Sera J Wright’s photography practically cradles you in colour, so rich is the sense of place behind her work. Here’s how she’s honed her self-taught craft, from the shores of Byron Bay to acreage at Tenterfield.

 

This story begins within the pages of another magazine – the National Geographic. The familiar row of yellow spines stood tall on many an 80s living room shelf, usually next to a Pioneer audio cassette tape deck (John Farnham at the ready) and a potted maidenhair fern. Or at least that’s where they lived in Sera J Wright’s childhood home. Pride of place.

To Sera, they might as well have been gold bullions lining the shelf, she so treasured the worlds within. Thanks to her parents’ subscription, waterfalls in the Amazon, sunsets in India, moonscapes in Alaska and moss-covered stones a little closer to home were delivered to her doorstep every month.

“I’ll never forget that one photo – it was taken in Tasmania somewhere, these mossy green rocks clambered together, a stream flowing through them. I remember looking at it, completely intrigued by its beauty,” says Sera.

“That was it for me, I’ve been obsessed with photographing the natural world ever since.”

Add to the mix an enduring idolisation of David Attenborough, a ready supply of Kodak’s disposable point and shoot and the ability to sit and stare at sunsets, sunrises and waterfalls for hours on end, and Sera’s career choice makes a whole lot of sense.

Nature baby

Today, Sera is an award-winning Australian photographer, writer and creative whose work has even been published by Australian Geographic (how’s that for a manifest moment?!). Based in Tenterfield and Byron Bay, she has travelled the world capturing images for tourism boards and businesses, unique accommodation and interiors, editorial publications and people and has long since upgraded her camera equipment to go with the gig. Saying that, she does still have her folks’ first Minolta film camera.

“They were always snapping away with that thing. I followed along with my very own point and shoot – it even produced panoramic photos; that was fancy back then.”

Sera’s childhood was kissed by the Byron sun. A self-confessed nature baby whose family home was just 500 metres from the beach, she grew up with an intense love for the great outdoors. Hours disappeared in the shoreline, in the fields behind her house where wild horses ran, or bashing through the bush at her big brother’s heels.

“We used to go camping as a family eight times a year – Fraser Island was a regular spot for us. I loved the sand dunes and the lakes, the fresh water creeks and the beach.”

What she didn’t like was the classroom. Perhaps she felt too closed in, separated from her adored outdoors… restricted… trapped, even? Whatever the case, study and Sera weren’t mates, but the one subject she was drawn to was photography.

“That was different. I feel old saying it, but the photography course I did in years 11 and 12 taught us how to develop black and white prints in dark rooms. I loved it, and I still have all my negatives and photos from those days.”

At the end of her final year, the school brought in a single digital camera for the students to use. It was a whole new learning curve, one that saw Sera trying to wrap her head around the fact you could take as many photos as you wanted, adjust light at the flick of a button and, most importantly, capture colour.

“I think I see the world in a very colourful way,” says Sera. “So instead of enrolling in more courses or a degree after school, I knew I’d do better learning on my own, using my own colourful lens. I’ve been self-taught ever since.”

She continues chatting about her free-flow approach to her work, how she doesn’t use a tripod or studio lighting, but rather lunges from bed in her PJs, runs into the backyard, puts her camera to her eye and takes the photo. It’s off the bat and in keeping with the wild, nature-loving child deep down. And people love it.

Going public

The first time Sera started making money from her photography was by selling prints. Friends and family had seen shots on Facebook and asked to buy them. Then in 2010, Instagram arrived – a whole new social media platform dedicated to sharing imagery with the world. Although, at first, Sera didn’t realise it was quite so public.

“I was using it as an editing tool for my landscapes, sunsets and selfies – not that I’ve ever been a huge selfie person (still struggling with the fact I’m on the cover of this magazine if I’m honest), but I had no idea other people could actually see my photos,” she says.

It was a friend who alerted her over text: ‘Sera, are you aware everyone can see your photos?!’

Oh. My. God.

“Not that there was anything bad on there, it was just the dawning realisation that nothing was private and I, clearly, had no idea what I was doing.”

That same wise friend suggested Sera learn how to use Instagram properly to promote her work, using hashtags, naming locations, tagging people, the whole shebang. Sera listened, removed all her old photos and started fresh. By 2013 she was one of the first people in Byron to start sharing beautiful landscape imagery – we’re talking white sandy beaches and blush pink skies, oceans the colour of David Bowie’s right eye, and rockpools the colour of his left.

Her audience grew – fast – and while she struggles to say the word to this day, ‘influencers’ were on the rise. And this was her first experience as one of them.

“I was tagging Canon in my Instagram posts and they reached out about an event they were hosting in Byron – they took a group of photographers hot air ballooning and, yes, we were all being referred to as ‘influencers’.”

*Reader feels a shudder

“Obviously I wasn’t getting paid. I was still working full time, but my costs were covered and it led to other opportunities.”

