STEVE PARISH

50 YEARS PHOTOGRAPHING AUSTRALIA

STEVE PARISH
50 YEARS PHOTOGRAPHING AUSTRALIA
 CONTENTS
Front cover: A large lizard that roams much 13 INTRODUCTION
of Australia seemed to be the perfect choice to
represent my life’s work. Swaggering across their 15 MY JOURNEY – how it all began
home ranges, goannas (or monitor lizards as they
are correctly termed) project a wonderful sense of 19 1959 MARINE FISH – in pursuit of a dream
belonging. I always get excited when I encounter
these wonderful creatures in the wild. 31 1967 MARINE INVERTEBRATES – unravelling mysteries
Pages 2 & 3: I had photographed the towering 41 1975 POSSUMS – moving to dry land
sandstone parapets in Limmen National Park,
Northern Territory, from the air before, but 51 1975 WOODLANDS & FORESTS – so much to learn
this was the first time I had seen them from
the ground. This photograph was taken at 91 1976 BIRDS – lessons to last a lifetime
dawn in heavy mist, which acted as a reflector,
illuminating the landscape’s deep shadows. I 137 1981 LANDSCAPES – a long and emotional journey
have been wandering around Australia for many
years, and can say that revisiting a familiar place 187 1982 REPTILES & FROGS – getting ”down and dirty”
holds as much excitement as visiting a new one.
209 1983 ROOS & WALLABIES – an enthralling mob
Pages 4 & 5: The faces of a young common
ringtail possum and a grey-headed flying-fox. Our 225 1989 URBANSCAPES – bringing wilderness to town
mammals are unique in the world and they need
our help to survive the environmental changes 241 1994 WILDFLOWERS – that healing feeling
affecting their delicate habitats.
259 2000 LAND & SEA MAMMALS – a pocketful of stories
Pages 6 & 7: My relationship with the
floodplains of Kakadu National Park goes back to 279 2006 FLYING MAMMALS – making new friends
the late seventies and this vast region has held a
special place in my heart since then. 289 2008 SPIDERS & INSECTS – sheer flexibility
Page 8: Australia’s only stork, the jabiru (now 299 CONSERVATION – I am just one person
called the black-necked stork, a most unromantic
name) has long been a favourite bird of mine. 300 PHOTOGRAPHY – past and present
Standing over 1.5 m, they certainly have
presence, especially when the males and females 301 STEVE PARISH PUBLISHING – a short history
are performing a courting dance.
302 FIFTY YEARS – an acknowledgement
Opposite & above: The mottlecah, a eucalypt
found only in South-West Western Australia,
is one of the flowering plants I cherish most;
shimmering reflections in a rock pool.
www.steveparish.com.au 11

