Esther Beaton Photography

11/02/2026

11/02/2026

How aerodynamics was born ✈️

Rainbow Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus) are stunning in flight 🤩

They are a joy to watch as they spin, dive, pirouette in mid air, flick their streamers and land on a pin-point.

I watched them over a period of days and first noticed those triangular wings. Obviously, nature invented them long before the delta wings of fighter jets “copied” them.

The birds need those long pointed wings to make rapid manoeuvres as they track their equally quick-flying insect prey.

These same long wings designed by nature also allow fast acceleration from take-off as soon as they spot a bee in flight 👀💨

They are small birds with lightweight bodies which makes them capable of long periods of high speed, active flight.

Their torpedo-shaped bodies reduce drag which preserves energy for them ⚡️

What about the tail? The forked tail, as you can expect, works like a rudder for rapid steering

And those crazy streamers? Most birds sporting such elaborate plumage use them for mating displays.

But the female rainbow bee-eater has them too, albeit shorter.

Answer 🧐 for both sexes they enhance their aerial acrobatics - possibly like a flap rudder?

Check out my latest blog “Rainbow Bee-Eaters In Trouble“ for more on this fascinating story in the link in the bio 🔗☝️

04/02/2026

* So you think you have tried bunya nuts and you didn’t particularly like them? Well if you ate a raw potato you wouldn’t think much of that either. In both cases, you need to know how to cook ‘em.

* And at the Bunya Dreaming they really do. Professional chefs vie against amateurs to create the most intriguing dishes.

* My standout favourite at the last Dreaming in 2024 - and I think most everyone’s - was the bunya nut pesto spread onto boiled bunya nuts. A big hit!

* In the First Nations tradition tens of thousands of years old, everyone is still welcome to join in the fun and feasting. There’s enough for everyone!

* The bunya tree is a conifer, very closely related to pine trees, and produces a nut that looks almost identical in shape to traditional pine nuts. But the cones are about 100 times that size of traditional pine cones — and so are the nuts!

01/02/2026

It’s all music and dancing at a Bunya Dreaming. These scenes are from the last one.

Young men from northern rivers, 💪🏽💪🏽New South Wales, introduce themselves. Their mob took the audience’s breath away with the sensational dancing which closed out the day.

Preparing the stage for the dancing. 🕺 👯‍♂️

The audience waits for the dancing to begin.

Unfortunately, no one was allowed to take photos 😳and the crowd respectfully honoured this - even by me, and even though I was on assignment! 📸

Maton is one of the few guitar makers using the very popular bunya wood which is lightweight and creates a mellow sound.

The guitar 🎸 made out of bunya wood was freely available for musos to try out. All agreed its sound was exceptional.🎶

A local singer brought tears 🥹to my eyes as she sang “My Island Home”. Isn’t that the best song ever?

A man came all the way from Torres Strait and sang for the special event.

These scenes are from the previous festival in 2024. How did this year’s compare? I understand it was a sellout crowd of 800!

30/01/2026

It’s all fun and games at Bunya Dreaming day! It’s a sacred opportunity for Sunshine Coast Gubbi Gubbi, Jinibara peoples - and their friends - to re-create this ancient cultural event.

Those cones are heavy and spiky!🩸

But the person who gathers🏃‍♀️ the most into their own area wins!

Bowling cones into the hole at the end of the bowling alley🎳🎯 is tougher than you expect.

Your entry ticket🎟 is a bunya necklace.

28/01/2026

February is a great month to visit the Cairns Botanic Gardens. Its tropical climate serves up a bounty of interesting beasties for you to practice your macrophotography.

You can increase your chanced of finding these by signing up with Aussie Macro Photo who gives the BEST tours through the Gardens.

And you’ll super increase your chances when you getting hold of this world re-knowned macro diffuser that I used on a couple of these shots — made by a brilliant Cairns local, Cygnustech.

Check out the comments for info on all 4 shots!

21/01/2026

Watching flies being cheated by a stinky fungus, was almost meditative 🧘

Some might consider this ugly, I find beauty in all of nature!

01/01/2026

https://youtu.be/UoP0MiykjPM?si=dtHMjoXYB-W6m-Ei

After being bitten by an eastern brown snake – of the most deadly in the world – Helen Worrell waited on the trail for just 50 minutes as emergency crews loc...

17/07/2025

Here's a fun quiz. How many ducklings are hiding under mum's wings? (Look close.)

17/06/2025

Open Studios lives on!
I was at Le Loft in Buderim to get my hair cut by Adrien and noticed the trail guide I had left weeks ago was still displayed on the coffee table. I told him he could throw it away now as it’s finished. “Non, non!” said Adrien (yes he’s French), it is so good, full of beautiful things! all the I places - so interesting!”
So there you go. I never thought of the guide as having long term value. I am delighted to be proved so wrong.