Capel Sound wildlife photographer, Allison Premischook comes from the Cariboo Region of British Columbia. It’s over 80,000 square kilometres of pristine forest, freshwater lakes and rivers. She grew up with bears, moose, beavers, racoons, and other iconic Canadian furred and feathered creatures. To her, the native flora and fauna of Australia is a wild and exotic contrast to where she grew up and she loves it.
Creativity comes from her mother, an avid quilter and maker of clothing who always encouraged Allison to follow her imagination. As a child, Allison loved to draw in charcoal and pastel, paint and take photos. She remembers borrowing her mother’s 35mm film camera when she was seven or eight. Her mum complained about Allison shooting all her rolls of film so when she was 10, her parents bought their daughter her first SLR camera.
Allison spent a lot of time in nature with her family camping and hiking in summer and snowshoeing, sledding and snowboarding over the long winters, often documenting these adventures on film. Her intrepid parents introduced their children to travel on road trips all across Canada, immersing them in the beauty of the Canadian landscape.
Becoming a professional photographer was not something Allison would have imagined for her future. She was a competitive gymnast from the age of three until the end of high school. Then she started coaching before giving that up to go to the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. She studied graphic and web design, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in New Media Communications and Design. She worked at a newspaper in advertising and at a magazine doing layouts.
International travel at 22 changed Allison’s whole trajectory. While her mother begged her not to fall in love with someone while travelling overseas, that’s exactly what happened. Allison met her partner Lou in New Zealand in 2009. Since then, they have lived in NZ, Canada and Australia. They settled on Australia when Lou got a great job as a firefighter. Allison’s plan of travelling for six months has turned into sixteen years overseas.
Her path to professional photography wasn’t sparked by travel, but the opposite – COVID lockdowns. Each day, Allison walked to the beach with her camera. At first, she was focused on macrophotography, capturing flora, but that focus shifted when she discovered her love of native birds, especially the iconic kookaburra.
After lockdowns, Allison travelled further afield on the Mornington Peninsula discovering kangaroos, koalas and her personal favourite, the echidna. This is when her obsession with native wildlife took hold and she made the decision to go professional. Her first wildlife portrait was a kangaroo in winter, its exhale visible.
Allison spends a lot of time with a mob of kangaroos at Seawinds Gardens in Arthur’s Seat and they seem to recognise her.
Living on the peninsula came about through serendipity. When she and Lou visited for a wedding, Allison commented that she’d like to live on the peninsula at some point. Accordingly, in 2016 they packed up their apartment in Richmond and moved to Capel Sound. “We love to hike, bike and paddle so it was a natural choice. Also, the peninsula has more of a community feel,” she says.
Allison was getting a lot of positive feedback and sales requests on Instagram. Then a friend suggested that she sell her photos at markets. So, she set up a stall at Shoreham Market and immediately loved the community atmosphere. Now she sells at Shoreham and Emu Plains Markets. Red Fox Pottery in Berwick also stock her work and it can be purchased through her website. Allison is looking to add some local shops to her range.
I want to bring more awareness to the wildlife we share our public spaces with
“I take wildlife portraits to give people insight into the animal’s life and experiences. I want to bring more awareness to the wildlife we share our public spaces with,” she says. On her next trip to Canada, she’ll capture images of the iconic Canadian animals she grew up with and bring them to Australia. She thinks people will be flabbergasted at how large a moose really is. Imagine it standing 2.1metres at shoulder height!
“Australian wildlife is all new to me. I want to bring that same sense of wonder to Australians about Canadian wildlife,” she says. Regardless of the continent, Allison hopes people will develop a greater appreciation for the lives of animals; they are a lot like us. In the future, she’s looking forward to teaching others how to capture animal portraits in her photography workshops.
allisonpremischook.com
IG: @allisonpremischook