The astounding array of colours found on the Scarini tribe (family: Labridae), commonly known as the Parrotfish, is showcased to breathtaking effect in this book. Photographer and artist Michelle Brayshaw reveals the plethora of colour changes which these fish display through ontological (slow) and physiological (fast) processes. The obvious differences occur in the three phases of their lives, but it is the subtle changes in colour that can be the most bizarre, occurring while feeding, mating, courting, cleaning, camouflaging themselves to their backgrounds or the fish around them, experiencing mood swings, fighting, playing and, most excitingly of all, when they are transitioning from female to male. This feat is not unique to the Parrotfish, but no other animals do it with such glamour and colour.

Through hundreds of hours of observational research, this book highlights the light play and physiological and ontological colour changes of the Scarini found on the Great Barrier Reef in stunning photographic accuracy. It also includes comprehensive information about why Parrotfish are so important for the health and resilience of the reef, instilling in the reader a deeper sense of the treasures found there and reminding us of the interconnected nature of our existence.

Michelle is presently completing a hybrid Science/Visual Art, Masters of Research, at Central Queensland University. She has been an educator for 34 years and a secondary Visual Art teacher for 28 years, in Queensland, Australia. Michelle holds Post Graduate qualifications in Creative Arts and has numerous qualifications in Arts Disciplines. She has participated in various exhibitions and sold her work in outlets throughout Queensland. In 2015, Michelle published her first photographic underwater book with New Holland Publishers.

She says of her latest work: “I have developed a deep love and passion for our beautiful region and consider myself blessed that I live with The Great Barrier Reef at my doorstep. My work creates that magical and ephemeral moment in time which is intended to bring with it, memories and associated smells, sounds and feelings giving the audience insight and prompting reaction for the survival of one of our most beautiful environments and what I believe are the most important and beautiful of all its inhabitants, the Scarini tribe.”