this image was taken at the foot of lake louise in the rocky mountains early in the morning - but with the sun having been up since about 1am. both the clarity and the colour of the water generated by the glacier in the background are a sight to behold.

this view from the foot of the glacier above lake louise was taken about 10pm in summer - getting close to 24 hour daylight. the lack of intensity in the light results in astonishing tints and hues in the water and foliage.

we drove from vancouver to lake louise and went for a walk when we got there - about 10pm.. i saw this tree had fallen over the lake and - from a low angle - it kinda looked like it reached the other side - about 1.5km away!

standing at this end of the lake, particularly early in the day when it is quiet, you can sometimes hear the glacier - or bits cracking off it.. it's quite eery - and amazing to think that the whole thing is continually on the move..

a couple of kilometres fairly steep climb above lake louise, you walk out into an opening at the top of a climb and see this! the colour is just astonishing - a dish of iridescent green surround by trees and hills..

when the clouds come over - as they did on this day - the lack of sunlight on the water make it look almost milky - and yet close up it remains crystal clear. just another example of the astonishing impact light has - on everything!

this view down and across the lake revealed so many different shades of green that I just had to take it. you can also see that even though the water looks translucent a few metres away - you can see right through it up close!

this body of water is another kilometre further above lake louise from the emerald lake. although it's not as spectacular as the lakes below, the combination of colours, textures and lines all make it quite a beautiful scene.

for someone from the souther hemisphere - and well north of the south pole - the novelty of having this much light at midnight was slow to wear off..  the blue tinge - rather than green - in this low light is also something quite special.

this little stream was on the edge of a massive wood of red cedar trees. what amazed me was the range of plants - and the fact that they were growing in clumps - with each variety of plant happily coexisting side by side.

on a cloudy early morning, with a bit of a breeze removing the mirrored surface of the lake, the chiseled nature of the massive rock faces wet by the glacier came into start contrast. looking at it closely, it is almost surreal.

this remains one of my favourite shots from this trip. the colour of the water makes it look like there's been recent rain - but it is just a pond at the foot of the glacier. the contrast between new green leaves, dead wood and the water just worked for me.

when there's no wind blowing - and particularly early and late in the day - the reflections on the surface of the lake are breathtaking. from memory, this shot was taken around 5am, with the sun well on the way up, but very few people around..

there are so many leafy, fern-filled havens in tasmania - many with cold, crystal-clear streams running through them. this is just one of many i visited early in the trip and without a tripod - which meant no long exposures!

i hiked over the hill into coles bay with about 25kg of cameras on my back, in pretty dismal weather. when i got there i couldn't find anything i thought worth capturing - until i nearly fell over this piece of charred driftwood. it remains one of my all-time favourite shots..

the water coursing over this small waterfall was sending spray and quite large drops in all directions - i messed up quite a few shots. but the sense of lushness in what is quite a harsh environment was just amazing..

i did my best to capture the three tiers of waterfall reaching far into the background here - but without much success.. this is one of those places i'll need to revisit with a medium format kit - to see if i can do it justice..

this is another good example of a rock wall towering over a rock-filled pond at its base. yet again, the real sense of depth - and the height of the waterfall in the distance - somewhat evaded me.. pretty nonetheless, but i'll just have to go back.. (sigh)

take a man-made concrete weir, some water, a few fallen trees and the amazing colours of what starts growing - and voila! one of the amazing things here, is the amount of colour caught in the plants on the front of the weir - very pretty!

finding ferns and cycads surrounded by flowing water is a familiar occurrence in this part of the world. this gorgeous little nook has everything you need to be able just to sit yourself down, look around - and bliss out!

this is actually a good example of the sensitivity shown by the parks officers in tasmania. the natural rock formations have been augmented with a concrete weir to reduce erosion and destruction - creating a lovely little corner in the process.

taken from a bit further away from the amazing cascades taken closer up above, the beauty of this almost bay-like hollow becomes apparent. although naturally occurring, it is almost as if places like this have been designed and built just for those of us lucky enough to visit them!

the contribution of more lines and many more contrasting textures contributed by fallen trees is what makes such natural landscapes so interesting. here, the triangles flowing in all directions contrast distinctly with the moss-softened edges of the rocks.

it's funny looking back at some of these 'early' shots - taken while I was coming to grips with a camera held on often extreme angles and the high contrast often experienced in valleys! i've got a bit better with filters and darkroom techniques now - thank goodness!

watching the water dribble through the tiny plants and accumulated debris on the face of this weir was almost mesmerising. it becomes obvious what a complex set of relationships exist between all living things in a temperate rainforest.

it doesn't matter from which angle you approach this amazing cathedral - it is always majestic, and astounding it it's detail. this shot was taken early'ish in the morning on a cool, grey day from the opposite end to the main entrance.

