Jade Ribbon, aerial photograph of a turquoise tidal creek winding through red flats in Exmouth Gulf

Flying over Exmouth Gulf: the story behind the Tidelines collection

Vincent Rommelaere

Four days in Ningaloo in early August, and the first two were a write-off.

The plan was Cape Range National Park, Turquoise Bay and a flight over Exmouth Gulf on the Tuesday. Then more than 20mm of rain came through and the flight was cancelled. On the Wednesday the sun came out, so I drove over 100km and covered every reef shot on my list in one day.

The last day didn't look much better. Grey sky, with maybe a chance it would clear in the afternoon. Getting your own plane for over an hour isn't cheap. But I knew I wouldn't be back in this part of the country for a while. It was now or never.

Why the gulf

The idea came from Brooke Pyke, a local photographer I found on Instagram. I had a certain type of shot in mind, and she told me to go for a flight over Exmouth Gulf.

Most people come to Ningaloo for the reef on the west side. The gulf is the other side. From Exmouth aerodrome it's a bit over 30 minutes in the air, across the water, until you reach an area with nothing in it. On the eastern side of the gulf, white salt flats meet red earth, mangroves and tidal creeks winding in every direction. From above, the patterns were incredible.

Ningaloo Aviation plane ready for the flight over Exmouth Gulf

Door off

Shooting like this is tricky. The crew at Ningaloo Aviation took the door off, and Evie, our line pilot, flew us out. At that altitude it's very windy, and the day was a bit hazy too. If your camera settings aren't right, you go home with a lot of unusable photos.

You're also in a plane, so there's no hovering. You see something, you shoot it straight away, or it's a full loop to come back around.

Vincent Rommelaere photographing Exmouth Gulf through the open door of the plane in flight

The eight frames

Jade Ribbon: a single turquoise creek bending through the red flats.
Salt Islands: pale islands sitting in pink mud.
Loose Threads: two creeks looping in and out of each other.
Desert Spine: one channel straight down the middle, branches either side.
Wishbone: a creek splitting around an island of red mud.
Dry Lightning: a pale channel forking through rust-coloured ground.
Desert Arteries: turquoise creeks coiling through the mangroves.
Mangrove Roots: a creek branching up into the mangroves.

Why a limited edition

Getting to places this remote is one of the best parts of being a landscape photographer. The feeling of exploring somewhere new.

Out there the tides, the waterways and the mangroves are always changing. Creeks shift, banks build up and wash away. These photos will never be taken again, and that's why I'm releasing them as a limited edition.

Each image is limited to 40 prints: 20 in M, 10 in L and 10 in XL. The price goes up every 5 prints sold.