A celebration of outback Australia and the bonds of friendship that are forged living and working on the land.

In March 2013, Dan McIntosh launched the Facebook page Station Photos simply to share his photos of life on the land with friends and family. Fast-forward to 2017 and the page has gathered an immense and diverse community of more than 117,000 Australians who participate daily in the joy of sharing beautiful pictures of the Aussie outback lifestyle.

Dan, who was a station cook for many years and now works as a station gardener, enjoys telling the stories of many hard-working rural Australians through his photography. In 2014, Dan published his first book, Outback Stations. The book was a bestseller, featuring photos taken by real people of the things that make them laugh (and cry), the land they love, their kids, their animals.

This new book, Outback Mates, is an intimate portrait of a place where people are few and far between, but friendships are as close as can be. Inspired by a competition on the Station Photos page, Outback Mates showcases the simple beauty of friendships, and how important mateship is in rural communities.

The response from the Station Photos followers was tremendous and the very best of the images are featured in this book.