the angles, textures and 'postcard-picture-perfectness' of the banks of the river seine are a photographer's delight. with little sunlight and low contrast, processing this image in 'black & white' went a long way to communicating the pure magic of what - at least to the parisians - is an everyday sight!

it is not at all unusual in ancient cities (this one is arles) to see bright colours, amazing textures and buildings built on angles you just don't see in our modern cities. brightly coloured window shutters are also a highlight of local architecture and make every building a sight to behold..

i was killing some time while my companion on this trip was cooing with a local chef. at the side of a large public space i saw this pushbike parked against a tree, with the ancient wall behind it. the ancient nonchalance of the scene has always stayed with me.

another ancient dwelling in arles.. sitting quietly in the morning sun, the sun's rays imposing contrasting angles over an already very angular existence!

apart from towering tenements surrounding very narrow lanes, another highlight of arles was the offend neglected timber on doors and shutters. the texture adds another dimension to the 'ancientness' of the buildings and is perfectly demonstrated in monochrome - particularly on a rainy day!

this building beside the river was the usual kaleidoscope of colour adorning ancient sandstone brickwork. on the second floor, the almost vermillion flash of colour over an entire wall made the rusting bannisters look almost colour-coordinated.

standing on the bridge one often sees with thousands of padlocks affixed to it, this view of nature dame de paris - to me at least - captures the ancient beauty of what is, of course, a thriving modern city. the lack of colour goes a long way to accentuating the astonishing structure of the building itself - but also the picture-perfect riverscape upon which it sits so majestically.

this is part of the old city wall that surrounded arles. crumbling though it may be, it still has an amazing presence - and provides a good indication of the protection afforded this important riverside city with the romans were at the peak of their power in europe.

typical of many of the narrow streets in arles, i walked around a corner and looked down a fairly gloomy 'tunnel' illuminated by a bright red door at its end. this really bright colour strikes an amazing contrast with the ancient stonework and somehow brightens everything up.

something about the rusted iron window bars, heavily weathered building exterior and faux-ancient lamp posts just worked for me when i walked past. no pretence at being modern, not even any aspiration to beauty - and yet somehow, it is!

so, everyone loves a 2CV - one of those iconic vehicles that can be seen any most countries in the world where cars exist! parked between modern vehicles, with its weathered paint and number plate, it just screamed 'look at me!'..

here, modern architecture is attempting to mirror its ancient buddies, creating angles and gritty texture.. i'm not really sure it works when you compare the two, but the sun-bleached render does start to give it that ancient look..

nestled together in the bandol marina, these fishing boats with the masts and jibs tethered are just quintessentially mediterranean. the island of corsica is just a little southeast of here and the boats venture out each day, then return for a well-earned rest..

this is a good example of the really narrow cobbled laneways that you walk through to traverse a city like this. there's probably not a lot that has changed here for a century - other than the advent of electric light - and probably a re-lining of the waterworks underneath the cobbles..

i'd be fairly confident that these rooms aren't for rent, but perched on a corner with some windows open and others closed, it just looked like a quaint, ancient hotel.. the character that these old tenements have just gives the entire city an amazing charm..

the ancient door and doorframe of this house were just beautiful - and ever the more so because of their contrast with the brand new 'period' stonework that had been careful added to a wall that was no doubt crumbling. the preparedness of people here just to repair things ancient and continue to enjoy them is an example i wish more would follow.

here, another alley, slowly curving away into the distance, but highlighted by brightly-coloured doors, window shutters and planters. it just shows the pride - and individuality - of those living here - and their recognition of how special it is..

on a chilly morning, in the park behind notre dame de paris, if the entire cathedral had just lifted off vertically, i wouldn't have been (all that) surprised! The way this ancient cathedral sits in such a stately and imposing manner shows just how wonderful the architects and artisans who designed and built it hundreds of years ago really were..

another day, another amazing door! it seems almost silly to have been so transfixed by doors - a piece of 'furniture' we often ignore as we all through it.. but so many of the ancient doors in arles  were just works of art - hand-weathered by the elements and - quite probably - centuries..

when we got to bandol, i was recovering from pneumonia and had very little breath to keep my legs going! as i walked around the headland from the bay where our apartment nestled, the rocks leading up to this ancient building, built right on the water's edge looked amazing.. lying down to take the shot was actually a great relief!

at the inside corner of the marina every inch of space is used to moor the various boats - these three tied up nose-in to the walkways that surround it. the sun is just climbing into the sky, but they are already home for the day..

the light in new zealand is different from almost anywhere else in the world. after walking in 'torrential' snow and taking some of the other shots in this collection, i ventured out the following morning. it was sub-zero, crystal clear and perfectly still. the sunlight painted gold on the tops of the grass and the bare branches of the tree in the centre - beautiful! 

