Bird photography is becoming increasingly popular. With that in mind, I’ve created this Introductory Guide that offers tips and techniques for photographing birds and recommendations for cameras and lenses. This guide is free to download and share. It also features a complimentary download of one of my historically best-selling books, Amazing Facts About Australian Birds. This title is suitable for readers of all ages. Study it, and you’ll know more about birds than 90% of all Australians!

This unique 300-page interactive eGuide offers an in-depth look at the current state of DSLRs and mirrorless cameras for 2026. It will help you confidently navigate the expansive world of photographic gear as you explore the tools and techniques necessary to bring your vision to life. Unlock the art of storytelling through your lens. With over fifty years of professional experience, Steve simplifies complex settings and techniques to empower your creative voice. Whether you’re capturing breathtaking landscapes, dynamic wildlife, or everyday moments in the urban, street, fine art, wildlife and botanical photography, this unique guide is filled with actionable tips and practical advice for photographers of all levels.

Kati Thanda – Lake Eyre

‘Seek out the essence of your joy,
then honour it with full attention.’
Steve Parish

As a photographer, I’m often torn between realism and abstraction. Thirty hours airborne from William Creek during a period of flooding stands as the pinnacle of my career photographing Australia, both from above and below. Looking vertically from 10,000 feet, I witnessed a mesmerising collage of shape, shadow, colour, and texture that deepened my lifelong love affair with the art of land. I was so overwhelmed by the beauty that tears flowed freely—I was photographing through blurred vision, utterly entranced.

Some landscapes, like the one featured above, resembled vast, living mazes—myriad minor creeks weaving toward the lowest point, ultimately becoming ‘as one.’ It struck me as a powerful metaphor: a river of consciousness. People begin as individuals, flowing in different directions, eventually converging, forming a single, unstoppable force. In nature, these tributaries become Warburton Creek, which winds 400 kilometres to bring life to Lake Eyre.

The transformation water brings to this arid land is one of the most awe-inspiring natural events I’ve ever witnessed. Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre National Park protects these desert expanses, including the nation’s largest salt lake and its lowest point. When I first visited in April 2010, the lake was about seventy per cent full. I spent three unforgettable days flying above the region. That experience remains the highlight of over fifty years of photographing this vast country. There is nothing quite like gazing silently at a changing landscape from above—especially when your pilot knows that silence, too, can be sublime.

Malkumba-Coongie Lakes III

An abstract watercolour inspired by the vast wetland area at Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park. As I flew in the late afternoon light over the lakes the colours reflected appeared as a canvas of incredible beauty.

Sky Reflections

On the infrequent occasions that Lake Eyres fills with water the transformation from a white salt-covered landscape to one of the vivid blues reflecting the sky is a sight to behold.

The Edge

Inspired by the way the sun catches and reflects dazzling abstract patterns on the salt crystals around the edges of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, a spectacular National Park in north-central South Australia.

Metamorphosis

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park protects dry desert landscapes, the nation’s largest salt lake and the lowest point on the mainland. When I first visited in April 2010, it was about seventy percent full. I spent three days flying the region, and the experience has been the highlight of my 50 plus years photographing Australia.

Sturt’s Stony Desert I

Sturt’s Stony Desert is an area that extends from the north-east of South Australia across into far southwestern border area of Queensland and down through the far north-west of New South Wales. It was named by Charles Sturt in 1844, while he was trying to find the inland sea which he believed lay at the centre of Australia. The artistry of this landscape lies in the incredibly detailed patterns of what are in effect small flat rocks forming what is, in fact, a tiled pavement like canvas as far as the eye can see.

Kati Thanda I

As Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre fills with water the transformation of a white salt covered
landscape to one of vivid blue is a sight to behold.

Constant Change

During the 2010 extensive flooding of the dunes, claypans, creeks and rivers of the north-west of South Australia many artful abstractions became evident, especially when viewed vertically from the air. Innaminka Regional Reserve,
north-eastern South Australia.

Daydreams

On the infrequent occasions that Lake Eyres fills with water the transformation from a white
salt-covered landscape to one of the vivid blues reflecting the sky is a sight to behold.

Shimmering

As Kati Thanda/Lake Eyres fills the transformation of a white salt covered landscape to one of vivid blue is a sight to behold and certainly one that has highlighted my long career photographing Australia.

Cooper Creek

While flying over Cooper Creek during the 2010 floods
I was inspired by the patterns and colours during late afternoon light.

An Ode to Trees

There are choices on life’s journey
to that boundless place beyond my mind.
One would be to meet you once again—
where sunlight bathes our conversation
and feelings flow without direction or end.

I dream you might, for a moment,
cross my path once more—
to pause my endless journey
beyond this space,
beyond this time,
where branches touch in distant realms
on planes far beyond
the reach of my human mind.

Finding a tree that stands alone, a tree that speaks to your soul is something all of us need to do. When you have found ‘your tree’ the next step is to develop a personal relationship with it. Consider this as one of the most powerful, life-enhancing ways to connect with nature.

As with all new relationships, there is work to be done. Sit, bare-footed on the earth with your back to the trunk of your new friend and while shielded by its shade enter a state of ‘no thought.’ Breath slowly and deeply, and in the stillness, you will find your senses become heightened. Soon you start to see and feel art in the simplest of things around you; the abstract colours, patterns and textures of bark; the dynamic structure of buttresses dripping with fungus, moss and alive with a multitude of mini-beasts. Then there’s the artistry of fallen leaves, fruits and flowers – so many elements to catch the eye.

Revisit and repeat the process throughout the seasons and in many kinds of weather. Visit at dawn, at dusk and in the inky blackness of the night. Soon you will realise that you have become part of that tree.

You will never be alone; you will be in the company of many living things. All will know you are there; nothing goes unseen, unheard, unfelt. Many mammals, birds, and reptiles, a multitude of living things have already long-bonded with ‘your tree’. You will find this is so and you will begin to see much further than you have ever seen before.

