Beautiful shots of bioluminescent algae in Gippsland by Phil Hart (via @SummerAsh)

Photographer Phil Hart has captured some wonderful photos of bioluminescent algae in Gippsland lakes.

But he's gone further, explaining why there is a such a concentration of this algae (Synechococcus) - the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, followed by heavy floods washing the now very mobile nutrients down into the lakes, followed by hot weather and the inevitable algae blooms.

But you don't have to wait for such a convergence of events to go some way to replicating some of this effect yourself. Just hit the surf at night-time. The ocean is full of little bugs that glow brightly when you stir them up. They'll stick all over you and glow brightly when you stir up the water. That's why waves shimmer so nicely. It won't be as bright as these photos of course, but still lots of fun.

Just watch out for bigger bitey things...