LOCAL LIFE
ONE OF THE HAWKESBURY’ S FINEST...
Now that’ s a camera lens! Ace photographer, Martin Anderson, about to snap another breathtaking photograph of birds. by Greg Martin
The likes of Mickey Rooney, Richard Pryor, Kenny Rogers and even King Henry VIII all shared a well-known passion for“ birds”, each marrying more times than most could count.
North Richmond’ s Martin Anderson also has a thing for birds – though just the one in particular when it comes to love, having shared a devoted 27-year relationship with his partner, Katrina.
But Martin’ s real passion is for birds of the feathered kind – not trapping them in aviaries but capturing them through the lens of a camera.
And capture them he does. With a keen eye and remarkable patience, Martin has photographed birds in a wide range of settings, earning recognition in major publications across Australia and the United States.
His latest honour is a beauty – one of his striking images now graces the cover of the latest edition of Australian Geographic.
The cover features a closeup of a laughing kookaburra’ s head, photographed several years ago at Bidjigal Reserve in Baulkham Hills.
“ I submitted the photograph to Australian Geographic and later got a call from the magazine’ s picture editor, Lyndall Irons, who said she loved it and would keep it on file,” Martin said.
“ And then the right opportunity came along. You can imagine how chuffed I was when she rang to say they were finally using it – not just inside the magazine, but on the front cover.”
It’ s far from his first accolade. In 2023, Martin took out the BirdLife Australia Portfolio Prize for a powerful series capturing a Brown Falcon attempting to steal prey from a Spotted Harrier.
His work has also appeared in Living Bird, a respected publication by Cornell University’ s Lab of Ornithology in the United States, while his entries have earned high praise in the Birds in Flight category at the Australian Birdlife Photography Awards in both 2022 and 2024.
In 2024, Martin launched Clickaburra, a specialised
6 ISSUE 192 // MAY 2026 theindependentmagazine. com. au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT