This is a place I keep going back to. I absolutely love it.

The waterways of Ku-ring-gai, where the Hawkesbury meets the sea. It’s only about 25 kilometres from Sydney, but it doesn’t feel like it at all. It’s wild, but still accessible. That’s what makes it special.

I’ve been shooting here for the last five or six years, and it’s actually a really hard place to photograph. In daylight it feels harsh. Shadows drop into black, the water blows out. Most of the time, it doesn’t give the camera much.

But when it all aligns, light, water, mist, the smallest ripples, you get something really special. You can almost capture the quiet that’s been sitting there for thousands of years.

It takes patience, which I don’t mind. A lot of the time I’m just sitting on the boat, waiting. Mostly first light or last light. And I love that you can’t force it. If it’s not right, I go home with nothing.

I shoot a lot, then come back and delete most of it. I don’t retouch these images. If a boat goes through, that’s it, you don’t shoot.

Coming from the commercial world, where everything is built, controlled and fast, this is the opposite. It’s slower, quieter.

There’s something incredibly special about being out there. It still feels untouched. Ku-ring-gai is the second oldest national park in Australia, and was established in 1876 and you can feel that history when you’re sitting there.

Yes, boat traffic can get pretty busy. But head out on a Tuesday morning in winter and you’ve got a very good chance of having one of those beautiful bays in Ku-ring-gai completely to yourself.

There are places where you’re far enough away that you don’t hear anything at all. Down at Bobbin Head you might catch the highway if you really listen. But there are spots where it’s just quiet. Properly quiet. And it’s pretty special.