Favourite photographers: David Doubilet

David Doubilet’s photographs fill me with an almost childlike sense of wonder. For me, no one captures the extraordinary underwater world of the ocean more beautifully—whether he is photographing the brilliant colours and teeming life of a coral reef or the cold, mysterious blue beneath the Antarctic ice. His images reveal a hidden world that feels vast, fragile and profoundly alive, making us see the ocean not as an empty expanse but as one of the most beautiful and miraculous realms on Earth.

I especially adore Doubilet’s split-level photographs, in which half the image lies above the water and half below. He has perfected this technique both technically and artistically, transforming the waterline into a threshold between two worlds—the familiar world of sky and land above and the secret universe beneath. I was introduced to his work when I attended a presentation he gave at the Sydney Opera House in 2014, and I was completely blown away. Seeing his images on that scale, while hearing the stories behind them from Doubilet himself, left an unforgettable impression on me.

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The master at work, immersed in his medium

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Favourite photographers: Amsel Adams

One of the photographers I admire most is Ansel Adams. His landscapes have an extraordinary sense of clarity, scale and stillness. He had a remarkable ability to reveal the beauty of the natural world, not by exaggerating it, but by helping us see what was already there. His photographs remind me that nature is full of grandeur, subtlety and order if we take the time to look carefully.

What I appreciate most about Adams is the combination of artistry and craftsmanship. He was a master of light, composition and tonal range, creating images that feel both technically perfect and deeply emotional. His work inspires me not only to become a better photographer, but also to spend more time in wild places, slowing down and paying closer attention. His photographs are a reminder that some of life's greatest experiences come simply from being present in nature.

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Favourite quotes

• Photography is an austere and blazing poetry of the real.
• The camera is for life and for people, the swift and intense moments of life.
• When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.
• A good photograph is knowing where to stand.
• Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.
• I do not think there is any question of photography being an art form!
• Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes and easy smile is your museum.
• The photographic negative is the equivalent of the composers score and the print is the equivalent of the conductor’s performance.
• I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful – an endless prospect of magic and wonder.
• I hope that my work will encourage self expression in others and stimulate the search for beauty and creative excitement in the great world around us.
• A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.
• There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.
• You don’t take a photograph, you make it.
• There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.
• No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied – it speaks in silence to the very core of your being.
• The whole world is, to me, very much “alive” – all the little growing things, even the rocks. I can’t look at a swell bit of grass and earth, for instance, without feeling the essential life – the things going on – within them. The same goes for a mountain, or a bit of the ocean, or a magnificent piece of old wood.

The amazing Lyrebird

The superb lyrebird is one of Australia’s most extraordinary birds: a shy, secretive creature of the forest floor with an almost magical gift for mimicry. It can reproduce the calls of other birds with remarkable precision—and sometimes even human-made sounds such as camera shutters, alarms and chainsaws—folding them into its own elaborate song. While the laughing kookaburra is officially NSW’s bird emblem, the lyrebird is the emblem of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and it feels every bit as symbolic of the Australian bush. I have seen them several times in the Royal National Park, usually slipping quietly through the leaf litter or suddenly revealing themselves among the ferns, and every encounter gives me a real thrill.

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The amazing sand sculptures of the Pufferfish

How incredible. Humans are by no means the only artists on planet earth.

 

Birds of Paradise

Nothing makes me sense the benevolence of the universe more than scenes like these.

The wonders of pollination

What an amazing video!

Amazing facts about Australian Animals

I wrote this for a class based on Google found information.  Some interesting facts about our local critters.

• Marsupials like koalas and kangaroos can be found nowhere else in the world. Marsupials are animals that bring up their babies in a pouch.
• It is difficult to be a wild animal in Australia. It is very dry and food can be hard to find. This means animals need to use less energy.
• Marsupials use so little energy that they need to eat one-fifth less food than mammals of the same size.
• There are over 60 different species (types) of kangaroos.
• Kangaroos hop because it is takes much less energy to move around.
• A million years ago, there was a type of kangaroo that was over three metres tall.
• Koalas eat gum leaves which are so poisonous that they use 20% of their energy just digesting their food. They make up for this by having tiny brains (brains use up a lot of energy). They are very stupid! But nothing hunts them so it is OK.
• Koalas are not always cute. They can make an extremely loud growling noise.
• Australia has two mammals that can lay eggs. They are the platypus and echidna. They are the only animals in the world to lay eggs.
• Platypuses can eat their own body weight in food in a 24 hour period!
• The Emu is the world's third largest bird. The nest of an Emu can be up to 1.5 metres wide!
• The Tasmanian Devil has very strong jaws (nearly as strong as a crocodile). This helps them to eat bones.
• There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia and only 20 million people. That's 8 sheep for every person.
• Young Kookaburras (a type of bird) often stay with their parents to help them bring up new chicks because food is difficult to find.
• It is thought that Dingos were the first domesticated dogs and the "father" of all other domestic dog breeds.
• Australia has the longest fence. It's known as the Dingo Fence and runs through central Queensland and is designed to keep sheep safe from our native dog the Dingo... the fence is about 6 feet high and stretches over 5500 kilometers.

Dangerous Animals

• Australia is home to 10 of the world's 15 most poisonous snakes. Of Australia's 155 species of land snakes, 93 are poisonous.
• The Australian Taipan is the most poisonous snake in the world.
• The Stone Fish that lives in the Great Barrier reef has strong poison that can kill a person in less than two hours. People sometimes step on them. The only way to stop the poison is to put your foot in boiling water. Ouch!
• The box jellyfish kills more people in Australian each year than Snakes, Sharks and Salt Water Crocodiles.
• The Irukandji jellyfish is only 2.5 centimetres in diameter, but can cause death to humans within days.
• There are 1500 species of Australian spiders.
• The saltwater crocodile is the world's largest reptile - males can reach a staggering 6 metres long.
• The temperature of the saltwater crocodile's egg will decide the sex of the baby crocodile.
• The saltwater crocodile has only two muscles to open its mouth but 40 to close it!