ochre colours of the old slag heaps. We are in heaven.   

Beaufoy Merlin a wet plate photographer lived and worked during the gold rush boom his work graphically captures Hill End as it flourished into one of the largest inland towns in NSW. Merlin photographed many of the shops houses and the people, which has left a rich collection of images of this most important period not forgetting images of gold nuggets as high as a man. We feel we are stepping in Merlins footprints as we photograph the remains of many houses and shops.

Hill End is a magical place for us we took many images each day we discovered something new. We walked everywhere the bike is not needed until we leave with heavy hearts, and a vow to return someday which we have done many times over the years.

Mount Buffalo National Park & Cape Conran Coastal Park

We returned to Victoria and Mount Buffalo National Park camping at Lake Catani, during the night we were hit by wind and torrential rain totally washing our tent out, all our gear was soaking wet, film and cameras are dry in their watertight bags.

We continued through the Victorian alpine area and onto Cape Conran Coastal Park. Dargo turned out to be a wonderful rest stop in a relative’s holiday house. Many images later we have to think about processing our film. Summer is coming and before we hit the big city we tour the wonderful great ocean road. Daily we walked the cliffs waiting for the best waves we lost count of our images.

Port Campbell National Park & The Great Ocean Road

We stayed at the Girl Guides house a lovely old Victorian Farmhouse slightly inland from the Ocean Rd. Gary parked the bike on the front veranda. The day we left was memorable. The bike was packed and we were in our motorbike gear, Gary was sitting on the bike rocking it to release the centre stand, without telling him I gave him a little push and he lost his balance. The bike fell off the veranda with Gary underneath the bike and the post on the veranda collapsed bringing half the roof down. Cameras tripods and film strapped to the bike, I was not sure where I got the strength from but I half lifted the bike so that Gary could crawl out, not very happy. Hasty repairs to the house and we where on our way again.

We drove on and stayed with relatives and had access to a darkroom where we processed many sheets of 4×5 film and 6×6 rolls some black and white colour and transparencies, sending processed film back to Queensland.

We spent 6 weeks in Melbourne resting up and planning our next leg of the trip including Tasmania, Kangaroo Island, South Australia Flinders ranges, Alice Springs, Uluru Coober Pedy Pilbara then onto Western Australia via the Nullarbor Plains.

Our adventure has just started lucky we could not see into the future.

This is the first episode of the travels of a 4×5 Wisner. 

Gary Chapman and his 16×20 camera a photoessay by Janet Naismith can be seen here.

Folio by Janet Naismith can be seen here.

The Photograph Considered by Gary Chapman can be seen here.