Australian_Geographic_-_February_2016_

January. February 87

PHOTOGRAPHY IS often like a treasure hunt where a

keen eye, patience and time in the field will bring the

rewards. Exploring the tree-clad mountains in

Tasmania for a feature on the Australian forestry

industry with writer Ken Eastwood – and often in the

company of big-tree hunters such as Brett Mifsud

• you always had to be ready for the unexpected.
  Negotiating this country, my eyes were focused on the ground,
  hoping for a decent footing, as much as they were looking up, searching
  for massive trees. On the hunt for 400-year-old, 90m-tall giants, I
  walked kilometres, often negotiating steep ground and crossing swift
  streams. This photo is the kind of revealing shot that gave me a fulfilling
  sense of discovery. In this case it was a giant Eucalyptus regnans rising in
  the soft light from a carpet of tree ferns. I composed this photo in a
  matter of minutes, and then headed off in search of the next treasure.

Bill Hatcher Styx Valley AG 103, 2011