Densey Clyne Internationally known English-born writer, photographer, documentary maker and TV presenter Densey Clyne started her career as a naturalist 50 years ago in an Australian suburban garden with a Hassselblad camera and a deep love of nature After teaching herself macro photography, and initially as a hobby, Densey started keeping written and photographic records of the small animals around her garden These were mainly the insects, spiders, frogs and other small creatures that had intrigued her since childhood. Much of the detailed behaviour Densey recorded was previously unknown, and her favourite insect turned out to be an entirely new species and genus - perhaps this could only happen in Australia!

As Densey’s work became known, a hobby turned into a career resulting in 28 books, hundreds of articles and presentations and a number of documentary scripts. Her photographs were used to illustrate her own publications and increasingly those of others both in Australia and overseas. Her book “Garden Jungle” was one of those presented to Prince Charles and Diana by the NSW Government as a wedding gift. A 27-year working partnership with wildlife cinematographer Jim Frazier began with the production of two award-winning documentaries about the spiders and insects in Densey’s garden which she researched, wrote and presented. This led to an involvement for Jim and Densey with the BBC , notably with David Attenborough’s TV wildlife epics “Life on Earth”, “Living Planet” and “Trials of Life”. This gave Densey the chance to travel within and outside Australia and thus increase her range of photographic subjects.

During this time Densey’s wildlife columns and articles, enlivened by humour and enhanced by her colourful images, appeared in major Australian magazines. Her column pieces in The Sydney Morning Herald were later published as collections by Oxford University Press as “Wildlife in the Suburbs” and “More Wildlife in the Suburbs”. Other books followed, including “ Rainforest”, “ Densey Cl;yne’s Wildlife of Australia”, “How to Keep Insects as Pets”, and several series for children. Over eight years Channel Nine’s Burke’s Backyard aired several hundred TV spots on natural history subjects, researched, written and presented by Densey and filmed by Jim Frazier. Over more than half a century Densey’s commitment to close-up and macro photography, to creative nature writing and to her subjects has resulted in an outstanding portfolio of images and first-hand observations. She has received a number of awards for her books, photographs and documentaries. For Densey, observing, recording and giving ‘larger than life’ exposure to the complex, often beautiful and always astonishing small beings that share our planet remains one of life’s greatest pleasures.