Latest // Geoff Rankin: photography, graphic design, music, writing, illustration, art + more

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Want to see the latest additions to my website? Here they are, in chronological order. I'll keep deleting photos at the bottom as I add new additions to the top.

Brisbane City Dwarfed By Mega Bolt

This single lightning bolt looks spectacular. Then you notice the size of it compared to the city buildings. Incredible!!! So glad to have captured it, and pretty happy to be nowhere near it :)

And, no, this photo was not part of my composite, although it’s the same epic storm. ~19.02.20

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Incredible Light Show / Composite

This is my composite image of this incredible storm (19 Feb 2020) as viewed from Mt Coot-tha, Brisbane. It’s 12 of my photos laid over the top of one another. And to think this was only the tail end of the storm. Thankfully it didn’t rain, or at least it didn’t at Mt Coot-tha. Brisbane city is in the middle. The straight lines & dotted lines are from planes flying into Brisbane Airport.

I've been asked if it's real. It’s all real. They're all my photos. It's the one storm. I've aligned the photos over one another - though you have to select the bits that show and the bits that don’t. I haven't moved bits around. No funny business etc. So it's as real as a composite image can be.

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Team Kyrgios

If you've ever wondered what Nick's family are like I can assure you they are very nice. They don't look too bad either :)

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Rarest Insects In The World!

Meet Bruce, Bernard, Bernice, Babs & Betty - the Famous Phasmid Five!

These flightless Lord Howe Island Phasmids were eaten into extinction 100 years ago on Lord Howe Island by introduced rats. I guess for rats they were a bit like all-you-can-eat churros. Remarkably they were rediscovered in 2001 on a nearby rock island and brought back from near extinction. They have been called the rarest insect in the world and are currently listed as Critically Endangered.

There's not really a famous phasmid five. But there should be. These ones are living in a glass enclosure, but as they are super-super-rare I thought I'd include them here even though they're not in their natural wild state, especially because Babs is smiling at me. Cutie :)

Unnatural light, handheld

Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia

Mosquito Meltdown

"I can't believe it's not fancy dress. I feel like such a doofus. I can't believe it. Can't believe it. Can't believe it. Can't believe it. Can't believe it. Can't believe it. Can't believe it. Can't believe it. Can't believe it. And the party is tomorrow. I need to get myself a diary!"

Natural light, handheld

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Graphic Flutterer

Four wings? Check. Groovy spots? Check. Cool name? Check!!! Yes, Graphic Flutterer is the real name of this type of dragonfly. Honestly!

Natural light, handheld

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Green-and-white Hummingbird at Machu Picchu

Hummingbirds. They're one of the things I've always wanted to photograph in the wild. To do so while overlooking Machu Picchu is even more special.

You can't get enough of these guys whirling past. They're so small, cute and fast. No trip to anywhere that has hummingbirds is complete without seeing them. It's fantastic to watch them interact with their natural environment. The Green-and-white Hummingbird is endemic to this area of Peru. I photographed this one in a fleeting moment between flowers right at the Sun Gate (Inti Punku) not long after sunrise. A very sweet breakfast for sure. Dec 2019.

Inti Punku, Machu Picchu, Peru

Australian Native Stingless Bee

Australian Native Stingless Bees are tiny but incredible things, working tirelessly to make the world a better place, for them and for us. The perfect mascot for the Aussie Battler. Go you good thing!

Natural light, handheld

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Passed Life

The old me
It's not what I want to be
Hard, empty, crusty
Thankfully I've been set free!
~ Geoff Rankin, 2019

Who knew spiders shed their skin?

I think we all don't want to be that person. We want to be new and improved, better and better day by day, leaving the old us behind. The old me is a hollow shell of what once was. The new me is alive, renewed, has moved out and has moved on! Preferably :)

Natural light, handheld

Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

Figgy Pudding

Two amorous beetles atop a fig. Well, one is atop another atop a fig, and only a cherry on top could possibly top that.

"Hey, Maude, can you give me a lift to the shops? I need to do my Christmas shopping."

"No problems, Mal, but I won't go until I get some. I won't go until I get some...".

Natural light, handheld

Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

Eastern Osprey

This Eastern Osprey is heading back from the shops with food for the kids. Nice.

Sandy Camp Road Wetlands Reserve, Queensland, Australia

Gold Creek Damselfly

I found this aptly-coloured damselfly sitting on a stem of grass at Gold Creek Reserve. Pretty cool seeing that most damselflies you see are either blue or black.

Natural light, handheld

Gold Creek Reserve, Queensland, Australia

Black Falcon!

What a privilege to be present to watch this Black Falcon hunt. To not only feel the rush of the wind as it flew past, but to actually hear the "Whoosh!" - that was incredible! So fast, so close, so furious, what an incredible hunting machine. That being said, it's strike rate wasn't great, but it was good enough for a feed - if only it could get away from the other hungry birds chasing it.

Oxley Creek Common has resident dark Brown Falcons (Brown Falcons come in a few different shades), so it was a real treat to see this much rarer predator in action. They are cosmetically similar but they are very different beasts.

