One thing that came out of the year is I started a major project with the Australian Botanic Gardens, The project will run for several years and probably for as long as I'm willing to participate in it. With this project, I get to work with some of the horticultural stuff in the gardens so a great learning for me on the various plants in the gardens, as a result, I've got a lot more flora shots for the year. So kicking off the year the first shot is a close-up of wattle, using the skills I've developed over the years with my fungi work I've transferred those skills to the flora work, so this one is using off-camera lighting.
The next shot is a wildlife shot of Red-rump Parrots coming to drink in the morning, this shot has the female coming in to try and get to the log currently occupied by a male, the tail of the female is dragging in the water. This shot is with natural light, so not lit with a Speedlite, it was a bit overcast but a bit of light was coming through in the right spot at the right time. Some days luck does play a part, but also if I'm there often enough then I improve my odds of getting a decent shot with great light. I usually spend one day a week shooting in the gardens so that certainly helps.
I managed to find some great Fungi to shoot this year and this was one. One of the bigger ones I've shot over the year and great colour on this one. As usual, these are shot in the Australian Botanic Gardens, the gardens are only open from 8:00 am till five and till seven in the three summer months so all are shot in normal daylight. Again happy with how the lighting came out on this one, two off-camera Speedlites used. I like the mood the lighting has created in this shot, Not every shot you manage to get it all the way you want, but this time, I'm happy with the results.
This shot comes from a few years of walking the gardens at all times of the day and times of the year and knowing where to be and when to catch the light. This one is again all natural light, so around 3:30pm to 4:00pm in the winter months the suns lower and before it goes down over the hill the eastern side of the connections gardens gets this amazing light a few years ago I got some great Flannel Flowers this time a Kingia in flower with the amazing backlight.
This next shot was a great find one day after recent rains, one of the bigger Mushrooms I'd find in the gardens. The colour of this one made it stand out and with two off-camera speedlites made it pop. The orange against the green foliage with the sharp focus on the mushroom cap texture against the brown soil makes the image have a sort of surreal feel to it. One of my better Mushroom shots todate.
This is an Australian King Parrot feeding in the Australian Botanic Gardens, Again love the sharpness of this one that the Canon R5 gives.
This one shows just what can be achieved when in lockdown and shooting in the backyard, Natural light. For this shot, it's all about the position of the camera relative to the subject to the back gound and where and how the light falls. The Subject the spotted dove was flying from the side fence to the ground. So the flight path is fairly predictable. The back of the yard is lined with decent sized bottle brush trees which cast a shadow on the back fence in the early morning, So the background is the back fence in shadow and the bird is flying through the sunlight. So natural light and position creates this shot.
Pretty much every year I've managed to get a Waratah shot into my top ten and this year is no exception. This one like all but one of my shots are taken in the Australian Botanic Gardens the exception being the shot above in my backyard. This one taken with two off-camera speedlites.
Loving the sharpness of the R5 with the 100-500mm. The colour between the white / cream bird and the green background is what makes this image for me. The bird being a Long-billed Corella feeding on wattle seeds in the gardens.
This ones the last one for the top ten, this ones right up there as one of my favourite mushroom shots so far, sometimes it all comes together the lighting and the post-processing. Most of the Fungi shots are taken with two speedlites, This one as well. The light on the left with a brown gel gives that warm light. Image is focus stacked as are most of them now. The processing gives the softening of the surroundings.
So that's my top ten for 2021, the last few years I've started to create these single pages of the top ten images. So I've got these records each year as a single page so I can easily compare how far I've come.
Whereas this is what Instagram likes think are my best images for the year. This is where I find it interesting as not one of the Instagram top nine images made my top ten. Not one of my fungi images made the top nine, whereas I had three in my personal top ten.
Below are the links to the last few years top ten blog posts for those that are new here.
The idea originally came from Martin Baily and his regular podcast which you can find the links from his site here,
https://martinbaileyphotography.com/
Martin has been doing his top ten for my years than I have now, so always interesting to see how other people go about their work and what they come up with.
Stay safe out there everyone, have fun and happy shooting.
Thanks for dropping by my Blog this week.
Glenn.
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2021/1/my-top-ten-images-from-2020
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2022/1/my-top-ten-images-from-2019
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2019/1/my-top-ten-images-of-2018
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2018/1/my-top-ten-shots-of-2017
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/1/my-top-ten-shots-of-2016
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2016/1/2015-top-ten-shots---year-in-review
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2015/1/2014-top-ten-shots---year-in-review
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The first image in my top ten of 2020 was taken in January before the lockdowns started and COVID got a foot hold in Australia. A Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis), Take n with the Canon 5D mark 4 and the Sigma 150-600mm Sports lens at 600mm 1/320 sec F8 ISO 800. Like all the shots in this years top ten this shot was taken in the Australian Botanic Gardens, Mount Annan. This was taken in January the Drought was about to brake but not yet so water was getting scarce in the Gardens and only a few of the large lakes had water, the Wattle and Banksia gardens dams had both dried up by then, so water birds were all coming to the main three lakes of the gardens. There was a small flock of about eight Straw-necked Ibis here with a couple Australian White Ibis.
The second shot in my top ten is of one of the many fungi that I find in the gardens. This one shot with the Canon 60D I still you this old work horse for most of my fungi shots, This one two off camera speed lites used one with a brown gel which I've then white balanced corrected, this gives the blue tint in the shadows, you can go part way to that using slit toning in post processing but I find I get better results with gels and white balance corrections. As with nearly all my fun shots this one is focus stacked, which is why the ageing 60D works just as well on these. I've printed these up to A3 plus size and they stand up to close up inspection, my printer (Canon pro-1000) will print up to A2 but I've yet to print that size yet.
This next one is still my favourite shot of the year taken in March so has stood the test of time for the year, and still is my favourite, even thou it’s a relatively simple shot, I call this one “Simplicity”. The side lighting really brings out the texture again shot with eh Canon 60D and 100mm F2,8L macro lens and focus stacked. Shot in the Australian Botanic Gardens. Two off camera speedlites used again. All in manual both the exposure and speedlite setting always in manual. As usual taken in the gardens means taking in daylight, a lot of people think these are taken at night but most are taking in daylight if not full sun even.
OK this one was also shot in March in the gardens, before the weather turns and these guys go into hibernation, this one a Yellow Faced Whipsnake was making its way around the main gardens where most of the people visit the gardens, most of my shots are taken in the natural bushland areas of the gardens but I do venture up into the other areas at times to see what’s about this time I got lucky with this one. This time shot with the Canon 7dmkII and the Sigma 150-600 Sports lens at 600mm, so my usually birding set up will was, (More on that later). This means I wasn’t as close as it looks to this one. Settings were 1/1250 Sec F8 and ISO 1000. This one only the head and upper length of the snake was out of the leaves, I like the colour of the leaves against the snakes head and body. This is an area of the gardens families are often running around in be interesting if one of the younger members of a family ran across this one, this ones not so bad but there are often Brown snakes there as well, which are right up there in the more fatal snake bite categories.
This one shot in June, a small time of lock down in Sydney so I kept out of the gardens for a few months, then I got out and found these in flower in the gardens the Sturts Desert Pea, this time shot with the Canon 5Dmk4 and the 24-105mm f4 lens. 1/250 sec F11 ISO 320 two off camera speed lites and focus stacked, The amount of detail in this shot is incredible you can see each hair on the stems and flower buds, the depth of colours and the contrast between the red flowers and the green buds with the red soil in the background. This area of the garden has the red soil of the outback. Between these, Waratahs and the Kangaroo paw all iconic Australian Flowers I can decide which is my favourite. I had a few Waratah flowers that only just missed out on this years top ten, but they made it into last years top ten and my favour shot of last years work. These are a ground cover plant, I've seen them in the wild over in Western Australia just over 30 years ago now, I didn't see them a couple of years ago when I was last over WA.
This shot was taken in November and these were out a little early, these are called Christmas bells and usually come out mid December in time for Christmas. This one shot with the Canon 5Dmk4 and the Canon 24/105mm F4 at 70mm 1/2000 Sec F9 ISO 100 and one off camera speedlite. Happy with how the processing turned out on this one another one that has that painting like an old world masters feel to it. The last two years Waratahs shot has the same feel to them.
This year Canon bought out a new toy and I was waiting to see what the new 1DX was going to be, when it came out I was really disappointed and it just didn't appeal to me for what it was and I'd already seen a few leaked specs of the R5 which to me seemed an amazing body if the rumours were true. When it finally came out all the rumours were true. I had mine on the third day of release, so was one of the first to get one in the country a big thank you to Macarthur Camera house my local camera store. Getting the early one meant I also got the free extra battery and the sext limited edition strap, which is much wider and more comfortable than the standard straps they come with. I also got the new 800mm f11 lens, this lens coped a fair bit of criticism when it came out mainly by people who had never shot with it or people that aren’t use to shooting with long glass, I was a little sceptical about the lens, but thought it was so light and compact when closed down I thought it would make a great travel long lens and the price was so good for a lens that’s that long. Having used the lens now for near on six months now, I must say I’m really impressed, the sharpness of the lens is great it’s so light, the Aperture is fixed f11 not a minimum but fixed f11 so you can have any aperture you like as long as its f11. That hasn’t been a problem on the R5 as the ISO can be used much higher, without an issue when I first mentioned it I got comments such as its great if you want to shoot in full sun but you’d never use it in any situation under cover of the canopy or an over cast day. Well all that has been since disproven. I’m really impressed with the image quality I get out of this lens every weekend. I’ve shot it in really low light, been able to hand hold an 800 mm lens at 1/50 sec with the inbuilt stabilisation in the body and lens. The body has allowed me to shoot at 10,000 ISO with little noise. I know a lot of people won’t like it and won’t give it a fair go, but that’s OK, I’m happy with it and I’m not into trying to sell them. I will at some stage get the 100-500 as it has the better weather sealing and the only issue I’ve really came across with eh 800f11 is the minimum focus distance is 6m so at times I’ve had to back up to get a shot in focus which is a nice change, I’ve got some great hand held shots of the moon with it and the only time I have put it on a tripod is when I shot Saturn, and Jupiter. Its amazing to realise you can actually see the rings of Saturn with a camera and lens without the aid of a telescope.
So this and all the remaining shots for the years top ten were all shot with the Canon R5 thou I still take out the other bodies will all but the 7DmkII which I haven’t picked up since. This ones with R5 and 800mm F11 1/400 sec ISO 2500. Hand held. When I used the 7dmkII and the sigma 150-600 sports it was always on a tripod and Gimbal head now days I’ve been shooting hand help and enjoying the extra freedom it’s given me. Especially the last month or so due to a slight incident with my foot which resulted in a few fractures in my right foot and as a result a moon boot is my new best friend for the last 8 weeks and last weekends check up and review of the latest X-rays were not looking promising for a fast recovery so another 4 weeks in the moon boot, so caring a lightweight body and lens and no tripod has certainly been appreciated.
Another shot with the R5 this time using the 100mm f2,8 EF lens with the RF adaptor, as there's no glass in the adaptor and its just a spacer there's no loss of image quality, a question I get asked a lot about. This shot using my typical two light set up, this time the camera was on a tripod so I could hand hold the two lights either side of the Banksia flower head, this one was taken in daylight on a slight overcast day. 1/100 sec f9 ISO 200. Again that old world masters feel to it with the lighting and processing.
The flowering gums flowers again lite with a speedlite and using the R5 and 100mm F2,8 Macro. 1/40 sec f11 ISO 400 hand held as by now I was in my moon boot and not to keen on carrying to much gear all over the gardens especially all the stairs to get to these.
The final shot that made my top ten was this shot of a willy Wagtail feeding its young in the nest. normally I wouldn't go near a nest for a shot but this one managed to build its nest fought beside the main board walk and beside a wooden seat where a lot of people stop for their lunch most not even aware that dirtily behind them if they turned around what this activity going on, with the 800mm lens I was actually a lot further back than the people continually walking past. Still its important to make sure you are not interfering with the birds normal behaviour when shooting birds or any wildlife for that matter. shooting in the botanic gardens there is a lot of paths and boardwalks which are fairly heavily used and occasionally you find something like this right beside the path. This shot with the R5 and 800mm f11 1/800 sec ISO 3200 this one was in one of those areas under the forest canopy where people said you’d never be able to use that lens it will be to dark, the back ground in this case wasn’t completely creamy like you can get with a F4 lens but then for the cost of a 600mm F4 I can buy 10 of these F11 lenses. Still it’s not to bad and I’ve certainly got shots where the back ground is pure cream. So I’m very happy with my new set up and loving the R5 with everything I’ve shot with it so far, Birding, Fungi, flowers, some event work. The only thing I would like it to have and maybe a fix in an upcoming firmware is for the focus bracketing to enable the use of speedlites, the Nikon mirror less bodies allow focus bracketing with speedlites the R5 and R6 does not, it has focus bracketing but not with speedlites due to issues with recycle time of the speedlite, Nikon has overcome this so I’m sure Canon can and hope to have it fixed in a firmware upgrade one day, other than that I have had no issues and loving the combination.
This year for something different I also put together a collage of my top ten shot for the year which fit on an A4 page, having seen how this turned out I plan on going back over the last six years top tens and doing the same so I can easily see my progression over the years, I’ll add in the year to the page as well, These will then go into a display book and any time I question my journey thought photography I’ll be able to flick thought the pages and see where I was at a few years back.
Lastly the last image is my instagram top nine based on Instagram likes, interesting that none of the images in the two collections match up. Between instagram like and my personal choice of my work. There were a couple there than made my top twenty but when seen large they didn’t quite make the cut for one reason or other. I note that the Waratahs feature a good amount in the Instagram feed likes. Both my top ten and the Instgram top nine shots were all taken in my local Botanic gardens. I do occasionally shot elsewhere but its only ten minutes from home, 190 different Bird species and 414 hectares of land to explore. It consists of natural bushlands, waterways, plus actual gardens and water features, so plenty for everyone to cover there Photography wants. There are 12km of roadways in the gardens so I don’t have to walk the whole garden thou it’s been known to happen. For the last few years I’ve ran the photography workshops for the gardens usually one a month but that came to a halt in February last year, hopefully in the coming months I’ll be able to start these back up again, Plus a few other projects coming up with the gardens which I’ll speak more of in a future blog post as things develop.
So that wraps up my 2020 top ten shots for the year and a little of the back story and settings behind the shots. Feel free to follow me on instagram where I post a shot each weekday, less so on Facebook, but I'll try and be a bit more active there, as again I'll try and get these blog post s a bit more regular the original aim was for one a week, so I’ll see how I go this year, I’ll do a post showing the Canon 800mm f11 lens and just what I can get out of it. For those that are interested, plus the normal weekly walk thought of the shots for the week.
Below is the links to the last few years top ten blog posts for those that are new here.
The idea original came from Martin Baily and his regular pod cast which you can find the links form his site here,
https://martinbaileyphotography.com/
Martin has been doing his top ten for my years than I have now, so always interesting to see how other people go about there work and what they come up with.
Stay safe out there everyone, have fun and happy shooting.
Thanks for dropping by my Blog this week.
Glenn.
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2021/1/my-top-ten-images-from-2020
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2019/1/my-top-ten-images-of-2018
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2018/1/my-top-ten-shots-of-2017
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/1/my-top-ten-shots-of-2016
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2016/1/2015-top-ten-shots---year-in-review
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2015/1/2014-top-ten-shots---year-in-review
This year The Australian Botanic gardens, continued to run photography workshops so I had 7 workshops to run, plus I had a one on one workshop for someone. I also had three event photography shoots for the Botanic Gardens and Centennial Parklands, one shot from these events made my top ten. I also managed to do some event photography shoots for myself which is always good practice, while doing these I managed to shoot the same local group here 'Like Angles Trio' https://www.instagram.com/wearelikeangels/ I've actually had shots of these from various events over the years but this year I managed to get their details made contact and shared the images I had with them. They just released their first single with all the money raised going towards drought relief and the devastating fires we are having here in Australia this summer. I was also Photography of the day on the photofocus website for a day in December. https://photofocus.com/inspiration/photographer-of-the-day-glenn-smith/
One of my shots was also critiqued on the Behind the shot podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMuiDhwBroo just after the 1-hour mark.
