Wow, what a blast! I was presented with an opportunity to attend this year’s Earth Frequency Festival at Ivory Rock nearby Ipswich, QLD. The experience was made possible by Discover Ipswich, Canon Collective and festival organisers for which I am very thankful for.

It was an all areas access experience and not having been to this festival or any other festival like this before, I did know what to expect, so I had no planned shots in my mind. When we arrived at the festival site, I soon got the vibe of what the festival was about.

Before we could begin Mother Nature was letting us know who’s in charge with an afternoon storm as we arrived at the festival site, it didn’t last too long, and made for a beautiful sunset.

Once we were in the festival ops centre we were introduced to April, the festivals Media Manager who is such a passionate and fun person and totally gets the whole photography thing. April briefed us on the event, and explained the requirements as photographers for the festival.

A little before 5:30pm we ventured in the festival grounds, I was shooting with 5DMk4 with 70-200mm f/2.8 and my second body 5Dmk3 with a L series Mk2 24-105mm f/4 also have a nifty fifty in my bag but only used the other two lenses as these worked well.

There was so much happening with a lot of interesting sights and sounds, there was a real energy and buzz in the air. I shot for 2.5 hours at the festival, such a creative and fun atmosphere to immerse yourself in.

I approached the shoot like it was a street photography project, sometimes you just wait and the shot develops in front of you and there was a few of those, the other shots I had to work for, I took over 700 images.

What stood out for me most at this festival was the beautiful connections between the festival patrons, a real calm and peacefulness which made it so much fun to photograph. For me capturing the world around me with my camera is a kind of therapy, this event took to a whole new level.

Totally enjoyed the experience and if given opportunity again would do so in a heartbeat

Stephen Finkel