Dancing brolgas, killer whales and playful seals: The Portland local documenting West Vic wildlife

Over the past decade Portland’s diverse and often spectacular wildlife has become local photographer Allen McCauley’s muse. He never takes it for granted.

The retired McCauley has lived in Portland for 35 years, and his stunning images of whales, seals, birdlife, sunrises and sunsets have attracted an appreciative audience on social media. 

Some of his orca photos have even made their way into Australian Geographic.

The Brolga met with the snapper to hear more about how he got his start in nature photography, and what he loves most about capturing the wonderful creatures in West Vic.

When did you become interested in photography, and what drew you specifically to nature?

I've always [done] a lot of sunrises and sunsets … but really only in the last 10 years since I’ve retired, I've gotten into it more. People who have been interested in the whales, they've then got me onto the birds and it's just grown from there.

Could you walk us through your typical process when you’re taking photos?

I use the Canon mirrorless system at the moment. I've got a full frame R camera [for sunrises and sunsets], and an R7 which is a crop sensor, which I use for the whales and birds.

Do you have favourite locations to shoot?

The main place for whales is Cape Nelson Lighthouse; we tend to get the whales very close there and as the season progresses, we'll get them here in Portland in front of the hospital virtually. 

The birds - we get out in the Cobboboonee National Park forest, which is out between here and Heywood. 

With the sunrises, I do those right here in town, down along Nuns Beach or at the jetties here in town in Portland; for a few of the sunsets I’ll either go out to Cape Bridgewater or  Murrells Beach at Cape Nelson.

What are the biggest challenges you face when shooting?

It's not the easiest game, [on Sunday] we had whales, but they probably were about six or seven kilometres out; they were breaching but they were just a little bit too far out.

Other times we'll have them within 50 metres of the cliffs, even the blue whales, so there's always that sort of challenge.

What has been your most memorable or rewarding photography experience so far?

Probably most of the whale photos, we've even had the killer whales here, the orcas. 

We did photograph some a couple of years ago and the next day we were watching them for a couple hours out off Bridgewater. We were probably a little bit too far away, but [a] day and a half later there was a great white shark up on the beach, which the orcas had killed. 

How has the community responded to your work?

When I'm out whale watching, we get a lot of people from Melbourne and Mount Gambier who come across to look for the whales; we can't always supply them, but I've actually gained new friends through that - there’s a couple that come down from Melbourne quite regularly to sit out there at the cliff with us.

There are a hell of a lot of people that are interested once you start putting your photos up on the Portland [Facebook] page. There are many people who will have a look at it, so it's rewarding in that way, and the feedback has been very good.