The local council again ran their Nature photography competition this year and this year they didn't have any workshops running in conjunction with it, so I was free to enter this year and managed to win the Floral section.
I was also asked to give a talk at the Illawarra Bird observers group down in Wollongong earlier in the year. Plus, I was asked to give a talk and a short workshop for Camera houses photography expo at Darling Harbour earlier in the year. Birding NSW asked by to assist with the judging of their annual photography competition, and the Australian Botanic Gardens are running a monthly photography competition which I'm also one of the judges for. So, every month I have to judge the images for this, so a bit of competition judging this year I think helped in cutting down my images for the year to the final ten.
So, all up a pretty busy year photography wise, considering photography is my hobby and I still have a full-time job as well.
I've already got three speaking events lined up for 2020, workshops running the second Sundays of most months with the Gardens and possible the photography Expo again at Darling Harbour, so another full year coming up, in between all that I need to get out and shoot some shots. Hoping to head back out to central Australia sometime toward the middle of the year.
Back to the top ten shots from last year this is and idea I got from Martin Bailey's photography podcasts https://martinbaileyphotography.com/podcasts/
Each year Martin goes through the process of selecting his top ten shots for the year, which is pretty much the way I do the same, It's never an easy process when you get down to the last twenty, but worth getting to the last ten, as you get to review your images critically, this is where you learn from your images just what makes a good image and a great image. If you go back and compare to the previous years you see if you have improved and if your photography is changing direction. Looking at my top ten this year six of my images have a fantasy feel in the post processing. Three shots were Mushroom shots. Four shots were bird shots, which is interesting as my Instagram top nine as selected by number of likes was all bird shots for this year. Two shots were flower shots and one shot was from one of the event photo shoots I did through the year. On with the shots.
This shot was taken in normal daylight, Two off camera speedlites one with a brown gel. The image is made from several images’ focus stacked together to give the depth of field, a bit of post processing magic on the background gives the fantasy feel, the mushroom is based back in.
This shot was taken at the Centennial Park Easter event where I was the official event photographer. As you'd have noted if you'd seen any of my work most of my shots are usually nature and wildlife not people so event photography is a little out of my comfort zone but it’s good to take on new challenges and helps to take your photography a little further then you would otherwise do. The lighting was natural for this shot, with the sun just cresting a rise and backlighting the Easter bunny, happy with how this shot turned out, as was the customer so that's always a good thing to have happy customers.
This shot as all, but the Easter bunny shot were taken in the one location the Australian Botanic Gardens, Mount Annan, South West of Sydney. https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au The gardens are a little larger than most 416 Hectares in area, 12 km of roads, natural bushland, along with manicured gardens. The gardens have 189 known bird species visiting the gardens thought out the year, I've been shooting the different types now for several years and still 35 spices to find and shoot. This one's an Eastern Spinebill.
Not too many Mushrooms about this year due to the continuing drought and now the extreme high temperatures and fires. The fire hazard warning has twice been raised to catastrophic here this last month which means the gardens were actually closed, the ground is so dry most of the grass has died, you walk on it and it turns to dust, so with the soil moisture content being so low very little in the way of fungi about. These ones were very woody and dry. Again, taking with two off-camera speedlites, Brown gel and white balanced back to turn the shadows that blue tint which works well with the brown mushrooms here. Again, focus stacked and post-processed on the background to give the fantasy feel about this shot.
Another Fungi shot made my list, same process as above. These were on the same small log.
This shots my favourite for the year, I print all my shots on my Canon Pro 1000, and this one prints into an amazing image, When you hold the print in your hand you almost try and put you're had through the image. the image appears to be 3D with the two smaller flowers to the top left appearing to be deep in the paper. I've printed these with a full clear coat of the Chroma Optimizer not sure if that's helped or it's just the processing that I used. This is definitely the highlight of my year when this first came off the printer. Looking at it on the screen doesn't show the depth I can see in a print. I have several prints of this laying around now and as I walk past a table or cupboard with the image laying on top I always get stopped by the image and look into the image.
Another bird shot from within the Australian Botanic Gardens, This one taken a bit early in the year a lot of these water lilies are now dry and shrivel up on the banks as the lakes and dams dry up. This shot has a definite Monet feel about it with the processing I've used. Seems this year processing as certainly made an impact on my top ten.
The Sturts Desert Pea is once of my Favourite Australian Native flowers, these grow in the arid regions of Australia, I've seen them in the wid over in Outback western Australia but these were again taken in the Australian Botanic Gardens, this was taken in full sun. underexposed and lite with a single Speedlite. Post-processing again gives this shot the magical almost electric feel to this shot.
One of the more common birds in the Sydney suburban area is the Noisy Miner. This shot works for me due to the colour of the Kangaroo Paws yellow matches the bird's beak and eye-ring.
The final shot of the top ten was only taken Christmas eve so maybe one that shouldn't have made the cut as I've still got the memory of the moment and the shot clear in my mind, but I still like the shot, I used this and a series of two other for my Christmas post calling them the Christmas Carollers as they look like there were singing, in truth they were singing but singing out for a feed from the parent birds as they took turns shuttling in with feed for them for an hour, these were shot with a 150-600mm lens at 600mm so I was a fair bit away from the bird so an not to disturb them, the feeding keep going for an hour and I left while it was still going on so I was not effecting the birds natural behaviour, Also as these are in the Botanic Gardens with many visitors a day a lot of the wildlife are well used to people in the area.
So looking back at these images six of the ten are processed to give a mystical feel to the images. So seems to be a direction I've been heading this year without meaning to.
It's interesting to see how Instagram saw my top nine completed to my version of my top ten for 2019, one thing to note in Instagram I did some reposts of some of my old shots, So some of the best nine images were not taken in 2019 whereas my top ten were only selected from images taken this year, Only one of my top nine had the post-processing effects. The other thing to note the Instagram top nine were only bird shots. I'm happy with my top ten for this year. I can see where I've improved on previous years, thou not so much of a step-change this year.
If you're interested in seeing some of my previous top ten shots the links are below.
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2019/1/my-top-ten-images-of-2018
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2018/1/my-top-ten-shots-of-2017
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/1/my-top-ten-shots-of-2016
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2016/1/2015-top-ten-shots---year-in-review
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2015/1/2014-top-ten-shots---year-in-review
I recommend anyone that's series about improving their photography to go through this process each year, just working out which ones are better than other images of yours gets you thinking what works for you and what doesn't. It starts out easy but getting down to the final ten is always hard, with the experience this year of some photography judging, I think it made it a little easier to get to the final result, but the last twenty were not easy. Give it a go and see how you go, then look back in the next year to see how you have improved, you'll be surprised how you've developed over that time.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, hopefully, a lot more regularly this year.
Have fun.
Glenn.
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The gardens are really starting to green up now after the recent rains and ongoing showers every few days, huge difference between now and a couple of weeks back where everything was brown or dead and the grass crunched under your feet and often turned to dust.
First up a Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Sulcirostris) was cruising the lake. These have amazing green eyes.
Next while walking around the lake I came across this Scared Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus).
While shooting the Kingfisher I could hear from the other side of the lake the call of the Restless Flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta), Often called the scissor grinder, due to the noise they make. These often go into hover mode while looking for insects to feed on. This one wasn't so close so pretty heavily cropped in on these shots.
The usual Australiasian Grebes (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) were on the lake cruising around as well.
An Australian Magpie (Craticus tibicen) posing for me at the plant bank Normally you image these to be black and white, but under the overcast sky, the light was right to start to show off some of the colours this bird has.
The second shot here has some added post-processing, this starts to take some of the distraction from the background.
A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) sticking its head out of a hollow checking out the world.
Something a little different a Yellow-faced whip snake (Demansia psammophis) This one was in the gardens at the car park on the way to the visitor's centre, so everyone was walking past this one.
This one captured a Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) purched on top of a banksia in flower. The banksia is full of nectar so food for the Miner who are honeyeaters.
With all the rain about there were plenty of Fungi about in the gardens this weekend. The next series of shots are a series of Fungi shots, the finished shot a setup shot showing my set up and in some cases a shot straight out of an iPhone so you can see the actual lighting conditions and what a fully auto shot will gove rather than controlling the exposure and lighting.
As you can see lighting makes a whole world of difference to a shot. You'll see that most times the lighting is almost 90 degrees to the lens axis, this brings out the textures and shots of the details in the gills, if I had the lights straight on you'd lose the textures. Think of shots you see of the moon, Full moons usually have no crater details where has new moons, or half-moons have all the crater details showing up near the shadow line because the Full moon is direct light whereas where the shadows start has the sunlight at near ninety degrees similar to what I'm doing here. So by having cross light, I'm bringing out the texture.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week. Have fun there.
Glenn
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This first shot was pretty much what I was greeted with as I got out of the car and walked to the first lake. A young Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa).
The next two shots are of a Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
Like most bird shots it’s better waiting for the bird to come to you so sitting and waiting patiently usually gives good results as is the case here, the bird came closer if I had moved closer the bird would have moved away or flew, so waiting is usually the way to go. A better shot comes up later.
This next image is of a Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) not happy with this shot, not as sharp as I’d like, getting a few images like this of late, so got to work out why. The image was taken with the 5dmk4, but is very heavily cropped in. You can see al the waterdrops glistening in the background.
Here's the other shot of the Black-fronted Dotterel. In this shot, you can see the raindrops hitting the lakes surface and all the water droplets on the back of the bird. It’s just a matter of waiting for the bird to come to you. Happy with this one.
Another bird in the rain shot, not an exciting shot, but shows the weather conditions and the birds still in the rain. An Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae)
This one's again nothing special but showing the rain.
The Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) were also out in the rain. These next two shots show the rain falling and collecting on the back of the Coot.
With the rain still falling but easing off I went up to the connections gardens and most of the birdlife was taking cover or sitting in the rain, so tried a few shots of flowers and plants in the rain. Surprisingly there were Waratahs out in full flower. These normal flower October to November and by this time of year well past flowing, so unusual to see them in flower this time of year. The flower heads collect the water drops.
Likewise with the rain still falling these gum nuts are covered in raindrops. For that matter so was I.
The last shot in the gardens for the day was this spider web with all the rain caught in the web. This shot was hand help using the Sigma 150-600mm at 600mm. I was getting too wet to set up the camera on the tripod and was heading to the car, not the best way to get a decent shot, but after all day out in the rain, I'd had enough for the day.
The last shot for this week was taken as soon as I got home and sitting out on the railing undercover keeping out of the rain was this pair of somewhat soggy Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus).
So that wraps up this week's shots out of the Australian Botanic Gardens plus a bonus shot from home.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week. Back next week with more.
Glenn.
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First stop was to check if the Night-jar was still in residence looks like the Red-rump Parrots (Psepotus haematonotus) have regained their home again.
On the banks of the lake in the morning before everyone arrives and the temperature gets too hot the Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) are all clustered on the edge of the lake. In the early morning, there's usually no wind or little wind so you get a better chance of a reflection. It helps to get down low with water birds.
This pair were staying on the island but keeping a close eye on the goings-on.
Just by walking a few steps and changing my angle you get a totally different light for the shot even thou the birds haven't moved. So always pays to walk around a little and explore the light.
The morning was still early when I walked through the woodland picnic area, a small group of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) had taken over the picnic tables but soon went to the trees.
These next two shots again show the bird in the exact same spot on the branch but a matter of getting a little lower to clean up the background.
In this shot, the Bird is in a clean background, always check the background and see if you can clean it up just by moving, makes it a lot more pleasing a shot. in this case, I just had to go about 300mm lower to get the clear patch in the trees behind the bird.
Up opposite the plant bank is a small dam and it often has water birds about this time a White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) up in the tree, again a bit of walking around to try and get a clean shot, I couldn't clean up the background in this case, but did manage to get a clean uninterrupted shot of the bird without anything in the foreground in front of the bird. Not a great shot still but at least its a clean shot in front.
Back on the lake, an Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novahollandiae) was slowly cruising the lake.
A pair of Chestnut Teal (anas castanea) were also on the lake today, the bright red eye against the dark green head certainly shows up brightly.
Last stop on the edge of the lake before I left was to shoot a few shots of the Black-fronted Dotterels (Elseyornis melanops) these are usually pretty skittish so take a while to be able to get close to them, it usually works better if you wait and they slowly come to you, If you start to chase a bird then it will keep moving away and eventually get too far away from you so better to stay still and wait for them to come to you.
Due to the high temperatures today there was no mushrooms out, but when I go home I did find these growing in a pot plant on the back decking so bought them inside into the cool and took a few shots of these, lit with two off-camera lights and focus stacked and post-processed in lightroom and photoshop.
So that wraps up this week's shots out of the Australian Botanic Gardens plus a bonus shot from home.
With the new year starting now the first of my workshops in the gardens is now open for books via the garden's website, link here.
There are still a few places left for this Sunday 9th Feb. 2020 even in the rain.
https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au/Whats-On/Learn-from-the-Experts-Beginners-Photography
This one is aimed at beginners so someone that's just got a new camera or wants to learn about the effects of aperture, and depth of field, shutter speed how to freeze or blur motion etc then this would be a good start, March there will be an intermediate workshop, this year I'll also be running a mushroom photography workshop in Autumn and of cause, the usual bird photography workshops will be running, so keep an eye out for upcoming workshops I've also added a workshop tab on this site now so you can follow along there for upcoming event as well.
Thanks for dropping by my blog hope to have it back to a regular blog post again this year.
Glenn
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While I was waiting for the Star of the week to put in its appearance there were still a few fungi about so I managed a few setups before the star arrived. This one with the usual set up Canon 60D on the ground making use of the articulated screen, two off-camera lights.
The highlight of the week was the return of the Australian Owlet-Nightjar, (Aegotheles crisratus) These are basically little fluff balls with eyes well this one is. It's occupying a luxury hollow that has two entrances and one with a balcony. the first shot shows it enjoying the view from the balcony over the gardens in the woodland area.
This next shot shows it at the lower hollow the two are connected, but it usually flies down to the lower hollow from the Balcony and crawls its way up tot eh top through the hollow from the bottom.
Like most hollows, they are rarely free and the Night-jar appears to have take up residence in a hollow previously occupied by a pair of Red-rumped Parrots. The Parrots want their home back. So there's a bit of a battle going on for possession of the hollow. So this next series shows just one of the mini battles, the female red-rump was above the hollow with its tail hanging over the hollow. The Night-jar latched on with its beak, much to the Red-rumps dismay. The red-rump temporarily relocated and the night-jar stood guard with its mouth ready for the next assault.
After the excitement as I left the area, I spotted another fungi to shoot, this time I used a small softbox on one of the speedlites.
Tried an extra step in the processing of this one with a bit of black and white processing to see how they look, Still think I prefer the colour. But not too unhappy with it.
This week it was the Fairy Martins (Petrochelidon ariel) young turn to be feed. So this series shows a sequence as the parent flys in feeding the young while staying airborne.
The Welcome swallows (hirundo neoxena) are always about this ones still a young un As its face is more brown than the usual orange.
Of late there's been a pair of Royal Spoonbills (Platalea regia) have been about in the gardens, this time they were in separate lakes.
The usual Australian Reed-warblers (Acrocephatalus australis) are still about in the reed beds this one found a moth to snack on.
The young Little Black Cormorants (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) are pretty much full size now.
