Brisbane's jacarandas are at their peak right now, so this is the best time of year to photograph them. It's just not a great time. The trees are ready, but the weather isn't. Brisbane has been showery all week, and the Bureau of Meteorology has rain or showers in the forecast every day until Monday.
I've photographed the jacarandas at New Farm Park twice: in full sun on 11 October 2023, and under flat grey cloud on 18 October 2026. I also walked UQ Lakes on 5 October this year. Both New Farm Park albums are on the site: New Farm Park Jacarandas 2023 (19 photos, late-afternoon sun) and New Farm Park Jacarandas and Roses 2026 (41 photos, overcast). This guide is what I learned from those visits, including what to do when the sky won't cooperate.
When is jacaranda season in Brisbane?
October, with the best colour usually in mid to late October. The first trees start in late September and the last ones fade in early November.
Every tree keeps its own timetable, and my visits show how fast it moves:
| Date | Place | Bloom | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 2023 | New Farm Park | Most trees at or near peak | Clear sky, 4:30 to 5:05 pm |
| 5 Oct 2026 | UQ Lakes, St Lucia | Patchy, some trees still bare | Sunny with cloud |
| 18 Oct 2026 | New Farm Park | Full peak, ground turning purple | Grey cloud around midday |
If you've been waiting for "full purple", it's here. The catch is the weather.
Is now the best time to photograph jacarandas?
For the flowers, yes. For the weather, no.
This is the week every tree is full, and the week the sky is least reliable. Here is the BOM forecast for Brisbane as of this morning:
| Day | Forecast | Chance of rain | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 21 Oct | Showers | 95% | 15 to 45 mm |
| Thu 22 Oct | Rain | 95% | 30 to 60 mm |
| Fri 23 Oct | Showers | 90% | 10 to 25 mm |
| Sat 24 Oct | Showers | 90% | 7 to 15 mm |
| Sun 25 Oct | Showers | 90% | 9 to 20 mm |
| Mon 26 Oct | Showers | 90% | 5 to 15 mm |
| Tue 27 Oct | A shower or two | 50% | 0 to 4 mm |
That's my problem with this week. The jacarandas are on time. The weather isn't. Heavy rain also brings the flowers down faster, so waiting for a perfect blue-sky day could mean waiting until the best of the bloom is on the ground.
My advice is not to wait for perfect. Watch the BOM radar, go in the gaps between showers, and shoot for the light you actually get. The rain does help in one way: the morning after a wet night, the flowers hang heavy with water drops, as I found on my jog after the rain yesterday. I wrote about the wet week itself in The Sun Is My Dryer.
Sun or cloud: which is better for jacaranda photos?
Sun gives you the famous postcard of purple against blue sky. Cloud gives you deeper purple and softer light. Each has a weakness.
Look at the two rotunda shots at the top. In the 2023 sun, the sky is a beautiful blue, but the flowers turned pale lilac and the shadows under the trees went very dark. In the 2026 cloud, the purple is much richer and there are no harsh shadows. The weakness is the sky, which went flat white.
So on a grey day, change what you shoot:
- Keep the sky out of the frame, or keep it small. A white sky pulls the camera's exposure down and makes the flowers look dull.
- Shoot under the canopy and look up. With branches filling the frame, the grey sky becomes a soft background instead of a blank space.
- Go close. Single clusters and fallen flowers look their best in soft light.
- Use colour that isn't purple. At New Farm Park the rose garden and the golden trumpet tree make a grey day look bright.
On a sunny day, do the opposite. Go wide, include the blue sky, and come in the last hour before sunset when the light turns warm and the shadows stretch out across the lawn.
Where are the best photo spots in New Farm Park?
The rotunda is the classic shot, but the park has five spots I'd go back to. All of them are in my two albums if you want to see them first.
- The heritage rotunda. The big jacaranda behind it fills the sky over the roof. Stand on the lawn in front and shoot slightly upwards.
- The park road. The trees along the road meet over the middle and the fallen flowers turn the bitumen purple. Parked cars are the hard part, so frame high or shoot early.
- The entrance pergola. The "New Farm Park" arch frames the jacarandas behind it, with flower beds either side.
- The rose garden. Rose beds in white, pink, apricot and magenta, with a wall of jacarandas behind. This is the best spot on a grey day.
- The riverwalk and the Brisbane Powerhouse. A jacaranda leans in beside the old brick walls and steel flues, which makes a nice change from all the lawn shots.
See every spot in the full sets: the 2023 album in the sun and the 2026 album under cloud, with the roses and the Powerhouse.
Are the UQ jacarandas worth photographing too?
Yes, but UQ is a different kind of shoot. On 5 October the bloom at UQ Lakes was still patchy: a few trees thick with purple beside the water, others with only a few clusters at the tips.
That made it a day for close-ups, with fresh flowers and dark buds still opening. The lakes also give you reflections and water birds, which New Farm Park doesn't have. I haven't been back since, so I can't tell you how full it is today, but by now most trees should have caught up. My walk and all 47 photos are on the UQ Jacarandas 2026 page.
What camera settings work for jacarandas?
Nothing special, but a few small changes help a lot. I shoot on a Nikon Z30 with the kit 16-50mm lens, and the same ideas work on a phone.
- Brighten on grey days. Add +0.3 to +0.7 exposure compensation when the sky is in the frame, or tap on the flowers if you're using a phone.
- Check the purple. Cameras often push jacaranda purple towards blue, especially in shade. Shoot RAW if you can, and fix the colour later.
- Watch the wide end. At 16mm the kit lens bends straight lines, like the rotunda posts and lamp poles. Leave a little room at the edges, or zoom in slightly.
- Get low for fallen flowers. The purple carpet under the trees looks much bigger from knee height.
- Respect other people. Weekends are busy, and other visitors are in nearly every wide shot. I blur faces before I post anything online.
How do you get to New Farm Park?
Take the CityCat. The New Farm Park ferry stop is right at the park, and on weekends the parking fills up early. Weekdays are much quieter if you can get away.
So should you go this week?
Yes, but go with low expectations about the sky. The bloom won't wait for the weather, and a grey day at the peak still beats a blue-sky day after the flowers have fallen. Check the radar before you leave and pack a cloth for the lens. If the sun does come out, drop everything and go.
Have you been out with a camera this season? Tell me which spot worked for you, or which suburb I should try next, on the contact page.
Full galleries
- New Farm Park Jacarandas 2023: 19 photos, 11 October 2023, late-afternoon sun
- New Farm Park Jacarandas and Roses 2026: 41 photos, 18 October 2026, overcast
- UQ Jacarandas 2026: 47 photos from UQ Lakes, 5 October 2026
All photos are mine, developed from my Nikon Z30 RAW files, with people in the distance blurred. The forecast is from the Bureau of Meteorology's Brisbane forecast, checked on the morning of 21 October 2026. Forecasts change, so check bom.gov.au before you go. AI helped me edit the English.
