I’m often asked by pho­tog­ra­phers on where is best to pho­to­graph in Tas­ma­nia. This is a small list of pho­to­graphic loca­tions that I’d rec­om­mend check­ing out while in Tas­ma­nia. I’m aware that there is many loca­tions miss­ing from this list but that’s because I’m yet to pho­to­graph them so will update the list accord­ingly. Also most of these loca­tions should suit most peo­ple as they’re quite acces­si­ble and usu­ally only a small walk. There’s also much to do off the beaten track in Tas­ma­nia which I will hope­fully get to one day.  If you have any ques­tions be sure to drop an email and I’d be happy to help.

West Coast Tasmania

An amaz­ing place for pho­tog­ra­phy with lots of diver­sity and places to shoot. I’ve only been to a few places on the West Coast but there’s still much more to see.

Queen­stown

Loca­tion

A nice water­fall as you enter Queen­stown is worth the shop even if its just to shoot the small streams. It’s best to shoot this one while its over­cast to avoid harsh high­lights. The road into Queen­stown is quite windy and inter­est­ing which also might be worth a stop if the weather is right.

Stra­han

Loca­tion

I’ve only spent a small amount of time here but the local river cruise up the Franklin river is quite scenic as seen above.

Arthur River

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Loca­tion

My favourite seascape loca­tion on the Tas­man­ian west coast. All along the coast line there is logs sprawled on the shore which can be used for a nice com­po­si­tion. The beach is also quite wild so you shouldn’t have any prob­lems with move­ment in the water.

Mar­rawah

Loca­tion

Sim­i­lar to the above in which there is often a lot of swell so you will have no issues with move­ment in the water. The rock for­ma­tions on the end of the beach are quite nice as a composition.

Stan­ley

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Loca­tion

A nice stop over town as you make your way back to Hobart. I spent a night here on my way back from Arthur River.  The best places in Stan­ley are prob­a­bly the iconic Nut as seen above and the beach which can be seen in the attached photo.

While in Stan­ley I rec­comend stay­ing at Stamps of Stan­ley which is an afford­able and nice accommodation.

North-East Tas­ma­nia

Cra­dle Moun­tain National Park

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Loca­tion

Cra­dle Moun­tain is pretty self explana­tory and there’s lots to be shot here beyond the cliché Dove Lake post card. Be sure to check out the small water­fall walks located near the vis­i­tor cen­tre. I’m yet to shoot more here but if you’re keen the over­land track is also good for shots I believe.

Fin­gal

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A small lit­tle town with his­toric build­ings which you may pass through if you’re com­ing from the east coast towards Cra­dle Mountain.

Camp­bell Town

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A his­toric bridge in this busy town makes an inter­est­ing shot.

North-East Tas­ma­nia

St Helens

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St Helens is prob­a­bly an hour away from Coles Bay and is quite sim­i­lar in terms of beaches but is still worth check­ing. I per­son­ally like the Bay of Fires area and St Colum­bia Falls which makes this area quite diverse for pho­tog­ra­phers. A nice place to get a fix for water­falls and waterscapes.

Coles Bay & Freycinet National Park

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Loca­tion

Coles Bay has a lot of opporuni­ties for the pho­tog­ra­pher which includes the famous Wine­glass Bay walk, Friendly Beaches, Hon­ey­moon Bay, Mt Amos which over­looks Wine­glass Bay and more. Defi­nately worth spend­ing a night or two at so you can catch a sun­rise or sunset.

Swansea

Loca­tion

Prob­a­bly the least inspir­ing place on the East coast when com­pared to Bicheno, St Helens and Coles Bay. A lit­tle beach-side hut just before you enter Swansea is worth stop­ping for a snap.

South East Tasmania

Mt. Welling­ton

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Location

Strick­land Avenue Falls

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Loca­tion

Strick­land Avenue falls is near Fer­n­tree and worth hav­ing a look at if you’re vis­it­ing Mt. Welling­ton. There is a rough track which isn’t very well sign posted but only a cou­ple of min­utes from the carpark.

Hobart Rivulet

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Loca­tion

The Hobart rivulet flows from Mt Welling­ton to under­neath Hobart until it reaches the river Der­went. It’s obvi­ously very inter­ested pho­to­graph­i­cally and I’d recomend hav­ing a look. I wouldn’t say it’s dan­ger­ous in the rivulet but exer­cise cau­tion to not only the weather but other peo­ple who may be there. Don’t go there when rain­ing but instead try pick con­di­tions which are mostly dry. You’d likely be fine if there was a light driz­zle but it’s best to exer­cise cau­tion. I believe the lights are shut off down there now which makes it quite dark even dur­ing the day so be sure to carry a torch which will also come in handy for light paint­ing when cap­tur­ing shots. To access the rivulet find your way to the Hobart Pri­vate Hos­pi­tal and there is an open canal which you hop into.

Eliz­a­beth St Pier

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Even if it’s not a nice day for pho­tographs, Eliz­a­beth St Pier is nice for some seafood from the local take away shops on the water. Def­i­nitely worth a look.

