I was in no hurry and decided to have a quiet drive by Paterson, Gresford, and over the ranges to north of Dungog.

The morning was perfect with early light filtering through the fog as I moved up through the ranges, when in front of me I spotted a bird of prey feeding. It lifted off as I passed so I turned around, hid behind a hedge and waited.

I left the car and moved very slowly behind a hedge to get into range for my lens. The lighting was good and the rising sun behind me – perfect. The bird then suddenly lifted off again, leaving me no alternative but to settle down wait. About 45 minutes passed before the bird return high in the trees – a magnificent brown falcon.

Eventually it flew down to a nearby stump, and then it eventually flew to the carcass. I was surprised when it flew suddenly turned away and flew off into the trees. I had the shots though – a fast shutter speed did the trick.

I had no more time to wait – the Chichester Rainforest was waiting for me and the promise of some beautiful fungi.

It was mid-morning by the time I arrived and conditions were very wet underfoot, but the colours in the forest were magnificent. The wet conditions were bringing out all the colours in the trees.

It was pretty hard going and you certainly have to be prepared for the conditions, carrying only the equipment you require - tripod, macro lens, camera, back light.

The fungi was everywhere, clusters of all types all over the place. Some were under logs, some high up, and a right angle viewfinder is very handy for ground shots in these situations.

When photographing them, stick to the basics … square with the subject, I use aperture priority, flash 1/16 power, back light the same, long exposure depending on the light but Flash goes off, bracket back light shots.

I got some lovely shots and have included just a couple here. I headed back to Maitland in late afternoon, a great day.