In Flight: A flock of Corellas taking off from a dead tree in an unidentified location
‘It’s not glamorous, it's hard work, it's tedious. Sometimes you are camping in very remote areas and you are alone. I’m obviously aware that there are nasties out there that can kill me,’ she said.
‘Obviously I’m not silly when I’m alone walking through bushland if worse comes to the worst and I get bitten by a snake it's pretty much a death sentence,’ she explained frankly.
She carries a spot device with her so she can be tracked and also send SOS signals if needed.
In The Fog: Taken in the Great Otoway National Park, also known as the Otoways or the Otoway Ranges, this shot shows off the huge forest located in Victoria
Cascades: Uluru in the Northern Territory gets a makeover when there's heavy rain in the area, and rivers can be seen gushing down the crevices of the red rock
Loner: A flock of black swans were captured flying over the Flinders Ranges, the largest mountain range in South Australia
‘I've been stuck a couple of times. In the back of Flinders Ranges [South Australia] my car broke down,’ she said. 'I knew there was a property 20km from where I broke down but I broke down in a creek bed so I had to sleep there and in the morning I started walking. Luckily I spotted a local guy about 4km along the way as it started raining. He towed my car back .... it could have been a lot nastier,’ she remembered.
Over the years Fletcher's work has captured the attention of her peers and international recognition from the like of National Geographic.
Cutie: Fletcher often manages to snap photos of wildlife up close, like this adorable marsupial at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park in South Australia
Excuse Me: This little kangaroo looked a little lost, or perhaps just curious as he poked his head up out of the long grass somewhere in the Australian outback
Bright Eyes: A Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby was posed for Fletcher in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, where she has spent much of her time snapping the scenery
And now her artistic selfie at Lake Eyre, 15km from Marree, a small town in South Australia which is 685 km north of Adelaide, has made her a finalist in this year’s David Malin Awards for astrophotography.
The photo, titled Pathway of Light, was taken an hour after sunset, capturing the bright light of Venus across the special lake that holds water even when everything around it is bone dry.
Describing why she loves Lake Eyre so much she said it is a place that challenges her.
Fog: Taken in late June of this year, what looks like dust is actually fog rolling across the Oodnadatta Track in outback South Australia
Patterns: Fletcher often uses reflections and the different coloured light on show at different times during the day as seen in the sunrise in Morning Glory (left) and the sunset in Dancing Boabs (right)
Bedtime: This spectacular sunset was captured over Lake Hope, in remote South Australia
‘This region in general is hard core. I love Lake Eyre, or my little spot as I call it, because I have gotten to know it so well and can almost predict what’s going to happen next out there now,’ she said.
‘There is nothing out there but at the same time there is so much if you just see and not just look. In the right conditions it is just incredible but go on a bad day and it's awful.
‘This area has made me a better photographer by challenging me all the time. I am constantly looking for a different approach on the same subject. It’s taught me to keep things simple and don’t overthink things,’ she added.
Remote: The photographer says there is so much to see if you just look properly and her trade has taught her to see things she previously would have missed
Isolation: Lake Eyre located in remote South Australia takes on a new life with this phenomenal shot showing a sky full of stars and a sea of colour
Aerial: Fletcher says the outback has made her tougher but the dangers of working in such remote areas are not lost on her
Despite still being regularly on the road on her own after 12 years since leaving Sydney, the tiny town of Marree has become Fletcher’s base.
There is nothing there but one pub, one caravan park and one roadhouse. But the single roadhouse happens to be the home of Fletcher’s current boyfriend, Lyall Oldfield.
‘I think he drugged me,’ she laughed. ‘There's not much out here, it's pretty isolated… but I am lucky and get to travel a fair bit which breaks the monotony of being here the whole time. I need my space and travel time and my partner is fully aware of that and he fully supports me… he's a good man,’ she said.
The pair fell in love after Fletcher worked for him as part of her travels. It was the last job she had on her seven years moving around Australia.
‘I was working for him for almost a year. We became friends and then we became partners and I guess I never really left,’ she explained.
You can visit Julie Fletcher's Facebook page to view the full collection of photographs, purchase one of her stunning images, and find out more about the photography classes she offers in South Australia.
Lost Souls: Three figures gaze up at the Milky Way and Venus with Jupiter over Lake Eyre, in Remote South Australia
The Bluff: Fletcher took this stunning shot of a lone tree and its pixelated reflection in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia
