My name is Annette Kirby and I live in Whyalla South Australia. Whyalla is a regional city located on the stunning Spencer Gulf. Our landscape is arid with a unique beauty.

In preparation for my retirement, I purchased my first camera in 2010. In 2011 my husband and I travelled to Canada and Alaska and for the whole 8 weeks I had the camera on Auto. No idea what the words in the photo manual meant! I’m not technical! What I did establish is that I understood composition and I loved taking photos.

By 2012 I decided that I had better seek help to understand the technical aspects of taking photos so I paid for some courses, went off auto and bravely sought support from friends with technical expertise. My friends continue to support me when I lose my way with technical matters - thank you.

This quote sums up how I tackle life and the art of photography: “Life is like a camera. Just focus on what’s important and capture the good times, develop from negatives and if things don’t work out take another shot.” Anonymous.

That’s why I have thousands of photos!

I joined the Whyalla Photography Group, now called the Whyalla Camera Club, and was encouraged to get Lightroom to make my photos pop! Lightroom and I have had a challenging journey. I have lost files along the way and experienced a huge computer crash.  Unfortunately, in the three months prior to the ‘crash’ I hadn’t been backing up Lightroom. Consequently, I lost 3 months of editing and not even the technical experts could salvage my work. These experiences require life changing strategies.   Now I love using Lightroom, back up after editing and have a comprehensive external back up system for my photos.  

I can proudly say I have a photo “addiction” – costly but mostly safe. I am living proof that I’m living for my passion not my pension!

Photography and the experiences, some scary, has made me brave! Like the quote from Alfred Eisenstaedt “ When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.”

I started entering national and international competitions and had many surprises. My photos received medals and acceptances. Currently I have over 70 medals ranging from Gold to Honourable Mentions and over 1000 Acceptances in Internationally recognised competitions. In February 2022 I was in the top ten for my aerial photographs in the Australian Photographer of the Year competition. My photos were published in the magazine Australian Photography. In February 2023 I was ranked 4th in the Australian Photographer of the Year

In 2024, through the Australian Photographic Society I was awarded the level of GMAPS – Grand Masters Australian Photographic Society. In 2020 I was awarded distinction level of Proficiency PPSA with the Photographic Society of America.

I am delighted to have a website to share my photos with family and friends from across the globe. While I have been privileged to visit over 50 countries in the world, my website features photos, predominately of the natural environment and wildlife taken in Australia, Kenya, Iceland, Alaska, Botswana and New Zealand. Not all are exhibition quality but I’ve chosen to share them as I wanted to promote animal/bird behaviour and how important having the natural environment to enable their survival.

I would love to receive feedback and hope the photos bring back memories of places you have visited or provide dreams for places you would like to visit. All photographs are copyright.

If you are interested in purchasing any photos I will gladly assist you in getting it printed and if required framed. The cost will include the cost I charge for the photo, printing and if applicable framing I donate 100% of the funds raised through my photos to a charity close to our families heart- MS Society.

You need to tell me the title of the photo and I will contact you to discuss size, type of printing - canvas, fine art etc.

Please contact me through my email: jakirby@internode.on.net

Annette Kirby

GMAPS, PPSA