Known for Wilderness photography Nationality German/Australian Name Peter Dombrovskis | Occupation Photographer Role Photographer Years active 1960s–1996 | |
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Died March 28, 1996, Tasmania, Australia | ||
Cause of death Myocardial infarction | ||
Spirit of olegas a big country abc featuring peter dombrovskis
Peter Dombrovskis (2 March 1945 – 28 March 1996) was an Australian photographer, known for his Tasmanian scenes. In 2003 he was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame, the first Australian photographer to reach this milestone.
Contents
- Spirit of olegas a big country abc featuring peter dombrovskis
- Preparing and printing peter dombrovskis images for the national library of australia
- Biography
- References
Preparing and printing peter dombrovskis images for the national library of australia
Biography
Dombrovskis was born in 1945 in a refugee camp in Wiesbaden, Germany of Latvian parents; together with his mother, migrated to Australia in 1950, and settled in Fern Tree, a suburb of Hobart. The protégé of noted wildlife photographer and activist Olegas Truchanas, his photographs of the Tasmanian Wilderness—particularly his own annual Tasmanian Wilderness Calendar and the Wilderness Calendar produced by the Tasmanian Wilderness Society—brought images of once remote and inaccessible areas of the State into the public realm. Dombrovskis founded West Wind Press in 1977 and later went on to print calendars entirely of his own work featuring incisive commentary from pre-eminent environmental professionals.
His most famous photograph was Morning Mist, Rock Island Bend, Franklin River, which some commentators believe played a part in the victory for Bob Hawke in the 1983 federal election. The photograph portrayed a section of the Franklin River which was to be submerged by the proposed Franklin Dam and spearheaded the visual appeal of the Franklin River in the contentious 'No Dams' campaign of 1982. Dombrovskis later co-authored with Bob Brown an example of his skill in photographing the Gordon River and the Franklin River in his 1983 book, Wild Rivers.
On 28 March 1996, Dombrovskis died of a heart attack while photographing near Mount Hayes in the Western Arthurs mountain range of South West Tasmania.
His works are represented at the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra), the National Gallery of Victoria, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the Australian Heritage Commission and in private collections.