A kaleidoscope of colour in Australia’s channel country – in pictures
Photographer Lisa Alexander is based on a merino sheep property near Blackall in south-west Queensland. She believes we are constantly surrounded by beauty, even in the depths of drought, and seeks to capture this in her work
-
The red sand hills on the road from Windorah to Birdsville as the sun sets.
-
A labyrinth of branching channels in south-west Queensland are bought to life at sunrise.
-
A lone gum tree, surrounded by red earth and spinifex grass, is gently lit by the sun’s rays as it peeks above the horizon.
-
Windorah, with a population 115, is surrounded by the channels that have sprawled out from the Cooper Creek.
-
-
An abundance of wildflowers, such as these billy buttons, beside a road brings the landscape to life.
Photograph: Lisa Alexander
-
The time of the day, the angle of the sun and the different ground covers combine to produce the colours that are unique to the channel country.
-
The magic of the region is that it doesn’t have to rain here for grasses to grow. When rain falls up to 700km upstream along the Thomson and Barcoo rivers, the water flows south-west to form the Cooper Creek and then spreads via the channels to produce some the best cattle feed in Australia.
-
Masses of paper daisies dot the landscape alongside the Cooper Creek and within the channels at Windorah.
-
-
Where water runs, ground cover will grow. As the outer grasses and herbage fade when the soil moisture reduces, the inner channel ground covers still hold a high moisture content, producing vibrant green colours.
