I had the wonderful fortune to visit Tasmania over the Christmas/New Year. Living in such a hot, dry environment for most of the year, Tasmania’s temperate, maritime environment was such a bracing (and welcome change).

Apart from watching my kids seeing snow for the first time and the incredible diversity of plants and untouched wild-spaces on offer, the highlight for me was getting up close to a Fresnel lens at the top of a lighthouse.

One of the first images I had for The Kingdom of Plants revolved around the idea of a lighthouse as a portal to another world. I didn’t even know what that world would be, but I knew that the lighthouse was the key to getting there.

The Fresnel design has fascinated me for over 20 years, ever since I took a high school workshop on lighting and sound for stage performances. But it is the massive lenses (this is a second order lens) fixed atop of spiral staircases and shining their light over vast oceans that have truly captured my imagination. I feel blessed to have finally been able to tick this experience off my bucket list.

Lighthouse: Table Cape, Tasmania.

Reading: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Listening: Passengers OST by Thomas Newman
Watching:The Crown (Netflix)