The ability of mangrove trees to survive in such a harsh environment never ceases to amaze. If this sapling survives the high salinity, daily tides, and scorching sun, it may grow to be as large as those behind it.

Port Kembla, New South Wales

Canon EOS 5D Mk IV, Canon 15mm 2.8 fisheye, 1/40, f/14, ISO 500, 2 x Ikelite ds160 strobe, handheld, Ikelite housing

‘Rising Up’ refers to both the tall eucalypt trunks, captured with camera movement, and the leaf regrowth around the trunks after severe bushfires. Whereas other species are more vulnerable, even the fire-adaptive eucalypt forests might not adapt to the intense ferocity of recent fires, traceable to climate change.

Wollemi National Park, New South Wales

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000ii, Leica DC Vario-Elmarit, 1/5, f/9.0, ISO 125, handheld

The plateau of Mount Gower (868m) is home to a critically-endangered ecological community known as the gnarled mossy cloud forest. This stunted forest is home to many endemic and endangered plants found nowhere else, bound by dramatic slopes that descend through the clouds into the sea below.

Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

DJI Phantom 4 Pro, 24mm, 1/240, f/4.5, ISO 100

Fireflies appear in spring in parts of northern New South Wales. Visible to the eye, a long exposure captures the light trails as they flicker through the forest creating a magical atmosphere. With everything that’s going on in the world, it is just calming and mystical to witness.

Lower Bucca State Forest, New South Wales

Canon R6, Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, 4, f/1.2, ISO 1250, tripod

CORDYLINE
Cordyline sp.

I was visiting my family at Peregian Beach. Their garden attracts many birds so my camera is always with me. One afternoon, this cordyline plant caught my eye. It was a spectacular sight with the sun streaking through it, emphasising its crimson colour against the darkness of the tree behind.

Peregian Beach, Queensland

Panasonic DMC-FZ300, 25–600mm, 1/1300, f/4, ISO 100, handheld, -1.3 ev

BUNYA PINE
Araucaria bidwillii

On a walk in the Bunya Mountains National Park, I was inspired to photograph this group of Bunya trees as an abstraction of form and pattern. Their size is hard to imagine with this compressed perspective, but they are huge trees with a characteristic conical shaped canopy.

Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland

Canon EOS R5, Canon RF 100– 500mm f4.5–7.1L IS USM, 1/500, f/7.1, ISO 250, handheld

MAT WATER MILFOIL
Myriophyllum pendunculatum

A mat water milfoil dwarf succulent creeping species succumbs to the winter freeze near an alpine lake on the main range. A small macro scene requiring a focus-stack of 31 images to maintain intricate detail throughout the whole scene.

Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales

Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 120mm macro f4 and Fujifilm MCEX-45G extension tubes, 1/30 (31 images focus-stacked), f/16, ISO 100, Sirui tripod W-2204 with K20 ball head