A special relationship

Over the decades, I have developed relationships with some unique trees. Some are protected in National Parks and council gardens and even honoured with signs and barricades that protect and celebrate their grandness. Others are so unique that the landowners have seen fit to signpost ‘no entry’.  Still, others are atop mountains or deep in a rainforest-clad gorge. These extraordinary sometimes age-old botanical wonders have captured my artistic attention over decades of wandering. As I revisit them, I like to take pause, reflecting on my life journey. Who was I back then? How far have I travelled since then? It’s like turning back the pages of a diary.

‘A Mountain Ash Morning I and II’

A misty morning deep inside the towering mountain ash forest, a striking feature of Australia’s temperate wet forests at Yarra Ranges National Park, Victoria, sets a captivating scene. The mountain ash, or Eucalyptus regnans, is the world’s tallest flowering plant, reaching over 100 meters. On ABC’s Catalyst program, ‘Australia’s Favourite Tree,’ experts praised its ecological significance and unique adaptations.

These remarkable trees provide critical habitats for numerous species, including the endangered Leadbeater’s possum, and play a vital role in carbon sequestration, helping to mitigate climate change. Their deep-rooted systems stabilise soil and prevent erosion, which is critical in maintaining the forest ecosystem. Notably, mountain ash can regenerate after bushfires, showcasing its resilience.

‘Gondwana Forest’

Commonly known as Antarctic beech, is a crucial Gondwana relict of the rainforests of the southern hemisphere. It occurs in wet, fire-free areas at high altitudes in eastern Australia. The Antarctic beech grows in cool temperate rainforests from the Barrington Tops plateau in New South Wales, north to the Lamington Plateau and Springbrook Plateau, in southern Queensland, between altitudes of 480 m and 1550 m. It occurs in temperate to cool temperatures and with occasional snowfalls. Antarctic beech achieves its finest development at Werrikimbe National Park and Mount Banda Banda.

‘Wurundjeri Country’

A world of moisture and mystery, deep within the Yarra Ranges National Park, where ancient myrtle beech trees rise like living monuments draped in rich cloaks of moss. Every surface glistens in the damp, filtered light—branches, trunks, and forest floor alike—creating an ethereal green tapestry that speaks of time, resilience, and the quiet persistence of nature. This ecosystem is untouched by hurry, where life unfolds in layers and silence is broken only by dripping water and the occasional call of a lyrebird.

‘Each As One’

A grand old mulga tree is the central refuge during waterhole activity for flocks of emerald-green budgerigars and pink and grey galahs. When a predatory bird sweeps past, thousands of budgerigars respond in perfect unison, fleeing to the tree with astonishing synchronicity. Their collective movement—fluid and precise—suggests a hidden language, a kind of instinctive communication that binds them together like a single, breathing organism.

‘An Old Friend II’

A Ghost Gum’s smooth white bark contrasts the rugged red-brown ridges of the MacDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory. I consider this tree a friend—steadfast, silent, and ever-welcoming. For over thirty years, I’ve returned to this exact spot, greeted each time by its familiar form. In a landscape shaped by time and harsh conditions, this tree has become a living marker of continuity and quiet companionship, offering not just shade, but a sense of belonging in the vastness of the desert.

‘Light Hunter’s Delight’

I grew up in a culture of guns and hunting. It was the late 50’s and there were gun shops on every corner. Hunting, mainly fish and rabbits for food, was very much part of my youth. I feel these youthful experiences have served me well because nature photography is very much about hunting. Patience, at times stealth, a keen eye for detail and an addictive personality are all integral to this work. The prize, of course, is a sense of delight when even the most simple of elements, like the textural echoes seen in this composition, come into play.
Boab tree Kimberly District, Western Australia.

‘The Oneness’

The interrelations between the living and non-living elements in any ecosystem are a great source of fuel for any creative soul regardless of medium. I have reflected upon many ecological and, in this case artistic, relationships for many years and find the challenges, wins, and losses, both constant and enriching. I see the content of this digital charcoal sketch – something I like to do when I am feeling particularly playful – as a triangle between the tree, the rock, and my own emotions; in this trilogy, the ‘oneness’.

‘Life from Light’

As one of the planet’s most endangered wild places, the tropical rainforest is also among its most diverse and breathtakingly beautiful ecosystems. These lush green realms are not only heartlands of inspiration but also present a formidable photographic challenge.

I’ve spent years immersed in that challenge—capturing not just the rainforest’s visual splendour, but the deep emotional resonance it stirs within me. All forests are driven by a single impulse: the reaching for light. Interpreting that instinct visually has been a constant and compelling pursuit.

In this image, I wanted to honour the twists and turns of a grand old fig tree—its gnarled limbs reaching skyward in a slow, determined dance toward the sun.

Tropical Rainforest, Daintree World Heritage National Park, Queensland

‘Mist Forest’

‘Fairytails’

The Pandani or giant grass tree is a distinctive endemic Tasmanian angiosperm. It is dicot belonging to the Ericaceae family and is found in central, western and south-west Tasmania. This fairytale setting at Cradle Mountain is one of my favourite in the world of Australian botany.  Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Tasmania

‘Matilda’s Billabong’

River red gum at Combo’s waterholes, north-west Queensland, inspired ‘Banjo’ Paterson to write Waltzing Matilda, Australia’s most popular folk song. They are a refuge for wildlife during dry times.

‘Lost in Mist’

I became so absorbed with this encounter that I subsequently became disoriented in a heavy mist. I have never been able to find this remarkable rock-embraced snow gum since. Mount Field National Park, Tasmania.

‘Mountain Mist’

Even in its passing, this grand old twisted gumtree is one of my favourites, and I love to revisit it when in Tasmania, especially in misty weather. Mount Wellington, Tasmania.

‘Worrora Country II’

In the quiet tide of Doubtful Bay, where the Kimberley whispers its ancient secrets, the Rhizophora mangrove stands as a sculptor of time. Its buttress roots stretch like graceful arms, weaving through the mud and water, embracing the earth with a rhythm that speaks of patience and resilience. These roots rise in sweeping arcs, their forms both delicate and bold, etched by centuries of tides. Each curve, each twist, is an artwork carved by the forces of nature, a testament to survival in a land where the land and sea are in constant, graceful dialogue. In their bold beauty, these roots evoke a sense of both grounding and reaching, as if the mangrove tree is rooted in the past, yet reaching ever upward, stretching toward a future of endless possibilities.

