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Introducing Robert King: When you’ve photographed some of the most beautiful places on Earth, where do you go next? Tasmania, of course.
‘Insanely beautiful’ really means something, coming from Australian photographer Robert King, who has made his career photographing some of the world’s most spectacular scenery. King is referring to Tasmania, where he is spending a month traveling around the island, experiencing the Tassie lifestyle and photographing the amazing landscape and waves.
King has explored and photographed 49 countries across the globe in the past six years, missing out on claiming his 50th passport stamp thanks to covid. But there is a silver lining to the covid-cloud, he maintains, when he calls in for a chat from the wild Tasman Peninsular, on the south-east coast.‘It’s really cool to be exploring my own back yard,’ he explains. ‘It’s reminded me of how amazing our landscape is.’
As much as the dramatic cliffs, pristine beaches and green rolling hills have impressed Robert, it is the wildlife that really blows him away. ‘I’m trying to see Tasmania as someone from overseas might. The bird life is incredible: hawks, eagles and ibis. In this landscape of rolling hills and big, blue skies, the birds are striking. Tasmania reminds me of the Scottish Highlands, or New Zealand. And there are wombats and bandicoots, and these cute little wallabies called paddymelons – they’re so friendly. We Australians might take our wildlife for granted, but we shouldn’t.’
Also impressing him are the human locals, also friendly, who have embraced tourism at its best. ‘Tasmanian oysters – amazing,’ Robert says. ‘I went on a Tasmanian Oyster Company boat where they pulled them fresh from the water and shucked them for us.’ Robert also recommends trying a Gulf Pie in Hobart and some Bruny Island cheese from dairy cows that he describes as the friendliest cows he’s ever met. A recurring theme for Tasmania, it would seem.
Robert usually starts his day before dawn, hiking in to the landscape to capture the sunrise. ‘I did the 20-kilometre hike to Cape Raoul on the Tasman Peninsular, starting at 4am. That way I capture the landscape without anyone in frame to distract from the raw beauty. I’ve photographed some of the most spectacular places on Earth, but if someone showed me shots of the Tasman Peninsular, I’d drop everything and go there.’
Robert relies on word-of-mouth from locals and fellow travellers to find the best places to travel to. Follow Rob or our FCS social channels for regular updates on Rob’s trip and the places he discovers along the way. And after Tasmania? ‘Australia!’ he says. ‘Home is my 50th country.’
Here's a taste of what Rob has on repeat at the moment:
SurFebruary is a fun annual event in February, where participants raise money for cancer research by catching a wave or getting in the water every day – rain, hail or shine.
This episode sees Rich catch up with Mick Fanning on his recent trip to the US to chat about what he’s been riding, the development of his iconic fin template and how he came to embrace the FCS II system.