in the midst of a massive downfall of snow, the trees beside the lake became white-wrapped skeletons of branches - magical to look at. the low contrast light made a colour image almost monochrome - other than the bright orange top of the boat anchored in the background. this is one of those shots that has to be taken after the snow has started - but before it has covered everything!

there was so much snow over 24 hours that the airport was closed and we had no way to get out of queenstown. so we took a bus to see one of the amazing 'sounds' - a deep lake surrounded by mountains. the roads looked like being blocked on the way back, so we jumped into a helicopter - and this shot as we headed back towards queenstown made a fantastic flight even better.. 

with snow falling heavily and ice forming on the shallow water, i was surprised to see the ducks out on the water swimming. clearly oblivious to the cold and snow, they added great character to the foreground of a snow-white wonderland..

the almost blue morning light in new zealand is something i have often mentioned to people - because there are few places in the world where the light has quite the same colour. a couple of days after heavy snow, this shot looking across to those amazing snow-covered mountains went a long way to capturing both the colour and the serenity of the moment.

the extreme contrast presented by the bright, clear early morning sun adjacent to water, and with snow-covered mountains in the background, presented some challenges for exposure. but capturing the yellow of the grass and naked tree branches to change the balance of colour in the shot was worth it - at least i think so! 

one of the illusions available when using extreme wide angle lenses is the capacity to have subject close to the lens take on quite radical distortion. at about 14mm, this shot made it possible to bring the tree i was standing right next to create a curved canopy that encapsulated this scene beautifully. the partial snow-cover on trees and ground delivers far nicer rest than the whited-out shots i got a bit later on.

on the way to milton's sound, we stopped off the side of the road to look at a small lake. the weather was still pretty unsettled, but a little sun broke through while we were there and the intense of the green surrounding the water - even when covered in snow - was just amazing!

this man-made pond in the gardens at queenstown was very pretty - and ever the more so for being surrounded by snow. but what i really liked was the astonishing clarity of the water in it and the orange of the water lilies snaking through to the surface. just a pretty scene.

this title creek rolled through the gardens, the green grass beside it still managing to peek through the snow that was falling steadily. the beauty of grass and trees just starting to get snowed-over was added to by the flashes of orange and green in a setting that was rapidly turning white!

this old jetty - reaching out into the water - looked far steadier than the uprights it was sitting on. their weathered, uneven legs reinforced the realisation that this scene had been available to people walking past for a very long time indeed. and what a scene it is!

throughout the grampians there are hillside cascades, with water running down over eroded layers of multi-coloured rock. as soon as the rock surfaces become damp, they reveal a wonderful display of reds, yellows and oranges - all of which stand out against the black surface of much of the rock - and the startling green of nearby grass looking to take advantage of the water.

this scorched branch lay across what was once a well-worn path - just metres away from the tortured wreck of a steel bridge that had melted in the bushfires. however, even amidst the carnage that bad fires bring, the beauty of gnarled roots scorched, but alive and new green shoots emerging tells the ever-hopeful story of regeneration.

wherever you walk in the grampians you are surrounded by amazing, ancient rock surfaces - many of them heavily eroded. the colours and textures of these rocks, and the astonishing ways in which they have become arranged over time never ceases to amaze me. this solitary rock, standing vertically and swathed in lichen just reminded me of an ancient totem pole.

standing tall, alone and quite unperturbed on the forest floor the small orange cap atop a seemingly fragile stem held far more attention than its diminutive size would suggest. even though only tiny by comparison with everything surrounding it, it assumed a magisterial presence that meant I just had to bring a shot of it home with me.

the focus and strength of the stream flowing over the top of this small waterfall would make anyone think there was a spout up there focusing the water! but it’s delivered by a well-worn groove in the rock, providing a spectacular landing on the rocks below - and creating a cascading shower of water and colour as the water flows downward to the small pond below. just beautiful!

this image comes from my first trip to the grampians, before the two significant bushfires that occurred over the next 5 years.. from the base of probably the largest waterfall in the grampians, another two tiers of waterfall had formed, rushing around land-locked ferns and trees to create a truly beautiful water garden..

this was one of those shots where it all came together when I decided to remove the colour.. this little ‘waterfall’ is less than a metre tall, but as the water flowed through the fissure in the rock at its edge, it splashed deep into the water in the pool at its base, flowing ever so gently around and then down to a much larger fall into the valley below. you can see the rotating surface water if you look closely - and maybe something else..?

more reds, ochres, blacks and greens typify the colour of the landscape in the wetter areas within the grampians. what I loved at the foot of this small waterfall was watching the water that splashed to both sides of the main stream form their own tiny little streams of water heading for the pond - each one of them creating its own little trail down the rocks before trickling into the water below.

