A Gift from the Sky

A Gift from the Sky: Behind the Lens of My ABC Weather Calendar Image

Some photographs seem to arrive not from planning, but as gifts — fleeting, divine moments offered to those who are willing to stop, look, and receive.

That day, I was at the farm, scouting locations for one of my Art in Nature – Mindful Photography Workshops. I’d spent the afternoon facing southeast, setting up under a windmill, composing shots with old farm buildings and wire fences to frame the rising Milky Way. It had been a long day, the kind that takes effort to show up for — physically, creatively, even emotionally. The light was fading. I was ready to pack up.

And then I turned around.

There, behind me, the sky had opened up — radiant, golden, almost celestial. A massive cloud bank was catching the last of the sun’s rays, glowing with surreal intensity. It stopped me in my tracks. One of those rare moments where time stands still and you just know: you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. I whispered aloud, “Thank you.” Over and over.

Then came the rainbow — then another — full arcs against the brooding sky. I wanted to sit and soak it in, to be still with the beauty, but instinct kicked in: get the shot.

I spotted an old, skeletal tree in the paddock. I could see the image in my mind — the tree silhouetted, the rainbow, the light — and so I ran. Or rather, I hobble-ran, dodging potholes, laughing, and praying the moment wouldn't vanish before I got there.

“If you don’t capture this,” I remember thinking, “you might as well give up photography.”

But I did capture it. And that image — born of persistence, presence, and pure grace — has now been selected from over 600 entries to be part of the ABC Weather Calendar, a collaboration with the Queensland Country Women’s Association.

Last Tuesday, I attended the official launch at the ABC Studios in Brisbane. The event was graced by Her Excellency the Governor of Queensland, the State President of the CWA, and beloved weather presenter Jenny Woodward, who champions this project each year. It was a joyous occasion, made more meaningful knowing that all proceeds from the calendar support efforts to address the growing crisis of homelessness among older women in Queensland.

To know that this moment — that golden, sacred pause in the paddock — can now bring light into other people’s lives fills me with gratitude. It is the very essence of what I teach in my workshops: how mindful photography opens a deeper way of seeing and being in the natural world.

Sometimes, the sky really does say thank you in return.