I discovered this River Gum in the backwaters of Glenmaggie Lake while scouting for subjects for the next morning's shoot.

Having driven past it many times before, it had gone unnoticed. But on this day, it seemed to stand firm and proud, reaching up and out from the excess water of the flooded lake.

Arriving well before sunup, I navigated my way across the swampy ground, avoiding puddles and swatting at mosquitoes that were enjoying the warm summer morning.

At the marshy shoreline, I wandered up and down, trying to imagine how the sun's first rays would interact with my majestic subject.

Realising the mirror-like conditions on the still waters, I settled on a spot that allowed the trees' almost perfect reflection to wrap around the reed clusters that gathered in the shallows.

Patiently anticipating the sunrise, I set up the tripod and spent the next 20 minutes clicking away while making minor adjustments to my angles and focal length.

Finally, the first rays touched the top of the old Gum, and the clouds became feathered with hues of colour. I snapped off a few shots and reached for my polariser filter. I wanted to maintain a longer shutter speed and also try to cut through the intense reflection to reveal some of the magic in the underwater world hopefully.

As the sunlight intensified and illuminated my worthy subject, I clicked off hundreds of shots that included some focus stacking and polariser adjustments. I didn't want to get home and discover that something had been missed, so I overcompensated in every possible way.

As always, at this time of day, the light changes quickly and, at times, dramatically, so I happily continued clicking away at the subtle and sometimes intense changes until the summer sun was casting full daylight.

Once I got my images up on a big screen, I found that this image was great by itself. There was no need to focus stack, and the polariser managed to cut through just enough, giving the viewer a glimpse of the hidden world below the waterline while maintaining the reflection on the surface.