Meet the Locals: Photographer Henk Tobbe has a passion for capturing Port Stephens in frame

"I like going out and telling a story through pictures of what's happening in the community, for one thing it gives me access to situations you normally wouldn't come by," he said

But when asked what he likes most of all, his response was: "I like when people smile at me."

Born and raised in the Netherlands, the amateur photographer was just 10 year's old when he got behind the lens with an old Box Brownie and purchased his first SLR when he was 18.

"I had my own dark room, I developed my own films, printed my own photos - all black and white, there was no colour yet," he said.

As life unfolded Mr Tobbe said taking photos for fun was put on the back-burner, and he "aborted ship for a long while".

"I got busy with my work it wasn't until 2004 when a friend of mine showed me his new DSLR, a canon one, and I thought 'Hey that looks nice, I'll buy one', and that's when it started again," he said.

Mr Tobbe retired from work in the late 90's and moved to Australia with his wife, Anjes, to be closer to family.

"One of our sons moved to Australia in the early 90's and we first visited in '92 to see family, and a bit of the country," Mr Tobbe said.

"We then decided to get our visas and move, and here we are [in Anna Bay]."

Initially the couple lived in Sydney but were drawn to the Bay after spending many holidays on the coast.

As he became ingrained in the Port Stephens community, Mr Tobbe joined the local Rotary Club where his photography was utilised.

"It started with Rotary, taking photos at our community events. Through that I got to know a number of people who now give me a ring when something's happening," he said.

Another hobby Mr Tobbe had was radio, where he would talk to friends all over the world.

"I had a big tower here, 18 metres up with a large antenna but a couple of years ago I lost the spirit and sold everything," he said.

The spark for radio went out four years ago when Mr Tobbe was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

"It took away a lot of my energy and the radio hobby and maintenance of equipment and climbing a tower ... I couldn't do it, so I gave it up, sold everything and bought a couple of new lenses," he said.

He also started collecting vintage cameras and lenses and how has a whole cabinet on display in his home.

"The word spread and friends, and friends of friends started to donate their old cameras to my collection," he said.

"Also, where feasible, I put in film and take photos with the old cameras and lenses to see the results and compare with modern technology."

Mr Tobbe said he didn't have any specific subject he liked to photograph.

"I do a bit of everything, I do like to go to the beach and take photos of the surfers," he said.

"I like to try and convey to people, what happened through photos, I always take them in sequence."

You can check out more of Mr Tobee's work here.

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