into the wild: a conversation with jason charles hill part two

Jason charles hill went from a 9-5 office job to shooting some of the most remote and treacherous landscapes in the world. his vast portraits are awesome in scale, rich in emotion, and truly breathtaking - Think brooding, baroque landscapes infused with the sheer drama of the natural world. he’s produced commerical work for qantas, 100% new zealand, and tourism australia, and together with his equally as talented other half, emilie ritveski, hosts a yearly photography retreat in namibia (their 2022 trip has already sold out).

We were lucky enough to have jason and emilie join us on a photography retreat to mungo national park earlier this year. Below, part two of our conversation with jason on life during the pandemic, Tasmania’s most difficult walking tracks, and what’s next for him.

How have you found not being able to travel for the past year? Have you found it grounding? Frustrating? Challenging?

Yeah, all of the above. I’ve been travelling for so long, like six seven years nonstop on the road, and that is definitely exhausting. I’m incredibly luck to do what I do and see all these amazing things, but it can disconnect us the reality of living at home and our family and friends. The positive for covid is we get to see our families and be with our friends, as well as reconnect with some of the local areas I hadn’t had the chance to shoot since I started photography. I’ve really enjoyed going back and doing all of that. There’s no doubt I’m ready to go start travelling internationally again. I’m dying for New Zealand to open up. But it will be there waiting for me when it’s ready, so there’s no rush. At the moment I’m just going to make the most of home and Australia, because we have so many beautiful landscapes. I guess if it wasn’t for covid I wouldn’t be here right now. There are many positives to it and that’s the way we’re going to have to get through it for the time being.

where would be the one place in Australia that you haven’t been that you’d be the most excited to go to.

There are so many. I’d love to get to the Bungle Bungles, up north, and see more of the Kimberley, more of that real outback Australia. There’s so much to see for me in Southwest Tasmania. It’s so wild, and rugged, and remote. There are a few mountains there, namely Federation Peak. If any of you guys have heard of it, it is literally the most rugged and raw mountain in Australia, and if you’ve seen any of my work then you’ll know that that’s something that gets me inspired to go shoot. It’s such a difficult place to photograph because the weather is so wild. I’ve shot it so many times but never been lucky with the right conditions. But I guess that’s kind of the fun of photography, to just continue to push yourself to try and capture something.

You did the South Coast Track in Tasmania, which is notorious for its difficult conditions. How did you find that experience?

Tasmania as a whole can be quite challenging, because the weather is so unpredictable.  Especially down in that Southwest region, you can get stuck for days. The clouds will come in, the cloud base will lower, and if you need to get any air assistance you can’t get out. You’re constantly wet, your shoes are wet, you’re muddy, you’re tired, distances are long and the trails are quite rugged and remote – but that’s the beauty of it. It’s just so wild and an amazing place to disconnect and just to get back to nature. You’re forced to immerse yourself in that landscape because there’s no wifi or no internet. Basically, it’s just you and the wilderness. It’s something of a liberating feeling, because no one’s going to come and help you. Your own two feet are the only way you’re going to get out there. It’s such an incredible place, and the weather is probably my favourite element because it adds a sense of drama to each scene – you don’t know what you’re going to get each day.

Amazing, love it. Now I want to go to Southwest Tasmania. In terms of international destinations, where would be the one place that you’d be really keen to either go back to, or somewhere new?

I’d love to go to Antarctica, like anyone else. That’s pretty cliche and I’d love to go see it. I’d love to go see South Georgie Island for all of the wildlife. But the destination that’s constantly been on my list is Pakistan, to get up into the mountains. I’d love to go and see K2. I’ve planned the track, I’d love to go, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Those mountains to me, and you know I love mountains, are probably the most dramatic and have the most incredible rock formations that I’ve seen. It’s kind of like Patagonia, but instead of 3000m mountains we’re talking 6000-to-7000-meter mountains. It’s the real deal, and it’s a genuine cultural experience as well. I think that would be something I’d love to do, before I can’t anymore, before I get too old, so that’s definitely something on the list.