A Touch of Green. By Geoff Murray

Last week I visited a forest in North East Tasmania. Comprising predominantly Myrtle Beech trees or Nothofagus Cunninghamii, an ancient tree dating back to the time of Gondwanaland, I was hoping to capture some good alpine forest images.

Conditions when I was preparing to leave the car were a little damp, to say the least. There was a brisk wind blowing, it was raining and the mist was restricting views to a couple of dozen metres. Perfect conditions for photographing forests really, although I could have done without the wind.

It didn’t take long to reach the first band of trees. Ancient, stately and beautiful, I did my best to capture the essence of their existence, tucked away in a remote and damp forest in the mountains.

Continuing uphill, I eventually walked into the main forest. Green was the predominant colour, as mosses and lichens grew on everything. It was a majestic place to visit and I moved through this verdant landscape gently and carefully, disturbing the vegetation as little as possible.

Stopping occasionally to capture particularly striking scenes I eventually reached the summit of the mountain, still populated by the green ancients. Time was getting on and I didn’t want to be caught in the forest after dark as route finding depended on being able to see a reasonable distance ahead to choose the clearer path so it was time to return to the car.

It was also becoming increasingly difficult to de mist my lenses before capturing an image so the camera was packed away for the last time.

5 hours after leaving the car I returned to it. I wore my Odyssey jacket and Latitude trousers over a Slinx top and Mont thermals and shorts which served me well on the walk. I also had my Neon Down Hoodie in my camera bag in case I was too chilled but it wasn’t needed.

May the ancients remain undisturbed forever.

By Mont Ambassador and wilderness photographer Geoff Murray

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