Up until the last few weeks, I've shot most of my birding images with the 7DmkII, but the last few weeks I've been using the 5Dmk4 for the birding shots. The main advantage to the 7dmkII was the frame rate of able to shot 10 frames per second and the crop factor makes a 600mm lens seem to be a 960mm lens, whereas the 5dmk4 has the better image quilty and higher megapixel sensor. So this week I took the next two shots with the two different bodies so see if when both are cropped to the same about which one holds up best. Both shots are taken with the same settings, Lens was mounted on the tripod. I've cropped both images in lightroom so the same image size the 5D image needed more cropping to get the same size image. The first image is from the Canon 5Dmk4.
Dusky Woodswally (Artamus cyanopterus)
Whereas this image is from the 7DmkII. There's not much between the two images
Back in the main carpark, a Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) was feasting on a flowering guntree.
The Little Eastern Yellow Robins (Eopsaltria australis)are in the gardens year-round, but always pose for a shot.
Back in the Main carpark and a Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) was also in posing mode in amongst a Grevillea. These are native honey honeyeaters.
As I was driving out there was this small group of Wallaroos, On hot days like this one they lick they forearms where there are veins running which as the airflow hits the wet areas acts as evaporative air conditioning allowing them to cool down, ones using this technique in this shot.
Last shot of the day is of a little Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops) there are several pairs of these on the shores of the lakes in the gardens look for them on the mud flats they are tiny so easily missed.
So that wraps up this week's shots out of the Australian Botanic Gardens.
With the new year starting now the first of my workshops in the gardens is now open for books via the garden's website, link here.
There are still a few places left for this Sunday 9th Feb. 2020.
https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au/Whats-On/Learn-from-the-Experts-Beginners-Photography
This one is aimed at beginners so someone that's just got a new camera or wants to learn about the effects of aperture, and depth of field, shutter speed how to freeze or blur motion etc then this would be a good start, March there will be an intermediate workshop, this year I'll also be running a mushroom photography workshop in Autumn and of cause, the usual bird photography workshops will be running, so keep an eye out for upcoming workshops I've also added a workshop tab on this site now so you can follow along there for upcoming event as well.
Thanks for dropping by my blog hope to have it back to a regular blog post again this year.
Glenn
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This week I'm still using the 5Dmk4 with the Sigma lens for the bird shots, the fungi shots are the Canon 60D with the 100mm f2.8 L Macro.
This first shot is of a Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) sitting in a tree high up beside where I stopped the car. The shots fully zoomed-in then heavily cropped, to heave as the image has started to break down, Just shows you can never have a long enough lens. This coming weekend I want to try the same setup and swape over the 5dmk4 and the 7dMkII on a couple of shots and compare the difference to see the high megapixels Vs the perceived extra reach and see which one give the better quality image for the same setup.
Next up I came across the Red-capped Robin (Petroica goodenovii) in the usual location near the bird hide its halfway through its moult to get its colour. This shot was also heavily cropped the image is just about to start to break down this is about as far as I can go with the cropping. I'll see how he's colour is this weekend, each week he's getting more so won't be long now before he's fully coloured up.
While shooting the Robin I noticed some Fungi growing after the rain so headed back tot he car to get my mushroom kit. (Camera backpack with the 60D and speedlites) Right beside the car, I found these all growing. My first Fungi shot for a while now so a little rusty for this shot there was a bit of wind as well and these are little delicate ones so they were moving about so not the ideal subject for focus stacking. Not really happy with this shot. So need to get back into practice with these looks like.
Ok this ones a little better, Still not quite there in this one. A brown gel used on the right side then white balanced back to give the blue light on the left, no blue lighting used for this effect.
This is the actual set up for the above shot. Also gives a sense of scale to the shot.
This one's a bit better, lightings much better focus is good, composition needs a little more work, but getting there.
Was a good day for Mushroom shots with the rain we got through the week This one's more like it. Happy with this one and the one above, just took a little bit to get back into it. Lighting on this one suits the shot just soft enough and not overdoing the back ground lighting.
Plus the setup shot for this one showing the actual lighting conditions for this shot.
There was some bird life about as usual, I spent a fair amount of the day shooting the mushrooms but did manage a few bird shots. This next series is of the Royal Spoonbills (Platalea regia)
This shot was again to heavily cropped so is breaking down, so something to be careful of the bird a Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) was high up in the tree and flew off after about half an hour without coming any closer.
A few of the other birds about a Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus).
Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis)
The Cutie of the day a very young Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa)
Two Welcome Swallows (Hirundo neoxena) these almost look like they were painted, but no processing like that on this shot.
The last few mushroom shots for the day and their set up shots.
The Setup shots here really shot the scale of this tiny one.
This last shot is quite sad. After all the rain we had 47mm on Thursday 9mm Friday and 4mm while I was out Saturday this was the net effect, on of the dams in the gardens, not even a puddle at the bottom of the dam, just dry cracked mud. So as nice as the rain was, and the Mushrooms certain liked it we need a lot more.
So that wraps up this week's shots out of the Australian Botanic Gardens.
With the new year starting now the first of my workshops in the gardens is now open for books via the garden's website, link here
https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au/Whats-On/Learn-from-the-Experts-Beginners-Photography
This one is aimed at beginners so someone that's just got a new camera or wants to learn about the effects of aperture, and depth of field, shutter speed how to freeze or blur motion etc then this would be a good start, March there will be an intermediate workshop, this year I'll also be running a mushroom photography workshop in Autumn and of cause, the usual bird photography workshops will be running, so keep an eye out for upcoming workshops I've also added a workshop tab on this site now so you can follow along there for upcoming event as well.
Thanks for dropping by my blog hope to have it back to a regular blog post again this year.
Glenn
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The day wasn’t as smoky as it has been the last few days, the temperature was also cooler than the high thirties it’s been the few days before. So I thought I’d head out and see what I could see. With Canon Getting ready to announce their new flagship Camera body the Canon 1Dx MK III (since announced) I thought I’d swap camera bodies to see how I go with a full-frame body of the Canon 5dmk4 and the Sigma 150-600mm Sports lens, compared to what I normally shot for birding shots. The Canon 7dmkII. The frame rate is a lot slower so that meant I had to get the timing better than I’d normally have to do with the 7dmkII and its 10 frames a second burst rate. I was in the gardens from 8:20 am till just after 5:30 pm so a full day of shooting. All good fun.
On with some of the shots from the day.
The first shot here one of the Flowering Gum trees in the gardens I was only carrying my birding set up at this time so taken with a 150-600mm lens, I'd normally shoot a shot like this with my 100mm Macro or the 24-105mm, the 600mm certainly gives the creamy background to this shot due to the ratio of subject to camera and background to subject.
At the same place, I was shooting the flower above I notices this old stump, this was all shot with natural light, but I can see the potential for this with lighting so I'll revisit this one in the future with lights and maybe the odd gel, and see what I can do with this one. The texture in this little one with a bit of side lighting should come out interesting, Stay tunes in the coming weeks and we'll see if it works or not.
This ones a Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris) I couldn't get in front of it and it didn't want to turn around so not a great shot on this one, the background is way to busy and not a clean shot of the front. I'll often take a few steps one way or another to try and clean up the background, but this one didn't stay long enough.
The next two shots are of a pair of Red-rumped Parrots as they came down to drink at the lake. The first shot I caught the water still running out of the beak, the second the male on the log was coming down to drink and was making an interesting reflection, could have been better if the water was smoother.
The last few weeks a pair of Black swans (Cygnus atratus) have made there home in the lake so I've a few shots of these over the last few weeks, still trying to get a better reflection shot of these. So I'll have to keep trying for this shot.
Next up still at the lake a small family of Welcome Swallows (Hirundo neoxena) are always around the lake this was a portrait of one of them that was happy to pose for me, again no the best of backgrounds so need to keep trying for this shot as well.
While I was shooting the swallows, a Wallaroo and Joey came along around the edge of the lake so I had a few shots of these, the Joey then decided it had had enough and to my surprise jumped into the pouch, it looked way too big to fit in there. This shot was taken as it had just jumped in and stuck its head out so one ear was caught on the pouch. After about three minutes of staring at me and not enough time for me to get the camera on the tripod they jumped off, so this was a handheld shot. The next shot shows they didn't go far.
Next up one of the more common birds in the Area a Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) these are not afraid of people so you can get quite close to these, or they close to you. So plenty of detail in this shot.
While walking along the woodland walk in the gardens, one of the areas of natural bushland there are plenty of examples of Hollows in older trees being put to good use. These two shots show a pair of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita). The first one in the hollow the second on standing guard in a nearby tree watching over. The second shot has a decent clean background, though a few patches that are too bright. so almost there.
A shot of one the current flower beds, not overly happy with this shot, the ideas OK but not well pulled off in this shot so one to revisit and try again. MAy need a bit of focus stacking to get a decent depth of field on this shot maybe a bit lower as well to try and get some texture into the shot showing the undulations of the flower heads. So another shot that I need to work on.
A walk around the connections gardens soon had me with this little Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) These are always great posers, and sit in trees or the sides of trees studying the ground before diving down for a quick meal. So these you can pretty much pick your spot with good backgrounds then wait (And wait) for the bird to land on the right balance. But the results are like this so worth the weight, I waited for about 3/4 of an hour just to get this shot.
A little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleuos) in low flight over the lake, these usually do a few laps getting higher or lower depending on taking off or landing.
Next up and another hour spent sitting on the mudflats to get these shots of the Straw-necked Ibus (Threskiornis spinicollis) A family was taking up residence in the lake and its surrounds.
A pair of Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus) have made their home in the small dam up against Narellan rd and Saturday, with little wind about in that corner of the gardens on Saturday started to get some reflections happening there. Thou not still enough for mirror reflections.
I did manage to catch this one in flight as they changed sides of the lake.
So that wraps up this week's shots out of the Australian Botanic Gardens. I was happy with the results of the day so all good, happy with the image quality of the 5Dmk4 with the sigma 150-600, caught a few birds in flight so the focusing and frame rate wasn't too much of an issue compared with the 7D. The close-ups were certainly better quality with the higher megapixel count on the 5d.
With the new year starting now the first of my workshops in the gardens is now open for books via the garden's website, link here
https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au/Whats-On/Learn-from-the-Experts-Beginners-Photography
This one is aimed at beginners so someone that's just got a new camera or wants to learn about the effects of aperture, and depth of field, shutter speed how to freeze or blur motion etc then this would be a good start, March there will be an intermediate workshop, this year I'll also be running a mushroom photography workshop in Autumn and of cause, the usual bird photography workshops will be running, so keep an eye out for upcoming workshops I've also added a workshop tab on this site now so you can follow along there for upcoming event as well.
Thanks for dropping by my blog hope to have it back to a regular blog post again this year.
Glenn
]]>I can fully agree with that the final 20 images is really hard to get down to a final ten, but certainly well worth will, I've done this now for several years and each year I learn from this exercise as it shows you how to critic your own images. When someone else critics your images at times you don't always agree with them but when you critic your images to this level you certainly see your own faults.
So looking at the year I actually took fewer images this year than last, and didn't do much travel this year so most of the shots were close to home, in fact, two are in my home this year. This year also saw me participate in Canons Light Awards live photography events more on that later.
So let's get on with the review of the review.
First up is an image very early in the year, and the first of two mushroom shots in the top ten. These like most of my mushroom shots were taken in normal daylight, underexposed and lite with two off camera speedlites. Really happy with how this one turned out and taken early in the year set a high benchmark for the rest of the year. Most people are surprised when they see these especially when they see me taking a shot, and they realise that these are not taken at night.
Next shot the second Mushroom shot in my top ten was taken down in the Robertson rainforest. a small nature reserve just off the main road of Robertson, this one was shot during an outing of the local Bird facebook group Macarthur birds https://www.facebook.com/groups/1581964245377794/
an active and very friendly group of Bird enthusiasts with quite a few interested in photography. This was an example as described above where a few of the group actually saw me take the shot and were amazed at the final image. I've even got a few shots taken of me taking this image by the group. This image became my favorite Mushroom image of the year.
Throughout the year I found myself at a few Canon events. Canon released the M50 Mirrorless camera earlier in the year, and the local Camera shop Macarthur Camera house. https://www.facebook.com/macarthurcamerahouse/
invited me and a few other local Photographers to the release of the camera with Canon, So I got to shot the camera for a few hours at an Island in Sydney Harbour, before the camera was officially released. The event was held on Cockatoo Island an island in the middle of Sydney Harbour which happened to be where I had my first job as an apprentice in the 1980's when it was a working dockyard. The Dockyard was closed down not long afterwards, but open long enough for me to complete my Apprenticeship. We got to play with the Canon M50 for a few hours then hand them back, I had also bought my own cameras along so this shot was taken with my 5dMk4 taken of one of the tunnels that cut thought the island. The Island was a Naval dockyard for many years and also has some of the early convict structures of Sydney’s early settlement. This is one of my few shots I’ve played with Black and white, I tent to use colour more times than not but seem to be drawn to black and white when shooting older buildings. Happy with how this one processed.
This next shot was taken again close to home in the local Botanical Gardens, The Australian Botanical Gardens at Mount Annan, https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au about ten minute’s drive from my home. The last few years I’ve been trying to capture an image of every known bird in the gardens, the gardens have a bird list of 185 known birds to visit the gardens so far I’m up to 144, so still, a few to capture yet. The gardens also approached me a couple of years ago asking if I was willing to run some photography workshops for them, not having every ran a photography workshop before at the time I thought about it but a few months prior I actually attended a workshop by one of Australia’s living icons of Photography Steve Parish, https://www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au during the workshop at the end he told me my next step in my photography journey was to run a workshop or two rather than attend them, so taking his advice I agreed to the gardens offer, since then I’ve run workshops for the last few years for them now, covering from Beginners workshops to Bird photography workshops and even some Children workshops when I encourage children to be into photography, they usually don’t need too much encouragement. The gardens are a great place for photography. This shot is of a White-necked Heron in one of the many lakes within the gardens.
During the year Sydney has a festival of lights each year called Vivid where a lot of Sydney’s famous landmarks are light up with various lights and light painting along with no shortage of sculptures. and art installations, A great opportunity for photography however also very popular so its Sydney at it’s busiest, so if you don’t like crowd and I really mean high-density crowds it’s not the place for you, but certainly worth a visit if you have never been before. https://www.vividsydney.com. The local Camera shop again the Macarthur Camera house in conjunction with Canon Australia ran a photo walk during vivid with everyone on the walk encouraged to submit their best image with the winner winning a ticket the NSW Canon light awards event. I submitted an image which didn’t make the top ten cut this year, but was in the top 20, https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjj8jXjHyhP/The camera shop judged this the winning shot for the night so I got the ticket to the light awards, which I probably wouldn’t have gone to otherwise. The light awards are a Canon even over two days the first half of the first day is a master class where you select a particular field of photography and are given a master class along with about 100 other photographers, in this case, I could have picked Landscape, Lighting Travel photography or Portraiture, I decided since I was pretty much self-taught in lighting, other than podcasts, to give that a go. We were then given a brief to shot an image using conditional lighting of an everyday object where each light source had to have a reason to be there as part of the storytelling. We had 24 hours to get the shot process it and get back to the venue for the judging. There were about 400 photographers at the Sydney even. When we returned we were again split up into our separate groups and the images were all displayed on a full-size cinema screen (The event was held in a cinema complex) and critiqued once by one, it was worth it for that process alone, seeing how the Canon Master analysed each image its strengths and weaknesses. It turned out my image was selected the best in the lighting category, the other three groups were then bought into our Cinema and again all the images were shown this time all the images form all the groups The four Canon masters then had to argue in front of us why their image from their group was the best image of the four groups images. Nerve racking time. They quickly narrowed it down to two images and slowly went towards the landscape image, fortunately for my the Master of the lighting class was of strong mind and argued a final argument for my image and the other judges came back to my image. Which meant I won the NSW Canon light awards, a Big Wow moment for me. For that, I got $1000 voucher for the local Camera shop which went towards inks for my Pro1000 printer. I also won a trip to a mystery location yet to be announced for the years Grand final light awards with three other photography’s from three other states. The image below was the final image I submitted for the NSW entry, Nine sperate lights were used in this shot one a Speedlite the rest torches, Two iPhones, pretty much every light source I could find in the house. Big thanks to https://linnetfoto.com/ for the Masterclass and pressing for my image.
