David Anderson began his career photographing the ‘big fish’ celebrities of rock’n’roll.
Now the former Sydneysider lives somewhat downstream in Albury, where he uses his professional mastery to shine a spotlight on the much quieter world of fly-fishing.
Once an in-demand music industry photographer, David’s first book in his new career direction is titled Fly Fishing: Places to catch trout in Australia and New Zealand and was published last year.
At first take, there seems to be little connection between rock’n’roll and fly-fishing but David says its has been the common ground for many of his long term celebrity clients.
“I became John Farnham’s photographer because of fishing,” David said. “It’s literally all we talked about when we met.”
If you didn’t know it, Jimmy Barnes has also been a big fan of fishing when he’s not hammering it out on stage.
“Fishing is a great way for stepping away from stresses,” David said.
An ‘old-school’ photographer trained in a pre-digital era, David’s technical skills are extremely disciplined and therefore give great character and colour to the subtleties of nature.
He is quoted in an episode of ABC’s Lateline as saying his portrait photography principles are the same, whether it is the Queen (who he has photographed, as well as the band Queen) or a fish.
The Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation estimates that recreational fishing is a lifestyle embraced by more than five million Australians.
Given those statistics, it could be argued that David is still recording and publicising a significant form of popular culture, just as he did at the height of his rock’n’roll photography days.
For an expert’s knowledge on the best places near the Border to throw a fly rod and cast a line, there are several locations featured on David’s blog: http://www.twigwater.com
To read a review of his book: https://flylife.com.au/books-and-movies/fly-fishing-book-by-david-anderson
