Australia Beaudesert Plants Queensland Magnets

...deep in the heart of Queensland! Before I got this shot in early 2009, I'd gone on one of these expeditions with not much luck, but I was excited about having a crack with my new camera (Nikon D700). And what a difference it made! I was very happy with how this one turned out because a) the noise is negligible, and b) I framed it completely in the dark, since we all moved our cameras from their careful positioning to shoot other things when clouds came over the southern sky. Luckily for us they cleared, and luckily for me I managed to find the spot I'd set up in before! This is not a stacked star trail; it's a 45 minute exposure.

I took this photo during a snap rain storm earlier in the week. I was lucky enough to get home just before the storm so I didn't get wet... but Danbo did when I put him out on our Jacaranda-covered walkway in the backyard!

Grey Cottonhead or Canostylis Candicans. Found in the Roma Parklands in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Camera: Canon 5D MkIII & Tamron Macro Lens. *Features* From The Earth, November 2015. Wildflowers Of The World, December 2017. Yellow Two, October 2018.

During a break in the rain, Danbo went outside and found a Danbo-sized tree growing through the planks of the patio.

The Milky Way was bright in the sky once the (almost new) moon went down -- so much so that it was even reflected on the calm waters of Lake Wyaralong!

Standing just back from the foreshore of Wyaralong Dam as the rain clouds light up at sunset.

October is Danbo's favourite time of year in Brisbane because the jacarandas carpet the entire city in purple.