FOCUS on CAM
SHADOWING TWO PAINTER FRIENDS ON LOCATION IN TASMANIA AND ACROSS THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA, A YOUNG FILMMAKER HAS PRODUCED A SERIES OF SHORT FILMS DOCUMENTING THEIR INSPIRATION AND CREATIVE PROCESS.
By Danielle Davey
Now recognition of his talent as a landscape photographer is bringing his own art into the spotlight.
Given his first camera as a child, Cam Myers recalls the excitement of pedalling his bike to Mount
Martha Beach each day after school to capture the perfect shot. Years later, at 26, and despite extensive international travel – including cycling journeys through Patagonia, Exmouth and Central Australia and a photography road trip through California, Arizona and Utah – he’s still drawn to the location near home. “I must have taken over 100 photographs of the same spot at different times of the day,” he said. Always on the lookout for a new perspective, that sometimes means visiting the scene at midnight when the sky is dark and the stars are bright. No two photos of the landscape are ever the same due to nuances in the light and the unexpected appearance of wildlife.
On a trip to South Australia, he couldn’t believe his eyes when an orange fox appeared among the rust-coloured boulders of Murphy’s Haystacks during sunrise. Moments like these are gold.
Cam has a knack for capturing scenic gems. Throughout the documentary series A Way of Seeing – a journey into the minds and artistic practices of Peninsula artists Liam Waldie and Baden Croft – his breathtaking cinematography reveals a third artist at work behind the camera.The project originated with a two-week road trip to Tasmania at the beginning of 2022, exploring “the striking natural beauty of Australia’s most southern state”.
The documentary aired at an accompanying exhibition of Baden and Liam’s paintings in September that year and was picked up by SBS for repeat screenings. In 2023, Cam received the Bass Coast Short Film Festival’s Best Documentary award.
Now, thanks to a creative grant from Mornington Peninsula Shire, a second instalment – A Way of Seeing: Mornington Peninsula – has been filmed focusing on the artists on their home turf. This stunning documentary capturing the beauty of our landscape was aired alongside an exhibition at The Studio & Co in September and will appear on SBS later this year. Between filming gigs, Cam returns to his day job at Southern Buoy framing workshop in Mornington. The former Woodleigh student and Peninsula Monash alumnus has a degree in business administration majoring in marketing, a field he’d like to pursue in future. For now, he continues to build an impressive photography portfolio, increasing his profile through work with commercial clients Patagonia, Vans and Surfing World Magazine and his success in competitions; he’s a past winner of the TOPshots competition and last year travelled to California as one of five finalists in a global surf photography competition.
Private collectors can buy Cam’s photos framed or unframed from his online shop. To confirm the release date of his latest documentary or to view his work, visit www.cammyersphoto.com.au