Clara Davies Photography

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Clara Davies Photography

Dedicated to my passion for photography this page features my pursuits to create powerful and emotive story-telling images.

Travel the world with me; embrace adventure, relish cultural diversity and marvel at the wonders of our natural environment.

05/03/2022

Over the past week and a half it has been great to have the opportunity to photograph the new David Jones balloon. First was a promotional launch over the Yarra Valley and then a stunning flight over Melbourne on Friday morning, which was only the second DJs flight over the Melbourne CBD. The official launch has coincided with Melbourne Fashion Week.

The striking houndstooth design balloon is the latest in the Global Ballooning Australia (GBA) stable of balloons. A big thank you to Kiff and GBA for asking me along to be part of this very exciting new venture.

It goes without saying, taking a lighter than air flight is always such a joy! If you are ever considering taking to the skies in a hot air balloon, be it over Melbourne, the Yarra Valley or Mansfield, Global Ballooning is the company to fly with!

David Jones

12/06/2020

AUSTRALIASIA’S TOP EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHERS 2020
The final results for Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers (ATEP) 2020 were released yesterday.

Last year I undertook three major photography trips to Finnish Lapland and Lake Baikal in February, Brazil in June and Antarctica and South Georgia in December. I entered 14 portfolios in the ATEP competition for 2020 featuring images I captured from each location that I travelled to.

2020 was the biggest year for the ATEP competition in its 12-year history. I have entered in the past three years and I am delighted to have had my best year yet. Every portfolio I entered received an award.

From 6 entries in the landscape category one portfolio made the Top 20 (Baikal from Above), one portfolio the Top 30 (The Pearl of Siberia) and 4 portfolios were Highly Commended (Frozen Finnish Finland from Above, Antarctic Sublime, Incredible Iguazú and Icebergs). Two of these portfolios featured drone images.

From 6 entries in the Animal category one portfolio made the Top 20 (Up Close and Personal), 3 were Highly Commended (Gentle Gentoos, Golden Eagle and Coming Ashore) and 2 were Commended (King Penguin Chaos and Leaping Penguins).

My portfolio in the Travel category was Highly Commended (The Colony).

And in a new category for 2020, the Single Shot category, my chosen image Ancient Ice made the Top 40.

Onwards and upwards hopefully although this year has been disrupted in terms of travel and photography.

© Clara Davies 2020

20/12/2019

During a morning zodiac cruise of Paradise Harbour, near Almirante Brown/Brown Station and Skontorp Cove, I spotted an interesting small iceberg in the distance. Most of all it looked black. I pointed it out to our Russian crew zodiac driver and at first was told it was a zodiac because of its black color. Wait a moment, there are no people on that zodiac!! We proceeded to make our way over.

What we found was this absolutely stunning small berg (a bit bigger than a growler) which was a combination of white, blue, black and clear glassy sections of ice. It was spectacular.

White ice is relatively young and not as compact yet. With snow falls, the snow gets more compressed over time causing it to become ice. There are many air bubbles inside white ice - it’s reason for its white look as light can easily get through it. This section of the berg even had fresh snow on it.

Blue ice is older than white ice and more compressed. Fresh snow has fallen on top of it each year for millenniums which puts pressure on the air in the ice in the lower layers and removes it. This type of ice is heavier in the water, because many of the air bubbles have been pressured away. It lay below the white ice.

Black ice is very beautiful. Actually, it is not black, but transparent. Black ice only looks black, when it is lying in the water. Above the water it is clear. It is made of rain water that has gathered in crevasses and froze. There is almost no air in this type of ice and that is why it is very heavy in the water. Often only a tiny bit of it is visible on top of the water surface. On this particular berg the black sections were quite visible out of the water.

The melding of these different types of ice was sublime and truly represented the artistry of the natural world.

© Clara Davies 2019

20/12/2019

Today we returned home to Melbourne having spent the last month travelling to my two favourite destinations on this planet - Antarctica and South Georgia. It was an incredible trip! And arriving home to a maximum temperature of 44°C was a stark contrast from the cooler temperatures down south. However, it got me thinking about the greatest challenge our planet is facing.

Bushfires are, and have been, raging across many parts of Australia in an unprecedented start to our fire season. Whilst our country has always experienced bushfires, I firmly believe the more prolonged and worsening conditions are the result of climate change - higher temperatures, extreme dryness, higher incidence of catastrophoic conditions.

Similarly, climate change is also adversely effecting our southern polar regions! In the space of three years there were clear changes to the southern landscapes and the wildlife populations and distributions. Our planet is too precious to ignore this and for us not to act. Scenes like this one from Salisbury Plain on South Georgia highlight some of the sublime beauty we stand to lose.

© Clara Davies 2019

03/06/2019

BRAZIL 2019
First full day in Rio de Janerio and first sunset shoot; an hour in a helicopter with the doors off. I was hoping to get some images of the iconic Christ the Redeemer, "The Christ" as it is affectionately named by the Brazilians. Didn't know what the afternoon would bring and was even told we might be lucky to see the Christ at all but as it turned out it was epic; ethereal, mystical and arguably even biblical!

