Tony Rea Designs

We began taking photos in 2002 when we had a break from our teaching jobs. As we live near the Royal National Park we went for bushwalks. It was spring and the Sydney Red Gums and Scribbly Gums were starting to shed their bark.

National Park

We were struck by the beauty of the old bark shedding and the growth of the new bark underneath…

the contrast of the old and the new seemed to resonate with where we were in our lives. The extraordinary contrast of colour, pattern and texture were Nature’s works of art…

we simply photographed them.

We were also drawn to the rockpools for the interplay of wind, light, pattern and colour and to the delicate patterning and colour in the Sydney sandstone along the coast south of Sydney.

What had started as a nurturing and healing interest for us became a passion. And in time, with the encouragement of family, it became our business.

Our short excursions in the bush became whole day events as we became more and more drawn to the beauty around us.