In search of dragons
Award-winning underwater photographer Scott Portelli (pictured above) has dedicated the past five years to photographing the life cycles of weedy and leafy seadragons. “As I spent more and more time with these endemic Australian creatures, I developed an understanding of their ecology and why their habitat was so important to their survival,” says Scott, whose first-ever story for AG, Masters of disguise, begins on page 46.
Spending hundreds of hours documenting the two seadragon species has allowed Scott to capture all stages of their development, from egg and embryo to when they hatch as tiny versions of adult seadragons. He has witnessed pairs of adults displaying a whole range of courting behaviours and borne witness to the many intricacies of the daily lives of these mesmerising creatures. Scott is particularly proud of the way in which his dedication to photographing seadragons is supporting the efforts of citizen science programs that rely on firsthand observations and data from people who are able to regularly encounter wild seadragons.
Another first-time AG contributor, turned her COVID-cancelled red-dust road trip into gold when news of a new community event in Alice Springs caught her attention. “When I first found out about FABalice, it threw quite the spanner in my carefully curated adventure,” Anna says. “I was due to leave Adelaide in early March and drive my way over the vast, southern, red-dust Aussie outback before stepping aboard the iconic Ghan in Alice Springs. But then I received details about FABalice – a spectacular, glittering drag festival, inspired by an icon of Aussie cinema, Priscilla, Queen of
the Desert. The pandemic turned my itinerary to dust, so I booked a flight to Alice, landing just in time to see the kaleidoscopic filter settle in [ Glittering
pride, page 116]. It was fitting that I’d be leaving Alice in the shiny silver Ghan that sparks some resemblance to Priscilla the bus before she was painted lilac. More intriguing is just how clearly FABalice highlighted the diversity of Alice Springs. And yes, I’m still trying to wash the red dirt and glitter out of my clothes.”