How Don keeps track of the last 1700 days
If you haven’t been taking at least one nature picture every day for the past 1700 days and posting it to Facebook, you haven’t been having a go. Don Bruce is a semi-retired farmer who lives in south Dubbo and he’s become obsessed with recording the natur
Why do you do it?
I heard a bloke on the radio talk about how he took a photo every day for a year. I thought I can do that; that will not be hard, I told myself. I started when farming and grazing needed a visible positive spin and I wanted to put my version out there in a non-threatening positive way.
I look for the beauty of God’s handy work and it is there, all I have to do is look and have a camera with me to record it. Now it has become an obsession.
What motivates you?
I have been given much and this is one way to give back a little, I don’t give in, I like helping people and this is one very simple way to do it.
How much pressure do you put on yourself?
If I have not taken by 4pm I start looking for something and something will always come up.
As soon as I take one photo there is nearly always more to come and some days I will only take one photo and it may be early in the day. The obsession is not at all costs.
Do the photos you shoot and choose reflect your changing moods, the weather, etc?
My moods don’t change that much, I’m a glass half FULL person. I’ll take dry photos, wet, flood, clouds, animals, flowers, not too many people ones.
Some of your pictures are featured on the Landcare NSW Facebook page, how does that make you feel?
Yes, that’s pretty good when my Landcare peers do that, but that is my pleasure.
Is it important to keep historical records in pictures?
It’s very important to keep pictorial evidence. The “before and after” and “during” photos are worth more than a thousand words. Because I can’t spell and write very well this makes it very easy for me to communicate
Anything you’d like to add?
It gives much pleasure to be able to use the digital cameras that are around at very low cost.
The first two years I wore two cameras out, the third camera has been going for two years and still going and I use the phone a lot more now.
When some people can’t get out to see a beautiful sunset or are too lazy to get out of bed to see a sunrise, I may be there to take the photo for them.