I found myself in a remote part of north western NSW hiking up a decent hill to see if I could find a composition. It was very late in the afternoon and the mozzies were already out in force. It was hot, it was humid and not a lot was happening in the heavily overcast sky. The thought of packing up was at the forefront of my mind as I’d had enough.

The sun was behind a bank of clouds and was intent on not showing itself, so yes, it was time to pack up and head down the hill. A few moments earlier, I thought I had heard voices but dismissed it as there was no track in the direction the “voices” were coming from. But as I started to pack up, the voices got louder and I became distracted.

Three indigenous teenage boys were appeared over the crest of the hill and to say it gave me a fright, would be an understatement. I stopped to watch them as I was not expecting to see another soul. They were obviously mates as they were laughing a lot, pushing eachother, throwing stones at small targets and generally having a good time.

I think they got more of a fright when they suddenly stopped after seeing that I was there. Their demeaner changed instantly for a moment and they became quiet, almost shy. I raised my hand and called out to them “G’day boys !”. The younger one of the three turned to me and responded with “hello mister. What you doing up here ?” The taller of the three nudged him on the shoulder and explained to him that I was taking photographs. “What are you boys doing up here ?” I asked them in return. “We’re just going for a walk”, the young one responded and then added, “Have a good day, mister”.

With that, they disappeared into the thick scrub. I’ve never experienced that before and I felt quite privileged. Three decent young kids going for a walk in the bush at sunset and to them, that was fun and it all felt quite normal. I could hear their fading voices and the breaking of branches and twigs as they started to make their way down the other side of the hill.

I turned and walked back to my tripod when I realized when all this was going, the sun decided to make a brief appearance before calling it quits for the day. Suddenly, it was panic stations ! I had to adjust my composition and camera settings as everything had changed. I pressed the shutter in relief and then sat back reflecting on all that occurred in the last 15 mins.

Time to take the path down the hill in the fading light. This is one experience I wont forget in a long time.

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