STORY:
The NSW Sapphire Coast is one of our country’s best-kept secrets. Being usually uncrowded, it’s a paradise for a landscape photographer. While exploring Bermagui on a reconnaissance trip, I found this solitary tree clinging to a large sea stack and made numerous visits to see it under different light and tidal conditions. I felt it would make an excellent night shot, but I wanted a relatively high tide, to show the action of the waves, and I needed the Milky Way in just the right position. It was a tricky area to reach in the dark. We went in at about 4am on a rising tide and waited over an hour for the moon to set. Astro photography fascinates me because the camera sees very differently than our eyes and the colour is often more accurate in the photograph. To capture this image, I did some quick light painting with my head torch to show detail in the foreground. To me this is a classic example of the resilience of nature – a lone tree clinging tenaciously to this craggy rock under an endless canopy of stars.