Above: In 1983, at the height of the struggle
to stop the damming of the Franklin River
in south-west Tasmania, I had just begun a
year-long field trip gathering images for the
book Australia’s Wilderness Experience. The
month I spent with the “greenies” in Strahan
and at base camp on the Gordon River had
a major effect on me and has influenced me
throughout my career as a publisher. I wanted
to inspire the world to speak out in support of
the environment. There, with my own eyes, I
saw how many voices speaking as one could
work. The Franklin River runs free to this day.  kids, and adults. However, on my journey, at both a business
Opposite: Australia’s top mammalian
predator, the dingo. The only purebred strain
of this animal is said to exist on Fraser Island,
Queensland. The needs of visitors, residents
and dingoes are often in conflict on this World-
Heritage-listed island — the largest sand island
in the world — presenting a challenge for
wildlife management and conservation, and
posing a real threat to the genetic viability of
this species.
INTRODUCTION
As a naturalist, photographer, publisher and promoter This book presents many of the natural adventures I have
of Australia and its natural history, I have immersed dived headlong into over the years. I have sequenced my
myself in the natural world for the past five decades. flirtations and fascinations into the order in which they
Fish, invertebrates, possums, waterbirds, bush birds, plants,
habitats, frogs, reptiles, mammals and, most recently,
insects, have all cast a spell on me at some time. As each
new fascination developed, I gathered the photographic
collections and knowledge required to use the images in
publications for toddlers, preschool children, primary school
and personal level, I wrestled with what my contribution
should be to the protection of the plants, animals and
habitats I was photographing. After all, I knew well that
human help was required to conserve these places and their
wild inhabitants.
Early in my career, while employed as a nature photographer,
I saw how a government agency, the then Queensland
National Parks and Wildlife Service (QNPWS), dealt with
politics and public disapproval when unpopular decisions
were made. At the same time, these organisations had, and
still have, the difficult task of producing the environmental
science that enabled wise management of the flora, fauna
and landscapes under their care. This experience, combined
with later years of wandering Australia, helped me develop
the company objectives Steve Parish Publishing upholds
today.
I realised that, unless I was to become a politician or a
researcher, my only real contribution could be to build a
publishing enterprise, based on sound commercial principles,
that would ignite in others a passion for the natural world. a little silver fish and a chance relationship with a man who
I chose to target children of all ages. I soon found that I was
able to create, produce and sell products that celebrated
nature and inspired a personal connection with its beauty
and fragility. I knew that my young audience, having made
a connection, would grow up believing in the magic of
nature. When environmental issues arose, these children,
now adults, would lend their voices to make the collective
environmental consciousness stronger. This is my drive and
has been my reason for being for the last half a century.
occurred over my life. The chapter years do not indicate the
year I began photographing certain species or events, rather
the period in my career when the fascinations truly grabbed
my attention and I consciously began investing my time and
resources into developing catalogues of images on those
topics. Over time, the transitions between each area have
intrigued me the most. Usually, an event or a series of events
plants the seed, the seed grows into what I can only describe
as an obsession, which, in turn, branches into other related
areas of the natural world.
While wanting the images to speak for themselves, I wrote
the text to explain my observations, musings over natural
history, photographic techniques and the emotions I
associate with each image. The overlap of these topics —
where nature meets art and emotion — has given me the
means with which to interpret nature for myself.
I have always been a person who prefers solitude, but in
creating this book I realised I have been heavily influenced
by several rewarding encounters with others. In most cases,
these have been very brief — so brief that some of the folk
who inspired me may be surprised at having played any role
at all! Nonetheless, if I have learnt anything, it is that even
the smallest gesture of kindness can have a monumental
effect on another human being’s life. Looking back over five
decades of observing nature and “telling stories” about it,
I find it amazing that my fulfilling journey began with just
reached out to me and steered me towards a lifetime of
celebrating nature. Through this book I wanted to return
that act of generosity — to reach out to others and, in doing
so, make a connection and pass on a voice with which to
celebrate and conserve our most precious wonders.
Steve Parish
www.steveparish.com.au 13

Above: At 22 years of age I returned to
Adelaide from Jervis Bay to show off my new
underwater housings to Igo. He was still using
the same camera and housing I had used for
my first picture six years prior!  them back behind me attached to a plastic float. Of course,
Opposite: In 1961 pioneer photographer
Igo Oak introduced me, as a shy sixteen-
year-old boy, to the wonders of underwater
photography. His gentle guidance directed
me away from spearing fish and towards
photographing them. This photograph was
taken just before I made my first in-focus
colour underwater photograph. Search as we
may, Igo and I have never managed to find a
copy of my first image, which is still clear in
my mind.
Pages 16 & 17: Surface reflections create a
natural abstract as a bottlenose dolphin
speeds past.
MY JOURNEY – how it all began
When I was nine years old, my father gave me a face mask,
snorkel and fins for Christmas. By the time I was twelve, I
was swimming way offshore, spearing fish and dragging
it did not take long for the bronze whaler sharks in South
Australia’s gulf waters to pick up the scent! I frequently had
to defend my catch. At the time, I did not consider sharks
very dangerous and shark attacks were rarely reported in the
media. However, before long a personal encounter with a
4-m white shark — which munched up my entire catch and
the large plastic float — caused me to review the idea of
spearfishing offshore. In the same area where my fish were
seized, a succession of attacks on spearfishers occurred,
some fatal, which reinforced my decision.
Dangerous sharks or not, I was besotted with the
underwater world and excited by the adventures it offered.
When underwater images began featuring in National
Geographic magazine, I plastered my bedroom wall with
tear-outs. These wall decorations were a constant reminder
of my connection with sealife and, I am convinced,
motivated me (or brainwashed me, if you like) into being
passionate about natural history publishing. On my
fourteenth birthday, my father made good with another gift
— the first commercially available underwater camera.
I was overjoyed, although the camera was little more than
a toy. It performed very poorly, and soon flooded! Thankfully,
before long another life-altering event occurred, one that
would spin me in a new direction. During a trip to Kangaroo
Island with the South Australian Museum, I dived as a fish
collector with pioneer underwater photographer Igo Oak.
On one dive, he handed me his camera and gestured for me
to take a photograph of a small silver fish. Leaning forward,
I brought the fish into focus through his twin lens reflex
rangefinder and pulled the trigger. The large flash bulb
erupted and, for a split second, the fish sparkled silver. At
a reunion some weeks later, Igo screened images from the
trip. “This silver fish image was created by Steve Parish,” he
told the audience, “and it is the lad’s first in-focus colour
photograph.” The audience spontaneously applauded.
I am sure it was the applause that did it; after all, I was a shy
boy and here I was being noticed. I had found my voice at
last — photography.
www.steveparish.com.au 15

