You’d think living in Esperance, on the southern coast of Western Australia, would be enough remoteness for anyone, but for multi-award-winning photographer Scott Portelli, it’s just the start of the story. [Article courtesy of OM SYSTEM]
Since moving to Esperance two years ago, Scott Portelli has spent all but four months in other wilderness areas of Australia and the world, ranging from Lake Eyre, the waters off Whyalla in South Australia and whale projects in the Southern Ocean, to the Norwegian Arctic, Iceland, Patagonia and extensive travels in Antarctica.
Portelli’s expertise extends through land-based, underwater and aerial/drone photography, and from wildlife and landscape documentary photography (and video) to more abstract, creative approaches.
One recent project that could be said to naturally involve both was photographing the annual giant cuttlefish ‘aggregation’ near Whyalla, where tens of thousands of the bizarre creatures gather for courtship and mating. Cuttlefish, which are related to squid and octopuses, are intelligent and able to change their colour, shape and texture as they move along the seabed to imitate rocks, seaweed and sand.
‘Photographing them is mesmerising to say the least. It’s visual overload,’ says Portelli. ‘The key for me is to narrow my focus to pinpoint one thing that makes the subject matter stand out or tell a story. I’ve been visiting Whyalla for almost a decade, and seeing the cuttlefish population in strong recovery emphasises why I use my photography to foster support for conservation efforts and education about the marine environment.’
He says OM SYSTEM has always been a strong supporter of his work and the diversity of genres he explores. ‘It’s important that they can provide me with the right equipment to achieve my goals. With the cuttlefish, an 8mm fisheye lens gives me close focus and a wide perspective, with two Olympus UFL-3 strobes to balance the light and exposure. And the OM-1 camera I have in an underwater housing perfectly meters the light in the shallow waters.’
Portelli visits Antarctica almost every year for two to three months of the summer season. He’s the photographer for Australian cruise ship operator Aurora Expeditions, and also leads small groups of photographers from all over the world on expeditions involving professionally crewed yachts he charters. Which may sound like a daunting prospect when it comes to logistics and keeping everyone safe. ‘There’s a level of risk with anything in Antarctica, so you need to plan and prepare well,’ he says. ‘For one thing, the weather can change very quickly, so we like to say we have a plan A, a plan B, a plan C… all the way to F!’
Portelli adds adventurous personal projects to his schedule whenever he can – for example, a recent visit to the emperor penguin colony on the Weddell Sea. ‘There were maybe 4000 penguins nesting along the sea ice, and probably fewer than 20 people visit each year. I slept in a tent on the ice and pulled a sled a couple of kilometres each day to the nesting area.’
Photographing leopard seals, penguins and the occasional whale in Antarctic waters measuring -1.8 degrees C is ‘like being in an industrial fridge’, but he can still manage up to an hour in the water when snorkelling and about half that when totally submerged with Scuba gear.
‘I’ve taken my OM SYSTEM gear into some really extreme conditions – like, -37 degrees up in the Arctic. I usually take three, if not four, OM SYSTEM camera bodies with me – OM-1 Mark IIs, the OM-1 and a dual-grip OM-D E-M1X.’
His favourite OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko lenses include the 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO, 300mm f/4.0 IS PRO, 12-100mm f/4.0 IS PRO, 60mm Macro f/2.8 and 30mm Macro f/3.5.
‘OM SYSTEM has constantly improved the quality and precision of their cameras,’ he says. ‘Everything from the focus to the tracking to the low-light shooting. And the lighter weights when compared to other cameras in the same class makes life a bit easier for me.
‘I look at the functions the cameras have and consider how to apply them in the specific real-world situations I’m in. For example, I’ve been using the OM-1 Mark II’s Starry Night feature with my astrophotography, to get pin-sharp focus on the stars in the Milky Way. I used the built-in ND filters for waterfalls in Iceland and the solar eclipse in the Kimberley last year. The excellent tracking proved great for whales breeching in Antarctica, and I’ve been discovering how good the Pro Capture pre-capturing function is for photographing birds.
‘I also love the C1, C2, C3 and C4 customisable functions, which I can set up for different scenarios and genres of photography.’
When it’s suggested to Portelli that he has an extraordinary life, he pauses for thought and says, ‘I guess so… It keeps me busy.’