This shot, titled ‘The Dragon and the Sun,’ won University of Wollongong biologist Dr Damien Esquerre the British Ecological Society’s annual photographic competition. Photo: Dr Damien Esquerre.
A spectacular shot of a bearded dragon was named the overall winner in the British Ecological Society’s annual photography competition ‘Capturing Ecology’.
The photo, taken by reptile expert and University of Wollongong (UOW) lecturer Dr Damien Esquerre shows the dragon basking under the hot Canberra sun in its eucalypt woodland habitat.
Dr Esquerre is a lecturer and researcher in biological sciences in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences with a research interest that combines genetics with ecology and evolutionary biology, mostly focused on reptiles.
“I have always, ever since I was little, been obsessed with nature and animals and particularly the crawly things, like lizards, snakes and spiders,” he said.
“It was a very natural path for me. I was always going to take the steps towards becoming a biologist.”
An avid photographer, Dr Esquerre also travels the world on expeditions to capture specific species in hard-to-reach places, bringing together his passion for nature and wildlife through his photos.
He said the image he submitted to ‘Capturing Ecology’ was different to his usual approach.
“This was just a regular casual bushwalk in the beginning of summer in Canberra,” he said.
“I was showing an American colleague around the area and spotting local reptiles.
Award-winning photographer Dr Damien Esquerre. Photo: University of Wollongong.
“The bearded dragon (Pogona barbata) was there, so nothing exotic or out of the ordinary. I wanted to take a wide-angle photo to include a bit more of the environment and the sun.
“I was experimenting with different things at the time. I just recently got a fisheye lens, so I was playing around with including a lot in the frame. I used a flash to fill the strong shadows and bring some detail into the dragon.
“I didn’t think too much of that photo at the time, but later when I was downloading my photos it caught my attention; I quite liked how it turned out. Now it is one of my favourite photos.”
The detailed portrayal of the lizard’s ecology captured in the photo was the perfect fit for the British Ecological Society’s photo competition, which is open to researchers, scientists, photographers and students from around the world.
The competition winners announced on Friday 20 September also include a runner-up, 10 category winners and an additional 13 highly commended images. The competition celebrates the diversity of ecology, capturing flora and fauna from across the globe, spanning 23 countries and six continents.
Dr Esquerre has been following the ‘Capturing Ecology’ competition winners over the years and said he was honoured and surprised to be announced as the overall winner.
“It is a massive honour to win this important competition,” he said.
“I’m very happy to have my photo showcased to an international audience and get that recognition for my work.”
Last year Dr Esquerre was named as a finalist in the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year awards in the Animals in Nature category, and two of his photographs are currently displayed at the Australian Museum.
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