Depth of experience

Long before he became a professional photographer, Geoff Comfort was a competitive dinghy sailor.

‘When I finished school, I had a short stint in the public service, but felt dissatisfied there. I left that position and started my boat building career which tied in with my involvement in racing sailing dinghies,’ he explained. For the first 20 years of his working life he raced and built boats. ‘I didn't have much interest in photography before that. But then I did a black and white photographic course, and that inspired me to think about changing my career, getting out of my boat building business.

‘Some aspects of boat building aren't that nice, especially the fiberglass. I was living in Sydney then, but at that stage in my life, I had a mortgage and there's no way that I could get a job as a photography assistant in Sydney – and study.’

So, Geoff moved back to Canberra where