A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. Sometimes, however, just explaining the picture takes double that.
It is, after all, a silly photo. A very silly photo. For starters, there is the silliness of us being there at all. Federation Peak is an iconic landmark in the outdoor world. People who know it appreciate the difficulty required to get there. We wanted people to see us wining and dining in formal garments under the gaze of this imposing peak, and be equally confused, amused, intrigued and, hopefully, impressed. Maybe we succeeded in these goals: After the trip, I got the photo blown up and printed for my share house in Brisbane. It catches everyone’s eye when they walk in, but very few believe we are the people in the photo.
Even though the moment of inspiration for the image struck me in 2020, its actual genesis came from another very silly photo taken decades earlier. Way back in 1993, the Australian National University Mountaineering Club headed into the Budawangs in NSW, with the aim being to stage a party scene that they then captured with an image they called ‘Cocktails on the Castle’. The image ended up running that, back in Issue #50.
