Bush Journal
Bush Journal is a quarterly newspaper that explores rural life, photography and creativity. Our contributors are wool producers, graziers, and farmers - who are also writers, photographers and stylists.
BUSH JOURNAL
Background
Bush Journal is a quarterly newspaper that explores rural life through a creative lens. With a strong emphasis on exceptional photography and meaningful storytelling, we meet station managers, silversmiths, chopper pilots, artists and entrepreneurs who challenge the stereotype of what it means to live in the bush - while also revealing the very human conditions that unite us all.
In early 2021, a group of female rural photographers came together to share our work as Beauty in the Bush Collective. Within a few months, we decided to create a tangible home for this work, and Bush Journal was born. Three volumes in, and we welcome contributors from around Australia, while growing our platform to explore life beyond the city limits and amplify the creative voices of rural Australians.
Reading the newspaper is a sensory experience, with its jagged edges and transitory nature of ink that finds its way onto your fingers - which makes it the perfect medium for the emotive stories we tell.
"At this unique point in history, storytelling has taken on more importance, both as a means of connecting people to places they can't visit and to each other. As rural photographers, we believe our stories are more vital than ever."
That's why we launched Bush Journal, a collection of soulful stories and stunning photography - printed on newsprint to mark what was a lifeline for country people: the humble newspaper.
We know there's a vibrant creative spirit alive and well in the bush and it's our mission to share it in the pages of our journal. Our aim for each release is two-fold: to shine a light on the beautiful work happening in rural and regional Australia, and to arm our readers with the skills and inspiration to tell their own stories.
So have a flick through at the smoko table, stick your favourite pages on the fridge and leave smudged fingerprints on the rest. Ours is not a precious publication - and it brings us great joy to think our pages might have a life beyond their reading whether that's lining a chook's nest or becoming a paddock tablecloth.
We have big plans for our little newspaper. We hope if you enjoy it, you'll share, and help spread the word.
We chat with the Bush Journals editor, Jessica Howard
What is the bush to you?
For a long time the bush was a foreign place to me, even though I was born and bred in it. And I think that's because I was working out where I fit in the world. Now: it represents security, safety and somewhere I can gain clarity on any problem I'm facing.
What’s your favourite place to experience the bush?
Bush to me is My sister's cattle property near Duaringa, Qld 'Kooralbyn' - there's something so special about driving her long red-dirt driveway flanked by gums before her little peach cottage appears in view. Listening to the rustle of blue gums at night as the wind whips over the flat might be my favourite sound in the world.the surrounding foothills of Perth in Western Australia and the beautiful forests of our south west region. Bush is where the land is untouched and wild.
How does the bush make you feel?
I'm never more grounded than when I'm standing in a paddock - it's when my best writing inspiration hits and of course the source of the best photography opportunities. When I'm bush, I feel like I'm connecting with a real place, unsullied by shiny signs, loud sounds and especially other people.
How do you think the city and country can connect through the heart of the Australian bush?
Stories are a powerful unifier - and have the ability to make both sides realise that we're not that different after all.