‘Standing Tall’

The Ghost Gum in Trephina Gorge Nature Park stands as a monumental testament to the enduring strength of the Australian outback. This grand specimen, said to be the tallest Ghost Gum in the Macdonnell Ranges, reaches an impressive 33 metres in height, its branches stretching boldly toward the endless sky. At over 300 years old, this ancient tree has withstood the harshest of conditions, its weathered bark and twisted form telling stories of time and resilience.

It is a silent sentinel, watching over the rugged landscape, its white bark stark against the deep red of the surrounding cliffs. Beneath its broad canopy, the whisper of the wind through the leaves is a soft reminder of the tree’s longevity and the secrets it holds. To stand beneath its towering frame is to connect with a history that stretches far beyond human memory, a living monument to the spirit of the land, ever growing, ever enduring.

‘Kurkara’ & ‘The Healing Tree’

Above left: ‘Kurkara’ – The desert oak is a medium-sized, slow-growing tree found in the desert regions of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.  The Anangu peoples know this iconic arid land tree as kurkara.

Above right:  ‘The Healing Tree’ – Historically, Indigenous Australians use the desert bloodwood tree for traditional medicine. The exudate from the trunk or branches was diluted and used as an antiseptic treatment of facial cuts and sores. Larger leaves were also useful for staunching wounds. The red bark kino can be stripped from the tree and mixed in water then consumed for diarrhoea as well as for indigestion and chest pain. The wood from the tree was also used by Indigenous peoples to make spear-throwers, digging bowls and carrying vessels. Europeans used the wood to make fence-posts, joists slabs and buildings as well as using it for firewood.
Both images: Uluru, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Central Australia.

Abstracts & Impressions

When my mind ceases to think of outcomes 
I enter a state-of-play, a special place inside where true joy resides.  – Steve Parish

This collection focuses on abstractions, montages, collages, and playful impressions of a wide range of content. While the many genres have a definite place, inside my head, there is a little boy who loves his wide-ranging palette and simply loves to play—nothing more and nothing less.

This collection focuses on the visual language of shape, form, colour, and line, creating compositions that can exist independently from the ‘real’ world. In the realm of photography, I’ve pushed the boundaries of enhancement, transforming some images radically in terms of colour, texture, and form, while others stand as abstract works in their own right.

The collection represents both interpretations of field experiences and subsequent playful rendering via digital manipulation of those field encounters. The content in this portfolio originates from wetlands, arid lands, woodlands, forests, oceans, and reefs, as well as collected imagery over time across every corner of the Australian continent on land, from the air, and beneath the sea.

Above: ‘Karlu Karlu’.  Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, Northern Territory. This image is about both geological form and fantasy for me, and the tension between the two has produced this outcome. 

Reawkening

To witness the reawakening of previously dry, dusty, seemingly barren landscapes never ceases to be a thrilling experience. Southwest Queensland

‘The Isness’

The acceptance of ‘what is’, the quality of being, also became a revelation to me quite recently. It is very pertinent to photography because considerable anxiety can arise if the photographic conditions – weather, light, finding the subjects you seek’, are not immediately forthcoming.  Over the years, I have learnt to accept what is in any given moment; this applies very much to wildflower photography fieldwork.  So I have a choice. I can choose to become anxious, upset, filled with mind stories, or just accept the isness and discover many more exciting photography subjects.  This image was on one field trip ‘out of season’, so I thought what a surprise to find the recent rains had generated a spectacular new blooming of colour.
Stirling Ranges National Park, Western Australia

‘Noongar Country I, II & III’

Colour is without doubt my most important ingredient as a photographer of the natural world. In fact, as a young underwater photographer, it was the intense colour found in marine life that fuelled my drive to document, then share, the images with anyone who would look. Flowering plants have presented me with similar joyful moments. The image of wildflowers are a celebration of that journey, a journey into one of the world’s most diverse and colourful kingdoms, the flowering plants of Australia.
All three images above,  Wildflower carpeting, Morawa Shire, central Western Australia.

‘Shifting Goalposts’

This image and the back-story to follow, came to me while contemplating the shimmering reflections close to the Pieman Rivers’ bank in western Tasmania. Closer to the rivers edge the lines were most disrupted, the further out the shimmering deceased. At the time I thought, wow, that’s how it is in life. Life’s dramas, always subside. Small and even monumental changes to our life situation can come charging out of a clear blue sky at a moment’s notice as if some dominant force reached down and moved your goalposts without warning!

‘Alpine Inspiration’

Snow gum tree bark ranges in colour and young branches are glossy and red and as the tree matures, it develops smooth bark ranging in colour from green to grey and cream. This abstract reflects those colours.

‘Special Schools’

Beneath the eucalyptus trees
down among the fallen leaves
and branches,
a silent, shuffling shape
goes searching,
leaving telltale traces
only for those with time
and lots of patience,
who have been to special schools
to learn to see.

When in forests and woodlands, I must remember to look down at my feet!

‘Kati Thanda I & II’

As a photographer, I am often torn between realism and abstraction. Thirty hours airborne from William Creek during the 2010 floods represents the highlight of my entire career photographing Australia from above and below. The collages of shape, shadow, colour and texture while looking vertically from 10,000 feet reinforced my love affair with the art of land. I was so excited that the tears flowed freely, so much so, I was focussing blind!

Water seeps from Warburton Creek into Lake Eyre, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park, South Australia

‘Yandruwandha Country I’

Yandruwandha 1 was inspired while flying across the multiple ecosystems found in Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park, a spectacular wild place in far northeastern South Australia. The flight was late afternoon, and the country was in flood. The dunes and grasslands, when combined with sky reflections across mirror-calm waters, provided a colour palette beyond anything I have ever witnessed.