although I’ve seen it in even livelier form, the was quite a lot of water cascading down over the rocks hen I was here on this post-bushfire trip. it never ceases to amaze me just how these waterfalls create such interesting platforms and tiers, almost as if they had been designed to create the amazing visual effect they deliver.

this was just. a rock wall by the side of a path I was walking down, where the water seemingly oozed out of the vegetation and over the exposed surface of the wall. the different colours, textures and types of rock all sitting side by side glistening under a film of green and lichen is a good representation of the diversity and simple beauty that pops out at you everywhere you go in this amazing part of victoria.

this is one of the first images I ever took in the grampians - before both subsequent bushfires. I was at the top of the largest waterfall - which you can see in the background. looking across trying to get an angel that would work for the larger falls, the colour in this little Rockpool in the foreground captured my attention. it remains one of my favourite shots.

another image from the days prior to the bushfires when there were decades of vegetation surrounding all of the waterfalls in the grampians. this water-bound fern sitting firm while the water swirled and eddied around it was quite a sight to behold. how it had managed (possibly for a hundred years or more) to keep its footing I’ll never know - but what a delight!

i’ll never really know what attracts me so much to these tiny ponds sitting in eroded bowls scattered across the surface of large expanses of rock.. I think it’s probably that there are often amazing arrangements of wood or rocks that make it look as if they’ve been set up for a picture to be taken.. the perfectly-poised branch sitting over the water is a good example of that, at least for me!

this view looking south down at the collapsing remains of the “twelve” apostles shows the heat-baked coastline and heat haze hovering over the emerald water - at 50 degrees celsius! even as these epic sandstone towers, once connected to the mainland, continue to erode, they provide a majestic view along the victorian coastline.

the otway ranges nestle inland of the central victorian coast and play host to a range of different environments, many of them harbouring sub-tropical rainforests. this waterfall tumbles into a pool of lichen-covered river rocks, rounded and glistening as the water flows over and around them.

a decomposing tree trunk, long-ago hewn from the ground, plays host to a small army of fungi.. one of the hallmarks of this type of sub-tropical terrain is the manner in which everything grows, falls, plays host to new life and then eventually is subsumed into the ever-changing terrain.

here’s another one of those beautifully art-directed pools, lying at the foot of a huge vertical rock face. the timber was probably wedged there in a. time of flood and has simply rested there ever since - slowly weathering and becoming part of this beautiful mosaic of rock, timber, water and the green life that nestles in and around it.

the sun atop the ridge peers down into this water-drenched valley, highlighting the water vapour in the air and glistening on the wet rocks below. myriad cascades over several different tiers wend their way down past plants, marooned timber and a host of rock pools, finally rejoining the stream they came from to wind down the valley below.

at the top end of a gully I’d been walking down just south of lorne, I came across this beautiful, secluded pool, being fed water from a creek that ran down and over the rock ledge you see in the background. the tranquillity there in a small oasis almost invisible except when you stood right on its edge was amazing - and I saw the signs of many dawn & dusk creatures who no doubt come each day to enjoy the peace and have a quiet drink at water’s edge.

as I followed the water coursing down the valley from a waterfall at the top of the ranges, this ‘footprint’ in the top of one of the rocks caught my attention. its presence in the top of a well worn river rock was difficult to explain, unless a large person long ago walked over it when it was hot enough to take an impression of the large foot it would now encompass!

the water spread and slowed down at this part of the winding creek and the range of timber, ferns and lichen somehow melded with the soft murmur of the water to create a sense of tranquillity. it was as though time had stood still there for aeons and I’d trespassed on an ancient place where, no doubt, magic abounds..

you can almost feel the air baking the landscape on this hot, windy day as you look up the central victorian coastline towards geelong and melbourne.. when you consider that the two apostles you can see were once joined to the mainland, it is clear just how much erosion the constant bombardment of the waves has caused - a lot of it over the past 100 years or so.

looking out from under the canopy overhanging the secluded pool (seen above) the way that nature has surrounded this little oasis becomes apparent. ferns and cycads surround the pool, while ancient gum trees tower over and protect it. the cascading wall of water creates a steady mellifluous soundtrack that is almost mesmerising.

as this severed tree trunk succumbs to the onslaught of nature’s various agents, the colours and age lines in the wood create a snapshot of the life that was. the rich reds and ochres in the timber contrast beautifully with the ashen beige of dead gum leaves and the vibrant green of the small plants slowly subsuming the decaying wood.

one of the ‘joys’ of navigating gorges beneath waterfalls is the abundance of water-smoothed and shiny-slick river rocks! what struck me about this scene was the undulating harmony of rocks, water, timber and the many water and land plants that have arranged themselves in and around the available real estate.

