Behind the lens: The big picture

This image by Ron Lovatt showcases his incredible talent as a macro photographer, but that was only part of his story.

Ron’s photographic journey spanned many genres, though he was primarily focused on nature. An award-winning photographer, his smiling face once graced bus stops across the country as the "poster boy" for Canon in 2010, and he was a finalist in Australian Photography’s Photographer of the Year in 2019.

Ron was also prized for his specialist work for the Australian Museum. He was entrusted to photograph fragile and valuable specimens, some extinct and less than 5mm in size, each requiring hundreds of stacked images to capture essential details for archival records.

He also acted as a mentor for the DigiVol program, a citizen science initiative aimed at digitising the Museum’s 21 million-item collection. This involved photographing, transcribing labels, and inputting data into a searchable database, accessible to researchers worldwide. The Museum’s longest-serving volunteer, Ron's contribution was invaluable.

A generous and caring man, Ron also raised tens of thousands of dollars for research for the Prostate Cancer Foundation while undergoing medical trials in hopes of helping others.

However, as a man whose life brimmed with friendship and love, Ron’s heroic advocacy for proactive and lifesaving health checks will remain his greatest legacy.

In post-processing, his images were stacked in Helicon Focus, with levels corrected in Lightroom, sharpened in Topaz AI Sharpen, and cleaned up in Photoshop.

Meticulous attention to detail was required for both the composition and lighting, as well as post-processing. As a self-confessed perfectionist, Ron often spent days or weeks perfecting his images.

Sadly, Ron passed away in September 2024 after a courageous battle with prostate cancer, but his talent and passion live on with his wide-ranging personal portfolio and work for the Australian Museum. Vale Ron.