'REBIRTH No. 6'
From a technical and conceptual standpoint, this image began as a personal challenge: to construct a panoramic landscape by combining a sequence of master shots—while also integrating a self-portrait into the composition.
The initial idea that formed in my mind was never solely about the landscape; it would be about merging it with my own presence. Yet, as both photographer and subject, I found myself momentarily at an impasse, questioning how to carry out both roles within a single frame. After some thought, I came to understand that this very intersection—of landscape and self, of execution and embodiment—would be the essence of the work, if I were to achieve the idea and sentiment I had in my heart. It is a self-portrait situated within the landscape, createdentirely by my own hands, from concept to final image.
To bring this vision to life, I used a self-timer in tandem with a manual remote control, adheringto the same settings for every frame—ISO 80, f/22, and a 5-second exposure. I kept the remotehidden in my hand, activating the shutter while placing myself nude within the scene. Beforethe final shoot, I carefully rehearsed my position, marking the ground among the rocks to determine exactly where my body would lie.
This photograph, beyond its technical structure, bears witness to a moment of profoundpersonal transition and that is why the idea of self-portrait prevails over the long exposurelandscape panorama.
The photograph was taken on a windswept late-spring afternoon at West Beach in Innes/DhilbaGuuranda National Park. Though the technical process was complex, the emotional challengeran deeper. There were moments of discomfort—lying bare on rough stone, exposed to thewind, calculating the narrow window of just ten seconds to inhabit the emotion I wanted toexpress. Yet the effort was essential: I was trying to pour feeling into form, to let the bodym speak what words cannot.
It’s difficult to describe this image without acknowledging the symbolic weight it personally carries. For me, it marks a turning point—a threshold crossed. It represents my arrival in Australia, the beginning of a new chapter forged through personal trials, deep sorrow, and hard won resilience.
My partner and I endured a long and painful journey to be together again after fifteen Years apart on opposite sides of the world. However, the departure from my homeland was shadowed by loss, disillusionment, and grief. In this photo, I lay myself bare on foreign ground—not as an act of exhibition, but of offering. As if placing myself, body and soul, into the hands of nature, sky and sea, asking to begin again.
I titled it Rebirth No. 2. It’s a ritual of renewal. A moment of surrender to something larger than myself. We are, after all, born naked and unguarded, and perhaps that is the deepest truth of our condition as human beings.