the lichen on the rocks at flinders island (off the coast of tasmania) is actually every bit asa vivid as it looks in this picture. startling oranges and yellows and really white whites delivering an amazing splash of colour on the grey granite boulders strewn around many of the coastal areas. the island itself is a tiny paradise with few inhabitants and a wonderful sense of tranquility.

the combination of grey, emerald, green and brown foliage in a range of textures combine here with the blue of the water and white of the sand to create a symphony of colours and textures. in the distance, the technicolored lichen draws the eye right out to the point, and the clear water beyond.

one can only imagine the forces involved in forming these amazing rocks aeons ago. bands of different colours and textures, often in astonishingly straight blocks of intersecting panels cross and head off on their own journey, slowly weathering as the elements take their toll.

amidst a sea of green and brown, new and decomposing vegetation, this bright red pond marks the presence of eucalyptus decaying and its red resin colouring the water as it seeps into a custom-made receptacle. as is often the case in such sleepy little hollows, nature has created a design that is, at once, both chaos and symmetry.

a fallen tree lies extended over another seemingly isolated pond, the greens moss and ferns in stark contrast to the brown of the dead timber keeping en eye on all that flows underneath. it never ceases to amaze and delight me when these tiny oases reveal themselves, just inviting the passer-by to sit and reflect a little..

here the dark and brackish water marooned in a rocky pond takes on a dark - almost black - colour, from out of which often startlingly emerald green weed pokes its head. when the surrounding rocks and their many-hued lichen overcoats are added to the view, the landscape becomes almost surreal.

layer upon layer, fold beside fold of rock, scarred by millennia of ice, water, sun and wind create a surprisingly rounded and undulating surface upon which nature has then decided to paint. the magic of these rock forms is quite arresting, and with the blue tranquillity of the ocean, and then a neighbouring island in the background, I found myself standing transfixed for quite some time - watching it all simply ‘be’..

another eucalyptus-dyed pond, this time surrounded by timber probably far older than elsewhere, it’s bark and flesh decaying in deep, grooved recognition of the time that has passed. splashes of green foliage, some finer and some broader combine to create what I think is a perfect native ‘flower’ arrangement - only this one’s going nowhere!

with just a little imagination, the large, rounded face of the rock presiding over this deep, still pond could be a whale - stuck in time, but every bit as imposing as it would be in real life. the mixture of rock, water, foliage and blue sky make this a portrait that truly does justice to the variability and stunning beauty of this amazing place.

the balmy air at dawn is the perfect time for a stroll along the beach anywhere in the vicinity of the Daintree. as I meandered along on this sultry morning, these two coconut husks, lying partially embedded in the sand were simply the essence of tranquillity!

one of the most amazing aspects of the daintree is the large bodies of still, crystal clear water. this is a typical scene when you walk through the forest - massive trees and vines, huge leave that have fallen from the canopy above - and a watery grave that preserves every little detail for years.. it really is hauntingly beautiful.

looking up at the canopy from the forest floor, you start to appreciate this amazing echo system. towering above you the trees stretch as wide as they can to catch sunlight, sheltering everything below in a cocoon of warmth, humidity and activity. even on the hottest of days, the forest is a temperate zone - but very humid!

this is a scene often-repeated in this part of the world. dense foliage, massive air roots, twisted and gnarled tree trunks and expanses of sparkling, still water. the reflections in the water surface are often amazing and add an extra dimension to everything you see.

this scene is a very ordinary every-day one in the tropical north. soft morning pre-dawn light suddenly starts to burn as the sun rises - and there are frequently quite massive cloud heads in the sky - just waiting to create an amazing refraction of the light.. a few minutes and it's daylight - but those minutes are quite often really spectacular.

i just loved this amazing tree - or really its trunk! the red and white bark, spotted with green lichens stood proud against the deep green foliage of the rest of the forest. the creeper that had twisted itself around the base of the tree prior to climbing 40 feet into the canopy just looked like a bow tied round it's middle. cute!

this is a great example of the combination of still water and dense tropical rainforest. looking out into this section of the forest 'floor', it was almost impossible to work out what was real and what was a reflection.. the lushness of this environment just has to be seen to be appreciated..

one of the other amazing sight in the daintree is the twisted, complex air roots that support many of the mangrove trees, making sure that they can survive in flood as well as in the drier times. each set of roots is an architectural masterpiece, ably supporting the often significant trees that sit above them.

the diversity of both plant and animal life in the forest is simply astounding. if you tried to count the amazing range of different plants and species in this shot, you'd be going for hours. the astonishing thing is that all of them are happy to live completely inundated and in a tangled mass of togetherness with their neighbours!