As One

Like a giant maze spilling across the landscape, a myriad of minor creeks find their way to the lowest point where they become ‘as one’ — an excellent metaphor for what has now become the river of consciousness. People begin a movement independently, which then forms one influential collective. In this case, the many tributaries combine as Warburton Creek, which then takes a 400-kilometre journey culminating in the flooding of Lake Eyre. The change the water brings to this arid landscape is one of the most stunning natural events I have ever witnessed.

Flooded and blooming landscape north-eastern South Australia

‘The Art of Land I & II’

When viewed from above, the artistry of this landscape lies in the incredibly detailed patterns of what are, in effect, small flat rocks that make up a  tiled, pavement-like canvas as far as the eye can see.  Know as gibber desert it is home to one of the world’s most deadly snakes, the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus)

‘Vulkathunha I & II’

Vulkathunha–Gammon Ranges National Park (which includes Lake Frome Regional Reserve) is a collection of unique habitats ranging from deep, tree-lined gorges to ancient mountain slopes and peaks, from open mulga woodland to major salt lake ecosystems such as Lake Frome.  Like so much of Australia, the geological textures have provided this artist with decades of pleasure.

‘Tenacity’

This tough, wind-blown little tea-tree was growing almost horizontally to the ground. It had sent its roots on what one could only describe as a horizontal journey for survival. What a great metaphor for life’s journey, reminding us that whilst we humans crave certainty, true certainty doesn’t really exist. It is an illusion. Only a willingness to embrace change, a conscious effort to remain open to life’s challenges, enables a moderate chance of survival.  In 2019 the Kangaroo island wildfires burnt the entire region, however, the good news is the wind-swept tea trees are returning.  I could think of no better nature metaphor for the challenges we humans face throughout our lives.  You can lose everything you own, however you cannot lose who you are.

‘Tenacity’ – Tea-tree Kangaroo Island.  

‘My Beating Heart’

The artful contortions of fig tree roots wrapping around a sandstone boulder inspired me to think of my beating heart. King George River region coastal Kimberley Western Australia.  Having recently in 2020 had both a triple bipass and a main heart value replacement it is even more relevant!

‘Another Stairway’

Days after making this image, the entire region burst into flames with one of the  eastern Tasmania’s worst bushfires in history. Locals experienced great loss and subsequent emotional strain. Having experienced loss myself, and working on the philosophy expressed in an Eckhardt Tolle quotation, ’You can lose something you have, but never something you are’, I picked myself up and, with the blessings attached to my CLP and my connection with nature, was able to engage with life once more with renewed vigour. 

Initially, I found the monumental changes in my life intimidating. As a result of the many ‘poor little me’ mind stories I repeated to myself, I wound up with massive, life-threatening anxiety attacks. Over the years that followed, I rediscovered myself through digital art. In doing so, I realised once more that there is always another stairway (or pathway) leading to yet another episode in the amazing adventure of life.

‘Tarkine Tideline’

Sand between toes, warm breeze on bare skin, the smell of salty air, sea-sounds that surround and all the while a downward search for artistry. Wandering the tideline with an artist’s eye is sure to take one’s mind far away from the past and the future to the joy of this moment.

‘Networking’

Humans have been networking to benefit the collective for eons, corals have been doing it for much, much longer. Working with this animal group makes my heart sing. 

‘Bluestone Bay’

Each time I visit Tasmania’s Freycinet National Park, I schedule a morning start for Bluestone Bay.

‘Planet Butterfly & Planet Angelfish’

Black & White
Fine Art Photography

My very early fascination with photography was entirely black and white. I loved the darkroom, which, in those days of shooting film, every serious photographer did. My initial introduction was through street photography. Later, I took my black-and-white film underwater. As the submarine world began to interest me more, I was drawn to colour film. Now, all these decades later, I’m magnetically drawn back to the world of black and white as a creative expression. I find many images have a louder voice when expressed in black and white. In a decor setting, especially for occupants who appreciate a minimalistic approach to interior design, this medium shines. 

Above left: ‘Artful Pose’ – Framed by freshwater mangroves a glossy ibis takes an artful pose while preening. Kakadu National Park and freshwater mangrove, Northern Territory.

Centre: ‘ State Of Play’ – As both naturalist and artist, emotional connection with nature is what drives me. Moments in time, like this spoonbill’s preening contortions, are what I strive to capture as writer and photographer. In this instance, the initial capture was driven more by the naturalist within however this creative expression is all about play. A state of play is where I reside when the ‘artist within’ takes over and this is what this montage is about. Royal Spoonbill preening. River Murray National Park, South Australia.

Above Right: ‘Artful Poise’ – Choose your word: grace, smoothness; taste, tastefulness, discernment, refinement, sophistication, dignity, distinction, propriety, poise, finesse, beauty, charm, polish, suaveness, panache, flair, sumptuousness, opulence, grandeur, exquisiteness; words that are descriptive of this beautiful bird in such an artful pose.  River Murray National Park, South Australia.

A graphic interpretation of the form and design of the zebra lionfish. I wanted to draw attention to its ability to all but disappear in its coral habitat through the cryptic body pattern designs benefiting the fishes behaviour as a lurking carnivore.

The interrelations between the living and non-living elements in any ecosystem are a great source of fuel for any creative soul regardless of medium. I have revelled on the many ecological and, in this case artistic, relationships for many years and find the challenges, wins, and losses, both constant and enriching. I see the content of this digital charcoal sketch – something I like to do when I am feeling particularly playful – as a triangle between the tree, the rock, and my own emotions; in this trilogy, the ‘oneness’.

Barn owls specialise in hunting animals on the ground and nearly all of their food consists of small mammals which they locate by sound, their hearing being very acute. When in flight they are completely silent. They mate for life unless one of the pair gets killed.

Trusting our inner voice can be an ultimate challenge for those of us in pursuit of a holistic life. In nature, there are many metaphors. The reef heron may remain completely still for hours waiting for the tide to bring food within striking range. Just before striking you can see the bird ever so gently rocks its body back and forth from left to right, while the head remains completely still. It is though it is considering options. Then, having learned over time through trial and error, the bird strikes with alarming speed. When a strike is unsuccessful, the birds repeat the activity until success is assured. Over, and over, and over, if necessary. If it gives up, it is dead!

