Peter Dombrovskis

Peter Dombrovskis (1945– 28 March, 1996) was a highly influential Australian photographer, most notably of Tasmanian scenes. In 2003 he was the first, and is still the only, Australian photographer to be inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame.

Dombrovskis was born in Wiesbaden, Germany of Latvian parents. The protége of noted wildlife photographer and activist Olegas Truchanas, his photographs of the Tasmanian Wilderness — particularly in the annual Wilderness Society calendar—brought images of once remote and inaccessible areas of the State into the public realm. Dombrovskis founded West Wind Press in 1977 and later went on to print calendars entirely of his own work featuring incisive commentary from pre-emiment environmental professionals.

His most famous and influential photograph was of Morning Mist, Rock Island Bend, Franklin River, which some commentators believe played a large part in the victory for Bob Hawke in the 1983 federal election. The photograph portrayed a section of the Franklin River which was to be submerged by the proposed Franklin Dam and spearheaded the visual appeal of the Franklin River in the contentious 'No Dams' campaign of 1982. Dombrovskis later co-authored with Dr. Bob Brown a splendid example of his skill in photographing the Gordon River and the Franklin River in his book, 'Wild Rivers' of 1983.

On 28 March, 1996, Peter died of a heart attack while photographing near Mount Hayes in the Western Arthurs mountain range of South West Tasmania.

External links

* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an24314453 "Dombrovskis collection of Tasmanian wilderness photographs", 1978-1995, National Library of Australia, Canberra] , a collection of 21 colour photographs
* [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/wildness/gallery.htm Gallery of photos by Truchanas and Dombrovskis]
* [http://www.iphf.org/Hall_Of_Fame/Inductees.html International Photography Hall of Fame inductees]

Further reading