this massive leave, submerged - but completely spread out - was just something i had to capture. not far away, water trickled down a water-course from a larger body of water. yet although there was a significant flow of water, the leaf remained undisturbed - and looks like it has done so for a very long time!

the mud-red water and long, rooted trunks of these ancient mangrove trees are truly a sight to behold. seeing masses of mangroves 4-5 feet tall is nothing to rave about, but seeing acres of mangroves 20-30 feet high is simply astounding! it really is a magical place.

long sweeping beaches, where the sea water often joins the water in the forest at high tide makes for amazing patterns and an amazing journey up the beach as the tide recedes. the colours on this morning, as the sun rose, made the whole beach look like it was on fire.

standing in the river is often the best way to get a decent shot. after my previous trip into this region I got some waders - so wading in and parking in the middle of the river is now easy - and dry! just out of marysville in victoria, the taggerty river is a sanctuary of serenity.  colour, texture and movement abound - what more could you want?

off to the side of a very large amount of water cascading down the gorge, this tiny little set of stepped cascades emerges from the undergrowth. tiny, but somehow quite beautiful in contrast..

after the massive fires around marysville, thousands of trees died - simply unable to recover from the ferocity of the fires. every time there are storms, more trees are blown over and end up parking themselves in the river. the angles they create are often truly beautiful..

this set of falls is about half way down a very large gorge - below which the river meanders away for a great distance down the valley. rocks, trees and water all come tumbling down and yet somehow end up placing themselves in their spot - and then staying to create an amazing conglomerate of lines and life.

it always amazes me that, even with massive amounts of water flowing over and around them, aquatic plants manage to hang onto the rocks to which they have attached themselves - yet remain soft to the touch..

nature has a way of arranging colours and textures better than even the best landscaper can do.. the balance and tiering in this section of foundation and fallen rocks is just amazing!

what interested me about this descending wash of water was the contrast created between wet and dry surfaces and the way that weathered rock - and weathered wood - somehow take on the same appearance, although one is so very much harder than the other..

the lack of colour in this shot accentuates the sheer volume of water that somehow manages to travel between all of the obstacles in its way - and yet somehow arrive at the bottom of the race almost ripple-free.. somehow, an exercise in balance and symmetry.

looking back up this branch of the river and trying to capture that sense of 'distance' that the human eye sees has been almost impossible using 35mm equipment.. this shot shows the difference in both depth of field and perspective possible with medium format - the image beckons you in.. wonderful!

the amazing bent tree on the right acts as a sentinel overlooking the convergence of two rivers, which merge on the other side of the island it is on. the tree itself is dead, but very much alive with other plants using its elevation to good effect.

one of the amazing things about mountain water is how it can flow swiftly, but remain absolutely transparent.. the rocks, colours and textures on the river bed here are crystal clear, even from a distance.

walking beside and then wading down the river, being confronted by branches and logs that have become lodged behind large rocks isn't at all unusual.. this particular cluster just had a nice combination of colours and textures.

the timber in these forests is just amazingly straight.. fallen trees create almost perfect bridges across the water beneath - if you're game to try walking across! the division this tree creates between water and the surrounding forest is also almost perfect.

as the water courses through moss-covered rocks, here and there all the way down the river stepping stones hold themselves clear of the surface - as if placed intentionally.. beautifully rounded and perfectly slippery!

here, two smaller trees have fallen hard from the river bank and ended up forming a woody triangle around a mostly-submerged rock. the contrast between rock, water, timber and small plants delivers a perfect natural mosaic.

looked at from another angle, the rock 'face' emerging from the slowly swirling water could almost be a leopard seal popping its head up to see what was going on. nature doing a great job of conjuring up unlikely images!

at the bottom of a very steep gorge slicing through the hillside, this collection of rocks and wood just seemed very unlikely.. and yet, as with everything else in this area, the whole collection creates a perfect natural symmetry.

the combination of water coming from two directions and a stack of different elements make this image a little hard on the sense of balance! but the way the colours, textures and angles come together is - i think - a work of art..

i nearly fell into the river a number of times here - the rocks really are as shiny (and slippery) as they look! what i loved about this scene is the combination of matt and shiny surfaces and the way the white wash of the water sets everything else into contrast.

find a rock, a slope and chuck in some water - and all of a sudden you are able to create geometric patters that almost make you dizzy! as always, the range of colours, different materials and a bit of a slow exposure turned this little alcove into a dazzling display.

standing in the water here, with the tripod in about four feet of water, the calmness of this quiet little river bank was almost mesmerizing. and yet the current was amazingly strong - almost setting up visible vibrations in the camera. still, tranquillity for sure..

the beauty of a desaturated image is that the textures and lines that colour otherwise distracts you from become really apparent. although a similar placement of the camera in colour looks great, the shapes and fluidity of lines in this shot show just how much colour changes our perspective..

