GIRLS WITH GUNS

Mickey T and Big Louie set off on a downwinder from the mangroves of Bush Bay, 35-40km on kites. They are extremists. I drive back with Heidi From Ag. It turns out Heidi From Ag is a shooter. Shortly after i arrived in the Gascoyne, i heard about a program to shoot feral goats in a flyover of the Kennedy Ranges. So i began to wangle my way onto this goat shooting tour. I need to photograph the shooters on the helicopter platform, i said. "Girls with big guns!" i said. "That's what we need!" i said. "Preferably wearing bikinis!" i said. We commence the long drive back. The kite sails are visible above the dunes over my left shoulder, billowing colourfully above the red dirt, as the extremists make their kitesurfing run back to the delta. "So you're the new photojournalist," says Heidi From Ag flatly. "You're the one who wanted to photograph me in my bikini." In a small town, irony, like fine wine, does not travel well.