Profile
Early childhood memories of her father’s work remain with Daniella. His work as a travelling portrait photographer in New Zealand, when black and white photos were hand painted to add colour, inspired her to pick up a camera from an early age. A love of photography developed, with the lens opening a window into a world of natural beauty, colour and continuous inspiration.
Life in the Darling Ranges, Western Australia, has nurtured Daniella’s passion and unique style over the past 18 years. Initially, the local community centre was the venue for learning darkroom techniques, with the building of her own darkroom following soon after. It wasn’t long before Daniella’s love of the natural environment superseded her portrait photography, with the surrounding bush a natural backdrop for her black and white images.
The local environment opened a vast avenue of photographic opportunity, with the diversity of the surrounding area offering tranquil settings with exceptional lighting. Daniella captures the mood and atmosphere in her landscape work - local scenes take on subtle hues and contours during changing light and seasons, resulting in unique images. Her first solo exhibition, in August 2005, was held in the local Mundaring District Museum and aptly named Hills Landscapes: Moods and Atmospheres.
The exceptional abundance of wildflowers in Western Australia has given Daniella an opportunity to photograph this flora, adding her own touch of individuality. Their seasonal appearance brings about a kaleidoscope of colour in a normally monochromatic environment. Her Wildflower Series on Canvas are all taken on location and endeavour to capture the essence of the flower - not merely a snapshot but an image that has a close-up and personal glimpse of nature’s perfection.
More recently Daniella has discovered the beauty and uniqueness of our North West and South Coast and has been inspired to create several new portfolios of images. The rich earthy colours of the north – the rusty reds of the pindan, the hazy greys of the spinifex, and the azure blues of the ocean – combine with the cool hues of the south, to reflect a fusion of colours and textures so well suited to the medium of creative photography. The many faces of coastal WA, from the intricate fretwork of shapes created by receding tides to the fragile beauty of sand dunes held together by hardened flora, are all captured here.