For at least half an hour we continuously circled as the clouds moved in and beyond, cloaking the enormous statue and then revealing it for periods. It was an incredible flight.

I subsequently discovered (Mum told me) that the day this image was captured was in fact the day celebrating the Feast of the Ascension of Christ.

© Clara Davies 2019

27/05/2019

AUSTRALASIA'S TOP EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHERS AWARDS 2019 - THE TRAVEL PORTFOLIOS
This year I entered 10 portfolios in Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers Awards across the travel and landscape categories. I was very pleased to receive 8 Highly Commended Awards (all six of my Travel Portfolios were Highly Commended along with two of my Landscape portfolios) and 2 Commended Awards for my remaining Landscape Portfolios.

These are the Travel Portfolios - "The Polar Bear" (HC), "Miniature Madagascar" (HC), "Svalbard's Locals" (HC), "Wetland Birds of the Top End" (HC), "Beautiful Big Cats" (HC) and "Japan's Tuna Auctions" (HC).

Hoping to do better next year!

© Clara Davies 2019

27/05/2019

AUSTRALASIA'S TOP EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHERS AWARDS 2019 - THE LANDSCAPE PORTFOLIOS
This year I entered 10 portfolios in Australasia's Top Emerging Photographers Awards across the travel and landscape categories. I was very pleased to receive 8 Highly Commended Awards (all six of my Travel Portfolios were Highly Commended along with two of my Landscape portfolios) and 2 Commended Awards for my remaining Landscape Portfolios.

These are the Landscape Portfolios - "Lofoten's Winter Landscapes" (HC), "Nature's Greatest Lightshow" (HC). "Lake Eyre Aerials" (C) and "Floodplain Aerials" (C).

Hoping to do better next year!

© Clara Davies 2019

23/04/2019

EARTH DAY 2019: Protect Our Species
So this year Earth Day did coincide with Easter Monday but it should not be lost for that reason. Earth Day is a global event to celebrate Mother Nature and put environmental issues in the spotlight.

This year's theme, Protect Our Species, aims to draw attention to the rapid extinction of species across the world.

Nature’s gifts to our planet are the millions of species that we know and love,and many more that remain to be discovered. Unfortunately, the human race is upsetting the balance of nature and, as a result, the world is facing the greatest rate of extinction since we lost the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago.

The unprecedented global destruction and rapid reduction of plant and wildlife populations are directly linked to causes driven by human activity: climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticides to name a few.

When I saw this lone Adelie Penguin his posture appeared to me to be sad and hopeless and I titled this image "Forlorn". If we do not act now, extinction may be humanity’s most enduring legacy.

© Clara Davies 2019

21/03/2019

LAKE BAIKAL
Lake Baikal is a rift lake, formed within a deep rift created by tectonic movement along fault lines in the Russian region of Siberia, between the Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast. It is the deepest lake in the world and the seventh largest by surface area. At an estimated 25 million years old, Lake Baikal is also the oldest existing lake in the world. The lake is known for not only its size, but also its remarkably crystal clear water and biodiversity. Lake Baikal is home to a large variety of species found nowhere else on earth and this rich ecology and biodiversity has earned it the nickname “The Galapagos of Russia,” and helped it to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Considering its remote and wild locale, its enormity and how ancient it is, it is perhaps no surprise that Lake Baikal has a long history of bizarre events, strange occurrences, legends, myths and folklore. Some of the earliest stories stretch far back into history to its very creation, with local legend saying that the lake was formed by the impact of a gigantic rock falling from the sky. From there, the lake’s weird history began. Lake Baikal is truly one of the world’s most beautiful, remote and amazing lakes.

On a dry day, frozen Baikal looks dark and glassy. The ice resembles black marble. Cracks spider across its surface. The shifting, cracking and resealing of icy layers create small crevices. Blades of ice prick upwards like dragon scales.

After snowfall, pillowy snowdrifts amass on the surface. The lake looks like a cloudscape. Russians refer to Baikal as the country’s “sacred sea”, because of both its beauty and its size.

© Clara Davies 2019

13/03/2019

LAKE BAIKAL
Located in Siberia, Laka Baikal is the largest freshwater lake on the planet containing approximately 22 percent of the Earth’s fresh surface water. It is the pride of Russia and the deepest and cleanest lake on the planet.

The water of Lake Baikal is renowned for being some of the clearest in the world. When the lake freezes during the winter, an amazing phenomena takes place; large shards of transparent ice form on the surface of the lake. The ice can reach thicknesses of between 1.5 and 2 meters and it is the most transparent in the world.

Usually I would start with a focus on the beautiful big landscapes however, I am starting differently this time. One of the most amazing experiences for me was stepping out on to the ice for the first time; stepping on to the transparent glass like surface and being completely overwhelmed. I will never forget that moment! And every time I stepped on to the ice and walked about I was totally mesmerised and in awe. So to begin the Baikal journey this first post is some images of the amazing patterns, shapes and formations that are Baikal.

© Clara Davies 2019

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