Those opportunities included travel photography work in tropical North Queensland, Samoa and Japan. Her first paid job? A trip to Myanmar for Changi Airport, Intrepid Travel and Singapore Airlines, ultimately leading to more paid gigs with the likes of Visit NSW, Visit Sunshine Coast, Visit Noosa and Discover Vanuatu. Sera juggled the jetlag for years with her full-time customer service role at a Byron Bay clothing company, until the universe gave her a nudge.

“I was made redundant in 2018, so I took a year off, filled with social media and influencer travel jobs. I eventually found full-time work again, but ended up injuring myself in that role. It was one big kick up the bum from the universe to go full time with my photography – and that’s what I’ve been doing since 2019.”

Enter Knucklehead Wines

The next year was a turning point for Sera. Not just because she’d established her full-time career in the freelance photography world, but because 2020 was the year she and her partner Kyle moved to Tenterfield. It was a treechange, sure, but one that was triggered by bushfires and COVID-19.

“We wanted to be closer to my mother-in-law. She’s on 120 acres here and needed help mending fences damaged by the 2019 fires,” says Sera.

“But Kyle also has silicosis from a decade working as a stonemason – he was diagnosed in 2018, three months after we got together. So when COVID-19 arrived we knew the busy streets of Byron wouldn’t be the safest place for him with his lung condition. It was a challenging move at first, but exciting too. We always said we’d give it a year and four years later we’re still here, so we must love it.”

The decision has not only opened up regional photography opportunities for Sera – mainly generated by good old country word of mouth – but also an unexpected career move for Kyle. In the space of a year, he went from working in boutique wine stores, to an assistant winemaker, to launching his own wine.

“It started when we pulled over to try some wines in the Granite Belt Region of Queensland one day,” says Sera.

“Kyle was chatting to the owner and she could tell he had strong industry knowledge and asked if he was looking for work. The next minute she’s hooking him up with the owner of Bent Road Winery and he’s now the assistant winemaker there.”

Great gig, led by great people; they even encouraged Kyle to start his own label. So he did, and in 2021, Knucklehead Wines was born – ‘where wine meets art and good times are had, minimal intervention wines produced in the Granite Belt region’.

“The name? Yep, that’s all Kyle – the brand very much embodies who he is, a lover of music, cars and motorbikes. He also has ‘FINE’ ‘WINE’ tattooed on his knuckles, since he’s only getting better with age, so he says.”

While Kyle’s the winemaker, Sera does all the behind-the-scenes legwork. That means the branding, the admin and stock management. Right now you can buy directly through the website (snap up six bottles or more to unlock free shipping), or sample the goods directly from Tenterfield’s own wine bar, Stonefruit, who also sell Knucklehead Wines takeaway. Winning.

It’s another adventure Sera’s dived into with both feet. Sure, it’s different to standing on top of a volcano in Vanuatu, or disappearing behind waterfalls in New Zealand, but it fuels her creative soul nonetheless.

“I’m happy to have the opportunity to build something with Kyle because, as most creatives know, one of the hardest things about working for yourself is flying solo. That and the consistency of it all.”

What Sera says next is one of the last things I’d expect to hear from her lips. This exceptionally talented, established and successful artist has doubts. More than that, she still has moments of panic, where imposter syndrome sweeps over her, attempting to swallow her whole. She has work booked weekly, a print store that sees her work shipped worldwide and a reputation that’s hard to beat – but she questions herself, regularly.

“What am I doing?! When’s the next job coming? What should I post on Instagram? Then the overwhelm kicks in and I need to take a beat – especially on the social media front,” says Sera.

“It’s such a necessary part of what I do and my followers are incredible people, travellers and explorers who love beautiful spaces and places – I want to share content that speaks to them in a very authentic way. Every day with my camera is another day of me trying to capture the feeling of a place through a photo. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do with my work – to make people feel like they’re there in that scene, or that they want to be there.”

On that note, I suggest you stop what you’re doing and take a moment to look at Sera’s work. Before you know it, you’ll be sipping cocktails from coconuts beneath palm trees, walking towards a sunset on a golden dirt track, swimming with dolphins or climbing snowy mountain peaks. They’re a rare and treasured glimpse into the beauty of our world, without the noise and the news and the stuff that ties us down.

“I hope people can see how much I love this life, that I’ve never been more comfortable with myself and the work that I do. I hope my pictures make people smile, and I hope they spark adventure deep down within.”

Sera J Wright photography – the print store

Sera has been running her print store for more than 10 years. She’s sold thousands of prints to homes all over the world and she loves every minute of it. More often than not, these are the photos she’s captured in her own time, while on her favourite bushwalk at Bald Rock or back in her hometown of Byron, with the sand between her toes. Check it out for yourself asap and follow along on socials – beauty awaits.

Website | Instagram | Photography Jim A. Barker