Thousands of people have seen the Great Barrier Reef from a boat, from the air or by diving and snorkelling but a recent television documentary showed this natural wonder in a way that no-one has seen before.

The three part series was filmed by Emmy award winning underwater cameraman and marine biologist Richard Fitzpatrick.

The series gave an in-depth picture of the Reef, exploring its whole 2300 kilometre length and showcased the complexity of life that exists there.

The series used cutting edge underwater macro and digital time lapse photography to provide never before seen footage of the Reef and its inhabitants.

Super macro techniques brought images smaller than one millimetre to life and motion control camera set ups took the viewer through the coral and showed what hasn't been seen before.

Time lapse photography showed what can't be observed while snorkelling. The footage brought the Reef to life clearly showing it as a vibrant marine city.

The series was a co-production between Digital Dimensions, BBC and Discovery Channel.

It was filmed over a number of years and the ground breaking footage illustrates areas of the reef rarely seen even by marine scientists.