INSPIRE NEWSCAST

One of the things I love about chasing video stories is the unexpected. I may start the process thinking the story will go one way, but by the time I’ve finished filming something unexpected has developed.

When I met Maggie Van Santen I knew straightaway that her Amaris Wildlife Sanctuary in Tenterden would make a great story. What I didn’t realise until we were well into filming that Maggie had written a book about one of her kangaroos.

I was able to release my video at about the same time as her book, “My Name is Jaffa” was published.

But I nearly missed it.

After filming for a few hours I was ready to go home and I hadn’t seen Jaffa, the kangaroo that had endeared herself to Maggie and was featured in her book. Then, just as I was heading to the car, Maggie announced “here she is”. Jaffa had arrived and I was able to film her and the story immediately took a new direction.

This was one of my favourite videos. It was the result of years of capturing tiny bits of footage at our backyard in Maida Vale, Western Australia. The Quenda (Southern Bandicoot) is a delightful marsupial that made its home in our backyard and over the years I had the opportunity to film them at various life-stages.

The quenda is a curious creature and over time my “quenda-cam” as I called it provided many opportunities to capture that curiosity.

This was my first video after starting regular filming in Albany. The chainsaw sculpture park is one of those places that you can drive through in your own time and there are surprises around every corner. I spent ages there and probably could have stayed longer.

One of the delights of this place is that it’s the work of one man who isn’t doing it for reward, but purely out of the enjoyment of what he does. The result is that everyone who visits the park can experience their own joy in his creations.

It’s been a long time since I have posted anything so it’s time to catch up. We moved to Albany on the south coast of Western Australia late in 2024 and started producing five-minute videos, telling stories about the fascinating people in this area.

It’s been a delight to meet new people and get to know more about the location in which we live, so it’s a pleasure to share these stories. I’ll be posting some of my past videos first, then hope to keep up to date each fortnight.

Enjoy.