Hi, I’m Barry Callister, founder and creator of Photographer’s Freedom.
I have spent the last five years of my life learning about Nature Photography and all the gear and skills that go with it, and I want to share that with you.
I have also, through the help of Six Figure Mentors, built a successful business around my passion for photography.
My dream for Photographer’s Freedom was to create an online place for photographers to come.
Here you can learn skills, read posts and watch videos about photography gear, and also learn how to create a life where you can be in control of your time and spend more of it taking photos.
I am passionate about nature and that is why I chose Nature Photography. I started out photographing Australian Birds.
There is a deeper part of me that has always been drawn to birds. I think it is their ability to fly that fascinates me; I wonder what it would be like to soar on the wind like they do?
I did actually find out what that’s like in Rio when I ran at full-speed off a cliff, strapped into a hang glider with a guy I had just met 30-minutes-prior!
Every fear I had pulsing through my veins moments before we left the cliff edge drifted away when I felt myself flying. If you ever get the chance to hang glide, I really do recommend it.
When I am in nature, I am at peace. I love nothing more than hiking through a rain forest for hours to spend hours more photographing a magical waterfall, or a vast and inspiring view from a mountain top.
Photography however was not my first love.
I am a country boy at heart. I grew up on a dairy farm in a rural area of Victoria in Australia.
I dreamed of being a fighter pilot, until I got to Year 10 in Secondary College and found out that I was colourblind. That sent that dream crashing down. From then on I felt quite lost.
Feeling there was not much point in finishing school anymore, I almost dropped out of school halfway through Year 12. If it hadn’t been for my awesome group of friends persuading me to come back, I would not have finished.
After school, I spent a lot of time unemployed and working terrible jobs that I mostly hated. I was still unsure of what to do with my life.
At 18 I discovered a love for music. I picked up my first guitar and instantly felt at home. I would spend the next 27 years playing music in various bands, writing and releasing albums of my own music, as well as teaching guitar and singing.
It took me years to realize that I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore. Eventually I lost my passion for playing and I decided to stop.
I had always loved photography but I got to the point where I just wasn’t satisfied with the old point-n-shoot camera anymore. I got given a DSLR for my birthday and quickly discovered how much I loved it.
I consumed many books on Photography, YouTube videos, online courses, and just spent as many hours as I could using my camera and learning to improve my photos.
I purchased an online course called Video Ranking Academy which teaches you how to run a successful YouTube channel. I began filming Photography Tutorials, Gear Reviews, and Photoshop and Lightroom Tutorials and my channel quickly grew.
My family and I moved interstate and began a new life in New South Wales. It wasn’t long after moving here that I discovered Six Figure Mentors. This was the missing link that I had needed.
It fitted perfectly with my goals for my YouTube channel and everything that I had done so far.
I know that SFM can do amazing things for you and that is why I promote it here on my website.
I hope that Photographer’s Freedom becomes a home for you where you can improve your photography, get information about great photography gear, and learn to create a successful business around your passion.