Hi there, I’m Isabella a 19 year old macro photographer and this is where I tell you my story and how I fell in love with photography…

From a young age, Isabella has always had a fascination with wildlife and bugs. One Christmas, she received a bug habitat, and it didn’t take long for her to find tenants for this new home—much to her parents’ dismay. The first occupants were a family of shield bugs (AKA stink bugs). Despite her parents’ pleas to evict this pungent family, Isabella was adamant. But by the end of the next school day, her room was almost off-limits to all human life. And so, although not a heartwarming story, this is where Isabella’s love for critters and bugs had begun

Photography wasn’t an unfamiliar concept to Isabella. Her mother, Jo, had studied photography, became a successful international photojournalist, and even nationally exhibited her work at the young age of 22. Though inspired by her mother’s accomplishments, Isabella insisted on forging her own path and refrained from picking up a camera—until June 2019. At just 14 years old, she found that the first few images she had ever taken were being exhibited at the Queensland Museum as a finalist for Crikey Magazine’s annual photography competition—beating her mother by eight years for her first national exhibition!

2019: FIRST PHOTOGRAPHS

Since then, Isabella has continued to refine her photography skills while making waves in the industry. She became a ‘Young Gun’ ambassador for Ted’s Cameras and attracted the attention and support by Nikon. By the age of 16, she was a junior finalist in Australian Geographic’s Nature Photographer of the Year competition in both 2021 and 2022. In 2023, she earned the title of Australia’s Young Nature Photographer of the Year, leading to her work being exhibited throughout the ANZANG region.

Isabella has continued her photographic journey academically, beginning a double degree in Design (Digital Culture) and Animal Ecology at the University of the Sunshine Coast in early 2023. Her goal is to intertwine these two seemingly disparate fields to raise awareness and educate others about Australia’s often misunderstood wildlife. Taking this mission hands on, Isabella has worked at Australia Zoo since 2020 and, in February 2024, deferred her studies to move across the world and gain hands-on experience under leading creation scientists and researchers in the UK, while volunteering with local communities.

Since returning home, Isabella’s passion for her mission has only grown stronger. Initially drawn to the smallest, often overlooked yet most plentiful creatures in our world, she is now deeply concerned by alarming studies showing dramatic declines in insect populations. Over the past 40 years, research indicates at least a 40% loss of insect populations, with some studies painting an even more devastating picture. For example, a study conducted by Californian scientists Mia Monroe, Dennis Frey, and David Marriott on Monarch butterflies showed that in 1997, the population of roosting butterflies exceeded 1.2 million. By 2019, that number had plummeted by 97%, with fewer than 30,000 butterflies counted that winter.

This heartbreaking data is expanding daily, and it drives Isabella to raise awareness and appreciation for these often-overlooked creatures. Without them, the intricate web of life that sustains human existence would begin to unravel. As stewards of the planet (Genesis 1:26-28), she urges us to reconsider the impacts we individually are having on our earth.

Through her photography, Isabella hopes to spark questions and concerns, challenging individuals to rethink their relationship with the environment. She seeks to magnify the impact one individual can have on the seemingly overwhelming issues of wildlife destruction, ultimately striving for a world where humans and nature can coexist and thrive.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I’m truly passionate about raising awareness and inspiring others to take action for our natural world. If you’d like to follow my journey, support my work, or simply learn more about what I do, I’d love to connect with you. Feel free to reach out via email or through my social media channels :)

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Isabella x