Me and My Camera at Great Keppel Island
There’s a special kind of torture that comes with being a photographer on one of Australia’s most stunning islands. While everyone around me is gracefully wading into the crystal-clear waters of Great Keppel Island, I’m standing on the pristine white sand with a camera glued to my face, sweating under the Queensland sun, muttering about golden hour and light angles. Don’t get me wrong—I’m absolutely in my element. But I’m also absolutely missing out on actually swimming in that impossibly blue water that looks like it’s been Photoshopped into existence.
Great Keppel Island is, quite frankly, unfair. It’s the kind of place that makes you believe in paradise—those dazzling white sands that squeak under your feet (yes, really), the turquoise water so clear you can see straight through it, and a sky so relentlessly blue it puts Instagram filters to shame. It’s like someone took all the best beach vibes and concentrated them onto one gloriously perfect island. And naturally, I spent half my time there hunched over my camera, framing shots instead of actually floating in that magnificent water. My friends splashed about like actual humans enjoying themselves, while I moved incrementally along the shoreline, chasing the best angle of the sun hitting the water. Classic photographer move.
The funny thing is, I wouldn’t change a thing. There’s something about being a photographer that fundamentally rewires your brain. You stop seeing a beach and start seeing light, composition, colours, and moments. While everyone else was thinking “this is amazing,” I was thinking “the light here is hitting at exactly the right angle.” Is it a bit mad? Absolutely. Have I accepted that I will probably never be one of those carefree beach-goers who just lies in the sun? Definitely. But when I look at the photos I captured—the way the light dances across those white sands, the pure joy on people’s faces as they play in that stunning turquoise water, the way the sky meets the horizon in perfect harmony—I realise I’ve captured something way better than just a tan. I’ve captured the magic of Great Keppel Island itself. And yeah, I’ll be back soon, camera in hand, ready to miss the swimming all over again.
