Emerald photographer shares her unusual wildlife exchanges

Renu Narintrangkul Na Ayuthaya has enjoyed photography for 23 years.

Through her lens, Renu has captured the unusual exchanges of some of Australia's iconic wildlife.

From kingfishers catching their delicious dinner, to the ongoing antics of a fat sleepy koala and his pesky cockatoo neighbours, the pastime has provided an outlet for Renu's inspiring imagination.

One of her images became the talk of her Emerald friends when she witnessed an exchange between some noisy cockatoos who decided to peck and pull the ears of a fat, lazy koala who just happened to be snoozing in one of their trees.

Renu said the exchanged looked like a good old-fashioned property dispute.

"The koala looked so innocent and so peaceful, and the cockatoo has such a contrasting personality, going 'Squawk, squawk' so loudly to the poor fella," Ms Ayuthaya said.

"They're very territorial. They don't want any intruders. And that's why they pecked the ear of the koala at that time.

"But the Koala looked so nonchalant, like it didn't even feel any harm, with its eyes still shut, still trying to snooze.

"I tried to call out, 'Stop it, let the poor fella sleep'. And I used my shutter noise to try to scare the cockatoos away, but it didn't work, so I just thought, 'Let nature be, I'm not going to intrude on the ecology system'."

Renu described capturing intriguing interactions in the outdoors as therapy.

"I go to the gym, do yoga, but taking photographs is of more benefit to me; it's great, and I enjoy wildlife at the moment, more than any other subjects," she said.

"I just enjoy hearing the sound of the shutter and it takes my mind away from everything that I worry about. It's just a joy; it's good for my well-being; it makes me feel relaxed.

"It's mostly for myself, but I use social media as my gallery and to connect with others, and of course it feels good when they like my photos and give me feedback that I can use to improve my photography."

Her photography has helped develop her interests in the preservation of wildlife corridors and the prevention of habitat destruction.

Renu is now relishing keeping her lens carefully pointed at our captivating bush locals and keeping an eye on their not-so-neighbourly antics.

"Even if rainbow lorikeets and other birds came close, the cockatoos would squark them away too, so the big koala fella sitting there is too much for them to handle - if one of the noisy birds cannot wake the koala up, the rest of them will come over and join in," she said.

"My friend went out there days later and said she could not see that koala; she found he had moved away and relocated to another tree, and the cockatoos have not come to bother it anymore.

"I realised, on the new tree, on a different branch, there was a magpie nest, so I think that the cockatoos would not dare to challenge the magpie."

Renu's philosophy is that it seems like 'life is always fun in the bush, if we just keep our eyes open'.

"I know much of the wildlife and birds that are around there, but I always wonder which ones will turn up for my lens, and what cheeky antics will they get up to today," she said.

"It lifts my excitement levels higher when I see something captivating."

Renu previously focused on portrait photography, and hopes to widen her subjects in the future to include native plant life and the environment.