Strangler fig in a temperate rainforest near my home on the Blackall Ranges south-east Queensland.

The filling of Lake Eyre draws people globally to witness the amazing transformation of parched dry land into an oasis of colour and life. Lake Eyre’s east coast, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park, South Australia

Above, top to bottom: A trilogy of images from the world of mud and mangroves.

‘Twists and Turns’ – The red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, grows on aerial prop roots, which arch above the water level, giving stands of this tree the characteristic “mangrove” appearance. Through stabilisation of their surroundings, mangroves create a community for other plants and animals such as the mangrove crab and a multitude of fishes.
I find the artful twists and turns of this important and distinctive tree irresistible as subjects. Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park, Queensland.

‘Saltwater Crocodile’ – Saltwater crocodiles are the largest extant riparian predators in the world. The largest recorded was a male which measured 6.2 metres. I find them awe-inspiring, however, I do accept they are potentially hazardous creatures.

‘The Edge’ – Mudflats and mangroves King Sound Kimberley coast Western Australia.

Photography: A Pathway to Purpose is a program designed to explore a comprehensive range of tools for developing, expressing and communicating your unique creative voice.  Module 5 The Digital Darkroom, explores the processes of developing and expressing your own digital art atyle.

Art at my Feet

‘As soon as I let go of my obsession with results,
I’m transported to a world of pure fun and delight.
It’s a state of being where happiness reigns supreme,
and I feel truly alive.’   – Steve Parish

When it comes to fine art photography, as opposed to representational photography, I have always regarded traditional physical art as soul food. There have been many artists who have inspired me, but my primary motivator was Desiderius Orban. Having spent time in Paris, Orban was influenced by Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne, and Vincent van Gogh, although he also spent time with Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani. Orban introduced cubism, expressionism, and Fauvism to Hungary.

In 1976, the late artist, teacher, and close friend Dr. Irene Amos introduced me to the teachings of Desiderius Orban through his life-changing book, “What Is Art All About?” Like Irene, Orban believed that art was more about subconscious play. Although I carried these views for decades, it was not until 2015 that I found the time and passionate desire to make creative changes. When I finally awakened the artist within, I found that I leaned heavily towards creating abstracts.

In his book, Orban reveals that his artistic awakening occurred at the age of 80. It is wonderful that a simple little book can influence how one sees and, more importantly, feels about the creative process. I do not often consume books that focus on other artists’ views, preferring to develop my own. However, Orban’s writings are compelling. I highlighted many passages, and this little book became one of my dearest possessions. Although I never met Orban in person, I often hugged him in my dreams for providing me with the inspiration and courage to become playfully creative in my work.

Above:   ‘Tenacity’  –  This wind-blown little tea tree, rugged and determined, had grown almost horizontally to the ground, sending its roots on what one could only describe as a horizontal journey for survival. What an excellent metaphor for life’s journey, reminding us that while humans crave certainty, true certainty doesn’t exist; it is an illusion. Only a willingness to embrace change and a conscious effort to remain open to life’s challenges enable a moderate chance of survival.

In 2019, the Kangaroo Island wildfires burnt the entire region, but the good news is that the wind-swept tea trees are returning. I could not think of a better nature metaphor for the challenges we humans face throughout our lives. You can lose everything you own, but you cannot lose who you are.

Below:  ‘Life Cycle II’  –  Fallen fruits and leaves form their own artworks across the rainforest floor. Daintree National Park, Queensland.

“Art beneath my feet” is a project that has absorbed me for over thirty years. The idea came from Orban’s book. As an art teacher, he used the forest floor to teach his art students how to see and express the world around them. He placed an empty picture frame on the forest floor and asked them to draw what they saw within it.
Through this exercise, his students learned to connect with their artistic souls and see the world in a new way, even while walking in the woods. This inspired me to create my own collection of such scenes, which I now use in workshops. Many of my own students have since taken up “art at their feet” as an ongoing project.

‘Treasure I, II’ and ‘Walking Tidelines’

Sand between toes, warm breeze on bare skin, the smell of salty air, sea-sounds that surround while wandering tidelines with an artist’s eye. Embraced by millions, this activity is sure to take your ‘thinking mind’ far away from the past and future, into what is now – the present moment where artful imaginings wait ever patiently for that magic moment to break free.

Top: ‘Treasure’  –  Sea coast Lincoln National Park, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Centre: ‘Treasure II’  –  Sea coast Lincoln National Park, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Bottom: ‘Walking Tidelines’  –  Tarkine Coast, Tasmania

‘Walking Tidelines III’ and IV’ and ‘The Loney Sailor’

Walking tide-lines searching for one-living treasure is a pastime embraced globally, and I consider it fantastic for our mental health. Isolated windswept wilderness beaches are richly rewarding.

‘Raindrops are Falling’ and ‘Light as a Feather’

Left: ‘Raindrops are Falling’ – Floating feather, Swains Reef, Queensland.
Right: ‘Light as a Feather’ – Feather on a pond, Brisbane.

‘Recycling’ and ‘Reaching for Light’

Left: ‘Recycling’ – Fig tree buttress and fallen leaves.
Right: ‘Reaching for Light –  Rainforest undergrowth.

‘Special Schools’

Beneath the eucalyptus trees, down among the fallen leaves and branches,
a silent, shuffling shape goes searching,
leaving telltale traces only for those with time and lots of patience,
who have been to special schools to learn to see. 

‘Mulga Woodland’

Mulga brush and wildflowers Morawa, Western Australia.

‘Illawarra Flame II”

Leaf and flower litter from the Illawarra flame tree, is a large tree of the family Malvaceae
native to subtropical regions on the east coast of Australia.

‘The Struggle’

A tea tree struggles to flourish in the strong, salt-laden winds of the southwest coast of Western Australia at spectacular Cape Le Grand National Park.

‘Jasper Art’

‘Changing Seasons’

Fallen flowers from a Brachychiton (kurrajong, bottletree) carpet the forest floor. The name Brachychiton is derived from the Greek brachys, short, and chiton, tunic, in referring to its loose seed coats. Kurrajong comes from Dharuk garrajuŋ “fishing line”, as First Nations People created fishing lines were made from kurrajong bark.

