Peter Dombrovskis
was born in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1945 of Latvian parents.
He emigrated to Australia
in 1950 with his mother Adele and started taking photographs in the 1960's. He
was strongly influenced by Lithuanian-Australian pioneer, conservationist and
photographer Olegas Truchanas, who became a father figure to him. He was
equally influenced by landscape photographers of mid-century America such as
Ansel Adams, Edward and Brett Weston and Eliot Porter.
In February 2003,
Peter Dombrovskis was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame
in Oklahoma City, United States of America. Peter is
the first Australian to be accorded this honour, and one of only 58 people to
be inducted over the 200 or so years of the history of photography. Peter's
work is also represented in the collections of the National Library, National
Gallery of Australia,
Australian Heritage Commission, National Gallery of Victoria, Queen Victoria
Museum and Art
Gallery, Tasmanian
Museum and Art
Gallery, the Royal Tasmanian
Botanical Gardens, the
Wilderness Gallery and many private collections.
Some of Peter's
photographs have been instrumental in the conservation of various Tasmanian
wild places including the prevention of the damming of the Franklin River.
Peter's works have been published over 35 years in the form of books,
calendars. cards and posters, and his wife Liz continued publishing until July
2009 through their company West Wind Press Pty Ltd.
Peter's
photography has now moved to a new phase of public access. The National Library
of Australia has acquired the archive of Peter's transparencies so that future
generations may view and enjoy his photography.
On 28th March
1996, Peter died while photographing in the Western
Arthur Range
in southwest Tasmania.
He is survived by his second wife, five children and two step-children.
All Peter's
photographs were taken with a large format Linhof Master Technika 5 x 4 inch
flatbed field camera. He used three lenses; a 90mm Nikkor F4.5, a 150mm
Schneider Symar-S (standard lens), and a 300mm Nikkor MF9. He sometimes used a
polarizing filter.
Morning Mist, Rock
Island Bend, Franklin River, south-west Tasmania,
Australia.
This iconic photograph by Peter Dombrovskis played an instrumental role in the
campaign to prevent the damming of the river in one of the most significant
environmental campaigns in Australian history. The photograph was reproduced by
the Wilderness Society, and widely distributed during the 1983 federal
election. The photograph turned the Franklin
River a household name,
and became an icon of the environmentalist cause. In July of the same year, the
high court declared the Gordon-below-Franklin dam illegal
Photograph: Peter
Dombrovskis/Liz Dombrovskis