Oxley Creek Common, Queensland, Australia

Mini Smaug

This flying dragon (Australian Tiger Dragonfly) is almost big enough to be breathing fire. I hope there isn’t a mini Lake-town on Hinze Dam, because if there is it better look out!

Natural light, handheld

Hinze Dam, Queensland, Australia

White-eared Monarch

I can't really say I know much about the White-eared Monarch. Needless to say it's got a white ear. Maybe even two. Enough said.

Kholo, Queensland, Australia

Greetings From Planet... Ummm...???

Me: “Excuse me, but are we from the same planet?”

It: “Uhuh. You just don’t know this planet well enough!”

Natural light, handheld

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

White-bellied Sea-Eagle

Birds don't get much more majestic than this monster female White-bellied Sea-Eagle. Wow!

Kholo, Queensland, Australia

Grasshopper Dropping

“I didn’t eat any pink leaves. Honest!”

Perhaps it had just eaten a lot of beetroot. I think a few of us have been guilty before on that count. If it goes in one end, something's gotta come out the other. I guess grasshoppers are just like the rest of us after all.

Natural light, handheld

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Black Kite

I love birds of prey in full flight. So awesome, so majestic. This Black Kite is hunting mice in a freshly mown field.

Oxley Creek Common, Queensland, Australia

Wasp With Mud

“Hey, kids, I got Christmas sorted!”.

Natural light, handheld

Hinze Dam, Queensland, Australia

Airport Rifle

I took this photo while queuing to check-in my luggage at Melbourne “Tullermarine” Airport. It wasn’t loaded - my luggage, that is. I guess someone read the list of what you can and can’t take on a plane AFTER they’d got to the airport - you know that checklist you have to agree to. My biggest dilemma is remembering if I can or can’t take batteries onboard with me :)

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Orchard Swallowtail Caterpillar

Somehow this lemon-leaf eating-machine will transform into a beautiful black and white butterfly. It's not sure how or why, but it eats so it can be who it's created to be. But it can't do that without our citrus trees. If you see one of these and don't want it eating your citrus leaves, relocate it to a neighbour's tree. Your neighbour might not thank you for it but you'll know you're doing your bit to help the environment and that's the important thing, right? :)

Natural light, handheld

Ingham, Queensland, Australia

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Scaly-breasted Lorikeets are regular visitors to our gardens here in southeast Queensland. They are fairly shy, cheeky and can be very noisy - a bit like me :) Unfortunately their numbers are decreasing as they have trouble competing with their bigger and more aggressive cousins - Rainbow Lorikeets.

Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

Eastern Yellow Robin

I took this photo while walking along one of the tracks near O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park. Like most small birds they don't sit still for long. It was there then gone. So was I, and sadly without a lamington in sight.

Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia

Satin Bowerbird (Female)

A female Satin Bowerbird perches in the rain. This is one of those birds where the female is prettier than the male, kinda. The eye is spectacular in both the male and female.

Queen Mary Falls, Queensland, Australia

Koala Joey

I snapped this little one as it popped its head out from behind its mother. So delightful!

Raymond Island (Gippsland Lakes), Victoria, Australia

Red-browed Finch

Red-browed Finches are definitely a favourite - small, sweet, beautiful. What's there not to like?

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Crimson Rosella

A Crimson Rosella feeds in the rain. Or it's waving at me. Yeah, I think it's waving. Definitely.

Queen Mary Falls, Queensland, Australia

Grey-headed Flying Fox

I always just assumed bats just toileted upside-down. Nope, that’d be daft. I guess I’m the daft one for assuming it.

Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia

Common Noddy

The Common Noddy fishes by dipping its beak into the ocean like the one here.

Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia

Great Cormorant

This cormorant knows it's great. Fair enough. I'm sure it's pretty terrific.

A Rocky Outcrop Off The Southern Coast Of Tasmania, Australia

Would Lord Howe Woodhens?

Yes, thankfully they would. With only 250 Lord Howe Woodhens in their only native home, ensuring the survival of this cute but endangered bird is critical. So it’s good to see them getting to it and staying on top of things.

Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia

Eastern Sedgefrog

Very cool little dude. It looks like it could be carved out of stone. So gorgeous!

Natural light, handheld

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

LHI Witchetty Grub

The Longicorn beetle (Agrianome spinicollis) is the largest of the beetles on Lord Howe Island. This is what it looks like when you wake one up from a really long pre-beetle snooze. Sorry.

Natural light, handheld

Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia

Heart

These Black Swans only have eyes for each other.

Black & White version - almost.

Raymond Island (Gippsland Lakes), Victoria, Australia

Welcome Swallow

This Welcome Swallow wishes you a very warm welcome to Moreton Island. Enjoy your stay.

Moreton Island, Queensland, Australia

Silver Gull

It's better coming second than not at all. At least that is what life coaches tell these birds.

Moreton Island, Queensland, Australia

Musk Lorikeet

Cute fan. Pity I wasn't a bit closer - the image is a bit grainy. Oh well.

Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

Eastern Brown Snake

Don't be fooled by the wry smile or rugged good-looks, this is THE SECOND-MOST VENOMOUS LAND SNAKE ON THE PLANET! I encountered this Eastern Brown Snake at Point Vernon, Hervey Bay. It happily posed for a few photos before slithering on its way.

