A Visit to AWC and the Challenges of Mammal Photography

Esther BeatonConservation, Nature and Wildlife, Photography Techniques, Professional Photography, South Australia, Threatened species, Wildlife PhotographyLeave a Comment

Wayne Lawler, staff photographer for Australian Wildlife Conservancy, photographing Boodies and Woylies at night with several flash units, Yookamurra Sanctuary, South Australia

I love the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. I love all conservation groups but the AWC has an astounding success rate. Not only are they re-establishing populations of highly threatened species, they are achieving the job at discount rates. They run a mean, tight ship as far as admin spending goes. Income goes almost entirely to field projects.  So a trip in … Read More

The Story Behind the Green And Golden Bell Frog Image

Esther BeatonAustralian Geographic, Behind the Scenes, Conservation, Cute Animals, Ecology, Nature and Wildlife, Nikon, Photography Equipment, Photography Techniques, Professional Photography, Threatened species, Wildlife PhotographyLeave a Comment

It was the magic year of 2000. Everyone had breathed a sigh of relief that our computers and systems hadn’t gone haywire. In Sydney it was the time of the Olympics. Energy was high. Somehow the threatened Green and Golden Bell Frog became emblematic of this productive and heartfelt era. I was on assignment for Australian Geographic to do a story … Read More

Behind the scenes on this month’s magazine feature

Esther BeatonAustralian Geographic, Behind the Scenes, Conservation, New South Wales, Professional Photography, Wildlife PhotographyLeave a Comment

Wedge-tailed eagle Raptor rehab story

This week I’m taking you behind the scenes of my current published assignment for Australian Geographic. It’s only a short feature and you can see it in the November December 2016 issue called “Raptor rehab”. Here are some notes as to how and why I shot some of the pics. I was allowed very limited access to these injured birds of … Read More

Judging The Nature Conservancy Photo Competition 2016

Esther BeatonAnnouncements, Beautiful Images, Conservation, Exhibitions & Artworks, Nature and Wildlife, On the Beaton Track, Photo Competitions, Wildlife PhotographyLeave a Comment

Eye Spy by Mark Seabury

Nature Conservancy Australia contacted me in June to see  if I’d be interested in being a judge for this year’s Nature Photo Competition. Of course I would! I’ve admired the work of the Nature Conservancy in the US for years. They also spread their activities around the globe and have successfully protected over 48 million hectares of land and thousands of … Read More

5x Growth – a Conservation Success Story

Esther BeatonBehind the Scenes, Bird Images, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, New South Wales, Professional Photography, Threatened species2 Comments

Gould's Petrel chick

Several years ago, I partnered up with science writer Karen McGee to produce a feature on Gould’s Petrel for the UK magazine, Geographical. Most stories of endangered species I find confronting, but this one turned out to have a happy ending. Gould’s Petrel nests almost exclusively on a tiny bunch of rocks off the coast of New South Wales. One of them is … Read More

The Secret’s out at Secret Creek

Esther BeatonConservation, On the Beaton TrackLeave a Comment

Once upon a time, in a deep gully, protected by rocky wooded slops, lived a quiet community of coal miners. Today, apart from a few stones marking the ruins of their homes, lives an equally quiet community of local residents. But these aren’t human. They are secretive mammals, little known and little seen by most Australians, and most of them … Read More