Chairman and CEO of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch speaks at a press conference following the Annual Shareholder Information Meeting at the Keith Murdoch House, Adelaide, Australia, 13 November 2007 . AFP Photo/Jamie McDonald

As the numbers on the distance marker on the Dukes Highway to Adelaide tumbles the reality of my departure is slowly absorbed. That and the fabulous little countdown widget on my mac which indicates hours rather than days till I get on Qantas flight QF97 to Hong Kong.

I’ve been working as a professional editorial photographer for a relatively short time; five years, but in that time I’ve had an exhilarating career, covering The Ashes cricket, AFL Grand Finals, PGA Golf, Federal Elections, ATP Tennis, music festivals, motor racing, Asian Champions League football, and countless press conferences and photo-ops for agencies and newspapers.

And Adelaide has been good to me, so why leave it behind to pursue opportunities in Asia and Europe? Newspapers and traditional media have been suffering from budget cuts, closures and redundancies long before ‘Global Financial Crisis’ had been coined (by someone with the wit and creativity as the sub-editor who insists any political scandal be a gate.)

Adelaide will always be a one-newspaper town, with Rupert’s Advertiser dominating the market, and with major events disappearing from Adelaide (ATP Tennis, PGA Golf etc) and  major restrictions being placed on the remaining sports events by the organisers mean the news agencies (quite rightly) are vetoing the coverage (AFL, Cricket Australia etc.) All in all it seems like the perfect time to be testing the water overseas while Australia sorts itself out.

I hope that by taking myself out of my comfort zone and challenging myself in a new environment my photography will develop further. I’ll be in China for the next couple of months before heading to Vietnam, KL, onto London and then Europe. At this stage the first stop in Europe will be Budapest in Hungary to cover the fantastic Sziget Festival for Getty Images & WireImage. I’ll do my best to keep this up-to-date, but I am guessing that the internet in some rural areas will be lacking.

A big thanks to everyone who has supported me in endeavors in Australia at Getty, AFP, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, AAP, Slattery Media, News Limited, Inside Sport and others.

Cheers

Jamie