In an ideal world the bar that drives the shears could have been better positioned but this was not a posed shot.

I was more interested in framing the photo to include the dog, the window and the sponteneity of the two old shearers in conversation.

It is one of my favorite images from the Commonwealth Hill Station shoot in Outback South Australia I did for the R M Williams publication “Best of Outback Stataion”s back in March.

The old chap on the right is 73 years of age. He’s been shearing for 53 years and his tally is over a million sheep shorn in that time.

25-thousand sheep brought in from all parts of a 10-thousand square kilometre station, shorn over 40 days and on their way back to the paddocks.

The last day of this mammouth task shows in the eyes and stance of the station manager who’s orchestrated it all….until the same time next year.

Simon Robinson, Commonwealth Hill Station. Woomera Prohibited Area, South Australia.

The Ringer from “the Peake”.

Aaron’s a boy from Sydney who’s finding working on a Kidman outstation on the Ooodnadatta Track a lot more interesting than city life.

This picture needs little explanation.

It was taken at the William Creek gymkhana, a gather of families from cattle stations along the Oodnadatta Track.

The boys certainly were not out of place in their outfits. Chips off the old block as the saying goes.

Not quite as tall as a truck tyre…..yet there’s some serious wheeling and dealing going on.

Little big men, even dressed for the part.

One of many Outback characters at the Maree races and bronco branding.

Cattleman. Ian Litchfield, Mundowdna Station near Marree, northern South Australia.

A pensive moment before the race. Outback Race meeting.

Canon 20D, Lens Canon EF28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM. f8 @ 1/1000 sec, ISO 200, focal length 300 mm hand held

Simon is a driller working on a massive rig out on the plains east of the Flinders Ranges.

He’s part of a crew drilling deep into the earth’s crust to find hot rock that may one day soon produce vast amounts of environmentally clean electricity.

Simon was a gold miner in Zimbabwe employing 300 people before Mugabe’s regime forced him to leave.

He’s pretty philosophical about it though, saying Australia is a land of milk and honey. Working three air flights from home is OK too. He’ s at the drill site two weeks on and two off.

I’ve just spent a few days photographing at the rig, an ‘Eiffel Tower’ in the middle of nowhere. Pictures of that coming up later.