Published in Camper Trailer Australia

[MattNQ]

Hi all,
One of my long term goals is to get into writing and photography - just enough to fund some quality camera gear & a bit of travel would keep me happy.
While this is not at the same level of photographic recognition as the those on the forum getting their amazing photos in Australian Photography Magazine, I am stoked to have managed to get a travel story and pictures published in Camper Trailer Australia.

Funny thing is that of the selection of images I submitted with the story, they didn't necessarily pick what I thought were my strongest images for the final layout. I guess that is the trick with editorial type photography - the pictures have to tell the story as well as the words, not just look good.

Anyway I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have given me quality cc since I joined up here a bit over a year ago - It is helping me improve my photography, and get closer to achieving my goals. There is so much more to learn though.

sample of part of the article (apologies it is not super clear- not the best scan & then reduced)
CTA2r2.jpg

[geoffsta]

Congrats Matt. Remarkable acheivement. And the images are what you would expect in this type of mag. Well Done.

[Analog6]

Well done Matt - I really like the bottom picture on the left, nice mood to it. But they are all well exposed and composed.

So what was the article called / about and how many words? And how many images did you send and they choose?

[ricktas]

Congrats Matt. Well done~

[rookie]

great achievement

[LJG]

Good on you Matt, congratulations. I hope this is the start of something regular for you. It is a hard game to break in to but once you are there you should go well.

[dbax]

nothing better than making some money out of something you like doing, congrats Matt well done.

[Art Vandelay]

Good stuff Matt. Congratulations.

[MattNQ]

Thanks everyone,

Lloyd, you are right. Once you get a foot in the door it becomes easier.
My foot in the door here was I submitted some story ideas ages ago in response to a request on a camper trailer forum. At the time, they were only interested in my camper trailer (which is a unique one - ex RAAF tactical trailer with camper top & other bits added) for their 'reader rigs' section.
Normally they write the story about your camper, but I offered to write it myself. Figured if it got me in the door, it was worth it.
The line that hooked them was "packing the back of the Nissan was like playing a game of Extreme Tetris"


In answer to Odille's quesions.
This one was about the Charters Towers Area - a brief summary of the towns history, local features (eg local drive-in & museums) , nearby places (Ravenswood & Lake Dalrymple) , camping options, and a bit more detail of our chosen camping spot (Bivouac Junction) which is a destination in itself really.

The story was called 'Rivers of Gold'. But that was a CTA choice - I'd originally called it 'Ghosts of a golden era', which became the first subheading.
They wanted about 1200 words. Which makes it a challenge to be concise and have enough detail.
I couldn't get their ftp site to work for me, so I set up a private album on photobucket with full res photos. This let them flick though the images and then download the original sized images they wanted. From memory I had about 100 photos on there.
They ran with 8 photos for the story over five pages & a ninth for the contents page (and to my surpise, the editorial page as well)
They did crop a couple of the photos to fit, but I guess that is the reality of this type of work.

Last correspondence, they said they want more Nth Qld features so hopefully this is the start of a new challenge.

[Analog6]

Great stuff Matt. I hope it leads to lots more published stories for you. Obviously you mastered their style of article which is the all important bit.

[Patagonia]

Congrats! only downside is the Patrol that´s not up to the task, a Pajero would have made the story perfect

[MattNQ]

ok, ok. S'pose I could keep a spare Pajero in the trailer for when the Nissan doesn't cut it...

[Art Vandelay]

ok, ok. S'pose I could keep a spare Pajero in the trailer for when the Nissan doesn't cut it...

And then tow the whole lot out with a Cruiser.

[Dylan & Marianne]

congrats Matt! now that you've got a foot in the door, keep up the momentum and I look forward to seeing more publications from you !!

[Duane Pipe]

Your on your way, well done

[Karl]

Well done - it is a great feeling isn't. I have now had eight articles / photos published and still gets me excited. I have found that when I submitt my photos I just give them a whole lot to choose from because like you I find the ones they publish aren't necessary the ones I would have choosen

Karl