Photographing a dingo ecology researcher
James Vandersteen
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 50, 200mm, f/5.6 and 1/125] with a Godox AD300Pro II flash)
A big thanks to James Vandersteen, a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), who came out early on a Monday morning to Namadgi National Park so that I could photograph him. I didn’t know James prior to this, and I had reached out to him because he is currently researching the dingoes in the park, so I wanted to include him in my final project for the CIT Photography Diploma. He was absolutely fantastic, and nothing was a bother for him. We met at the Yankee Hat Walk Carpark and took some photographs nearby. He was such a genuine person with a real passion for his research. He can also see all points of view in the discussions about how to manage dingoes in Namadgi National Park, and his research is there to us understand the ecological role of dingoes in Namadgi. The ACT government is funding his research and James is now about to spend a year, analysing all the data and writing up his research. The policy makers in the ACT government will be the ones ultimately balancing up various interests but James will ensure that they have the best data and research to base their decisions on. I had a fascinating morning chatting with him, and I had to remind myself a few times that I was actually there to take photographs of him for my CIT assignment.
James checking data
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM [ISO 100, 50mm, f/5.6 and 1/125] with a Godox AD300Pro II flash and variable ND filter)
No, he wasn’t actually checking data, he was just being very patient with me as I tried a few different poses. He was such a nice person to work with.
James explaining his research to me
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM [ISO 100, 50mm, f/5.6 and 1/125] with a Godox AD300Pro II flash)
I had actually asked him a question about his research and what the future holds for, I wasn’t planning to take photographs, but seeing his passion, I had to. We were really having a good chat at this stage, so it felt very natural to take his photo while he was talking to me.
Many thanks again to James for giving so freely of his time to help my dingo project for my photography course at CIT. I also think that he may be a bit of a dingo whisperer, because a dingo trotted past us, way in the background while I was photographing him, and yes, we did pause the shoot to watch it. I really enjoyed meeting James, and he was such a wonderful person to photograph.