This next shot was taken in the gardens and is a Restless Flycatcher, this one was just hovering on the lookout for insects, I had a series of these but this one he just looked back at me making the image. He wasn't at all afraid and I managed to get within a few meters of him. Using a 600mm lens at that range certainly helps to blow out the background. Looking at the leading edge of the near wing this image to me almost appears 3D at times. A few of this year's images seem to have a 3D feel to them including some that didn't make the cut. Shot in the Australian Botanic Gardens, These are in the outer southwest of Sydney and there are many people who don't know of these yet they are the largest Botanic Gardens in the southern hemisphere.
Next up and possibly my favorite from the year, though really hard to call that, Is this set of Waratahs. The Waratah is the State Floral emblem of the State of New South Wales. These were again taken in the Australian Botanic Gardens, Mount Annan, Taken in normal daylight but again using an off-camera speed lite, this time only one, but enough light to give shape and depth to the image, really happy with how this one turned out. Again I've done some additional processing on the leaves in this image which I feel really made the image, compared to the original unedited image. The trick is to not overdo it.
Only three more images left and next up is a Nankeen Kestrel, again shot in the Australian Botanic Gardens. The gardens have an amazing collection of bird life as mentioned above and there's always something to see and capture. the Kestrels hunt on the grasslands in the gardens in a couple of areas and in this case the wind was blowing a bit so this one was just sort of in stationary glide mode. I was able to predict where it was going to be and walked up the hill, Careful of my footing to avoid any Brown snakes, not something you want to be standing on, and just waited for the right moment again the 7d MkII and the Sigma 150 to 600mm Lens, did a great job of this shot, with the bird being correctly exposed the sky blew out but for images like this it doesn't worry me that the sky has blown out, the details the feathers.
As mentioned earlier By winning the State Canon Light awards I won a mystery trip with Canon for the grand final. A date was confirmed and I was told to be at Sydney domestic Airport early in the morning, which meant an early start for the day as an hour train ride to the station, where I was meet by Canon Ambassador Jenn Copper who gave me an envelope which revealed the location of the 24 hour challenge. So began a full on exciting weekend of photography starting with a few hour plane flight to tropical Cairns, one of the few parts of Australia I hadn’t been to. We arrived and picked up a hire car and drove to the local Hotel which was to be the base for the event we were given our brief and then 24 hours to have four shots taken, processed, printed and mounted. No pressure of cause, oh the final catch, we weren’t to take our own toys but everything was to be provided, We were given the new Canon EOS R with three lenses for the 24 hours so a new camera to get use to as well, everyone was on the same level there no one had used one so something to add to the mix. We were buddied up with a Canon Ambassador for the 24 hours to make sure we didn’t do anything dangerous i.e. get too close to a cliff etc to get a shot. Make sure we didn’t get fatigued driving to far etc. It was a great weekend here’s a short Video Canon prepared afterwards showing what the event was like with four of use out and about.
What the video didn’t show was the temperate of 41 deg. Centigrade and humidity of 70% Great weather to be out rushing about. None of us were use to those temperatures and humidity combined. The 41 Deg wasn’t a problem coming from Sydney we’ve just had several days of 44 Deg here. But the 70% humidity was something else, something I hadn’t experiences since I was last at Darwin 30 years ago. The event was fantastic, I didn’t win this time but received great feedback from my images, I had four very strong images I thought but they were a bit weak on meeting the brief, but I was happy with what I had and within the 24 hours was the best I could come up with so I was happy with what I submitted. The image below was my best from the 24 hours. One of the things that was missing from the supplied toys was a speedlite, but I made use of a headlamp to light this shot, I lit three of my four shots and all up I was happy with what I submitted.
The final image is a simple image and maybe because its still so fresh in my mind I may have snuck in to the top ten, may have been the emotional attachmentthe image as well, as I was created Just in time for Christmas and became a framed print for my Nice who has received word that she has a full time teaching position for this year her first full year with her own class. So what better than an apple for the teacher. For this shot I set the apple on an ipad, which has a dark reflective surface, gave the apple a quick spray or water first then set up a pair of speedlites and took a series of shots and focus stacked the image, same as I would a mushroom shot. Surprising how many apples I had to go through to get one free of dents and blemishes, I’m sure the people in the fruit shop were thinking I was being overly fussy selecting an apple just to eat, as I rejected quite a few before I selected this one, I actually picked a few just in case but each was carefully selected examining to make sure there was no dents or distortions on the surfaces, scratches or other marks.
So thats the end of my top ten images for 2018, Still think I'm heading in the right direction with improvements over the previous years.
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2018/1/my-top-ten-shots-of-2017
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/1/my-top-ten-shots-of-2016
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2016/1/2015-top-ten-shots---year-in-review
https://glennsmithphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2015/1/2014-top-ten-shots---year-in-review
Another year where I can see improvement and proves you don't always hve to travel far from home for your shots, hopefully this year I'll find a landscape or two shot in the mix, this year was definately short of landscapes there were a could in the top 50 images but were cut out as the list got narrowed down.
Each year as I do this exercise I certainly find value in it and can see how it adds in my self improvement as when I take shots I think back to the reviews adn what images were rejected and why, and hopefully I self correct more often before hitting that shutter button.
We'll see what this year brings, I've already got a few images for the year so far so who knows where this year will take me. Always fun to see.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, hopefully this year it will be a bit more regular again.
Glenn.
]]>We start this week at Kalbarri Three-quarters of the way up the coast from Perth to Shark Bay. Kalbarri is one of those places that has so much to see and could easily spend a few weeks there before travelling on. As you'll see from some of these shots to follow.
This first shot shows Steve taking a shot over Murchison River just around the corner from Natures window.
Whereas these one's are of Natures window looking up the gorge.
Steve taking his turn at the window.
A few shots taken around the window, the sort of place you could easily spend a few days here alone. So much to see so many textures, colours and contrasts.
When we drove back into the caravan park we were staying at, I noticed these Tawny Frogmouths in a tree in the middle of the caravan park everyone walking around about them looking like no one was noticing them and they certainly weren't paying any attention to anyone. Having their midday nap.
This one's taken at Ross Graham lookout where there are a few walks, one down to the Murchison River. This shot shows a Whistling Kite coming to land on a rocky outcrop take from the rim of the gorge so a rare shot from above of a kite.
Whereas the next shot is taken from the bottom of the Gorge with the still water and reflections, even in a remote area like this there are people about so had to wait about half an hour for the shot to get the people out of the shot. But with the early morning sun lighting the cliff face and the still water made for great reflections.
Sunrise at Natures window again.
The gorge drinking in the first of the morning light starting to light up the cliff faces.
Back along the coast of Kalbarri, the Surfers were in action.
Then waiting for sunset along the coastal cliffs.
Sunrise at Z-bend pretty much the only wildflowers we came across, looking at the season they are having there now this year looks like we were a year out, they are having a bumper year there for wildflowers there this year.
Coming back into Kalbarri we stopped off at Murchison house station. The station has an old shearing shed which walking into it is like stepping back in time, plus a small garden which attracts the local bird life, here's a few shots from around the station.
A few shots from within the shearing shed. Really is like steping back in time walking into this shed.
The bonus was the Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo around the station a small flock of these were there. These are listed as endangered so good to see a group of there about, we all so spotted these on Endangered Species day so what are the odds of that.
Early morning at Kalbarri the Pelicans come in for a free feed each morning in the park oposite the Pelican cafe.
Back to the cliff tops at the ocean around Kalbarri.
Finally, we drove north to Shark Bay, this one's Monkey Mia where the wild Dolphins come in each day for a free feed its been over 25 years since I was last there, the infrastructure has grown up around the beach but the sceen is the same.
I'll leave this one here and be back soon with the next instalment of our WA trip last year.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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For the next few posts I'll cover a photography trip I did late last year with Steve Parish Over the last few years I'd been on a few of Steve's Photography tours and when he mentioned that he was going to do a few weeks in WA and asked if I was interested how could you say no to that. the Idea was to time it right for the wildflower season over there, well that was the plan, In the following few posts you'll see what we managed to get.
First up we drove north of Perth to the Pinnacles, Nambung National Park Where limestone pillars emerge from the sand dunes, some over 2 metres high, others considerably smaller. The whole landscape is dotted with this pinnacles. We managed a sunset and sunrise shoot here, But think you could easily spend more time here as so many angles to shoot from.
Afternoon Sunset shot over the Pinnacles.
For this shot tried my hand at a bit of light painting as we waited for Sunrise.
Scatted throughout the Pinnacles are a few outcrops of small scrub, this is home to various bird life and the occasional Wallaby as well.
This first one a White-cheeked Honeyeater (Phylidonyris Niger)
The long shadows of the early morning light.
There were also a few Galahs about this one on his only little Pinnacle as it warms itself in the first of the morning sun, mornings were a bit cool over there, so this one was still in warming up mode.
This one has the bottom Galah dragging its beak back and forth in an arc across the Pinnacle, the best we could make out was it was sharpening its beak, we could be completely mistaken but it spent a good 15 minutes dragging it back and forth.
This one shows one of the Galahs showing of its rock jumping skills.
Two Nankeen Kestrels (Falco Cenchroides) A parent and young.
This pair had just finished their Breakfast of local wildflowers and the evidence is still on their noses with the yellow pollen still stuck to their face.
From Nambung National Park we drove north to Geraldton These shots are taken at the Memorial to HMAS Sydney II. Which was lost in the Indian Ocean after a skirmish with German raider HSK Kormoran.
This last two for the week were taken at Northampton on our way north.
So that's it for the first part of our Western Australian photo adventure, back soon with part two.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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Each Year Martin goes through his top then shot for the year and explains the pain of discarding so many great shots to narrow it down to just ten. Each year I feel his pain as it really is so difficult to throw out the last ten from your final twenty. So here’s my final ten, though my second ten could have so easily been a complete set of ten in their own right. I also did a top nine from Instagram this year and I’m any to see one of my top ten here was also what was picked for my top nine form Instagram likes. Though my top nine from Instagram were all bird shots and that’s entirely based on likes, a program automatically generates your top nine based on likes. Where as my top ten here is based on my selections of my years work.
So on with the top ten.
First up first of Three Fungi shots for the year, Again using two off camera speed lights one with a brown gel to give the warm soft light, these are focus stacked to give the great detail. Love all the fine details in the gills on these.
Next up is a shot from Strahan Tasmania an early morning shot before the wind had a chance to ripple the water giving a near perfect mirror reflection. The different coloured wooden row boats just adds to this shot.
The next show was also taken in Tasmania and is at Cradle Mountain, most shots in the area or around Dove lake and the Cradle, which I also got a few but this shot is of this little wooden cabin which was an old Bath house for the guests that stayed in the area. Considering it snows in the area any time of the year, the Warm bath would come in handy.
The next shot also from my Tasmanian trip is of a small troupe of Fungi growing on top of an old log in the forest. Again light with two off camera speedlites and focus stacked.
This next one the first of three Bird shots in my top ten is of a Silvereye (Zosterops Lateralis) this ones taking in my local Botanic Gardens, the Australian Botanic Gardens, Mount Annan, which is only a few minutes from my place and can be seen from my window, the Gardens have over 184 different Bird Species known within the gardens and has 12 km of roads within the gardens. I usually spend a few hours each weekend in the gardens there looking for the different Birds and Fungi to shoot. This year I ran a series of photography Workshops with the gardens and more are planned for this year. This shot the Silvereye I’ve had printed large in A2 size print then matted and framed it, White mate and black frame its hanging in my Mother’s house on a Green wall the same colour as the background so looks great colour wise on the wall.
This next one is of a pair of Welcome Swallows (Hirundo neoxena) as they chased each other over one the lakes in the Botanic Gardens. Towards the end of the day if I’m still in the gardens I’ll go to the lakes and practice my panning shots on the swallows, if I can get the fast moving swallows I’ll be able to get most birds, so these make great practice for me, this time the sun was setting so the golden light on the water and two birds in the one shot so happy with this one, and the water colours make it just that more interesting.
Later on in the year I made a trip to Western Australia for three weeks photography so a good year for photography travel for me. This shots of an old shearing wool shed still in use. Walking into this shed is like walking back in time so I gave it the works post processing wise and really happy with the results here, Its had a bit of everything Lightroom, photoshop and silver effects as well, so been though a lot of processing far more than I normal do, but this case it worked out well. The shearing wool shed was at Murchison house station Kalbarri Western Australia and well worth the stop just for the shearing shed, I took quite a few shots in the shed that day.
This next one also taken at Kalbarri Western Australia, taken from the cliff tops at sun set. Slow exposure to get the motion in the waves while getting a moment when the fishermen on the rocks stayed still long enough to capture them. The sun still has the golden light lighting up the cliff faces, so everything came together for this shot.
This next one is again of a Fungi in the Australian Botanic Gardens and is of a Stink horn not one of the most prettiest of fungi usually but with the low shot, and the lighting this one came out well, so goes to show you don’t always need the prettiest of subjects to make a great shot. Two off camera speedlites and focus stacked. All the Fungi shots are taken with an old Canon 60D so also showing you don’t always need the latest gear. Having said that all the landscape shots are with the Canon 5Dmk4 and the bird shots are the 7DmkII with Sigma 150 to 600 sports, not the lightest of lenses but really happy with the results I get out of that as this next shot show.
The last shot from this years top ten is of a rainbow Bee-eater (Merops Ornatus) this one wasn’t taken in the local Botanic Gardens but the nearby Nepean River at Camden about 15 minutes drive so not far. This shot has captured the bird as it does its stretching exercises prior to its next flight.
So all up another good years worth of shots. Early December I bought myself a Canon Pro-1000 Printer so I’m now starting to print my own work rather than send out for prints so this years project will be learning to get the most out of the printer, with the aim of at least one print a day, so far since I’ve had it I’m managed that so going well, this will push my photography to the next level as images that are acceptable on the screen soon show up any small faults in the print so working to get better results pus learn the new world of printing, I’ve booked myself in to a framing course in February as well so I can learn all the tricks there as well. So another interesting year coming up. Plus a Series of photography workshops being run in conjunction with the Australian Botanic Gardens, so busy times ahead.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, for my top ten shots of 2017.
Glenn.
]]>Looking back at where the last blog post was viewed 16 countries this time around, with Australia coming in at number one, then Russia followed by the United States, After that Tieing for fourth place was the United Kingdom and Canada, Sixth Place was Spain and France and then all on equal Eighth place was Belguim Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Taiwan, and Vietnam. So 16 countries last time around, we'll see how we go this time.
This first shot is taken at Low Head at the entrance of the Tamar River showing the pilot station, this is Australia's longest continually operating pilot station.
This ones overlooking the beach at Badgers head the western side of the Tamar River. Showing the long waveforms as they make their way to the beach stretched out below.
One of the locals at Narawntapu national park taking time out for a quick scratch.
Next up the historic town of Richmond and its famous Bridge.
From there we headed southwest and travelling along the Tyenna River we stopped at Westerway just opposite the primary school there, there's a Cafe called the Possum Shed in the river there are Wild Platypus that come out and swim in the river.
Still heading west some of the scenery along the Gorden river road.
The Amazingly Talaented Madeleine Jones you can see her work at her web site http://www.imagjen.com
Red Knoll Lockout at Lake Pedder.
The next day we drove back to Hobart, More of the scenery on the drive back to Hobart along the Gorden river road.
Downtown Hobart again Constitution dock.
Sandy Bay Hobart
While at Sandy Bay a small flock of Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos flew over.
