ArtView February 2016 | Page 47

Celebrating Colour (2007) Carpeting wildflowers, Cape Arid National Park, Western Australia Above: 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. This image is a celebration of that journey, a journey into one of the world’s most diverse and colourful kingdoms, the flowering plants of Australia. Opposite: From popular floral, state and regional emblems, through to the decoration of public and domestic native bush gardens, Australian wildflowers are well and truly embedded in Australian consciousness. Regardless of where I am on the continent when I enter a field of flowers with my camera I always feel light-of-heart and soon find myself in a stateof-play. www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au