Treatment for a bite is to remain as still as possible (though you've gotta get help ASAP), and apply a pressure bandage to the bite site. I don't think they are all as friendly as this one!

Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia

Cranky Franky

This is one of my favourite koala shots purely because of the expression on the koala’s face. It doesn’t seem thrilled that I am there, although I wasn’t doing anything to disturb it, apart from accidentally waking it up.

Raymond Island (Gippsland Lakes), Victoria, Australia

Pygmy Possum

These guys are nocturnal so it's pretty special to see one foraging about during the day! They're also pretty small, especially when you're not too close to them, so the photo isn't the sharpest ever - but that's life & wildlife photography. You win some, you lose some - winning here was just seeing it.

Near Lake Wivenhoe, Queensland, Australia

Fiery Fern

I noticed this fern glowing away in the forest. It was glowing, glowing, gone.

Mount Glorious, Queensland, Australia

Red-tailed Tropicbird

Red-tailed Tropicbirds are majestic. Sitting on a cliff watching them soar over the aqua sea below is one of the photographic highlights of my life. If these birds & quokkas lived on the same island it'd be the most popular island on Earth - or at least should be.

Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia

Red-tailed Tropicbird

"Hi there!" I love it when wildlife is inquisitive, especially when it's something so strikingly elegant as a Red-tailed Tropicbird on the extraordinary destination of Lord Howe Island.

Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia

The Majestic Milky Way Over The Mighty Murray River

This single 40sec exposure was taken at 10pm one cold Winter’s night from the banks of the mighty Murray River just south of Renmark, SA. If you’ve free-camped around there then you may know the place.

Mars is the bright light up the top left. Jupiter is the bright light far right. Saturn is the brightest light middle, very top. 3 planets in 1 shot isn’t too bad!

Both the Large Magellanic Cloud & Small Magellanic Cloud are visible on the left.

The Southern Cross lies on its side a little below dead-centre (same height above the horizon as the Small Magellanic Cloud).

The reflection of stars is not the Southern Cross although it resembles it.

The town of Berri lights up the right horizon while a hint of Loxton lights up the middle.

Oh, and the Murray River and Milky Way are both in there somewhere!

Renmark, South Australia, Australia

Tasmanian Devil

I love this photo. Why? It's of a Tasmanian Devil. I don't have any shots of them in the wild. I love that this photo looks like it could be.

It's the only photo I've included in this section that is not of a wild animal.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Queensland, Australia

Sweet As

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Sweet As

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Sweet As

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Sweet As

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Not Just Your Shoes, Michael!

I'm taking this photo with a very wide-angle lens, leaning over the foldback in front of me, when at the conclusion of the song Michael says to me, "Are you taking photos of my shoes?"

I quickly explained it was a very wide lens getting his pedals, the roof & everything in between in the shot & showed him a shot in the viewfinder.

I then asked him if he'd take a photo of the crowd for me which he did, which is the final photo on this page. Nice. Thanks, Michael!

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Sweet As

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Sweet As

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Sweet As

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Sweet As

Michael Sweet was incredible in his one-man-show at the Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane as part of his east coast Australian Tour - Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Photo by Michael... Sweet!

Two thumbs up from me. Yeah, that's me on the left with both thumbs up.

I was leaning over the speaker in front of me, taking photos with a very wide-angle lens, when Michael asked me if I was taking photos of his shoes (see photo above where you can actually see his shoes). I explained I was getting everything from the floor to the roof and showed him on my camera. I then asked him if he'd take a photo of the crowd for me. I handed him my camera, told him which button to press, and this is the resulting image.

So thanks for taking the photo, Michael!

It wasn't a big crowd. There were multiple concerts on that night in Brisbane. But everyone there loved the show and I think it shows.

Hungry Hungry Quokka

They say not to feed the quokkas... These guys feed themselves! Munching machines, for sure & cuteness overload!

Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia

Welcome To Quokka Isle

Is there anything cuter, happier & friendlier than a wild quokka? No. This guy could have easily been the official welcoming party if it wasn't just a random quokka living away from the hustle and bustle of development.

Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia

Ravenous Stare / Art Version

I took the photo that this is based on while at Rottnest Island, not that anyone goes there to see the Australian Ravens! But this one saw me :) And they are always hungry!

Photo & art by me.

Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia

Outer Space Outer The Window

This is one single eight second exposure, handheld, taken last night through the window of our Qantas Airbus A330 (the air temperature outside was -59C so I was hesitant to open the window) while travelling at 880km/h, heading west at 12km above southern Western Australia en route to Perth.

The Southern Cross is dipping behind the wing while the clouds of the Milky Way are lightly visible above the horizon. Canopus and Achernar shine brightest in the sky above. Both the Large Magellanic Cloud & Small Magellanic Cloud put in an appearance. There is even a satellite on the move above the Two Pointers - Agena & Alpha Centauri - so there’s something for everyone. Good show all round. - 06 Nov 2019

Somewhere over southern Western Australia, Australia