Behind the image: bush tucker out-takes
An Aboriginal guide presents some traditional bush tucker. (Photo:Nick Rains)
DURING AN AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC assignment I often shoot more than 1500 images during the week or so I'm on location. This large collection gets edited (by me) down to about 150 and the story ends up using maybe 12-15.
A few years ago I did a fantastic trip along the Jatbula Trail in the Northern Territory, a five-day walk from Katherine Gorge to Edith Falls, in the most excellent company of Jennifer Byrne. We were covering a feature that appeared in the Apr - Jun 2008 issue of the journal (AG90). Here are a couple of the many hundreds of images that I shot but which didn't see the light of day - for obvious reasons.
Our guide was keen to show the huge variety of bush tucker that could be found all along the track. I made the usual shots of this particular fruit in our guide's hands and then waited to see if Jennifer was game enough to try a taste test. Sure enough she was keen to try new experiences but it seems that the flavour was not quite what she was expecting and the result reminded me of a famous line from the movie Crocodile Dundee, which I will refrain from quoting here!
I should point out that this was the only bush tucker that was somewhat hard to swallow. Other things that we sampled were quite surprisingly tasty including some green ants which tasted quite strongly of lemon.
Read the original feature here and see a gallery of the images that did make the cut .
Nick Rains has been an Australian Geographic photographer for 10 years and was 'Australian Geographic Photographer of the Year' in 2002. He is also the editor of Better Digital Camera magazine. You can see more of Nick's photography and read his blog here: www.nickrains.com
The Northern Territory’s mix of ancient landscapes, biodiversity and culture guarantee a wealth of unique sights. The incredible Kakadu and Nitmiluk national parks are thronged with birds, animals and reptiles. Wander a bit deeper into the Red Centre and you’ll find the precarious rock piles of the Devil’s Marbles, the deep gorges of the MacDonnell Ranges, the brick red domes of the Kata Tjuta and the most recognised symbol of the outback: Uluru.