Tropical rainforest — David Taylor - Master Jeweller

June 2022

That tree on the way into Nandroya Falls.

I was questioned the other day by another photographer about photography in the rainforest. I spend so much time on rivers and chasing waterfalls where I live that I forget I am also spending a lot of time in the rainforest.

One of my first thoughts before I head into the rainforest is insects and to be prepared. After that I think of fallen trees and making sure I am not under one. The above photo has both.

Often to avoid the roughness off the rainforest I will walk in water or along dried up seasonal creeks. Behana Creek is a great example.

Most of the interesting rainforest I know however is on the hillside of Barron Gorge. I love exploring that area.

Come the rain and the hillside in Barron Gorge transforms into something else.

The rainforest canopy is an issue for light and taking photos on the hillside and down on the flat. At both places timing your photos for the light through the canopy is critical.

If you are in a gorge the light will fade well before sunset. As soon as the sun drops below the highest point of the hillside things start to get dark quickly.

At the top of the hillside, Barron Gorge.

For those that can make it to the top of a gorge hillside you will be rewarded with light in the rainforest for the longest and from my experience up there some very different vegetation.

Time in the rainforest means big rocks, big trees and lots of rain. When the rain gets too much I hide under a tree or rock and drink coffee.

The rain is usually accompanied by wind and when added to waterlogged trees and soil the result is a lot of fallen trees. They are everywhere in the rainforest.

Things get very wet in the rainforest at times and the vegetation changes greatly depending on how much rain has fallen recently. This whole rock wall was covered with that plant but has since dried out and died.

Especially during the wet there is a lot of green in the rainforest. The dead trees here are as green as the new growth.

Vegetation not only grows over the dead trees but up and over living as well. Competition is fierce amongst the plant life.

What deadfall the plant life does not use as a host fungi put to good use. Nothing goes to waste.

Deadfall in a waterfall and trees that seem to grow in whatever direction, over, through and under anything they desire. The rainforest amazes me.

The rainforest has trees that when I look at them I cannot decide if they grew out of or over the rocks they now cover. I can only guess how old some of these trees are.

Gnarly trees are not just found in the rainforest down by the water but up the hillsides as well.

When there might not be one stunning tree the smaller details of the vegetation can be very interesting.

The shapes are endless as it would appear the types of trees present are. This is some type of fig tree I am guessing.

The vegetation can vary greatly on the hillside but there is one type of tree that comes to mind when they think of rainforest. That tree would be the Fig.

This giant fig tree is my favourite tree in Barron Gorge. Right up the top of the hillside it sits in sunshine in a small clearing in the canopy. Can anyone guess as to how old this tree would be?

The rainforest is an amazing place and I have not even mentioned the locals that I have bumped into during my time in there. The two most famous being the Tree Kangaroo and the Cassowary. There have even been recent sightings of a Cassowary in Baron Gorge near the city. We live in an amazing part of the world.