Looking back towards Battery Point.
From there we drove up to the top of Mount Wellington
The amazing colours and textures of the snow gums near the top of Mount Wellington.
Then the views from the top of Mount Wellington.
Back down the bottom again and the view from the other side of the Derwent river looking back at the casino.
And the Tasman bridge again.
A few more shots around Hobart and the Derwent River.
Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Hobart. This Sanctuary has a couple of decent Devil Runs to the have plenty of room to roam about in.
We spent a couple of days at Mount Feild National Park with our Accommodation just outside of the park so easy to get in for some night shots and late afternoon shots when the crowds had moved on. Once the People move out the Little Paddy Melons come out and take over.
Being just outside the park gave me a chance for some light painting of Russell falls.
This fungi growing on the end of a log looks like a map of Tasmania with a bit of imagination.
Horseshoe falls
Just love all the moss covered trees, logs, and rocks under the canopy, I could spend weeks here.
So that's it for this long overdue blog post and wraps up the Tasmanian trip. since this trip I've done a trip over in WA and plenty of weekend shoots as well so plenty to come in the new year plus my usual end of year top ten shots, which I've started to review now. So stay following for that post in the coming days.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, back again in a couple of days with my next post.
Glenn
]]>First up a quick look at where the Last blog post was viewed, Nine countries this time around with Russia making a big jump in the last 24 hours with 78 views in one day, Australia came in next with the USA behind that the UK and Italy ties next with Belgium, Brazil, Ireland and Iran tying for the final place. So again a good coverage around the world, not sure what happens with Russia there with so many views in a short period of time every month or so, All the figures are coming from Google Analytics.
Anyway on with this weeks blog post. This first shot was taken directly out of the Balcony of the hotel we were staying at so open the door stepped out and took this early morning shot of the bush around the hotel, nice stand of gum trees with the early morning light. This shot is a panorama made up of four shots stitched together to make a long shot, so this one will print up large.
This one's just one of the single shots used.
We went up to Dove Lake for the morning and walked around part of the lake we didn't have time for a full circuit of the lake.
This shot shows the first glimpse of the boat house on dove lake, one of the most photographed buildings around Cradle Mountain. Like most days of the year, the cradle is covered in cloud in this shot.
Then we made it down to the boat house where I took a series of shots from slightly different angles
As the day wore on the cloud cover started to break up and for a few shots, we got clean shots of the Cradle. Here are a few of the cleaner shots.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, I'll be back next week with more from the Tasmanian tour.
Glenn
]]>First a look at where last times blog post was viewed. First up this week is Australia with the most views, then followed by the United States of America and Spain, after that on an equal number of views are Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Lesotho, Mexico and the Philippines. So, twelve countries this time around. Thanks.
This week’s blog in Tasmania was all around Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake. The weather wasn’t the kindest to us this day and light rain on and off plus a bit of wind at times to break up the water surface, so not the best of conditions but still need to make the best of it so out we went to shoot.
This first shot the cradle partly cloud covered, this is pretty much how it is for most of the year, there are even signs warning you that this is the case in the carpark where this shot was taken from. So not every day you get to see the full cradle.
Another shot was taken from a little further round Dove lake.
Back in the car park in the rain this little Magpie was doing its best with little sucess to get out of the rain.
Around the lake is some accommodation and some old huts complete with shingled rooves and log structures.
Pandani growing around Cradle Mountain.
The overland track as it comes down from Cradle Mountain doesn’t look like the best weather to be on the track this day, light rain and little cool out there. You can see the shine on the board walk from the rain. Looks bleak out there.
Like a lot of the forests around Tasmania the ground is covered in moss making for a green carpet of the area.
Another of the little huts in the forest, thsi ones a little Goldilocks like.
The next is a series of shots in the forest around Cradle Mountain showing of the moss covered forest floor.
Even managed to find a mushroom growing amongst it, thoguht I'd have found a lot more but still found the odd one or two.
Final shot for this week is another of the shot of the moss covered forest. These shots really show just how green it is in the Tasmanian forests.
That's it for this weeks blog post of Tasmania day 7. I'll b eback next time with the next days shots.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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Frist a quick look at where my blog was viewed last week, only five countries this time, coming in at the top place this week was Australia, followed by the USA, then the United Kingdom, the Philipines, and South Africa.
Back to Tasmania, the morning started in Strahan again with the hotel overlooking the harbour, this is the view from the balcony of the dining area. The clouds looking ominous there in the sky.
From the hotel we drove back around the other side of the bay, this poor boat looks to have seen better days.
The houses in the little fishing village were all quite colourful wonder if they paint their boats to match the house colour?
A young Pacific gull (Larus pacificus) waiting for its breakfast
We went back to the boats from the night before without the rain this time and still conditions, the water was like a mirror.
Then back around to the village again, the old houses there complete with white picket fences are a throwback to a forgotten time.
The harbour though filled with tourist cruise boats is still a working harbour and the daily commute doesn't need to worry about traffic jams each morning.
After our time in Strahan, we drove up the coast to Granville Harbour where the waves were pounding the red rocks along the coast.
This image shows the force of the water with seaweed being thrown into the sky from the force of the waves breaking it off the rocks.
We traveled north along the coast to the and a little inland till we reached the Pieman River. We boarded the Arcadia II for a cruise up the river the idea was to have still conditions to get mirror reflections on the bush in the river. Not today, however, the wind wasn't to co-operate. Still a nice cruise and nice looking boat.
These steps look a little Elfish to me bit like lord of the rings kind of scene, as the stairs lead up into the bushland.
Last up for this week a shot of the anchor winch on the deck of the boat. Gives an idea that the boats not straight out of the shipyard, been around for a while looking at this winch.
Well, that's it for this week's shots around Tasmania. Back next week with more again.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, hope to have you back next week for the net day in the tour.
Glenn.
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This week I'll continue the shots from Tasmanian Photography tour earlier in the year.
Since the last blog was released it was viewed in ten different countries, with the highest view rate being Australia this time round and the USA coming in at number two. Coming in at a tie fro the third spot was four Countries the UK, Turkey, Taiwan and South Africa, the final spot was taken up by Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Sweeden. Again a good collection of views from around the world. Thanks for all those that view my blog.
This time it's Day 5 of my trip and the trip from east coast to west coast via mount Field national park.
This first shot is along the road at a stand of trees, for once the GPS co-ordinates didn't come into the image from the camera, possibly took the shot to quick for the GPS to establish itself. One I'll have to watch out for in future. But it's between Hobard and Mount Field National Park right beside the road.
This next series is taken in Mount Field National Park, most famous for Russell falls. Everything is so green in this park any fallen trees are moss covered quickly, as is the ground. The photos don't do this place justice, its one of those areas you can spend days in just soaking up the atmosphere.
The main track leading to the falls.
This next shot is of Russell Falls them self. A wall of waterfall.
The forest floor is littered with fallen trees, logs and branches all covered in the green moss.
Stairs leading up to the next falls, not for today, but you'll see where these lead to in a few more days time.
At the top of the park is Lake Dobson where these next series of shots are taken as we walked around the lake.
From Mount Feild we drove across the Island to Strahan, stopping along the way for the odd shot. This one the sun was lighting this small stand of trees.
The landscape changes from flat to rugged with each bend in the road. Never staying constant for too long.
We reached Strahan in a wet afternoon with light cold rain falling, but still managed a few shots. This one was taken from the other side of the inlet to the village.
Back on the village side, the rain had stopped.
Enough to allow for a bit of a sunset to show though as the light lite up the boat harbour.
Once the sun set and night set in I went out again for some night photography around the village.
Including an attempt at the milky way, a few clouds about and a bit of light pollution so not the best conditions but I did manage to catch a passing satellite in the lower right corner of the shot.
So that's it for this week's shots on the Tasmanian tour day five, coming up day six. Thanks fro dropping by my blog this week. Back again soon.
Glenn.
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Before I start on Tasmania a quick look at where the last blog was viewed. 13 Countries this time round with the USA coming in at number one for a number of views followed by Australia, then South Africa, with the Netherlands coming next followed by Sweden, Finland, Germany, France, Indonesia, Mexico the United Kingdom, and India all tying for the final spot. There were two other viewings but the Google Analytics could not determine the location. So again viewed from all around the world.
This week's post is a look at day four of my recent photography tour of Tasmania.
First up we headed out to the Tessellated pavement a coastal rock formation that is self-explanatory looking at the formations.
Flying high overhead was a Little Eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) this one was being chased off by a gull, not the best of shots and quite heavily cropped in, but enough to identify the bird and you can see the first shot as it turns its head looking for the gull.
From there we drove to the Australian Tasmanian Devil Unzoo, A Tasmanian Devil, wildlife sanctuary and animal rescue park. First up two devils arguing over the scraps. The Tasmanian Devils have been under threat from a facial tumor the last few years and have been disappearing from the wild. The Unzoo has a captive breeding program and is one of the many wildlife parks in Tasmania trying to save the devils.
From there we walked around the park including a walk-in enclosure where you can get up close to the small group of Kangaroos, Wallabies, and Pademelons. This next shot shows a kangaroo on the run just as its feet leave the ground so the main claws are all that's contacting the ground.
Whereas this one is a little Pademelon hiding up on a small mound catching the suns rays.
Next up and one of the reasons I'm not a fan of these kinds of places is a Quall in a cage, the cage has been sized for the animals and all the animals appeared to be well looked after but you can still see the cage in this shot.
The Unzoo also had a free flight bird show and the next series of shots comes from the show.
After the trip to the Australian Tasmanian Devil Unzoo the next stop off was a power boat ride out along the Tasman Peninsula. Off the coast and along the coast we came across an abundance of wildlife and some spectacular scenery. First up was this penguin out on patrol, looking for its feed.
Then along the rocky islands off the coast, we came across some Black-faced Cormorants (Phalacrocorax fuscescens)
This shots of a young Cormorant still not with its adult plumage.
A little further along the coast we came across a feeding frenzy on the ocean surface, where a group of Seals were coming up thought a school of fish, and the same time the various sea birds came down for their fill. The Bird life here included three kinds of Albatross, Buller, Shy and Campbell, Cormorants, Shearwaters and gulls. The Albatrosses are so large they run along the surface of the ocean to take off.
In this shot you can see one of the Albatrosses has a catch in its mouth, the trick is to hold on to it and swallow it before some one else grabs it.
The Coastline has many rock formations, caves and pillars. These next few shots show some of what we saw traveling along the coast.
On the final run back to where we left off a pod of dolphins also traveled along the side of us.
Hope you liked day 4 of my Tasmanian trip. Day five will be next.
Thank for dropping by my blog this week.
Glenn
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First up a review of where my blog was viewed since the last one. This time 22 different countries have visited my site, with the top ranking this time Being Australia, followed by the USA then Russia and German, next up with a tie for fifth place was Brazil, the United Kingdom and Sweden coming in at eight place another tie with Canada, Spain, Japan. Next up was the remaining 12 countries all on the same score; Austria, Chile, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, India, Philippines, Pakistan, Palestine, Slovenia, Thailand and Taiwan. So again a good coverage around the world.
Back to Tasmania starting up with an early morning shoot at Friendly Beaches at the northern end of Freycinet Nation Park.
After the Early Morning shoot, we headed on to Coles bay, a nice sheltered bay on the sheltered side of the Freycinet peninsula. Nice beach and bush setting all around it with a sheltered bay for boat moorings.
On the Beach as a pair of Sooty Oystercatchers (Haematopus fuliginosus) This top shot showing the Bird in flight against the turquoise blue bay.
This next shot shows it coming into land leapfrogging the other bird already on the beach.
After a while at the beach, we moved on to the historic town of Richmond famous for its old buildings and Bridge. The bridge was build in 1825 by convict labor and is the oldest large arched stone bridge in the country.
After lunch at Richmond next stop Hobart, Top of Mount Wellington, Bit cool this afternoon including a few flakes of snow falling. Not the best of views this day with the cloud, rain, and snow about.
Near the top of Mount Wellington, the Tasmanian snow gum grows, this shot shows the snow gums growing in the cloud towards the top of the mountain just below the treeline, a little further along the trees stop and the make way for the rocky landscape that marks the top of Mount Wellington.
This shot shows the cloud over the lichen-covered rock formations at the top of mount Wellington.
From the top of mount Wellington, you can see the Tasman bridge this shot was taken in between the cloud breaks.
A view of Hobart and the cloud cover looking down the mountain.
Hobart city was our stop for the night and I took the opportunity to do some night photography around Hobart. Right where I was staying happened to be one of the cranes my company manufactured so had to take the opportunity to get a night shot of that.
After that, I walked down to the constitution dock and on the walk took the various buildings that looked nicely lite up. Showing of some of the historic buildings of hobart and some not so historic.
Down at the dock, the water was mirror smooth and made great reflections. So the next series of shots were taken around the dock.
So that's it for the end of day three of the Tasmanian photography tour, next blog will be day four. In the coming week.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn
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First up the roundup of where the last blog post was view.
Again, a clear winner this week and this week the winner is Australia, followed by the USA then China with South Korea coming next, the following Countries all had one view each, Bulgaria, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, UK, Italy, Mozambique, Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and the Ukraine. So again, a good collection of countries around the globe viewed this week’s post good to see. Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the post if you like, mentioning what country you’re from.
The last week I was a little tied up in preparing present for a photography talk to the Revesby Garden club based at the Revesby workers club. My first time giving a talk in public on photography. The talk was about the basics of photography Subject, Light and composition and how to improve your basic photography based on those three things. I also showed of a series of shots during the talk to reinforce my points. By all accounts it was received well and everyone was happy with the talk from the feedback I received both at the venue and later on via phone conformation. So a good weekend.
Now back to day 2 of my Tasmanian trip.
Day two saw us leave Launceston and head east to the Bay of Fires conservation area via St Columbus Falls with the odd stop along the way.
These first two shots are just a pull in on the side of the road in on of the many forests, this one was a pine plantation, so not Tasmanian natural forest.
The trees are all covered in moss giving the green tinge to the trunks whole the ground is covered in the dead pine needles making a striking contrast to the shot.
Where as this shot is looking straight up, showing just how straight the trunks of these are.
After the stop off we headed on to St Columbus Falls. It was a little bit of a walk to see the falls and again fungi was about on the fallen branches, this time bracket Fungi.
The walk was along a path between the tree ferns. Again everything was covered in green.
The falls were out in the open and in full sun so far from ideal light to do this kind of shot. This was about the best I managed here and not overly happy with this one, but it shows not every shots a winner and the extreme lighting certainly didn't help. Thou I've seen a few shots from some of the others on the trip and they had but angles of the shot, but the lighting certainly didn't help any of us in this location.
Walking back from the falls I stopped and took a few shots of this fungi growing on a log, not the best shot.
From there we drove to the coast the Bay of fires and to Binalong bay. Nice clear water white sandy beach some cloud in the sky to make it more interesting. All up a nice place for a bright day.
Towards the end of the beach, there was a flock of Terns diving for fish. This one with fish in beak is a Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergil) from what I can work out.
This next shot was a little off on focus so I had a play with Topaz to see what I could come up with, happy with this one. Some thing a little different, but think it came out OK.
A Gull decided he also wanted a feed and rather than get wet though it would try and steal from the Tern. The Tern out manoeuvred the Gull and flew off with the catch.
Another shot just as the Tern was about to hit the surface of the sea.
Along the Beach a Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) was on patrol, probably hoping for the spoils dropped by the overhead Terns.
From there we drove down the coast towards Bicheno. Stopping for fuel along the way, where I spotted this flowering gum on the other side of the road, So I managed to get this shot. There was a fair bit of wind about to the branches were moving quite fast so not to many of these turned out due to motion blur.
At Bicheno we managed to get a couple of coastal shots, this is just one of them, you can see the heavy clouds above threatening to rain on us at any time.
