Photography ignites ex-teacher's wanderlust through CQ
David Thomson turns his lens to taking photographs of local plants, animals and bird life.
Rockhampton
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WORKING in a CQ boarding school for 10 years, David Thomson's students came from places he'd never heard of, let alone been to.
"Dad was in the Air Force so we travelled around a lot when I was young," he said.
"Because we didn't stop anywhere for more than a few years, I went to four primary schools and four high schools, but once I moved to Rockhampton, I didn't go further than the Biloela turnoff past Westwood."
After 25 years teaching primary and secondary students in Biloela, Keppel Sands, Allenstown and the Rockhampton Grammar schools, Mr Thomson celebrated his retirement last year with a trip to New York with his Broadway-keen daughter, Lydia.
"She absolutely loves the musical Dear Evan Hanson which won the Tony Award last year; in total, we saw seven shows, a ballet and went to two basketball games."
Mr Thomson had been planning for some years to travel around Australia taking photographs but once he returned to Australia he gave himself just one week to make that dream come true, travelling south to buy a van from Coolangatta.
"Lydia drew a picture on the fuel filler cap and, since then, I've invited people I meet to draw their pictures on the van too," Mr Thomson said.
He says the best thing about travelling is meeting young people from around the world.
"My birthday this year I celebrated in Eumundi with new friends from Scotland, England, Belgium and Italy."
As an avid photographer, Mr Thomson says until recently he had never taken a photo without a person in it.
Snapper's Tips
- Bundoora Dam near Tieri for the kites (birds)
- Biloela Heritage Park for the kangaroos
- Yeppen Lagoon for the ibis
- Virgin Rock near Springsure for the spectacular spotlit cliff formation
"I'm in Rockhampton this week because I'm booked to photograph a friend's niece at the Emmaus formal... and also her sister's formal in 2021," Mr Thomson said.
He recently travelled to Biloela to photograph the wedding of a girl his children had grown up with.
"My son Max, who was born in Biloela, now works as an engineer with a Brisbane firm which has business there so we were able to catch up and spend time with his childhood playmate," Mr Thomson said.
However, weeks on the road in areas inaccessible to the caravan crowd means he has now turned his lens to taking photographs of local plants, animals and bird life.
Mr Thomson said Facebook is not only a great tool for sharing photos but also for catching up with friends from long ago.
"I started following the Facebook page Junee Remembers and suddenly I was reconnecting with people I remembered from two years' high school there."
"We're now looking forward to a reunion in October 2019," Mr Thomson said.
Mr Thomson describes himself as a constant and curious learner, something he gained over many years working with young people.
"I'm always finding new ways to take photos on the camera and to manipulate them in Photoshop as well as discovering new places and people to visit"
Originally published as Photography ignites ex-teacher's wanderlust through CQ
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