Above: In 1965, with my first large-format
underwater camera, a Yashica-MAT twin lens
reflex. (Photo by Louise Parish) 
Opposite: A juvenile hammerhead shark.
Sharks get a lot of bad publicity, but their
behaviour is not malicious, only natural.
Pages 20 & 21: A lionfish and red rockcod,
just two of over a thousand species of fish I
photographed in the wild.
1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 ...
MARINE FISH – in pursuit of a dream
Low self-esteem plagued my adolescent and teen years;
however, thanks to the encouragement I received from
marine scientists at the Australian Museum in Sydney, this
soon changed. In the late sixties and early seventies, senior
curators of marine fish and marine invertebrates were
rarely divers. As a result, they were thrilled to receive living
specimens or colourful, detailed photographs of these
difficult-to-study creatures. Most marine fish lose their
vibrant colours when they die, and many differ in colour
between the sexes or undergo several colour variations
throughout their lives. Now it is widely accepted that fish
colour variations and the multitude of sizes, shapes and
behaviours they exhibit are often first documented, or most
extensively documented, using colour photography or film.
In those days, we were pioneering this field.
To think I was doing “pioneering” work did wonders for my
self-esteem. Despite this, being able to effectively describe
the behaviour I was observing and to pronounce Latin names
and scientific terms remained a challenge. I gave several
scientists some good laughs as I trudged my way up a very
steep learning curve! Looking back, I can see two things that
motivated me in a recurrent pattern — naivety and passion.
In 1965, at the peak of my interest in marine fish, the Royal
Australian Navy (my employer between 1963 and 1974)
transferred me from Sydney to Jervis Bay, New South Wales.
The military had got it right — they had drafted a young,
water-fit diver-photographer and budding naturalist to one
of the best diving localities in Australia! My underwater
photography adventures began in earnest.
After diving all around Sydney and Port Hacking, Jervis
Bay’s clear waters were sensational and the marine life was
simply breathtaking, especially in waters more than 30 m
deep. I had plenty of opportunity to explore the shallow
and deep reefs, seagrass meadows, and sandy and muddy
bottoms of this vast temperate marine wonderland. It was
a wild place that, in those days, was unknown to all but
a few divers. What these cooler temperate waters lacked
in species diversity, when compared with the northern
tropical waters, they made up for in the unique and bizarre
submarine animals they did contain. Fish like the butterfly
gurnard, the pineapplefish with its tiny headlights, boarfish
and the beautiful eastern blue devil had a tremendous visual
impact. Before long I worked out the best sites for taking
photographs. Being airborne almost daily in my work as a
navy search and rescue diver gave me a great advantage,
and I often planned my next dive from the air, seeking out
the calmer waters.
Along with honing my photographic skills, in 1967 I began
to explore my abilities as a writer and naturalist. With my
father as editor, I ploughed headlong into writing about
my experiences. Fortunately, my inexperience and a lack of
other publications to compare with (there was no Google
in those days) protected me from criticism. It was not until
years later, after the publication of my first book, that I
received some critical comments from academics. My first
book, Oceans of Life, was reviewed in the Sydney Morning
Herald: “While containing excellent photographs, the text
could be described as a classic work of anthropomorphic
writing”. I had to look up what anthropomorphic meant in
the dictionary! I was shattered. In those days, writing about
animals from a human perspective or bestowing them with
emotions or recognised human behaviours was a naturalist’s
greatest sin. I did not write for two years. How easy it is to
allow criticism to dash your dreams, especially when those
dreams are in their formative stages.
I decided to develop my writing skills, and also to
photograph every Australian marine fish in its natural
habitat, little realising there are more than 4000 species!
How sweet naivety is! Still, I pursued my dream and took
every opportunity to photograph fish. The addition of
other animal groups to my list of fascinations soon began
to curtail my initial objective, and I can admit to you that I
have not photographed every single Australian fish species,
and probably never will! Today, I appreciate that it does
not matter how many species I have photographed; what
matters is that the life stories of Australia’s fish are told, so
that others respect their position as living wonders and care
about fish sustainability and the health of our oceans.
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 Above & left: The senior curator of fish at the
Australian Museum, Dr John Paxton, had an