After Bicheno we drove down to Freycinet National Park to catch the Hazards at sunset before driving into Hobart for the night.
When we got there it was threatening rain and occasionally did and was blowing a gale so again interesting conditions for these shots. Still a great area and one to come back to one day to try again. Some of these shots came out OK. But again something I need to work on. I tried various shutter speeds and angles the slower shutter speeds didn;t work as well most times with the strong wind even with a decent tripod and holding it down at times there was still camera movement. These are the better of the shots I managed.
With the sun coming in behind the small waves and the wind whipping them up I tried to get a few waves with the sun lighting them from behind. Again not that successful but almost there. Some better than others but still not a great shot.
So that's it for Day two of the Tasmanian trip. I'll be back with day three next time so stay tuned.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week. Back with more from Tasmania next time.
Glenn.
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On with this week’s blog. I've just returned for two weeks of Photography in Tasmania, the first week was part of an organised tour with Steve Parish (https://www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au) in conjunction with Spirit Safaris (http://www.spiritsafaris.com). The second week was a couple of us from the tour and Steve spending an extra week photographing together. So a good solid two weeks of photography. Tasmania certainly is a great place to photograph and one I think I'll be returning to quite often to shoot, I doubt you could ever capture it all, so much to see and such spectacular sights to see.
The tour was to start in the afternoon allowing everyone time to fly in to Launceston, but as it happens every one flew in the day before so we all meet up and had a meal together that night and agreed to meet up in the morning and start an unofficial photo walk around Launceston.
The first series of shots are taken from a walk around the town and out to the Launceston gorge.
These first three shot are a series of old terrace house that are now businesses in the city centre. This was the first real try of my newish Canon 5DMk4
A Detailed shot of the wrought iron work around the balconies and the concrete form work.
From the city streets we started to walk along the river up towards the Gorge, through the trees I say the old sailing boat, I tried to frame the boat with the reeds in the bottom and the tree at the top, didn't really work out and not that happy with this shot.
The old bridge over the river to the gorge with the old building in the background makes for a better shot.
As the sun came out it lit up the silios on the other side of the river and this shows it always pays to look behind you as well as in front, you never know what shot is behind you. As this shot shows.
Walking back along the streets the old buildings of Launceston have some fine details on the buildings and the light posts are certainly of a unique style compared to the modern ones of today.
After lunch we meet the Spirit Safari team and our mini bus and started the official part of the tour with a trip out to Liffey Falls. This was our first tastes of Tasmania's forests and the lush greens the go with them.
The whole area around the falls was covered with tall tree ferns and lush green mosses. This shot shows Steve Parish lining up a shot.
With all the Mosture around from the falls and the dark enviroment I felt sure to find mushrooms on the trip and I wasn't dissapointed.
This shot was taken with the mushroom growing on a log and the camera mounted on a tripod upside down (The image had to be flipped once processed. ) lit with two speedlites one on the ground the other hand held in this case.
This shots of me taking the shot above, Taken by Lynn.
This first shot is of the falls them self. Again showing just how green the bush is around the falls.
This shot shows the way the water has been carving its way thought the rocks for many years now winding its way thought the weaker areas of the rock, with the tree ferns taking hold where they can.
Again like so much of the Tasmanian forests I visited in the two weeks everything was so green and lush.
More of the giant tree ferns that were growing in the area.
On the way back for the falls again I found some Mushrooms to shoot, these were all hand held shots, so not the normal set up all with natural light no flash used on these ones, but the lighting was just nice so still came out OK.
This last one was some Coral Fungi growing on the ground, I've not came across this sort before the gardens have one area that have some fine white ones but nothing like these chunky ones.
I'll leave this post here for now and pick up next time with day two of the trip around Tasmania.
Hope you enjoyed the start of this two week trip.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week.
Glenn
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Well the blogs been sadly lacking these last few weeks, I've been on the road for a few weeks in Tasmania the southernmost state of Australia, the Island at the bottom of the east coast for those not that familiar with Australia. A photographer’s paradise. Plenty of stunning scenery and wild life, though surprisingly this time around not so many birds. In the coming weeks once I've gone thought all my images I'll put up a series of blog posts on this trip. But Since I'm still working my way thought the images, this week’s blog will be on last Saturdays walk in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
Before I left for Tasmania we were having a heat wave up this way, with high 40 deg C temperatures (116 Deg F) on a few days, but when I came back seems I bought the cooler weather with me, plus the wetter weather. Several days of good rain over the last week. The gardens were well watered after that all the small streams were flowing and of cause an abundance of mushrooms this week, after some many weeks not much, this week everywhere I looked I found them.
First up is a shot of an old fallen tree and the patterns caved out by the various insets that have been working the timber when it was still covered in bark. This, I used as my entry for this week’s Google plus Australian and New Zealand weekly photo prompts entry. This week’s theme is textures. Been missing in action from that, these last few weeks as well. (no Wi-Fi in most of the locations I was staying in.) This one was taken on the opposite side of the road for the stolen generation walk.
From there I crossed the road and headed off towards the stolen generation memorial area. Good to see the gardens nice and wet, the little streams were flowing around the area, of late they had dried up, normally on a good day they are still but with water in pools, but of late nothing but dry creek beds. I found a few birds in the area, this first one's of a Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) earring out a bit of feather maintenance.
In the same area is usually found the Eastern Yellow Robin (Eospsaltria australis) and this week was no exception.
With all the rain over the last week the gardens were alive with Mushrooms. So I spent a far time getting a good collection of shots this week to make up for the lack of them the last few weeks. These first few were around the plant bank. Which is now open not eh Weekends thought Autumn from 10:00am till 2:00 pm with a scientist on duty each day of the weekend over the time. including Fungi - Dr Brett Summerell on the 25th March, which is also the day I'm running a Bird Photography workshop in the gardens, for bookings contact the Australian Botanical Gardens. So I'll be there to see whats on show there after the workshop finishes up.
These shots are the usual set up of two off camera lights and the images focus stacked from several images to give the details.
Last Saturday the gardens had a Seaweed display in the plant bank so heres a shot I managed to get same set up I use for the Mushrooms two lights and focus stacked, which gives the depth of field and sharpness highlighting all the details. So something different this week.
There was no shortage of mushrooms about this week, So I made the most of them this week.
This next shot shows a behind the scenes shot, this shows the actual lighting conditions the shot was taken in and the positions of the lights. Again the 60D with the Articulated Screen is in use, which shows you don't need the latest camera to get these results. This one is now Three generations behind the current model available.
All the While a White Faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) watched on.
Again more mushroom shots this next one the mushrooms were so tiny only about 4 to 6mm in diameter so fine and small not to mention bright red. The colour was what I noticed first, funny that.
With all the Rain of late the ground was soft and squelch underfoot the Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis moluccan) were having a picnic on the lawn besides the main lakes.
In the lake was a solitary Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia) today there's usually a small group of these but today I only spotted the one.
So that wraps up this weeks shots in the Australian Botanical Garden, in the coming weeks I'll start the blogs for the shots from Tasmania from the last few weeks. So stay tuned for those coming up. still processing the images from the trip.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, back next week with more.
Glenn.
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This week’s blog will be a review of the shots taken last weekend in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
First a quick review of where last week’s blog was viewed, this week we had a tie for first place with Australian and the United Kingdom on equal numbers then the USA and then a tie with Canada, India and Japan. So again, coverage of the globe for last week’s blog. Thanks.
Again, another hot week here in South west Sydney So not too much about this week I was also a bit later than usual so right in the heat of the day, so not so much activity to shoot this week. I thought since there wasn't so much in the way of wildlife about I'd try a few tree shots, getting a bit of practice in for the next few weeks (More on that later).
This first shot is of the woodland area where I spend a bit of time shooting the woodland birds. This is typical Cumberland plan woodland, not too much of that left and this has all regrown in the last few years, before the gardens took over the site this use to be a cleared dairy farm, so gives an idea of the power of the bush to regenerate. There's a sign at the start of this path showing a shot of the area cleared compared to the view there now.
This next shot bit of an experiment Think this ones still work in progress shot an intention camera shack at slow shutter speed, but i think I need a bit of lens corrections to take out the reverse barrelling effect, I tried several shutter speed surprisingly it needed a faster speed than I thought, this was one of the faster ones I tried, but another stop or so might have been better, this one was at 1/40th of a second. One to try again later, or maybe not.
This next shot is of the Stolen Generation memorial, this one with the afternoon light hitting it to give the shadows and detail from the side lighting. This is the area for Superb wrens, Variegated Fairy-wrens, Scrub Wrens, Grey fantails, eastern Yellow Robins, Fan-tail cuckoos, Bell Miners, Scarlet Honeyeaters, Misteltoebirds and Grey Shrike-Thrushs plus a few others. so plenty to be found around here if you just sit and wait. Not so much this weekend in the heat though.
Another shot of the woodland showing the number of tall thin trees starting to fill the space.
Next up a more detailed shot of one of the gum trees and the colours and textures as the bark starts to shed.
Followed by the same shot but this time after a bit of processing in Topaz.
And again the same shot but a little wider this time.
This shot is showing a branch with the bark ready to fall its already shredded and ready to come off in stings of bark. So like a loose netting over the branch now.
It was while taking these shots that a small group of Weebills (Smicrornis brevirostris) appeared high up in the canopy, these were really too high to get a good shot and this shots pretty heavily cropped in which is why the image quality isn't the best, but I was starting to think this might be the only wild life I find this week.
But the Bell Miners (Manorina melanophrys) never let you down they are always around this area. These are usually not long in one area so you need to be a bit quick to get one of these in a decent shot.
From there I tried the main lakes and found a small group of Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata) making their way from the water onto the grass for the afternoon feed. this one was in mid-march when I captured this before the second foot hit the ground.
Last up a pair of Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) Standing on the path drying off after bathing in the lake.
Not a great week for shots this weekend, wasn't the best time to head out with the heat and all, but it was then or not go out at all sometimes you never know what you'll find out there so worth a try. Though the results this week not the best.
Over the next few weeks I'll be traveling and photographing in Tasmania for a few weeks so depending on availability of internet access if I can get a blog post out of not in the next week or so, if not there will be plenty of shots to share later, I'm sure if last year’s Central Australian trip was anything to go by. So, keep an eye out of the next blog post hopefully in the coming week with the first half of my Tasmanian trip.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, back next week with luck with more, something different.
Glenn.
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First up a wrap up of the blog post visits from last week, with a tie for the most views last week coming from Australia and the United States of America. Then France, Israel and Italy all on equal number of views. This week only 5 countries viewing the blog this week.
So on with the review of this week’s shots, again mostly taken in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
First up a hand held shot of a Scotch Thistle (Onopordum acanthium) Thi sone was taken as a series of images hand help and focus stacked from 12 different images. Though these are closed as weed they still make for an interesting subject up close.
Next up I revised the undercroft of the Plant bank to see what else I could do with that, I've seen some of the images some people have made from here so still working at getting the best out of this space. The Garden is a moss garden with the roof of the undercroft lined with mirrors.
Walking thought the undercroft and up pas the plant bank to the small stand of gum trees on the left, is where I find a tree that has been shown the last few weeks here with many hollows, this week one hollow say quite a bit of activity while I was there this week. Started off with a pair of Red-rumped parrots (Psephotus haematonotus) in possession of the hollow.
This next shot shows them on the look out with both turned skywards to see whats coming.
Only to be displaced by a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus)
The red-rumps didn't take to kindly to that and had a go at re-taking possession as shown in the next few shots with a few feathers flying.
The dispute was settled when a Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) flew down and took over the Hollow, it was up above watch the hole time and probably didn't like all the commotion going on down below.
From there I walked along the path in the direction of the stolen generation memorial and stopped by the gum tree along the road to check out the hollows there to find a pair of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galleria) sitting on top of one of the hollows.
With summer in full swing here now and plenty of hot days the gum trees are starting to shed their bark now so in the coming week there will be plenty of stringing gum trees about with all assorts of interesting shapes, textures and patterns to shoot.
Walking along the woodland path there are plenty of small birdlife if you stop and wait, this shots of a little Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) This ones been banded by the Bird banding group in the gardens, as you can see the ring on its leg. These are all wild birds in the gardens but they are ringed and studied within the gardens.
Nest up one of the many Rabbits within the gardens, these like most areas are pests and even if they look cute are not great for the gardens.
This week there was plenty of bird life about and this next shots of a Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus) This one doesn't look like it brushed its feathers for the shot today.
On a log in the small dam opposite the plant bank was this White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) Not so happy with this shot the focus is slightly off on the eye of the bird where as the back of the bird is OK so looks like I needed a slightly more closed down aperture on this shot.
After that I drove up to the main gardens the connections gardens and tried out a panorama of the gardens.
Plus a few shots around the water garden.
The water garden usually has a few Eastern Water Dragons (Intellagama lesueurii) in residences today one was happy to pose.
This next shot taken at the full 600mm showing all the detail of the head.
While walking in the connections gardens, I heard a High pitched bird call and soon found the bird attached to the voice, this ones a male Mistletoe Bird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) Not the cleanest of shots, this one wasn't in the mood for posing today. Maybe next time.
I started to make my way back to the car for the day when I saw this pair of Little Pied Cormorants (Microcarbo melanoleucos).
While across the lake another White-faced Heron was coming in to land.
The next day I returned and found the Red rumps at a different hollow in the same tree as earlier on.
Also in the woodland was a pair of Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata) These were both pretty high up in the tops of the trees. They were in different trees and everyone and then would call to each other.
Walking again through the woodland area I found this Grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) showing off.
While a Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis) watched on to see what all the fuss was about.
Walking a little further I came across this young not fully coloured up Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) take some shade in the canopy.
So a good collection of birds about this weekend, no wonder this small Lace monitor (Varanus varius) was doing the rounds to see what it could find.
I didn't manger to find any mushrooms about tin the gardens this week, but there was this little group of bright yellow Mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) growing in one of my pots of Kangaroo paws SO I took a few shots of these of this weeks mushroom shot.
So thats it for this weeks rap up of shots for the week a bonus week with an extra day of shots so a few more shots than normal here this week. Next week will be back to normal.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week.
Glenn.
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Coming in at Number one this week is Norway with the most visits, followed by the USA then Australia. Next up on equal footing is the United Kingdom and Italy, the rest are all with one view each been Spain, Malaysia, Philippines, Pakistan, Slovenia, Ukraine and South Africa. So, 12 different countries this week.
Back to the weekly Blog, this week’s blog will be a walk-through of the shots taken last weekend in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
I started off around the Plank Bank in the Gardens and right opposite the plant bank is a small dam. This shot, complete with reflection is of a young Dusky Moorhen (Gallinuka tenebrsa) on the branch leaning into the dam.
Bird shot wise this week wasn't so good wiht most deciding this week to hid behind a leave, stick or grass so a lot of the shot this week were like the one below with a leaf in the wasps well as the other greenery. This ones of a Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys) But this shot like so many this week not a clean shot.
This ones of an Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) This one was breaking off the bark of the bank looking for the insects that had followed out under the bark. You can see the spray of dust int eh shot to the left as it works at the bark looking for a quick feed.
The Superb Fairy-wrens were about as usual around the stolen generation memorial. This time I got a clean shot but a little two far away, It really wasn't a goo bird shot weekend this week.
From there I walked along the water supply canal and then to the other side of it once it goes underground. There is an open woodland area on the other side of the canal and walking around the large gum tree shown below I could hear a noise of someone gnawing away at the wood. So walking around the tree, and being careful not to get under the limbs of this one, as the next shot shows quite a few of the large branches have already given way on this one.
I found this Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) working on enlarging the hollow, Its partner was on the next branch up watching on to make sure it was all going to plan.
