About Us - WideScenes Photography

About Us

We are professional photographers, travellers, and publishers with over 60 years of experience between us. These days we specialise in travel & tourism photography, tourism products, photography education, image licensing & fine art prints – but mostly, just for the love of it. We have been published twice in National Geographic coffee table books and also self-published 6 photography books which you can check out here.

In 2021 we launched Pauly Designed Streetwear on the publishing arm of the business. This is something we have wanted to do for a long time and it seemed like a natural progression to start it during the COVID-19 pandemic when we had more time on hand than usual. If you want to check out the designs click the banner below.

Pauly Designed Streetwear

Paul Woodford has been in the photographic industry for most of his life and was General Manager of Australia’s largest photographic company in the hospitality industry for almost 9 years. His passion and commitment to capturing the perfect scene to reflect nature’s beauty is visible right through to the production of the final product. Having travelled to most parts of the world, Paul has gained invaluable knowledge which assists in obtaining the required images in a diverse range of cultures and countries. He has been a Runner-up at the 2022 Sony Alpha Awards Aus/NZ in the Creative Category.

Helen Woodford has been involved in photography for over 30 years and worked for several years at the same photographic company as Paul. She has also been involved in the Travel & Tourism industry where she gained invaluable knowledge of the industry and its requirements. A skilled photographer, designer, and webmaster, she provides WideScenes Photography and Pauly Designed with fresh ideas for images and products. She has been a Runner-up at the 2017 & 2018 Sony Alpha Awards Aus/NZ in the Abstract Category.

Samyang Logo

We are proud to be a Samyang Creator. We have been using their fisheye lens for many years and several of their ‘Tiny Lenses’ are a permanent addition to our camera bags whenever we travel. Check out our profile here.

What's in our camera bag

These days there is a lot of emphasis on the contents of the camera bag as there are varying “carry-on” restrictions on airlines. In general, we try to stick to the 7kgs which usually is the maximum that some airlines allow. Naturally, if we were to do a trip where we were travelling only on airlines that allowed up to 10kgs then we would consider taking additional equipment, but generally, we would still try to only take what we are prepared to carry. If you do a lot of walking on trips, as we do, then the lighter the better.

In 2014 we changed camera systems from Nikon to Sony and this has saved us some weight, especially in relation to our 70-200mm focal range although these days the Sony lenses are starting to get a bit heavy. Below is a list of equipment that we carry on all trips regardless of where we are going. We still have the option to pack some items that we do not use on a regular basis in our “check-in” luggage and transfer them to our camera bags at our destination if we feel that will be using them on a particular day. Also note, as we always travel together we share equipment. You can click on any of the links below to buy similar products on Adorama or other affiliated sites.

Please Note: Some of the links below will take you to the product on Adorama or other affiliated sites. As an Adorama affiliate and affiliate for other products, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Other links may take you to our review of the product.

Helen’s Bag

Paul’s Bag

*We Highly Recommend URTH (formerly Gobe) products for all your screw-in C-PL, ND & UV filter requirements. They also now produce a Square Filter Holder for 100mm & 75mm filters,  Special Effects filters, camera backpack bags, camera straps, lens adapters and more.
Click on the banner below and use coupon code ‘WideScenes‘ at checkout for a further 15% discount on all their products.

Urth Discount

Other Equipment

Other items that we travel with but don’t necessarily carry around with us on a daily basis are –