interest in pineapplefish, also known as knight
fish. His studies focused on the symbiotic
bacteria that inhabit a depression on the fish’s
lower lip. When the fish withdraws a thin,
concealing membrane, the bacteria glow red,
becoming a “headlight” that can illuminate
prey on the sea floor. After receiving a tip off,
22 www.steveparish.com.au
and with the hope of winning John’s favour,
I captured four specimens and handed them
over to the museum. I was a mere twenty years
of age and my aim was to “get inside” the
museum, learn more about how it functioned,
and have my pictures identified by experts.
The strategy worked!
Above & left: During the sixties and early
seventies as a navy diver, I had all the time in
the world to spend hours watching fish and
trying to get as close to them as possible.
Having been trained in breath control, I was
pretty good at sneaking up on fish in those
days. As a result of my submarine stalking,
the beautiful butterfly gurnard became the
first animal I developed a picture story about.
The butterfly gurnard is usually seen resting in
the sand, well camouflaged from its enemies.
When disturbed, its colour intensity increases,
it raises its dorsal fin to reveal a false eye (a
trick device that lures attackers away from
the fish’s vulnerable head region), and then
begins to slowly “walk” away on its extended
ventral fins. If threatened further, it spreads
its pectoral fins to create a false impression of
size. If all of this is ineffective, the fish darts
away with alarming speed. I wanted images
that told this story in entirety and, with time
and patience, I got them. 
www.steveparish.com.au 23
 Above, left & opposite: Australia has
two endemic seadragon species — the
common seadragon (above) and the leafy
seadragon (opposite). To my mind, they are
as characteristic of Australia as the kangaroo
or the koala and they have remained my two
favourite fish species for many years. The leafy
seadragon dwells amid Macrocystis kelp (left)
24 www.steveparish.com.au
and is the marine emblem of South Australia.
It is also arguably the most bizarre of all fish.
Unusually, male seadragons and seahorses care
for the eggs. Seahorses carry them in a pouch
on the belly, while seadragons attach the eggs
to the underside of their tails.
Above: With such intriguing and colourful
animals dominating my fish pictures, it stood
to reason that before long I would widen
my interest to include marine invertebrates.
This pink anemonefish is snuggling into the
protective tentacles of a bright magenta sea
anemone. The two species share a special,
mutually beneficial relationship in which
the anemonefish lives among the otherwise
stinging tentacles in return for keeping away
the anemone’s predators.
Left: A sponge-encrusted sea squirt.
Opposite: A blacksaddle filefish, a mere
3 cm in length, swims through a garden of
vivid, sponge-encrusted sea squirts. This tiny
fish mimics the colours and markings of the
poisonous blacksaddle toby. Perceived as
poisonous by other predatory fish, the little
filefish is left alone.
www.steveparish.com.au 27
 LEARNING TO PLAY
The element of “play” in my work in rock pools, movement of shadows,
came to the fore in my thirties. A friend the repeated markings on butterfly
gave me a little book written by artist, wings, or the scales of fish or reptiles,
printmaker and teacher Desiderius and the list goes on. Nature is filled
Orban entitled What is Art all About? with gorgeous patterns, shapes and
My friend, Irene Amos, herself a noted forms. Most look wonderful as they are,
abstract artist, inscribed it with the naturally, but can also be accentuated
words, “Read between the lines”. in montages or triptychs.
Orban wrote: “…Competitiveness
and the desire for success should be Left & opposite: The many species of
eliminated. We are happiest when we angelfish are adorned with wonderful colours
and patterns, so they are ideal to “play”
are most unaware of ourselves and of with as elements in design; the striking blues
what we are doing, but enjoy doing and yellows of the angelfishs’ markings are
it. This process leads us through the presented as a repeating pattern to celebrate
the beauty of their design. Similar experimental
wide open gates to creativeness”. montages are shared throughout this book.
He goes on to say, “If the play brings
results without conscious effort, that is
excellent”. This stopped me dead in my
tracks. I began to understand Orban’s
idea — art was a process, not the
preconceived notion of an end result.
With that in mind, I began to cultivate a
more playful approach to photography.
I created images that were meaningful
to me, images that allowed me to
express areas of my work that had more
to do with “art” than science. Whether I
used them in my professional work was
irrelevant. Playing with my camera or
modifying images using my computer
had the added benefit of furthering
my technical skills. In “playing” I
also developed a fascination with
juxtaposition and pattern. Today I still
become easily mesmerised by reflections

