Ashley Pope, Spirit (PLACES 2023)

'Spirit' is an aerial drone photograph of one of the many dead trees surrounding Lake Bonney, Barmera, South Australia. Lake Bonney is around 220 kilometres northeast of Adelaide in South Australia and is a well-known spot for photographers to put on their must-visit list, purely for the fact that stands of dead River Red Gums make a fantastic subject to photograph, especially with a spectacular sunset to highlight their silhouetted structures and reflections. Lake Bonney was impacted by the recent floods in the Riverland in South Australia and was cut off from the river. The lake has changed a little in colour due to the flood waters, creating a darker-than-normal colour. Whilst flying over the lake, I was drawn to the colour of the dead trees against the darker waters. The trees have been passed for some time; from the banks of the lake, they are grey and gnarly; from above, they are almost white, their twisted and aged branches creating a beautiful contrast against the darker waters. Whilst they may have passed, their spirits live on for all of us to continue to enjoy.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.