From a simple desire to share his experiences in the ocean and around his beloved Burleigh Heads, Sean has forged an entire lifestyle travelling the length and breadth of the country to capture unique and inspiring images from the open road. His work has become synonymous with coastal photography Australia, while also expanding into remote landscapes through his passion for off-grid travel Australia.
Sean’s had a long relationship with Dometic, to provide the essentials he needs for life on the road and to post up in the most inaccessible places in his pursuit of a memorable image. “It allows me to live, work and play in some of the most amazing places,” he says. “All the brands I work with, they’re things that I’ve always used and want to use, it’s genuinely what I’ve found most useful.”
Scott was drawn to photography simply to share his experiences in and around the ocean. “I’ve always loved to show people things, and found photography the best way to do that,” he says.
“Being out in the surf and seeing a sunset from out in the water, I just grabbed a camera and started shooting. I started back on film, before social media, and just photographed what I liked to see.”
He began selling his artfully composed coastal imagery at local beachfront markets in handmade frames. The beach and ocean became his muse – golden sunrises, seagrass on sand dunes, shells, silhouetted surfers checking the dawn waves. Sean quickly evolved a trademark look and a keen following. “People seemed to like what I was doing,” he says as his reputation in coastal photography and as a rising travel photographer continued to grow.
With the rise of digital photography and social media, Sean soon saw a glut of coastal photography coming out of the Gold Coast and decided to expand his horizons. “I was shooting a lot of local stuff here, but then a lot of people started doing that and I didn’t want to get lost in the crowd,” he says.
He quickly adapted to social media and grew a large following, which in turn allowed him to leverage that following to attract support for increasingly ambitious cross-country missions.
“I’ve always loved four-wheel driving and camping and had that passion to get out there. There are so many beautiful places to check out.”
Despite 325,000 followers on Instagram, Sean says he doesn’t obsess over attracting followers. Social media is a means to an end, to allow him to collaborate with the brands that produce the products he uses on his extended road trips. “If people want to be social media famous, you’re never satisfied because you’ll always want more. If you love getting out there to photograph, it just works for you that way, if you’re prepared to follow your passion and work hard.”
Sean now spends six months a year on the road, coming and going from his Gold Coast home. He’s honed his rig down to a fine art with a ’79 Series Landcruiser totally tricked up for serious four-wheel-driving, off grid and in the wild, complete with the Dometic NRX115 compressor fridge (opens in new tab) to keep enough fresh food and cold drinks for a few nights off-grid. His base camp and mother ship is a fully equipped caravan, with all the creature comforts to allow for extended periods in remote locations, including the Dometic CFX595 fridge/freezer (opens in new tab) that can store frozen goods for quick and easy meals.
From power for air con, refrigeration, charging batteries for his photographic gear, to the simple pleasure of a hot shower or a gin and tonic after a long day on the tools, Dometic allows Sean to spend more time in the field in comfort. The Dometic Dust Reduction System (opens in new tab) keeps his van free from the notorious fine red dust of inland Australia.
“It all powers my passion to look for the kind of photographs I want to take,” he says.
“My Dometic fridge, at sunset I open that up and it’s easy to make a drink and enjoy the sunset. No matter how remote I am, even if its four-wheel drive only, the Enerdrive power system lets me use my coffee machine, electric blanket, and charge all my drones and batteries. The caravan is very comfy with a hot water shower, and I can run air con off-grid. I can wait for the sunrise and sunset to get those memorable images. There’s nothing really wanting, when you’ve got your fridge, air con, battery power, enough power to do anything I want. I’ve got star link (for internet), so I’ve always got coverage.”
In recent years, Sean has been spending increasing time in Western Australia, for its wide-open spaces, stunning landscapes and spectacular coastline. He tends to base himself at four pastoral stations around the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions – Bullara, Quobba (or Red Bluff), Gnaraloo and Warroora. Craggy limestone foreshores, abundant marine life, the aquatic splendour of Ningaloo Reef and the Indian Ocean’s wild surf, the red dirt and brilliant blue skies, make for a photographer’s paradise.
“I just try to be in the right place at the right time. I’m always looking to find that special image, whether that’s whales, sharks, 20-foot surf exploding on the cliffs, or a fog rolling across the Nullabor. That’s when I really go to work. I don’t just follow the surf as much anymore.”
Despite the lengthy client list, the hundreds of thousands of followers, and the state-of-the-art equipment, Sean’s favourite moments are simply being awestruck by the beauty and power of nature, all alone in glorious isolation from the modern world.
“That happens all the time, it blows me away non-stop. I was on the cliffs at Dirk Hartog Island, watching 20-foot waves exploding, with a gin and tonic in hand at Sunset. Just looking at that, on your own enjoying it, it’s surreal.”
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