The most intriguing part of Australian photographer Steve Back’s gorgeously graphic series Hutt Lagoon is that the bright pink-colored water is all natural. “The images

are not manipulated for color,” said Back. “I was commissioned to shoot some abstract landscape shots of Western Australia for a big Perth hotel. I chartered a light aircraft to explore shooting some islands off the coast of Northern WA. I had noticed these lakes on the map and Google Earth, and decided that they were worth a look. From the ground, the pink coloring is not so evident and a bit unimpressive, yet from the air, it looks fantastic. These are natural landscapes but the coloring is out of this world. And at first sight it is not easy to tell whether they are close up or far away.”

Hutt Lagoon is the world’s largest Beta Carotene farm (produced by naturally occurring algae in the water). In the middle of the lagoon are a series of manmade ponds that form the fundamental composition elements of Back’s images.

Feature Shoot Contributing Editor Carolyn Rauch is a Photo Editor.

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