28 www.steveparish.com.au

Above: Working with a designer in Sydney
during the early seventies, I developed an
underwater housing for my 500c Hasselblad
cameras. One had an 80 mm lens and
extension tubes for close-ups; the other had
a 50 mm wide-angle lens for fish and larger
scenes. The results were stunning, even by
today’s standards. (Photo by Igo Oak)
Opposite: This image marked the beginning
of my fascination with marine invertebrates.
It was taken in 1967 and was of a new species
— the tiger anemone. This marine invertebrate
lives in deep water on sea whips, sea fans and
other organisms that protrude from the sea
floor. It prefers a steady, open current so that
it can feed on passing microplankton.  areas encouraged encrusting algae, sponges, ascidians and
1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 ...
MARINE INVERTEBRATES – unravelling mysteries
During my days of diving along the steep, seaward cliffs of
Jervis Bay, I experienced a sense of discovery similar to what
I imagine Australia’s early explorers must have felt when
they set out for places unknown. The heads of Jervis Bay,
and the points north and south, vary greatly in structure.
Some cliffs drop vertically to the sandy sea floor, while others
descend in steps; yet others twist into giant arches or are
strewn with boulders or pocked with caverns. Each descent
offered a new adventure — with a capital A! The structure
of the rocky reefs and the sea floor’s geology also dictated
the types of invertebrates I would find. Deep, still water
supported abundant sponge growth. Large, calm surface
bryozoans. The deeper I dived, the larger, more colourful
and more diverse the invertebrates became, especially in the
case of sponges and gorgonian corals, which, in the colder
waters, are especially vibrant.
Information about marine invertebrates was scarce in those
days. While I often managed to identify at least which phyla
the invertebrates I photographed belonged to, I was having
some difficulty classifying them into classes, especially the
sea squirts (ascidians) and encrusting sponges (calcareans).
Most other taxon, including genus and species, remained
largely a mystery. Like many marine naturalists of the period,
I referred to WJ Dakin’s classic book Australian Seashores.
Published in 1952, the book contained mostly black-and-
white pictures of accessible intertidal species. In 1966, Isobel
Bennett’s The Fringe of the Sea was released. It was a classic
book filled with highly detailed, full-colour photographs
by FJ Meyer and Keith Gillett, mostly photographed in
aquariums or intertidally. Nonetheless, the timing of its
release was spot on and it further fuelled my passion for
submarine photography.
I developed housings for my underwater cameras and, when
friend and colleague Neville Coleman set off on a trip around
Australia to photograph and collect marine invertebrates,
I remained in Jervis Bay to focus on the eastern temperate
species. Neville and I both dreamed of publishing books in
the future. He went on to become one of Australia’s most
prolific underwater photographers, naturalists and authors;
I diversified and included terrestrial animals in my repertoire
of nature images.
With time, practice and lots of research, I discovered that
most of the marine invertebrates I was photographing fell
into nine phyla. I also began to understand which animals
I would find in the temperate part of the ocean. My
underwater experiences excited me so much that they lead
to my first book Australia’s Ocean of Life. Published in 1974,
it was my first attempt at interpreting animals in a way
the general public might understand. I had not accounted
for the fact that the public had never seen these creatures
before. Motivation to buy a book featuring such unfamiliar
creatures was low, and with a print run of 5000, years
passed before they finally sold out. I did not recognise it at
the time, but it was my first lesson in marketing — while I
may be passionate, the rest of the nation may not always
share that emotion!
Today, I maintain my enthusiasm for publishing books that
expound the wonders of these creatures. Using some of
the pictures I took in those deep, dark waters, I have been
able to create books for children and adults that help them
appreciate the complexities of marine invertebrates — some
of the most astonishing creatures on planet Earth.
www.steveparish.com.au 31
 Variations in colour, pattern, shape and
texture abound in invertebrates, as seen
in the images on these pages. Corals
receive their bright colouring from algae
that live in their tissues.
Above, left to right: Sponge; feather star;
gorgonian coral.
Opposite: The sea floor off Lizard Island,
Queensland, is often covered with numerous
invertebrate animals, especially in the shallows,
where light can easily penetrate. 

Left: A magnificent tunicate sea squirt from

temperate waters — one of the most delicately
patterned animals I have ever encountered.  

