Photography to me is a passion, I see images everywhere but life often doesn’t allow me the time to stop and take everything I see, which may be a good thing considering the size of my photographic library.

Looking back, I can’t really remember not having a camera, photography has always been a part of my life, as a boy growing up in Nottingham, England I had a Kodak pocket Instamatic, and I still have some of those old Black and white prints, although the negatives have long ago vanished into the ether.

I became serious about photography back in the 1970s starting with a Miranda TM (basically a Pentax clone) then, ran 3 Pentax Super A bodies and a complement of Pentax lenses, some of which I still use today. Before making the switch to digital a few years ago I ran an LX & couple of Pentax MZ5n’s, which in my opinion is one of the best film cameras that Pentax developed.

I moved into the digital age with the 6 MP ist*d, upgraded to the K 10D and am currently running a K 20D. I find the freedom of Digital photography & being able to view a result immediately is an amazing advantage, especially in commercial work where time is money. The only limitation of Digital that I find annoying is not being able to attain a full frame 35mm as Pentax don’t make one yet. Having my much loved 15 mm becoming something like a 23 mm, I’ve had to purchase a 10mm to bring me back to a true wide view, which I find essential for Landscape work.  All of the images on this site were taken using Pentax equipment

I’ve lived in Perth, Western Australia since 1967, after migrating with my family at the age of 15.

Perth is a wonderful place, it has a Mediterranean climate and is often said to be Australia’s best kept secret, being one of the most isolated cities in the world. The people are friendly and the landscape is huge, as are the distances. Conditions are very varied with desert conditions out to the east and north, and wonderful Jarrah and Karri forests, which contain an enormous range of unique wildflowers, in the southwest. My book Cape to Cape, which focuses on the South Western region around Margaret River, & also one of the state’s premier wine growing areas, illustrates the variety of the landscape, flora and fauna available to the visitor only 3 to 4 hours drive from Perth.

I have been teaching photography for almost 25 years now, giving weekend classes at the University of WA, It’s a rewarding experience giving something back to photography and watching others become consumed with the same creative energy that drives me. If you would like to participate in any of my UWA classes please contact the university via their website – www.extension.uwa.edu.au

This last 12 months I have had some fairly major achievements. As  a member of the Austrailan Accredited Professional Photographers Asooc,  in July 2009 I was awarded the AAPP (WA) Commercial Photographer of the Year for 2009, which was wonderful as commercial photography is where I have been focusing my business attention in recent times. However also being awarded the overall AAPP (WA) Professional Photographer of the Year 2009, as well as being awarded the title of Artisan just blew me away, as I had not expected that honor. I was also elected WA State President of the AAPP and as such have the job of coordinating the AAPP National Convention which will be held in Fremantle in August 2010.

My work has been used in Greeting cards, Postcards, Calendars, Bookmarks, Telephone cards, Magazine features, Book illustrations, Promotional Posters & Billboard. The Perth Zoo has used my images in a variety of its publications, annual reports, posters and several billboards, and of course my client’s own web sites.

To date, I’ve done 2 books, my first, Cape to Cape which I am currently considering revising & reprinting as it sold our mid last year, was published in 2001, and my 2nd,  a commercial work on the 1st 10 years of Ellenbrook, produced by LWP the developers of Ellenbrook the new town in the Swan Valley where I live, was released in May 2006.

Visitors to my new site should feel free to drop me an email and give me your feedback on the site & my images. New clients are always welcome to call.

Thanks for visiting my new site, I hope you have enjoyed your stay.

Bob Litchfield  – January 2010