FIELD NOTES

Stories from the road.

Writing, observations and the parts of photography that happen outside the frame.

Stories behind the photographs, practical notes on the process, and guidance for choosing a work to live with.

Zillie Falls — Zillie Falls, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, photographed by Mitchell Burns

Field Notes — observations, process and stories from the road

Apex, a male African lion in the Serengeti photographed by Mitchell Burns.

Wildlife ·Field Note

Why I Don’t Need Wildlife to Perform for the Camera

Some of my strongest wildlife photographs have almost no action in them. Stillness, distance and watching behaviour can carry more tension than spectacle.

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LATEST FROM THE FIELD

Places, wildlife, process and the work being built along the way.

Reef Patterns, an aerial photograph of the Great Barrier Reef by Mitchell Burns.

Photography ·Guide

How I Photograph the Great Barrier Reef From the Air

From above, the Great Barrier Reef stops behaving like a conventional landscape. I look for colour, pattern, tide and structure rather than...

25 Sep 2026 Read

Projects ·Journal

Behind the Ford Mustang Gallop Campaign in Remote New South Wales

A Ford Mustang road-trip campaign through remote New South Wales became strongest when an original 1966 Mustang appeared in the middle of...

25 Sep 2026 Read

Mitchell Burns photographing from a Ford Ranger in the Australian outback.

Places ·Journal

What Ten Years in Queensland Coal Mines Taught Me About Remote Australia

Before photography became my full-time work, I spent close to a decade in Queensland coal mining. It changed the way I plan,...

25 Sep 2026 Read

A panoramic landscape photograph by Mitchell Burns.

Photography ·Guide

Why I Still Shoot Panoramic Film

What the Fujifilm G617 and Linhof 617 still teach me about composition, patience and seeing a landscape before pressing the shutter.

25 Sep 2026 Read

Apex, a male lion in the Serengeti, Tanzania, photographed by Mitchell Burns.

Wildlife ·Behind the Image

Apex: Photographing a Lion in the Serengeti

A direct encounter with a male lion in the Serengeti became Apex — a portrait built around eye contact, presence and restraint.

25 Sep 2026 Read

Noah Beach on the Daintree coast at dawn, photographed by Mitchell Burns.

Places ·Behind the Image

Noah Beach at Dawn: Photographing the Daintree Coast

A pastel dawn at Noah Beach, where the Daintree rainforest meets the sea, became a study in calm, space and a single...

25 Sep 2026 Read

Allure, Mossman Gorge in Far North Queensland, photographed by Mitchell Burns.

Places ·Behind the Image

Photographing Mossman Gorge: The Story Behind Allure

The intense green water of Mossman Gorge keeps pulling me back. Allure came from waiting for the right light to reveal that...

25 Sep 2026 Read

Reach, Rigby Falls in western Queensland, photographed by Mitchell Burns.

Places ·Behind the Image

Reach: The Road to Rigby Falls in Western Queensland

Flooding left me stuck in Mount Isa. A slow 4WD track eventually led to Rigby Falls and the photograph that became Reach.

25 Sep 2026 Read

Zillie Falls framed by an arching rainforest tree, with afternoon light shining through waterfall mist, photographed by Mitchell Burns.

Places ·Behind the Image

Photographing Zillie Falls in the Atherton Tablelands

Afternoon light, waterfall mist and an arching rainforest tree came together at Zillie Falls in Tropical North Queensland.

25 Sep 2026 Read

SUBSTACK

The more immediate notes.

Field Notes is the searchable archive. Substack is where I send more personal updates, current work and notes as they happen.

Read on Substack

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Stories from the road.

The more immediate notes.