Mt Field National Park
Mount Field is Tasmania's oldest national park, and is also one of the oldest reserves in Australia. The Russell Falls Reserve became the first reserve in Tasmania when it was first proclaimed in 1885.
The three tiered Russell Falls
Countless fungi litter the forest floor and hang from every place possible, biodiversity only comes from time, native forest like these have had centuries, to cultivate a healthy landscape.
Something that cant be recreated within our lifetime.
Such a unique looking specimen
The National Park Pub is just outside the turn off for Mt Field national park.
On the other side of the river from the national park I came across this felled Eucalyptus tree, its stump was still full of life, reshooting new leaves. I had spent most of the day searching for a fallen tree that captured the essence that i felt while I was there. this tree was something special.
I know if I was to cut near where these branches grew apart, I would uncover something unique and different.
This is my first Eucalyptus, I was unsure if my saws would cut it, if the grain would be too tight and I wouldn’t be able to get any definition, once this section dropped, what I uncovered was truly spectacular.
This face staring back at me, the cut was really clean and offered me a really nice canvas to work with, because of the slight downward slant of the tree, water would work its way down and slowly wet the stump, this would cause issues with printing, I would have to work out something when the time comes.
After working on the stump and prepping it ready for printing, more wet weather rolled in over the mountain, snow was predicted but being so low it meant rain would set in.
The weather moved so fast and so erratically, it made it difficult to print, as the weather became consistently bad for printing, I decided to leave it for the day and return when the conditions cleared
This was a consistent problem for me printing here in Tasmania, learning just to be patient and take my time meant I wasn’t able to cover as much ground as I would have liked.
What this did offer me was a chance to slow right down and appreciate the present and enjoy my surroundings.
a stunning morning patch of sunlight, I ended up using a towel to help keep moisture away from the paper, there was light rain every so often but I was able to capture a whole series and tell a portion of this trees life through its lines.
The texture of its growth rings can be seen and definitely felt through the back of the paper, an indication that I have picked up enough detail through my process is using this as a gauge.
Mt Field for me serves as a beacon for what can be achieved when natural places are preserved and used as an on going education and tourism hub, instead of a short term gain through logging and mining.
The natural world around us is being sold off in under the guise of economic benefit, the true cost of losing these diverse landscapes is something we cannot afford.
Please visit National Parks, show them through your patronage that they are an incredibly valuable and necessary park of our culture.