although similar to another shot in this collection, the great colours on the rocks and in the leafy fern in the foreground made me think it was worth including.. in this shot the rives takes a back seat to the foreground!

in a small siding off the side of the river an almost stagnant pond sat in stillness, its surface rotating ever so slowly. what struck me was just how many different textures surrounded it. not to everyone's taste - but it's a wonderful abstract..

the coastline between hastings and flinders on the mornington peninsula is home to miles and miles of great beaches to walk on. walking along the beach at somers close to dusk, I saw this grass eeed - looking very much like a leggy spider - just floating on the surface of a sun-drenched rock pool. very simple, but arrestingly pretty.

there’s a yacht club at somers that has had a water break built in front of it. on a clear but very hot december evening, the colours and textures of the timber posts holding up the wall in the evening sun just begged to be captured. as man-made as the structure may be, once weathered it looks deceptively natural!

summer sunsets over blue water and golden sand.. one of those images that speaks to me of slow, relaxed holidays, family & friends.. looking down towards flinders across merricks demanded not only a shot, but also a sit-down for the next 15 minutes!

it always strikes me as surprising that a piece of weed that has floated on the water until washed up on the beach can be deposited with such care.. sitting in solitary peace, this mound of weed just captured my eye - serene and uncaring even on its own..

water-worn timber, rusty bolts and a few blue periwinkles, wrapped around a wall of protective rocks. somehow the lines, angles, shapes and textures create, for me, a sculpture that both tells a story - and makes a promise.

I never quite worked out the story of this solitary post, camped out on the point with no friends or neighbours.. and yet, year after year, there it has stood, just keeping an eye on the water and noticing the comings and goings of life as it sits silently minding its own business.

here another great example of nature working with whatever comes to hand to create a small, beautiful, microcosm. for some, I guess, it may be just some rusty bolts and split timber, but when you put them together with a few marine campers and some evening sun, it’s just pretty as a picture!

I guess this reminds me of the old ‘one man’s trash…’ adage - something many would walk by or see as debris, sitting on the wet sand.. for me, though, sat just exactly where the water left it, this little collection of weeds was as beautiful as any bouquet I could imagine a florist making up for me..

somewhere, sometime, the water was so strong as it washed across this large fence post that it wrenched away the timber being held by some pretty significant bolts! given just a little more time, though, the rust-reds etched into the timber as it basks in the evening sun delivered a set of colours, textures and shapes I simply love.

this rocky promontory is on the southern-most tip of south africa - and all of the rocks here bear witness to the raging winds and lashing seas that bombard the coastline when the weather is bad. however, the astonishing colours and textures revealed and shaped by the weather create a vista of true beauty.

walking high above cape town with friends, we topped a ridge and looked across this wide expanse of water, a lake high above the coast. the air was so still and the water so deep, that the hillside beyond the bridge in the distance was perfectly reflected in the water - making it appear like there was an open field in front of us… quite an illusion!

the weather-torn cliff faces that run all along the coast here are, at once, bleak and beautiful. some of the rock appears to be more sedimentary and therefore erodes in a cascade of colour and fissure. other, more volcanic in appearance, harbours small caves for birds in myriad time-eroded pockets, all quite black and extremely abrasive.

at low tide, this beach looking out to the south of the continent was a mass of well-rounded rocks further in, and a rocky foreshore littered with rock pools closer to the sea. strewn across rock pools and rocks alike were many types of seaweed - the long stringy tendrils of the darker weed embracing the rocks as they lay waiting for the water to return.

slyer upon layer of tree litter, shrubs of many colours and textures and rusting sedimentary rock all come together to make a collage that is quite arresting to look at. as is so often the case with nature, there is a beautiful order in the way things are displayed - even if there’s apparently no grand design behind their placement.

it is, of course, very much a question of perspective, but there’s simply no way I can look at this rocky outcrop and see a face - looking diligently out to see. it’s almost as if a sculptor chiselled the face out of the darker rock below, creating a bust that has amazing character and presence.

one memory I will always have is looking down from the paths that wend their way around this headland and getting an amazing sense of vertigo due to both the height of the cliffs and steepness with which the land drops away into the ocean below. the contrast between the dark rock, green foliage clinging to the crevices and teal-blue of the sea as it crashes into the cliff walls is really quite something to behold.

the wind-swept tops of the coastal cliffs are mostly covered with low-lying vegetation - no doubt keen to stay below the swirling, salty eddies of the winds that bombard this very exposed southern tip of the cape. sitting in the midst of just such a space, the almost bonsai-like tree had stuck it’s head and shoulders up for all to see - beautiful lines and a real stand-out with its darker green foliage.