‘Dancing Lightly’

Carpeting wildflowers, Morawa Western Australia.

‘Ice Art’

Grass in Ice, Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales

‘My Beating Heart’

The artful contortions of fig tree roots wrapping around a sandstone boulder inspired me to think of my beating heart. King George River region coastal Kimberley Western Australia.

‘New Life’

Deep in a rainforest, from beneath a decaying forest floor, new life emerges.

The Lonely Sailor

About the Work

“When my mind ceases to think of outcomes,
I enter a state of play —
a special place inside where true joy resides.”

For more than five decades, Australian nature has shaped the way I see and create. Its wildlife, landscapes, textures, colours, and rhythms first formed me as a natural history photographer, and still underpin both my photographic work and my more interpretive, expressive art.

A note on process

These artworks begin with photographs I have made myself through direct engagement with the natural world.

Some remain close to the original scene. Others move further into interpretation through digital darkroom techniques, layering, montage, and at times a more painterly treatment. My principal interpretive tools are Topaz Studio 2 and Exposure Snap Art 4, supported when needed by other contemporary editing tools.

Whatever the treatment, the work remains grounded in my own photography, observation, and personal interpretation.

From observation to interpretation

Not every experience in nature is fully expressed by description alone.

Sometimes a photograph says what was there. At other times, the image asks to move further — towards atmosphere, memory, feeling, and the inner character of a place. For me, that is not a departure from reality, but another way of being true to it. The photograph above records what was seen; the interpretation below reveals how it was felt.

This work began with a wind-blown tea tree growing almost horizontally along the cliff tops at Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island. Its sideways journey for survival became, for me, a metaphor for life itself — our longing for certainty, our encounter with change, and the way adversity can also become a force for renewal.

As Eckhart Tolle has written, “You can lose something you have, but not something you are.”

Each bird originates from a separate photograph of a real bird in flight. The montage does not depict one literal instant; it clarifies a behavioural reality.

Storytelling with layers

Some works in this collection are built through layers and montage.

In these pieces, the aim is not to fabricate subject matter, but to bring separate real moments into a single readable visual field. This is especially useful when behaviour, movement, or interaction unfolds over time and cannot be fully expressed in a single exposure.

In works like my rainbow lorikeet montage, each bird begins as an individual photograph of a real bird in flight. Each remains separate through the process, allowing spacing, overlap, and visual balance to be adjusted without inventing anatomy or false behaviour. The image does not depict one literal instant. It aims to clarify a behavioural reality.

A personal journey

Long before I became known for photography, I was trying to draw and paint what I observed. Even then, I was not only interested in recording the world, but in responding to it.

My years in documentary and natural history photography taught me patience, accuracy, and respect for what is actually there. That foundation has never left me. Even when a finished work becomes more expressive, it still begins in attention, lived encounter, and a deep emotional connection with Australian nature.

Artful play

In 1978, I came across Desiderius Orban’s What Is Art All About? and was struck by his idea of artful play — creating without anxiety about outcome, approval, or commercial result.

That idea stayed quietly with me for many years. Then, after losing my business, home, and life’s work in the 2011 floods, play became something far deeper than a creative preference. It became a way of restoring balance. Much of the work you see here grew from that period — not from a wish to impress, but from a need to reconnect with joy, freedom, and meaning.

Why some works feel painterly

As a naturalist, I am often drawn to moments that suggest more than they describe — a gesture, a softness of light, a fleeting behaviour, or a feeling carried by colour and form.

Not every experience in nature is best expressed through strict realism. Some works ask to remain close to the scene as it was. Others ask to be interpreted more freely. That is why parts of this collection may feel painterly or more expressive. They are still rooted in the natural world, but shaped by memory, atmosphere, and response as much as by description.

Print, scale and presence

Seeing an artwork realised as a physical print remains one of the great joys of my creative life.

A print has presence in a way that a screen cannot fully convey. Scale, atmosphere, colour, and subtle detail all shift when the work takes its place on a wall and begins to live in real space. That matters to me deeply, because it is often the moment when an inner response feels complete.

A closing reflection

Both as a natural history photographer and as an interpretive artist, I have always been driven by emotional connection.

Australia’s landscapes, flora, fauna, light, and weather remain my palette. I begin by paying attention. Then I respond as honestly as I can — sometimes with restraint, sometimes more freely, but always from lived encounter.

That is the heart of this work.

A few common questions

Are these works photographs or digital art?
They begin with my own photographs and field experience in Australian nature. Some remain close to the original scene, while others move further into interpretation through digital darkroom techniques.

Do you use AI in your process?
I use contemporary digital tools selectively and purposefully, but the work begins with my own photographs and remains grounded in direct observation, authorship, and personal interpretation.

Do you use montage?
Yes, in some works I combine multiple photographs from separate real moments. I use montage to clarify behaviour, movement, rhythm, or visual relationships that unfold over time, rather than to fabricate subject matter.

The Art of Birds

‘We can choose to follow the paths of others.
Or we can inspire our own
creative life purpose and truly
feel the wind beneath our wings.’ 
Steve Parish

As of 2014 Australia and its offshore islands and territories have 898 recorded bird species. Of the recorded birds, 165 are considered vagrant or accidental visitors, of the remainder over 45% are classified as Australian endemics: found nowhere else on earth.  That’s a lot of birds!

We live in a blessed country when it comes to birds.  Many thousands of Australians capitalise on these blessings, especially those Australians with verandahs and bush gardens who are able to enjoy their bird fauna on a daily basis.  What has provided such a unique assemblage is the unique nature of Australia’s eucalypt and paperbark forests which has shaped bird evolution. Gum blossoms, for example, produced a resource for significant numbers of nectar-feeding honeyeaters.

As Tim Low, in his classic book ‘Where Song Began: Australia’s Birds and How They Changed The World’,  points out, the presence of much nectar as a jealously guarded resource may be why so many Australian birds are raucously noisy – species such noisy miners, rainbow lorikeets and various wattlebirds to name a few.  And, what would life be like without the raucous kookaburra announcing its presence mornings and afternoons!

