Tomahawk Hut, Mansfield, Victoria, Australia

Australian Landscape Photography by Michael Boniwell. All images copyright. This is image is suitable for enormous prints. View Larger on Chockstone Photography Tomahawk Hut is a rustic log cabin hidden away beneath tall Mountain Ash trees in a state forest, not far from the popular country town of Mansfield. The small timber structure offers shelter from the elements for those exploring the woodland, and also a fun place for a picnic lunch before carting the family up Mt Buller. My interest in this lovely little dwelling had always been of a photographic nature and with this in mind I'd taken it upon myself to visit several times over the course of some years. For such a cute building surrounded by impressive trees you'd think the image would practically compose itself. However on each attempt I felt the photographs needed something extra; that elusive wow factor that would transform it from good to grand. Often this element can be the quality of the light, but in this case the hut is situated so deeply within the forest that only harsh midday sun has any chance of penetrating the scene. Fog may have worked, but each time I tried I had no such luck. Then one morning, at the very tail end of a long photography trip, I was camped at Lake Eildon some distance to the south with our boy. We awoke to find a thin blanket of snow covering our site. Snow…. at Lake Eildon! Impossible, and yet there it was. With great excitement we drove back into the mountains and were soon beholding Tomahawk Hut covered in a thick layer of white power. Being quite low, I'd never considered the hut could be thus adorned. This was just the ticket, that missing extra element. We both set to work quickly, before the warmth of the day could melt our hopes. I had just enough time to secure half a dozen compositions, being careful not to create unwanted footprints, before the place was inundated with a batch of off-roaders keen to enjoy the novelty of the snow. Kids ran about throwing snow balls, whilst several more families arrived. It was good to see people enjoying the outdoors, all the more so because I had the shot in the bag already. What a great way to end a father-son trip.

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