From there I started to head back to the car, but thought I might try my hand at a shot of the plank back. This shot is actually two shots merged together in HDR (High Dynamic range) format as the variation in brightness for the open concrete in the sun to the shadows was to much for the camera so its two shots one exposed for ht concrete in the sun the other for the shadows under the building. This was hand held for the two shots, then merged together in light room wither HDR tool, as a quick job it came out OK, have to come back and give this another go later on with the tripod next time. but as a quick go it came out OK.
From there I Drove up to the Wollemi walk area, which is now partially closed off for some works. This is one of the areas in the gardens were these is nearly always mushrooms to be found and this week I was in luck, only the two and one of these was no longer in the ground, but this was the shot of the week for me. Happy with how this one turned out. Lit with two off camera speedlites, one wiht a brown gel to give the warm light to the shot. focus stacked for 12images this time to give the sharpness to the mushrooms.
This last shot for the day is of a young Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) working its way through the Kangaroo paws. Again this one was pretty good at making shot it was always partially covered by the Kangaroo paws and after about half an hour this was the best I managed.
So not a great week for bird shots this week, but happy with the mushroom shot for the week. We'll see how we go next week.
So thats it for this weeks blog.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week.
Glenn.
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But first a look at where the Blog was looked at last week. A tie for first place this week the Australia and the USA, them the UK, then came Japan and Canada, and then India, Serbia, France and German. So nine countries this week.
Bit warm out this way last weekend with 40 Deg temperatures. So not too much happening this week. But I still managed to get a few shots I'm happy with.
With the Temperatures so high out there this weekend a lot of the birds were just sitting panting trying to keep as cool as they could so the first three shots are birds doing just that. You can see they have their wings lifted off their bodies to try and keep cool as well.
First up a Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus).
Next up a Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) this one was down low and almost on the ground trying to keep put of the heat.
Next a Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) again trying to keep itself cool.
This next series of shots took a while to get as the bird was in to minds on leaving the safety of the high tree or not. It eventually left and flew off further into the gardens. But it took a good 20 minutes or so of waiting before I got this series of shots. An Australian White Ibis (Threkiornis moluccan) as it left its branch.
I then went back to the car and drove off to the next part of the gardens. But not before noticing what the temperature gauge in the car said the outside temperature was. Though as I started to drive off it dropped down to about 40 so think the 45 was a little high, but still quite warm out there. As evident from the behaviour of the birds in the gardens this week.
I drove down to the Banksia gardens to see if I could spot the Frogmouths again, but no luck this week, but it was a little cooler there. So I drove back to the connections gardens, as I was walking up towards the visitors centre there I spotted this Square-tailed Kite (Lophoictinia isura) Circling overhead it wasn’t long before an Australian Raven was trying to chase it off, I got a few shots of this but none were of a decent quality so a couple of missed shots there, But this one stayed circling for about half an hour, so here’s a few shots of various over passes, this one was fling nice and low over the gardens and nice and slow as well so some decent shots of this one. Checking up my bird listing for the gardens this one’s a new bird for me in the gardens, and also a new bird for their listing as well as its not on the official listing from the gardens of the know bird species to have visited the gardens.
So that's it for this weeks walk in the heat in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan. HOpe you enjoyed this weeks shots, I'll be back next week with more.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn
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Before we get into the shots for the week, a look at where my blog was been viewed over the last two weeks shows Australia is on top this time, with the USA second, then the United Kingdom and Brazil, with a five way tie for fifth place with Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand with another four countries with one viewer each being Colombia, Cambodia, the Philippines and Poland, So a goods catering of countries the last few weeks. Thanks of reading.
Not so many shots this week to go thought, compared to the last few weeks.
First up a Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) there was a small group of these in their normal location around the stolen generation memorial area in the woodland. If you wait long enough they start to come back to the area. So just a matter of waiting and not moving around and they come back looking for the insects there hunting.
The wrens were a bit skittish and I soon found out why. Again I meet one of the people from my first work shop in the gardens and they pointed out that they had seen a lace monitor (Varanus varius) in the nearby gum tree. This one was going up and down the various branches looking to see what it could find.
This next shot I've had a play with Topaz again in the background so you can see the textured effect of what looks like a canvas that the image is printed on.
Walking around the gardens I heard a few Common Myna's Call out and there was a large lace monitor being hurried on by them. They have a nest in the nearby tree so don’t appreciate one of these on the prowl.
This week with a few slightly cooler days and a good day of rain before the weekend I found a few more mushrooms this week, these ones were growing on a stick and not in the ground so made an interesting subject for the week. So the next series of shots are of the same three mushrooms. with different angles and lighting positions.
These next two shots are taken with my phone showing the actual lighting conditions and setups I used to get the above shots. As you can see from the actual lighting conditions you can really create a different feel to the above shots with the speedlites.
So thats it for this weeks shots, finally found a few mushrooms to shoot again the last few weeks, not sure I'll be so lucking the coming weekend with several days over the 40 deg C. mark this way. not the best conditions for mushrooms, but we'll see whats about.
Thanks for dropping by my Blog, I'll be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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First up I started a walk from the plant bank along the board walk, in the small ponds at the start of the woodland area is some bulrushes and I noticed some movement in there. So looking closely I found this red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) in the water swimming around after a while it came out and into the grass around the pond.
A few Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) were about in the area but not to much else of not for the day around the stole Generation memorial area
A few Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) were about in the area but not too much else of not for the day around the stole Generation memorial area. I did meet a couple on their last day in Australia from Scotland (Philip and Sheila) who said they had seen some Tawny Frogmouths in the Banksia Garden, Not having got a shot of one of these yet in the gardens I decided that was my next stop. So after not finding anything else here I drove down to the Banksia Garden area. I got a good description of where to look so went straight there. First think I found was a few Australian King Parrots (Alisterus Scapularis) abut so I managed to get this shot of a female from a distance.
Then exactly where I was told the Frogmouths were I found them, three of them. You can certainly see how they camouflage themselves to look like tree branches. I managed the first show with the eyes open, but the rest are partially closed. Still happy with these shots.
On the last day of my holidays I went back into the gardens to see what I could find after a few cooler days and some light rain I was hoping for some mushrooms this time round. Been a while now since I had found any in the gardens. First up another new bird to cross of my list a Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris) high up in the canopy, I’d spotted it last time but didn’t get a good shot, this week a little better but still not the best quality, I’ll have to keep an eye out for these in the coming visits to see if I can get a better shot. Hopefully they will come a little lower to the ground.
This shot captured it in full song.
This next shots taken in the dam opposite the plant bank and is of a young Dusty Moorhen on the hunt for reeds at the bottom of the dam.
While walking along beside the cannel there I spotted this young Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis), I didn't see what the host bird to this one was after waiting a while, would have made for a good shot if its still being looked after. Another thing to look out for next trip.
The woodland areas and most of the gardens are full of these next ones the Willie Wagtails (Rhipdura leucophrys) Theres not to many places in the Gardens you don't find these filtering about. collection insects as they go.
A small family of Variegated Fairy-wrens (Malurus lamberti) are often found around the area where the stolen generation memorial is located in the woodlands.
This ones not the cleanest shot but shows the broad shoulder patches across the the back as it flys up to the next branch, been better getting a cleaner shot with out the sticks in the way, maybe next time round.
In amongst the Variegated wrens are a few Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) Missing the brown patch of the Variegated wrens, thou still quite colourful and just as timid.
After all the hot weather of late a few cooler days and some rain as well seemed to have bought out a few mushrooms, well two anyway. So I made the most of these two doing three setups with different lighting and angles to get these three shots of these ones.
So thats it for this weeks blog a round up of the shots for the last two weeks with only two days of shooting, but still some good shots this time round, good to get back into the mushroom shots again after so long with out.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, I'll be back next week with the usual blog post. Till then take care. Back again next week.
Glenn.
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This year I went on my first photography workshop / photo tour with Steve Parish in Central Australia, it was a great experience and some amazing landscapes out there. The only Landscape shot in my top ten came from this tour, there was so many images for the tour I would have liked to include but only ten images so only one for that trip may my top ten for the year. Again, this year Mushrooms and Bird shots made up the bulk of my shots this year and mainly in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan. Which is only a few minutes’ drive from my place. In fact, only the Central Australian Landscape shot was the only one not taken in the Gardens.
This year along with Google plus which is still doing great with my mushroom collection now having 83000 plus followers, Where I post a mushroom shot each week. I've also started to post in Instagram now, something I kept clear of for some time, but it’s now starting to gain some traction. The Gardens have found my work on Instagram and have asked me to run a workshop in November which we've now done, my first workshop that I've run. Seemed to go OK from what I can tell and everyone said they learnt something from it. So, happy with that there should be more this year, So all up a good year for me Photography wise.
So on with the top ten shot, this first shot was the shot from the Steve Parish workshop photography tour in Central Australia. This shot is taken for a Helicopter, my first time up in one, the doors were removed to enable a cleaner shot and certainly happy with what I got out for that. I've had printed two of the shots from this flight at 1 metre long. This one is my current favourite, the other one has the most amazing geological shape but I like this image better.
Again a lot of the shots this year was of mushrooms in the Australian Botanical gardens and this shows the spores falling, little golden dots under the cap you can see them on the left side more easily then you can pick them up on the right once you know what your looking for. I used two off camera speedlites and the second light was behind to give back light which lit up the spores.
The next shot was a lucky shot, well planned but lucky, I was shooting a mushroom on the ground but had set the bird camera (Canon 7DmkII with Sigma 150-600 Sports Len) to focus on this dead tree stump hoping something may come along as it’s a favourite perch for a lot of birdlife, so as I was taking a focus stack of a mushroom this Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) landed on the stump which was only about 4 metres away, so I slowly got up to take this shot, I managed about six shots this being the better of the six. Happy with all the detail in this shot. Really liking the 7dMkII and Sigma 150 to 600 Sports lens combination.
Again this year I got into Focus stacking of the mushroom shots with two off camera speedlites. Still using the Canon 60D for these shots, as the articulating screen is great for lining up the shots with the camera on the ground, saves me getting so low. I like the light and shade in this image as well as all the detail.
This image of the Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana) as it sat and watched me frame up the shot is again one of my favourites with the leaves framing up the shot and the little piece of moss growing on the branch lower down offsetting the bird. The sun behind the bird adding the rim lighting on the right and eliminating the greenery behind, normally you want the brightest part of the image to be the main subject but in this case I think it works well with the bird being a little darker than the background.
This year has been quite dry towards the end of the year so not much in the way of mushrooms about but as I spend most of my time in the botanical gardens hard not to take plant shots as well. This ones of a Red Waratah the New South Wales State flower. This one was taken in full daylight but again using the speedlite to light the flower and underexpose the image to loose the background. These flowers are always eye catching and to see them in the bush late October these bright red flower heads is really something.
This next shot was again something special with a pair of young Welcome swallows (Hirundo neoxena) being feed by the parent. The Parent bird made regular trips over the lake collecting insects then fly back without landing to feed the young. The one on the left looks to be saying “Hey, what about me” as it watches the other bird being fed this time around, it was feed not long after.
This next image of an Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) again taken in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan, shows the catch it just made, these little ones are usually sitting on a branch or side of the tree studying the ground looking for something to feed on, this time a poor lizard was the victim, it flew away with its catch to feed its young. The gardens are alive with these pretty much year round.
This next image or a pair of Long-Billed Corsellas (Cacatua tenuirostris) was picked up by the ABC News facebook page as its image of the day and ran as the ABCs banner image for the day on the new facebook page. The ABC got the image from Instagram after I tagged them. This one if you look around the edges you can see the results of the post processing I did to create the effect of a painting, from the comments on the ABCs facebook page it led to some confusion from some not noting if it was a painting of a photo, one thinking it was a photo of a painting. This was something I picked up from the workshop earlier in the year. The Image was taken again in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
The last image in this year’s top ten shots was taken just after my first workshop in the Gardens. The gardens asked if I would be interested in running a bird photography workshop with them in the gardens, after seeing my shots posted on Instagram, so we gave it a go, after the workshop I went back in to the gardens, with a few from the class. Walking around in the gardens we came across this Lace Monitor (Varanus varius) as it went about its business looking for bird nests in hollows. You can see the large claws these have to climb trees with, this one was looking around exploring then after the photoshoot casually climbed back down and went in search else where.
So that rounded out this year’s top ten shots, this year I took 32466 images but these soon add up when you start to use focus stacking where one mushroom shot is made up of 20 odd shots stacked together then three or four different lighting set ups and you’re at 100 images from the one mushroom. Similarly, birds in flight shots soon add up. First step in getting to the top ten was a short list of 98 images this year, then cutting it down to ten, the first few were pretty easy to remove but after that by the time you get down to the last 25 shots each shot you remove you feel guilty for taking that shot out, shots that missed out were my first ever milky way shot taken in Central Australia another aerial shot, several mushroom shots and birds in flight shots, all of which have been covered in the various blog posts throughout the year if you’re interested. But happy with this year’s quality of shots and I’ve already booked on for another photo tour in a month or so’s time again with Steve Parish in Tasmania this time in Mid Feb. Looking forward to that.
A couple of reference links.
Martin Baileys website where you'll find links to his podcasts
https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com
Steve Parish's website where you'll find links to what Steve is up to and his work.
https://www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, I’ll be back next week with the regular walk through shots from the last week or so. Have a great new year everyone.
Glenn
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First up this week, not the best shot but the best one so far of the Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) These birds are migratory and are only in the country from few months of the year. At the moment, I've spotted them in the woodland area and also in the connections gardens so seem to have made the gardens home for now. Look high in the tree tops for thee you will hear them before you see them most times, a very distinctive call. Still need to work on getting a better one of these, though they seem to be staying high up in the Canopy so not so easy so looks like it’s a waiting game for these. This one was taken in the woodland area.
Next up I walked along the stolen generation walk and came across a small group of Variegated Fairy-wrens (Malurus lamberti) This one was happy to pose for a little bit. Very unlike these. They usually see you and are off.
From there I headed up to the connections gardens hoping to find mushrooms there after n luck in the woodland area. But again, no luck. This first shot here’s of a common blackbird (Turdus merula) There’s a few of these about in the gardens but seem to be more in my garden.
So with no luck on the mushroom front and a few weeks now of carrying the speedlites about I thought I’d better put them to use before I forget how to use them So this first shots of Xanthorrhoea macronema, it’s like a mini grass tree. With one flash used in a small soft box of to the right, taken in full daylight, under exposed them re-light with the speedlite on low power to give the effect.
This next version of the same shots after playing around a little in post processing to see what effect I could give it, this one I've toned down so only a little difference in appearance this time.
While taking these a crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) was watching on. In this shot you can see the lighting conditions the last shot was taken in. It gives you an idea what you can do with the camera just playing with exposure and lighting.
Next while I had the speedlites out and the 60D camera set for the Tripod I gave a Flannel Flower ((Actinotus helianthi) a go with the speedlites. Again same lighting conditions as the shot above. But concentrated the light on the one flower in this case.
From there I took a walk down around the lake to see if anything interesting was going on there, only a few Little Pied Cormorants (Microcarbo melanoleucos) sitting around with this one having yawn.
In the lake was another one, this one on a fishing expedition, thought looks like its catch was a bit small and should have been through back, it nearly was as it was dropped and had to have a quick dart to re-catch it. But made short work of that.
The last shot for the week Was this rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) sitting amongst this bunch of flowering blossoms (Corymbia ficifolia) (I remembered this week to get the plant names) The colours of these flowers is so orange. The shot is ok but still not there so in this case I thought I’d try a little extra on it to see what I could do with it, after several attempts I like the last one best.
The first is the original.
This next one added a painted effect while leaving the bird alone. Still not happy with it.
So gave it another go picked a different style and this time added in a canvas texture to the shot making it look more like a canvas painting with again the bird bought back to the photo image untouched. Think its the best of the three here, feel free to add which one you prefer in the comments section at the bottom here on this post.
