Located in the beautiful Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Steven Nowakowski’s childhood ensured nothing less than an enchanted upbringing. Good fortune was his exposure to the wonder and magnificence of the Australian bush at such an early age, instilling within him a yearning and love for all things natural and wild.
Moving to Brisbane's suburbia in later years, Steven soon came to acknowledge a very disturbing and very obvious truth. The Australian bush certainly did not extend-out forever. He witnessed vast tracks of magnificent forests, mostly koala habitat, destroyed and seashores developed.
It was during his involvement with the Brisbane Bushwalking Club that he first witnessed such destruction. He realised the forests both in and around Brisbane, sadly were only isolated little pockets - just enough to remain as havens for rare and threatened species.
Hence, Steven says his passion for photography has developed into a strong medium for himself. A desperation to display to fellow Australians, just how uniquely beautiful and delicate our wild lands are. He firmly believes the printed image has, and will, play a vital role in conserving what is left our natural heritage.
Steven Nowakowski’s photography has since become a professional career. He mostly specialises in Australian Wilderness Photography. His collection includes wild and remote landscapes of Australia with and without people interacting within it. His collection also includes a vast range of images of environmental destruction and degradation, along with conservation initiatives to preserve and protect our dwindling wilderness.
Here in Cairns, Steven successfully manages his own photographic publishing business called Steven Nowakowski Publishing. His photographic images appear in numerous outdoor magazines, calendars, diaries, books, and he also publishes wilderness posters, postcards, bookmarks, calendars and photographic prints.
In 2003 Steven launched a wonderfully elegant and powerful photographic art book, about Hinchinbrook Island. This was a ten year labour of love. More recently he has worked with the Kuku Yalanji people of the Daintree rainforest of North Queensland, a project based on a book promoting aboriginal culture and fire management. This publications was released in 2004. During 2005 and 2006 Steven was invited to perform photographic assignments in Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea highlighting the development of the Millenium Development Goals. From these assignments exhibitions were held in Parliament House, Canberra and Wellington, New Zealand. Steven is continuing to work on different projects and a number of book ideas are still in their formation.
