MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHER
From a busy life
to a wilder one.
I’m Charuka Abhayawickrama. In 2022, a camera and a curiosity about birds took me on the most rewarding journey of my life.
Learning to look closer.
I arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka in 1994, aged 19. After university, a career in information technology and years building businesses, I wanted to make more room for nature and the things that gave my life meaning.
Photography gave that change a direction. During the pandemic, birds around my home on Sydney’s western fringe became a daily source of fascination. The more I watched, the more I wanted to learn.
My daughter’s commitment to the environment also challenged me to think differently about success, responsibility and the world we leave behind.
MORE THAN A SPECIES COUNT
The people behind the pictures.
I could not have done this alone. Experienced birders, local guides, friends and people I had only just met shared their knowledge and helped me find birds I might otherwise never have seen.
Some memories are inseparable from the effort: a hot climb through Arnhem Land for a White-throated Grasswren; the long search for a Red-lored Whistler; the excitement of a new island or an unfamiliar call.
Just as lasting was the generosity. People offered directions, time and encouragement. My wife, Nittaya, supported a year shaped by the next bird and the next journey.
Knowing when to come home.
By Christmas, I was on the Macquarie Island leg of the adventure. There were still birds to chase, but I decided it was time to finish. The year had already given me more than I could have imagined.
I share these photographs to pass on some of that wonder — and to encourage a closer look at the wildlife around us.
Get in touch ↗