Compiled by Melissa Blewitt

An Exhibition showcasing what it’s like to be amongst the chaos and sheer scale of waterbird breeding in various Murray–Darling Basin wetlands was officially opened in Condobolin on Thursday, 14 March.
The exhibition called A Waterbird Breeding Spectacular: An Exhibition of Waterbird Photography featured photographers Warren Chad (Condobolin), Adam Kerezsy (Lake Cargelligo) and Mal Carnegie (Lake Cowal/Clear Ridge).
The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) collaborated with the photographers, to celebrate two years of record-breaking waterbird breeding seasons.
Opening night was held at the Condobolin Community Centre, with the event was hosted by the Lachlan Arts Council.
Following is a Photographer Biography for Warren Chad, Adam Kereszy and Mal Carnegie. These biographies were published as part of the Exhibition.

WARREN CHAD (ABOVE)
Warren Chad grew up on a small farm near Quirindi in Central Northern NSW. It is here as a small boy that he developed an interest and appreciation of nature, regularly sharing a household with baby farm animals and orphaned wildlife.
Warren now lives and works as a builder in Condobolin. In 1985 he obtained his first field guide of Australian birds, becoming an avid birdwatcher and through the years his love of nature has evolved into what he now calls a “bit of an obsession.” That obsession has now morphed into wildlife and natural ecosystems, in particular the Lachlan River and its associated environs.
Warren is a valuable member of the monitoring and engagement team that informs environmental water managers in the Lachlan and its contracted annually by NSW Department of Planning and Environment to conduct waterbird surveys, including mass bird breeding, across many sites in the Lachlan Catchment.
He lives in Condobolin with his partner Leonie, cattle dogs Beau and Maggie, Murray the long billed Corella and is never far from a camera or the bush.

ADAM KERESZY (DR FISH) (BELOW)
Adam Kereszy is an aquatic ecologist. He has a PhD in fish ecology, an Honours Degree in environmental science and has worked in ecology, natural resource management, communications, and education. Adam, also known as ‘Dr Fish’, carries out some of the fish monitoring in the Lachlan for the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Program in addition to several projects for DPE-EHG and others.
His writing and/or photography have been featured in a diverse range of publications ranging from special interest magazines to scientific journals. His primary research interest is the freshwater ecology of rivers and springs in central and inland Australia. In 2011, Adam’s natural history book, Desert Fishing Lessons: Adventures in Australia’s Rivers was published and subsequently received a certificate of commendation at the Whitley Awards.
Adam is also known throughout western NSW and western Queensland as a musician. He and his partner Alison have lived at Lake Cargelligo for most of the last 30 years.

MAL CARNEGIE (BELOW)
Mal is the Chair of the Lachlan Environmental Water Advisory Group and a valuable member of the NSW Environmental Water Monitoring and Management Team for over seven years.
He is also the Project Manager of the Lake Cowal Foundation (LCF), not for profit environmental trust whose primary goal is to protect and enhance Lake Cowal, a nationally significant wetland located 45 kilometres north of West Wyalong (NSW). The LCF and its project partners implement and manage a range of natural resources management initiatives within the Lake Cowal catchment also delivering environmental education through the Lake Cowal Conservation Centre.
Mal and his family have a farm in the Lake Cowal/Clear Ridge area near West Wyalong, the main enterprise being winter cereal and canola cropping. In addition, the family has operated a native tree and shrub nursery since 1995, working with farmers and various organisations on local revegetation and conservation projects.
Mal’s interest in photography goes back to his teenage years, but this dropped away up until about 2009 when reinstated by the rapid development of digital photography.
He is involved in general nature photography and through his work role inevitably ends up taking a lot of bird images as part of the monitoring regimes for a range of natural resource management projects. This is augmented by the fact that the Lake Cowal region has 277 recorded bird species, most of which are wetland birds, so many hours are spent in the kayak and/or waders.
Mal is also interested in videography, aerial photography and drone imagery and mapping.