you have to wonder how a series of rocks manage either to tumble, and get stuck, or be eroded in a way that means there’s such a huge overhang of completely unsupported rock! whatever the science - or physics - behind it, this great totem looks east and has a bottom ‘jaw’ that could easily be the face of a well-known australian marsupial.

yet another perfect example of the art that is formed when eroding rocks, weathering wood and whatever shrubs are able to survive are brought together by the forces of nature. to me, this particular example just personifies the diversity and beauty of this rugged environment.

another mountain lake, high above the sea, nestling in-between the surrounding cliff faces that drop down to the ocean below. the deep blue of the water here may well be clearer than it looks, but on a sunny morning it has borrowed some additional colour from a pristine blue sky to create a fantastic symphony in azure.

the beauty of the native flora in and around this region is just mind-boggling. walking through the botanical gardens at cape town is a must if you’re ever there. but here, out on our walk, the amazing orange and green of this flower was as pretty and jewel-like as anything i’d seen.

the colour and texture of lichen on this spherical boulder, ensconced in a large rocky promontory reminded me of the moon's surface - with contrasting textures giving the appearance of craters..

as i walked around the point south of binalong bay, this little 'gully' in between a number of larger boulders revealed itself. the shape and colours of the uppermost rocks struck a stark contrast with the almost unmarked grey, black & white crystalline structure of the more hidden rocks - highlighting the impact that the acid leeched by the lichen has on colour and surface texture..

as I peered into the crevice you see in this shot, a couple of things struck me. firstly, the almost gold-leaf-like colour on the rock in the centre, which was quite unexpected. but then, i was captivated by the two almost perfectly spherical 'marbles' nestled in made-to-measure spaces, where possibly they've been trapped for an eternity..

how does an almost perfectly rectangular piece of rock, with a bright white edge, come to nestle so snugly in-between two very round companions? for me, the contrasting white in among a sea of almost pastel colour and texture seemed worth capturing..

looking back across the bottom end of binalong bay towards the point, i was overcome by a sense of serenity. rounded, rolling rock forms leading toward a treed point - with an aqua-blue skirt running down the side.. gorgeous!

something that always amazes me is the faces and forms that develop in rocks when they are weathered by the elements.. this shot provides a perfect example of the almost sculpted eye and chiselled face that was thrown into contrast in the morning light.. 

i'm not at all sure just what kind of creature this amazing boulder conjures up for me - a cross between an eagle and a bull..? but either way, the intricate shape emerging from a fallen granite boulder is quite arresting..

other than the fact that everything between my vantage point and the ocean is solid rock, these could be gently rolling hills anywhere on the coast! almost like rock returned to sand, the undulations in the surface make the rocks appear almost soft..

lost in the middle of a collision of large granite rocks, a couple of small rock creatures who found their way in - and can't get out! i just loved the illusion of depth in what is only really a metre-deep gap..

the wonderful colour and texture taken on by the hollow worn into the face of this rock surface is almost mouth-like. as with a number of other images captured at the gardens, the contrasts in colour and texture between foreground and background are quite startling..

sitting, perfectly balanced, in a sea of stone, this rock has obviously decided it's not going anywhere.. it is actually quite a feat to have withstood wind, sand and water - and just stayed put!

here's another example of a small piece of weathered rock that has simply decided it likes where it is.. i guess you could say it has found its niche in life!

sometimes the smallest of features takes on quite significant stature when seen from the right angle. i particularly liked the almost other-worldly appearance this small indentation devoid of lichen has taken on..

amidst a sea of harsh black & white granite, nestles a tiny green plant. the contrast between the soft, green and flowing plant and the very structured granitic surface just made this an appealing shot.

there's something about this entire scene that reminds me of desert islands and a sense of harsh paradise. what amazes me is how often you can just wander into a setting that nature has made picture-perfect and have nothing to do but squeeze off a shot..

here's another example of nature creating quite extraordinary creatures - this one which could also be an ant-eater with bowed head and tail flowing behind it. well, that's what it looks like to me anyway!

this small group of boulders, overlooked by a craggy wind-swept tree just looked like an impromptu get-together. the range of colour and texture underneath a threatening sky just somehow worked.

every time i walked past this formation, it just looked like a hippo to me. so i figured i'd see if i could find anyone else who agreed with me... ?

looking at these almost square-cut blocks of stone, i wondered whether there had ever been a quarry nearby.. i couldn't find any evidence of one, which left me wondering - how does a scene like this happen naturally..?

i almost didn't include this image - which is clearly just a piece of rock, with an interesting surface.. but i kept coming back to it, because the complexity of the shapes and surface is intriguing.

this shot came from the eroded underside of a hill, adjacent to a waterfall where i didn't manage to get any shots i liked. but the range of colours and surface patterns, once lit, just astounded me..