32 www.steveparish.com.au
 THE ART OF
MARINE INVERTEBRATES
Something that has long amazed me choose subjects based on their design
is how the shades and patterns seen in appeal, because I want to make eye-
the surface tissues of molluscs, sea slugs catching images that hold a viewer’s
and anemones can be so aesthetically attention.
“perfect” in their design, at least to my
eye. Even when the colours fluctuate
Left: The mantle of a giant clam displays a
within a pattern, they always seem magnificent design.
to work. The best artist would find it
impossible to achieve so many visually Opposite: The tentacles of this anemone
appear to be replicas, yet each differs in its
perfect variations in a lifetime. minute, intricate patterns.
With my photographer’s eye, I tend to

34 www.steveparish.com.au
 Above: Echinoderms, such as feather stars
(above) and their relatives the sea stars, sea
urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers,
inhabit tropical and temperate waters
around the continent. Each fits into different
niches and over the aeons they have evolved
extraordinary colours, forms and textures, not
to mention lifestyles. I find these creatures
irresistible, especially feather stars, which are
usually seen attached to the sea floor, their
wispy arms undulating in the currents in
search of food.  aggressive. These two male cuttlefish are in the
Opposite: Imagine a stomach that left your
body when you dined. Incredibly, sea stars like
this multi-coloured firebrick sea star actually
have this odd digestive system. Some are able
to evert a stomach out of their mouths, on the
underside of the body, to cover their food.
Page 38: I took this photograph of blubber
jellies at midnight (hence the inky background)
while diving in the centre of Jervis Bay. I loved
to dive at night, especially during rain when
the surface waters were calm.
36 www.steveparish.com.au
When photographing sea jellies, it pays to know
which species are capable of inflicting painful,
or even fatal, stings. Sea jellies have delightfully
delicate colours and textures, and come in
a multitude of shapes and sizes, but they all
employ stinging cells, called nematocysts, to
kill prey. Some are so venomous they can kill a
grown man within minutes. 
Page 39: During mating season, giant
Australian cuttlefish can be territorial and
early stages of rivalry. Once, in very deep water,
a giant male about a metre long charged
out of the gloom directly at my camera and
wrapped its tentacles around it. Cuttlefish
are capable of changing their colour and
texture within minutes, either for camouflage,
to escape predators or to communicate
during courtship or when dominating a rival.
Relatives of squid, nautiluses and octopuses,
these creatures are thought to be the most
intelligent invertebrates. They have certainly
intrigued me throughout my career.
THIS TITLE CAN BE PURCHASED ONLINE FROM OUR WEBSHOP:
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Some pictures in this book are available as
photographic prints for your home or office.
Please visit the Steve Parish Publishing website via
www.steveparish.com.au/image-library
for more information or to place your order.
PUBLISHING
www.steveparish.com.au
www.photographaustralia.com.au
Steve Parish sees himself as a storyteller with a camera. His career behind the lens
began in his teens, when he photographed fish. As his passion to photograph
all of Australia’s habitats and fauna evolved, he acquired the skills to capture
diverse subjects and styles, from documentary to abstract. Today, he is one of the
world’s most versatile, prolific and widely published natural and social history
photographers.
Now in his mid-sixties, Steve keeps busy collecting new images for his well-
established publishing company. He spends around half of each year in the field and
the remaining time assembling books from his home on a bush block in Brisbane,
which he shares with his wife and business partner, Catherine, and with Quincy,
a demanding shorthaired pointer.
Steve likes to approach his work from both a naturalist’s and artist’s perspective.
In 2010, he set out to “re-photograph” Australia with some of the world’s most
advanced digital cameras. His challenge now is to expand on previous work in
terms of content, style and quality. He has also immersed himself in the ambitious
“Art of Land Project”, which involves creating major new image collections that tell
the story of this continent’s unique flora, fauna and ecosystems.
Left: Temporarily exhausted, a sea-lion takes a
well-earned rest between fishing expeditions.
I see something of myself in this image.
At sixty-five I now reflect excitedly on the
next chapters in my life’s journey.
Published by Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd
PO Box 1058, Archerfield, Queensland 4108 Australia
© copyright Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to contact the owners of any copyright material produced
herein. Any copyright enquiries should be directed to the publisher.
ISBN 978174193624 7
First published 2010.
Photography, text and layout: Steve Parish
Design: Leanne Nobilio, Thomas Hamlyn‑Harris, SPP
Editorial: Karin Cox, Michele Perry, Cathy Vallance, SPP
Colour management: Greg Harm, SPP
Pre‑press: Dwayne Smith, SPP
Produced in Australia at the Steve Parish Publishing Studios