“I’m driven to capture locations from a unique vantage point… to gain a better understanding of the inter-connection and holistic interplay of nature’s elements.”
Rediscovering the Natural World Through the Lens
Photography became more than a creative outlet for Nathan Penhall—it transformed into a lifelong pursuit of connection, preservation, and perception. Since picking up his first Canon DSLR in 2013 for a trip to Queenstown, New Zealand, Nathan has steadily emerged as a distinctive voice in Australian landscape photography. His work transcends traditional scenic documentation, often offering viewers a window into the strange and breathtaking ways nature designs itself. From tranquil forests to remote coastal stretches, his images are meditations on beauty, stillness, and environmental fragility.
Operating from Melbourne, Nathan has built meaningful ties with the building and landscape architecture communities, expanding his influence beyond the fine art world. Through social media and print media, he amplifies his advocacy for environmental stewardship, using his images not only as artistic statements but also as tools for awareness. His approach is rooted in a personal ethic of giving back: many of his prints are donated to charity auctions, underlining his belief in art’s capacity to generate tangible good in the world.
Central to Nathan’s creative ethos is a desire to reframe how people perceive the natural environment. Photography, for him, is a means to spark fascination and cultivate empathy. His landscapes—often shot from unconventional angles or abstracted from aerial heights—are not simply beautiful; they are designed to provoke reflection. Whether capturing the magnetic stillness of a mountain range or the alien curves of a salt lake, Nathan invites the viewer to see with fresh eyes, and to carry that renewed vision into their relationship with the Earth.
Nathan Penhall: From Cinematic Frames to Abstract Altitudes
Nathan’s introduction to the medium wasn’t marked by a single moment of revelation. Instead, it stemmed from an internal compulsion to document the beauty and drama found in everyday natural settings. This pull led him to explore cinematic landscape photography with a commitment that has only deepened over time. His approach often begins with scouting unique ground-level perspectives—angles that enhance the grandeur of a scene while preserving its authenticity. These compositions are more than technical exercises; they’re invitations to immerse oneself in nature’s immersive, often surreal narratives.
His practice has since evolved to encompass aerial photography, marking a shift in how he captures space and form. By removing the viewer from ground level and placing them high above, Nathan introduces a disorienting beauty into his work—one that makes the familiar look foreign and the ordinary appear mystical. This transition has not diluted his cinematic sensibilities. On the contrary, the abstraction of scale and distance has allowed him to explore new textures, color fields, and structural harmonies that might be invisible from below. In these works, the Earth becomes a living organism, its surface teeming with hidden symmetries and silent motion.
Perhaps the most notable example of this development is Nathan’s ongoing series, Ethereal Earth. Centered around the pink salt lakes of Victoria’s Mallee region, the project transforms these naturally occurring phenomena into haunting, almost otherworldly visual experiences. The top-down perspective obscures the context, allowing flowing patterns, saturated hues, and fractured geometries to dominate the frame. Each image in the series pulses with an ambiguous energy—part science, part dreamscape—encouraging viewers to reconsider the complexity and spontaneity of Earth’s design.
The Art of Precision in a Distraction-Free Zone
Structure and discipline are the quiet engines behind Nathan’s prolific output. Rising daily at 3:30am, he immerses himself in his work during the early hours, a time when distractions are minimal and clarity is sharpest. His preference for environments free from auditory interruptions and enhanced by quality lighting is more than a comfort—it’s a necessity. In this kind of space, focus becomes a ritual, enabling a workflow that balances technical precision with creative intuition. The stillness of his workspace mirrors the calm in many of his images: composed, deliberate, and full of quiet power.
Nathan identifies as highly outcomes-driven, and this trait permeates both his shooting sessions and post-production phases. Whether trekking through remote terrains or hovering above isolated landscapes in aircraft, each phase of his process is anchored by intention. The goal isn’t just to create a visually appealing photograph, but to uncover a viewpoint that challenges perception and deepens understanding. This drive for results, however, doesn’t compromise his sensitivity to place; rather, it enhances his attentiveness to detail and narrative.
While he remains firmly rooted in photography, Nathan’s creative history traces back to a pivotal moment in the 1980s when he received his first Kodak point-and-shoot camera. That gift marked the beginning of a visual curiosity that never waned. Over time, it became clear that photography was not just his strongest medium—it was his true artistic language. He has never felt compelled to experiment beyond it, not out of limitation but because he believes deeply in the boundless possibilities photography provides when wielded with purpose and vision.
Nathan Penhall: Building on Vision and Honoring Influence
Early in his career, Nathan found a powerful source of motivation in the work of Christian Fletcher, a respected Western Australian photographer known for his evocative landscapes and community-minded spirit. As an emerging photographer, Nathan regarded Fletcher’s work as a benchmark of excellence and artistic sincerity. What left a lasting impression wasn’t just the technical mastery, but also Fletcher’s willingness to mentor and encourage others—an ethos Nathan has since adopted in his own way by contributing his art to charitable causes.
Today, Nathan’s sources of inspiration have expanded beyond any single figure. With the rise of digital platforms, particularly social media, he engages with a broader community of creatives who continually push the boundaries of visual storytelling. This constant influx of new ideas, techniques, and perspectives provides a wellspring of energy that fuels his evolving practice. Unlike in earlier years when he sought to emulate, Nathan now thrives on exchange—finding value in the collective exploration of photographic innovation.
Looking to the future, Nathan is actively developing new chapters in his artistic journey, with a particular focus on expanding the Ethereal Earth series. This includes plans to travel across lesser-known parts of Australia, with international excursions on the horizon. These forthcoming projects are not only about expanding his portfolio but also about deepening his relationship with the environments he documents. Each expedition represents another opportunity to uncover unseen patterns, reinterpret familiar geographies, and, ultimately, share with the world the quiet yet urgent story the land is always trying to tell.