Above:  ‘Your Way, My Way’ – The New Holland honeyeater is a common honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It is fun to watch their antics.

The Finest Songster

Lyrebirds are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and even artificial sounds from their environment; they are also the world’s largest songster. Another feature is the striking beauty of the male bird’s huge tail when it is fanned out in courtship display. This is the superb lyrebird, one of two species. Superb lyrebird – captured while calling – are referred to as weringerong, woorail, and bulln-bulln in Aboriginal languages throughout their range.

The Golden Hour

One of my favourite birds, the golden bosun bird, seen here is aerial courtship, is endemic to Chrismas Island; an island in the Indian Ocean which is an external territory of Ausralia.

Silent In The Night

Barn owls specialise in hunting animals on the ground and nearly all of their food consists of small mammals which they locate by sound, their hearing being very acute. When in flight they are completely silent. They mate for life unless one of the pair gets killed.

Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos

Carnaby’s black cockatoos nests in Eucalyptus hollows situated high in trees. With much of its habitat lost to land clearing and development and threatened by further habitat destruction, Carnaby’s black cockatoo is listed as an endangered species by the Federal and Western Australian governments. It is also classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This family group from its northernmost distribution at Kalbarri National Park is a rare sighting, certainly rare in terms of being able to approach the birds as a group.

Private Investigations

Most Australian east coast backyards are investigated at one time or another by the delightful rainbow lorikeet? After one flowering season and a natural morning awakening by these noisy birds, I was inspired to write this verse.

With nervous flits and flutters
these brightly coloured birds
fold back
their flying feathers
while dashing down the rainbow,
on what must surely be
a never-ending journey
to try
to catch the sun.

Major Mitchell Cockatoo

Major Mitchell’s cockatoo, also known as pink cockatoo, is a dramatic medium-sized cockatoo restricted to arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia. A flock of pink cockatoos in flight during the golden hours of morning or afternoon is a sight to behold.

Unheard Whispers

A barking owl setting out to hunt in the late afternoon light.

Royal Excitement

During the breeding season male royal spoonbill’s raise raise extended head feathers as a sign to a female that they are excited and ready for action.

The Pelican – Australia’s Favourite Bird

The beloved Australian pelican is Australia’s most famous bird. These enigmatic birds occur across large expanses of mainland Australia and Tasmania. The habitats that support them include lakes, reservoirs, billabongs and rivers, estuaries, swamps, temporarily flooded areas in arid zones, drainage channels in farmland, salt evaporation ponds, and the coastal region’s lagoons. They may form enormous colonies when breeding, usually in isolated arid environments like Lake Eyre or Queensland’s Channel Country. The Australian pelican is a much-loved bird. I often sit for hours with these birds, watching their artful contortions as they stretch and preen. This triptych comes as a single image.

Stary, Stary Night

Some years ago I was working with a group of children who were fearful of the Australian bush at night. As we then explored the sounds of the dark, I could see their fears ebb away as they delighted to the sounds I played as an old male koala’s erupted in its territorial grunts, as some bickering possums fought, as a pond filled with frogs erupted with mating calls. They especially loved and the whooping and hooting of owls.

Freedom

Wedge-tailed eagles are an emblem of the Northern Territory. These birds are the largest and most certainly the most renown Australian bird of prey.

Graceful Stance – Artful Posture

Above left: The shape and form of the herons and egrets I find alluring as photographic subjects.
Above right: Framed by Barringtonia freshwater mangroves a glossy ibis takes an artful pose while preening.

A Ring of Ripples – The Golden Hour II

Above left: It is pure joy when a number of aesthetic elements come together creating a unique artful story. Of course, birds have most certainly got a mind of their own, and absolutely anything can happen, and it does. Nonetheless, bird photography, as a past-time is, without a doubt, the most challenging and spiritually satisfying in the world of nature photography. Here the colours reflected in the water and on the bird’s feathers were most pleasing in and of themselves, however when the bird gracefully dipped its toes ever so briefly creating a ring of ripple, well that’s another thing. While birds in flight can be the ultimate challenge, I adore following a bird going about its private business watching and waiting for that unique little ‘twist of lemon’. In this case, the ‘toe-dipping’ created the magic….ah, what joy! I have been known to shout out load a ‘yes’, although I do keep the sound entirely in my head, who knows my Ibis may perform something as equally magical if I am prepared to lie silently in wait.

Above right:  Black-necked stork bathed in golden light on the vast floodplains Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory

Tucked Away –  The Watcher –  Blue-winged Kookaburra

Left: At the end of each day, Australian pelicans have this delightful behaviour of wrapping the big-bills and as much of their heads as possible among the folds of their contrasting black and white feathers. It is this graphic alignment that inspired this image.

Centre:  Tawny frogmouth, common yet uncommonly encountered due to its ability to camouflage so well with tree branches and foliage.

Right:  The blue-winged kookaburra is slightly smaller than its renown relative, the laughing kookaburra. This species occupies the same territory throughout the year. It is monogamous, retaining the same partner for life. A breeding pair can be accompanied by up to five fully grown non-breeding offspring from previous years. In this work, I have focussed on the drama of its striking blue-wing.

The West Macdonnell Ranges:
an Artists Paradise

Extending more than 200 km west of Alice Springs, the West MacDonnell Ranges dominate the Northern Territory’s central range country. Great folds of sedimentary rock stand above arid spinifex plains separated by narrow valleys. Ancestral tributaries of the Todd and Finke Rivers have cut through the multi-coloured layers of quartzite, clay, siltstone and coal, leaving steep-walled gaps in the ranges.

Perhaps the most famous artists of this region are its traditional owners, the Arrernte (/ˈʌrəndə/) people, sometimes referred to as the Aranda, Arunta or Arrarnta. These Indigenous peoples live in the Arrernte lands, at Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and surrounding areas of the Central Australia region of the Northern Territory.  View the iltjA. NTjarra Namatjira School Of Art styles here.

