It takes a very special person to capture a photograph that is also a work of art.

   Peter Bartrip of Tyrolean Village in the Snowy Mountains is such a person.

   Originally heralding from the picturesque Gippsland area in Victoria, Australia, Peter has an eye for nature and more importantly the story it has to tell.

   Perhaps it’s his passion for bushwalking and camping.

   Perhaps it’s his lifetime of working with wood to fashion beautiful objects and furniture.

   Or as I suspect, simply his innate ability to sense and reflect in his work the messages of the natural world that puts his photographs into a higher league than most.

   Peter likes to travel and is never without his camera. (A Nippon D70, 28-70 lens)

   He takes advantage of the sights and seeks out interesting views and angles to capture the message behind the scene.

   His award-winning photograph of a ghost town barbershop is a powerful statement about not only the effects of nature slowly and surely decaying the building but also the transience of community and aspirations.

Award-winning photograph of a ghost town barbershop

   Taken from inside the barbershop looking out through misty windows at the empty shells of once majestic buildings in Bannock, a ghost town in Montana USA one can’t help but be transported back to the 1860s and imagine a bustling gold mining community.

   “I reckon a few throats were cut in that chair”, said Peter about his photo.

   I reckon he was right.

  The tattered remains of the lace curtain, the torn upholstery of the once grand chair, the rising damp on the walls and the light beams highlighting the footrest all contribute to create the feeling of time passing.

Even the frame is fashioned from recycled timber.

   “The frame is an important part of the total composition,” says Peter.

   “The main aim in photography for me is to get the feel, and the frame is undeniably a part of that.’

      In fact Peter has a collection of beautiful frames already made up just waiting for the right photo.

  
   His woodworking skills lead his eye to rescue interesting timber from even the fire woodpile.

  Peter Bartrip and a Black Wattle frame.

   This example (above) shows Peter framed by a Black Wattle frame with some bark still attached and past homes of an Australian icon; the Bardie Grub, clearly visible.

  Ghost town photos

   There are many photographs of old gold mines, ghost towns and broken down wagons in Peter’s personal collection but so too spectacular landscapes.

  One of Peter's many landscapes photos.

  Two wild brumbies pictured here in the Snowy Mountains.

   Inspired by the work of Ansell Adams, Peter will camp out to catch the early morning light or whatever weather condition is needed for a moody composition and needless to say the Snowy Mountains provides him with an endless source of inspiration. 

See more of Peter’s photographs and past ART ZONES on www.pauldion.com