Botan­i­cal Gardens

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Loca­tion

The Botan­i­cal Gar­dens are in Hobart and are rea­son­ably inter­est­ing pho­to­graph­i­cally with an Asian gardens.

Tas­man Bridge

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Acces­si­ble from both the west­ern and east­ern shores, the bridge is one of the more busier traf­fic spots mak­ing it a good spot for long exposures.

Lind­is­farne

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Loca­tion

The boats moored in Lind­is­farne cre­ate a nice pho­to­graphic com­po­si­tion espe­cially when the water is reflec­tive. Best shot on sun­rise when the water is more reflec­tive due to there being less wind.

Bel­lerive

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Bel­lerive is a close loca­tion to the city cen­tre and isn’t bad for pho­tog­ra­phy but not amaz­ing either.

Otago Bay

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Old ship ruins in Otago Bay make a nice pho­to­graph, prob­a­bly around 25 from Hobart. I’m sorry the loca­tion isn’t more spe­cific but I’ve only shot it once and can’t actu­ally remem­ber the exact spot but if you drive along the fore­shore you should find it eventually.

Rich­mond

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Loca­tion

Rich­mond is quite nice for pho­tographs with a bridge which was made by con­victs being a great pho­to­graphic sub­ject. Def­i­nitely worth a look as it’s only 30~ min­utes from Hobart.

Taroona

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Loca­tion

Not far from the city cen­tre of Hobart, Taroona is great for sun­rise water­scape pho­tog­ra­phy. I haven’t shot it on sun­set but from my expe­ri­ence of being nearby the sun­sets aren’t as spec­tac­u­lar as the sun­rises. The con­di­tions at Taroona are quite calm, if you’re look­ing for rough con­di­tions try South Arm or Park Beach.

Seven Mile Beach

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Seven Mile Beach is near the Hobart air­port, this one is best shot on sun­rise. Also note that Seven Mile isn’t very swell affected so the water will be mostly calm.

Mor­timer Bay

Loca­tion

Mor­timer Bay is on the way if headed to South Arm. Access is by a back road off the main road called Rifle Range Road.

Laud­erdale

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Laud­erdale is a lit­tle place just before South Arm which faces Ralph’s Bay. A nice place for pho­tographs as there is often a low tide which cre­ates beau­ti­ful reflections.

South Arm

South Arm is a stretch of coast­line which is around 45~ min­utes from Hobart. A nice place which is fairly sus­cep­ti­ble to small swell (enough for water­scape pho­tog­ra­phers any­way) so is always worth hav­ing a look at. If you’re plan­ning a visit it might be worth check­ing out Swell­net before you leave so you can have a rough idea of wave size. I’ve listed each loca­tion based on which appear first in South Arm.

Loca­tion

Clifton Beach

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Loca­tion

The first beach along the arm which has both a north and south end which are both vary a lit­tle so are both check­ing. I haven’t shot it on sun­rise but from what I’ve seen South Arm is best on sun­rise but can be ok on sunset.

Goats Beach

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Loca­tion

There is two entrances to Goats, south is known as Lump­ies while north is known as Rebounds. If you’re plan­ning to walk to the south­ern end of the beach then you are appar­ently tres­pass­ing on pri­vate prop­erty. Look for the first carpark just after Calverts Lagoon.

Wedge

Loca­tion

Don’t bother unless there is a mas­sive swell. Wedge is acces­si­ble from the South Arm look­out which has a side track that leads you down. I’m yet to pho­to­graph it when there is nice swell but am quite eager to as Betsy Island would prob­a­bly cre­ate a nice back­ground as you can see above.

Sand Pits

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This beach is half way between Wedge and Rsl’s as such there’s no rock sur­round­ings but just sand as above. I prob­a­bly wouldn’t bother with this one

Rsl’s

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At the end of South Arm is Rsl’s which is inter­est­ing but much sim­i­lar to pre­vi­ous loca­tions, worth a look if you get bored.

Park Beach

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Loca­tion

Park Beach is sim­i­lar to South Arm in which there is often a bit of surf. I’ve only shot it a cou­ple of times but enjoyed every time, I recomend walk­ing around the point if the tide permits.

Snug Falls

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Loca­tion

Snug Falls is around 45 min­utes out from Hobart and worth a look espe­cially if there has been heavy rain. It’s prob­a­bly around a 30 minute return walk, going back is a lit­tle steep but it’s not so bad.

Wil­low Court

Loca­tion

A mas­sive and trashed aban­doned men­tal hos­pi­tal, be cau­tious.Lots of empty build­ings here.

Mt. Field National Park

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Loca­tion

Mt.Field is over an hour out of Hobart and there are lots of things here for the pho­tog­ra­pher. I’d recomend all three water­falls (Rus­sell Falls, Horse­shoe Falls and another which escapes me). I’d also recomend walk­ing into the Tahn Shelf which is lovely in the right sea­son how­ever is a small walk (hour or two return?) which might not suit all.

South­ern Tasmania

South Coast Track

Loca­tion

I’ve only walked into South East Cape rivulet but hear the whole walk is stun­ning. If you have the time just for a day walk then Lion Rock is worth check­ing out.

More on that here

Enjoy.