Lilli Boisselet, A quiet afternoon with Roger (ANIMALS 2021)

Reticent and blistering by day with only the Milky Way to light the sands each night; The Simpson Desert is not a hospitable destination. Yet, there is breathless vibrancy in the intimacy of desert life. Here, we’re privy to an exploration of land not seen by human eyes in hundreds of years, as environmental scientists push to understand the effects of the changing climate on our deserts. With a rich palette of muddy copper tones and an affectionate relationship with the camels who make the expeditions possible, photographer Lilli Boisselet sends postcards from the Australian Outback with scientist Dr Max Tischler and explorer Andrew Harper. Travel writer Rowland Waring-Flood’s words echo through our ears in this new world of quiet reduction, ‘I have worn the dust of many foreign places, but to brush it off would surely be a crime.’ Here’s to the allure, to the sustenance of discovering the unknown.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.