September 20, 2024

UOW biologist wins international photography competition

Dr Damien Esquerré announced as Overall Winner of British Ecological Society’s ‘Capturing Ecology’ Award

Reptile expert and University of Wollongong (UOW) lecturer Dr Damien Esquerré has been awarded Overall Winner in the British Ecological Society’s annual photography competition, ‘Capturing Ecology’, for his photo of a bearded dragon basking under the hot Canberra sun in its eucalypt woodland habitat. 

Dr Esquerré 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.  

An avid photographer, Dr Esquerré 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. His winning photo, The Dragon and the Sun, was captured in Canberra, where he was living at the time completing his PhD, master's and postdoctoral fellowships at The Australian National University. 

“This was just a regular casual bushwalk in the beginning of summer in Canberra. I was showing an American colleague around the area and spotting local reptiles,” Dr Esquerré said. 

“The relatively common species, the bearded dragon (Pogona barbata), was there, so nothing exotic or out of the ordinary. I remember just seeing it perched on a tree and wanted to take a wide-angle photo to include a bit more of the environment and the sun. 

^{Dr Esquerré's photo 'The Dragon and the Sun'.  Photo credit: Damien Esquerré, British Ecological Society.}

“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 today (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 Esquerré has been following the ‘Capturing Ecology’ competition winners over the years and said he is honoured and surprised to be announced as the overall winner.  

“It is a massive honour to win this important competition. I’m very happy to have my photo showcased to an international audience and get that recognition for my work.”  

Last year Dr Esquerré was named as a finalist in the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year in the Animals in Nature category, and two of his photographs are currently displayed at the Australian Museum. 

“I have always, ever since I was little, been obsessed with nature and animals and particularly the crawly things, like lizards, snakes and spiders. It was a very natural path for me. I was always going to take the steps towards becoming a biologist,” Dr Esquerré said.  

“Growing up in Chile, after I finished high school, I started doing yearly expeditions to the Amazon and I really got into photography then. 

“Now my research lies in understanding the processes that generate biodiversity. Looking at different time and evolutionary scales, trying to understand what drives the evolution of the diversity of forms we see today.”