The Ranges

Rivers no longer flow through the West MacDonnell Ranges except in times of floods, but deep permanent waterholes are found at the bottom of rock walls that shelter fig trees, cycads and ferns. These pools provide sustenance to aquatic animals, waterbirds and large mammals (such as rock-wallabies and wallaroos). They have also been the meeting places of the Arrernte people for thousands of years. They believe the ranges themselves to have once been giant caterpillars known as Yeperenye. At Simpsons Gap (or Rungutjirpa), the red cliffs and waterholes are thought to be the home of giant goanna ancestors. Collectively, the features of this ancient range contribute to it being one of the most spectacular areas for artistic expression in Australia.

Simpsons Gap (Rungutjirpa)

Simpsons Gap (Arrernte: Rungutjirpa) is one of the gaps in the West MacDonnell Ranges in Australia‘s Northern Territory. It is located 18 kilometres west from Alice Springs, on the Larapinta Trail.  The gap is home to various plants and wildlife, including the black-footed rock-wallaby. It is the site of a permanent waterhole.

Ormiston Gorge 

Ormiston Gorge, about 130 km west of Alice Springs, is widely considered the park’s most spectacular natural feature. River Red Gums shade a series of waterholes beneath rock walls that open to a 10 km wide, cliff-rimmed natural amphitheatre. The main waterhole is a popular swimming spot and only a fifteen-minute walk from the car park. Walking trails include the three hours Ormiston Pound Walk that follows the cliff ranges for views over Ormiston Pound, returning to the main rockpool through the basin.

Finke River

The Finke River, or Larapinta (Arrernte), is a river in central Australia, one of four main rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin and thought to be the oldest riverbed in the world. It flows for only a few days a year and when this happens, its water usually disappears into the sands of the Simpson Desert, rarely if ever reaching Lake Eyre.

River Red and Ghost Gums

The River Red Gum is the most widely distributed gum tree in Australia and is found anywhere, including a waterway or an old riverbed. Its survival is dependent on a flood every so often. The Red Centre’s river and creek courses boast some of the most dramatic specimens of both river red and ghost gums in Australia.

A very special specimen of the ghost gum can be found at Trephina Gorge Nature Park, Northern Territory. This grand specimen is said to be the tallest ghost gum in the Macdonnell Ranges at 33 metres in height and over 300 years in age.  There are further very special specimens of ghost gums that you will pass by as you head west from Alice Springs along the Larapinta Drive to the east (see below); I have been revisiting both these wonderful specimens for many decades.

Digital Art :

Australian Wildflowers

Australia’s flowering plants, also known as angiosperms, a number some 21,000 species, 93% of which are endemic – compared globally that around 7% of a total of 268,600 species.  Although not entirely, my focus has been Western Australia which represents over half the total of Australia’s species, around 12,000 species.  And so, if wildflowers excite you, Western Australia, especially the southern areas, is your place to be.  The Wildflower Society of Western Australia lists the reasons for such diversity as being a combination of isolation, climate, pollination abundance and the stability geologically over time.  Collectively we photo artists are in for some pretty joyful times.  Flowering plants offer a smorgasbord of artistic elements, of course, the colours being predominant. 

‘Heart to Heart’

A wild bushland in bloom
is nature’s way of saying,
‘Let’s make art!’
Steve Parish

Spring Rain

Spring rains bring arid mulga woodland into a blaze of colour. Morawa, Western Australia.

Kangaroo Paw III

Kangaroo paw is the common name for a number of species of these striking plants that are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. These perennial plants are noted for their unique bird attracting flowers. The tubular flowers are coated with dense hairs and open at the apex with six claw-like structures: from this paw formation the common name “kangaroo paw” is derived. They are, indeed deserve to be, the floral emblem for the state of Western Australia.

Winged Wattle II

There are some 1350 species of Acacia found throughout the world and close to 1000 of these are to be found in Australia. Commonly known as Wattle, Acacia is the largest genus of vascular plants in Australia. Australia’s national floral emblem is Acacia pycnantha, the Golden Wattle.

Wildflower Celebration

Boronias, peas and acacia flowers –  a collage of colour and design to celebrate the world of Australian wildflowers.

Desert Bloom

When rain fall comes to the desert the transformation can be breath taking. Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, World Heritage Area, Northern Territory.

Heralding Spring

Fuchsia heath, is a plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with egg-shaped, pointed leaves and red tube-shaped flowers which give the plant its name longiflora and are usually present throughout the year. Its native range extends from the central coast of
New South Wales to southern Queensland.

Summer Rain – Bower of Beauty

Above: ‘Grevillea after summer rain.’
Below: ‘Bower of Beauty’ – The bower of beauty is a climbing vine in the family Bignoniaceae. It is native to New South Wales and Queensland with evergreen leaves, and in spring and summer produces trumpet-shaped flowers. I have had this beautiful flower in my life for decades now and they accelerate joyfulness when in bloom.

Swap Orchid – Rainy Day Waratah

Above left: Southern Swap Orchid’ – Swamp Orchid is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. Found in near-coastal swampy forest between Cooktown in Queensland and Lake Cathie in New South Wales. Listed as “endangered” under the Australian Government.

Above right: ‘Rainy Day Waratah’ – The Waratah is the floral emblem of New South Wales, a large (10-12cm across) and spectacular scarlet flower growing in the bush in clumps of tall stems. The name waratah comes from the Eora Aboriginal people, the original inhabitants of the Sydney area.

‘Celebrating Sunshine’ –  ‘Celebrating Orchids’ –  ‘Reaching Out’ – 

Left: ‘Celebrating Sunshine’ – The wildflowers of Australia are cause for major annual celebration and, depending on the rains, we certainly have that event in the springtime right across Australia, especially the southern states. Here, in the woodlands of south-west Western Australia, two of my favourites brought together in celebration,
the exquisite Cranbrook Bell and Yellow Kangaroo Paw.

Centre:  ‘Celebrating Orchids’ – Lower image butterfly orchid, a spider orchid from south-west Western Australia, and Queensland’s floral emblem, the Cooktown orchid, a tropical beauty from north Queensland.

Right: -‘Reaching Out’ – Wee Jasper grevillea and yellow paper flower in the Australian Botanic Gardens, Canberra.