Well thats it for this weeks blog post, and nearly the end of the year again. Next week I'll do my best of for the year picking my ten best shots as I've done the last few years. Not an easy task working out only ten images from the year, so we'll see what I come up with this year and how it compares to last year.
Last week’s viewers of my blog were again world-wide with Russia again taking out the top spot for number of views well above anyone else with the USA next down by a factor of ten nearly then Australia, followed by France, Croatia then Italy. The number of views this week was down a little compared to last week, but still a health number of readers each week.
Wishing every one a happy Christmas and a great new year out there no mater where you are. All the best of the new year.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, this week, I'll be back next week wiht my best of shots from 2016.
Glenn.
]]>For those that read this blog regularly you might be interested to know the last week there were readers from Russia, the United States, Australia, Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom. With Russia topping the number of views this week.
So as usual this weeks blog will be a look at the shots I managed to take last weekend in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
This week I ran my first photography workshop in the gardens, a Bird Photography workshop with nine participants, so a nice number for a first workshop. A great group of people with varying levels of skills. The weather was good for the day not to hot, and no wind, bright light so good for the faster shutter speeds so a good morning for Bird photography, all we needed was the birds to show up.
The Workshop started with going over some settings for Bird shots and how to get the best focus using a few methods, there was also a morning tea provided by the Melaleuca House.
The last few weeks I’ve been going over the walk each week working out where the birds are and out first stop was at the tree shown in the last few blog posts, however this week not so active, after the last few weeks a bit of a disappointment for me, we did manage to find a few Striated Pardalotes, but the Galahs and Corellas were not showing their faces in the hollows this day. So we moved off along the walk into the woodland. AS we started down the path a blue tonged Lizard was making its way along the path towards us, well it was till it say a group of photographers with long lenses and decided it wasn't somewhere it wanted to be.
There we got lucky and managed to get a few shots of a Channel-billed Cuckoo. (Scythrops novaehollandiae) This one was into the woodlands a bit so not the cleanest of shots but still something different, so the morning improved from the first disappointment.
We continued along the path to the next large Gum tree with a hollow and this one for the last few months has had a Corella in residence in the hollow, again not this time. So the two places I pretty much was assured there would be some stationary birds to shoot to practice on turned out a blank.
From there we crossed the road and stopped at the small dam there for a group photo and spotted a little pied Cormorant in the trees on the other side of the bank of the dam.
After a few shots there we moved down towards the stolen generation memorial area, where there is always plenty of bird life about as its one of the usual water locations in the gardens.
This is where last week I found the Scarlet Honeyeater, and again there was a few about so quite a few got some shots of these here.
From there we started to make our way back to the plant bank with a few stops along the way.
At one stop a Kookaburra was in the trees after it had caught a mouse so a few got shots with the Kookaburra with the mouse in its beak.
From there we stopped briefly at the dam opposite the plant bank to see if there was anything interesting there, a couple of young Dusky Moorhens about, that was about it on the day. Then we made our way back to the room for a wrap up of the morning, so for a first up workshop a few disappointments from my side, regarding the birds co-operating but still some good opportunities and everyone said that they gained something from the morning so It seemed to go well. We’ll see where it goes from here.
After the Photography workshop I went back out into the gardens to get some shots for myself, I ran into a few of the workshop participants so we did some more shots.
First up I managed to capture this white faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) in flight as it took of from the Dam opposite the plant bank. (Now they come out after the workshop.)
Then I saw this Lace Monitor Lizard as I was walking long the side of the dam, Well actually a Willie Wagtail pointed it out to me they don't like these about, most birds set of their alarm calls when these are about and I've seen them be moved on by Cockatoos who don't like the thought of these raiding there nests for eggs.
Its here I ran in to the first of the participants after the workshop, so they both got a few shots of the monitor up the tree as well.
While we were shooting the Lace Monitor a Purple swamp hen (Porphyrio porphyrio) was sitting in a tree, usually see these in the edges of the waterways in the gardens not so often up the tree. So something a little different.
We moved back along the path and the Scarlet Honeyeaters (Myzomela sanguinolenta) were about so I managed a few better shots than last weeks shot, still not happy with these yet so still need to get a good one of these.
From there I moved back along the path and found this Yellow faced Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops).
I did go back to the hollow beside the road and just to rub it in the Long-billed Corella was back at its post guarding its hollow. I was happy to run into one of the other participants there as well so at least one found out that I was telling the truth there.
Last up for he week this shot of a Red-browed Finch (Neochmia teporalis) Just watching the world go by.
So that wraps up this weeks shots from the Australian Botanical Gardens and a run down on my first photography workshop. With luck there will be more in the coming year.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, feel free to leave comments in the comment section of the blog post, good to see its getting a global reach.
I'll be back next week with more.
Glenn
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Next Saturday morning (10th Dec) will be my first photography workshop held in the gardens and I did a trial walk through this weekend of the walk we'll be taking in the gardens. So the first set of shots are shots taken form the walk we will be doing then later on I went a little further and got a few extra shots for the week.
This first set of shots is taken just near the plant bank, a small group of gum trees with several hollows has a lot of interest. This first shot shows a Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossis Haematodus) at a hollow a few minutes before a Red-rumped parrot came out of it.
This shot shows a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets investigating a different hollow in the same tree, this one is the home to a pair of Galahs and their young.
This shots of one of the Galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla) standing watch.
Opposite these trees is the woodland area of the gardens with Cumberland plain woodland. This shot of an Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) was taken from the trees looking in tot her woodland through the trees, The bird was a fair way off so this one’s pretty heavily cropped so starting to lose the quality in this image.
The young Galah stuck its head just out of the hollow to see whats going on around and what all the fuss was about, so with luck this weekend it will be a lot more active and showing it self off to the world.
Not to miss out this Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) also came in to get its portrait taken, these aren't always the best with the white bird against a light background so getting the exposure right is critical for these ones.
The parent Galahs were content to just sit around and doing a spot of feather maintenance. as seen in this shot.
This ones of a White-plumed Honeyeater, currently building its nest not that far of the main walking track, You can see all the spiderweb its been collecting to build its nest with under its beak and across its chest.
Next up is a series of shots of a Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) The first two shots are taken and the background is a bit distracting with all the branches behind, but then it moved on to a second branch where I got a cleaner shot with less distraction in the background.
Next up A Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta), I've caught a glimpse of this one in the past but never managed a shot, not the best shot, but clearly the scarlet Honeyeater, these ones are high up in the canopy and don't stay still for long, but there were a few about so hopefully we'll be in luck next weekend.
This ones of a Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) young in the dam opposite the plant bank.
After the test walk checking out the timing of the walk I went up to the main lakes near the visitors centre The usual lake inhabitants were there. This ones of the common Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata).
Next up an Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) in its reed nest in the lake.
One of the young Little Pied Cormorants (Microcarbo melanoleucos) has made its way out in the lake this week so this ones on one of its first venture so hasn't had time to get its feathers dirty yet.
This ones of a Hardhead (Aythya australis) (White eyed duck) taking a bath in the middle of the lake.
By then I thought that was it for the day so was heading to the car. In the Carpark I ran across these Musk Lorikeets first time I've got a shot of these in the gardens, so two new birds this week now down to 66 birds to go in the gardens now.
So that's it for this weeks shots, a little late getting this one out due to preparing the presentation and training notes for the Bird photography work shop, The works shops now over now, next blog post I'll tell you how it went.
So that's it for this weeks blog. Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
]]>First up around the plant bank I came across this Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) There was a pair of these in this gum tree this one on guard over its hollow the other was a little higher up in the tree. This is the same hollow I've been at the last few weeks.
In the same stand of gum trees, was this Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus) These ones have a very unique call and so you often hear these first and then go looking for them to photograph. These are quite colourful and about the size of a Noisy Miner.
An Australian Raven (Corvus Coronoides) was being pestered by its young looking for a free feed not sure it seamed to get what it was after, form what I can see looked like it was passed a small rock to play with. AS seen in the third shot in this series.
This ones almost guaranteed of being seen each week he Long-Billed Corella (Cacatua Tenuirostris) in its hollow. This ones seen a few years looking at its beak, looks a little worse for wear over the years.
As always around the Stolen Generation Memorial is a colony of Bell Miners, (Manorina melanophrys) This one was high up in the tree as is most times so not the best angle for a shot of one of these. But if any one ever wanted to know what a bell bird looks like, this is one.
Walking along the Stolen Generation path but in the clearing opposite the plant bank on the board walk I spotted this Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) looking for lunch as it sits in its tree surveying the ground.
From there I drove up to the connections gardens and found another new bird for me, I know these have been in the gardens before but I've never spotted one, this week I not only spotted one but did manage to get a coupe of shots of the Dollarbird (Eurystomus orintalis), not the best quality as it was from some distance away and as I moved closer it didn't stick around for a second session. I was short of them this weekend so didn't get to spend time tracking this one down this week, but one to look out for in future visits. So another one ticked off the list only 66 to go now to cover all the birds listed and having a presence in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
The last tow shots for this week where taken under the canopy in the connections gardens of a Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) . These made the number one spot in the Bird life Australia Bird count again this year so two ears in a row now that these ones are leading the rush.
Next up in a nearby tree is this noisy miner just sitting and waiting probably a lot safer where it is.
So thats it for this weeks short walk in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan, thanks for dropping by my blog, I'll be back next week with more.
Glenn.
]]>First up something different a bee hive in a hollow of a gum tree. The bees are always active around this one and looks to be traces of honey below the hollow on the trunk. This ones in the first group of trees in the gardens just as you drive in, before the main ring road around the gardens.
In the same area I noticed the amazing textures on this branch in a nearby tree, I'll have to revise this one a few times to see what I can work with this one, different light and different focal lengths, but the patterns are amazing on this one.
Again this shots from the same location a small water holes at the base of all these trees so plenty of Bird life around these ones, this ones a female Red-Rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) at another hollow. Again all these are before you hit the main ring road in the gardens.
Next up around the back of the waterhole on the flats was this Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia) This ones been around the east few weeks so a few shots of this one now of late. The trick here is to get the exposure right without blowing out the white feathers.
From there I moved on a little further thou not to far this ones on the first large lake as you drive into the gardens, in the reeds while trying to catch a shot of the Australian Reed-Warbler I say the reeds move thinking it was the reed-warbler I found it was instead a Litoria fallax (Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog). I don;t have to many shots of front for the gardens so even wiht the reeds in the way this one turned out OK.
Across the lake on a small island a pair of Little Black Cormorants (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) were sitting around drying off. The black contrasts nicely with the greenery in the Background in this shot.
From there I drove up to the connections gardens to see if there are any Mushrooms about this week after not finding any the last few weeks, this week was not to be any better so no luck finding mushrooms to shoot, So had to look for something else and came across this acacia seed pod, which made for an interesting subject.
After no mushrooms and time getting away I headed down two the two main lakes to see what was about and came across this Male Red-Rumped parrot, pretty plain to see how this one got its name.
This one was most co-operative so I managed both front and back shots of it.
Flying up the lake was this Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) on its way to its nest. Even zoomed in as largest as I can this one is still heavily cropped so the image is stating to loose the detail in this image.
These next two are of the young in their next arguing over a bit of bark The Second shot has them on the lookout for the return win the next meal.
Last up for this week a little Black cormorant again cursing the lake this time. These ones sit low in the water all the better for diving.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, I'll be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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This first series of shots are of three different Bird types all nesting in the same gum tree, Guess this is apartment living bird style.
This tree is out the back of the plant bank so will be one of the stop offs on my upcoming Bird photography workshop held in the gardens. https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au/What-s-On/Bird-Photography-Workshop
First up a pair of Long-billed Corellas (Cacatua tenuirostris) The first two shots are taken about 90 degrees apart so same place just a different angle sometimes taking a few steps either way makes all the difference to a shot. The first shot is more a profile shot of the birds.
This next one is more front on showing more of the bird, this one shows more of the details of hollow these ones have claimed.
This next one is the same shot as above but given a bit of extra processing in Topaz Impressions II giving that painting like feeling to the image. I masked out the birds so they are more the actual photograph and the tree and background are the painting effect
This same tree had a Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) also investigating a smaller hollow, this one was on the underside of a branch, so the bird was all but upside down when it came to the hollow. These ones are pretty heavily cropped in so starting to show the effects of being too heavily cropped in.
A pair of Galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla) have also taken up resedance in the same tree so a real community set up in this one now, this is the same hollow from a few weeks that the Galah was using the gum leaves to clean it out. (If you missed the post check out the one from 17/9/2016 which shots the Galah doing its dusting)
I managed to capture this White faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) as it struck for a small fish. These are quite common in the gardens in the various water holes around the gardens.
Next up I found a new bird I hadn't captured in the gardens before an Australasian Figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti). This one, there was a complete family so I managed to get a shot of both Male and female plus the young as well. I didn't manage to get a really clean shot of these as they weren't co-operating posing wise but I'll check them out again next week and see if I can do better now I know where these ones are hiding.
Last up for this week’s shot is this shot of a Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) a small group of these was bouncing around me again never staying still long enough to get a clean shot so again a shot with a stick in the way. But this one certainly wasn't shy and came quite close, but not close enough without a stick for cover. maybe next week. We'll see.
So that’s it for this week shots in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan. Another bird found so that’s now 110 out of the 177 birds listed in the gardens, so only 67 to go now. Slowly but surely I'll get there, well get close, some of the birds listed are pretty rear so may not ever get there but half the fun is trying each week. This week found another one so always hope.
Well that’s it for this week blog post, thanks for dropping by my weekly blog, I'll be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au/What-s-On/Bird-Photography-Workshop
More news to come on other activities in the gardens when I have more details but a few exciting things coming up for me with the gardens in teh coming months.
So this weeks shots started again around the plant bank with the Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoeucos) This ones there most of the time but a little timid so if you move to try and get a better angle it usually takes off. So not the best view this week of this one.
Next a Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis) This one was a bit high up in the tree for a good shot, the trick with this type of shot is to get the exposure correct, with the light background you need to compensate for the light background, but if you lower the camera and expose for the tree trunk then recompose on the bird you have a better chance of getting the exposure correct. As in this shot.
The Long-Billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris)is still in its hollow peering out. Again with the light back ground (Sky) you need to expose for the tree trunk and recompose or use live view and zoom in on the bird and set your exposure there.
Next up a Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) these are quite common around the connections garden. Also very common in my own backyard.
Also about was quite a few Spotted Pardalotes (Pardalotus punctuates) These can be heard calling out around the top of the connections garden and often pose for a while while calling out. This one was calling out for a while, but didn ;t move to ta location where eI could get a clean shot today. This was the best I could do with the part of the branch coving the body of the bird.
In the same area was this little Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) This one as usual was perched in its tree studying the ground when it punched on this lizard, it then proceeded to strike the lizard against the log it was on, much like you see a Kookaburra do when it finds something.
From the Connections gardens I headed off down to the main lakes to see what has going on there after last weeks shots of the swallows feeding. First up I found this Royal spoonbill (Platalea regia) in amongst the lily pads you can see the reflection of the lily pads on the birds body.
I walked around the lake this week and found on the far side the swallows in feeding mode again but this time much closer so the next series of shots shows the parent bird fly in and feed the chicks on the branch the fly off.
For these shots the camera was set up onto tripod exposure and focus preset and just wait for the right moment and hit the shutter button with continuous high speed set. So again a few good shots here happy with these.
So that's it for this week shots from the Australian Botanical Gardens. I'll be back with more next week.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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Walking around the dam, I caught a glimpse of a blue flash. Looking around I spotted a small kingfisher as I got closer it took off again and landed on the far side of the dam where there is no access so this was shot four the opposite side of the lake. Not 100% sure but I believe this ones a Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii) This one, since was so far away was pretty heavily cropped in, so the image quality isn't the best. But does show of the wide variety of bird life in the gardens.
Another bird I came across was this Mistletoebird (Dictum hirundinaceum) This one didn't want to co-operate so I didn't get a clean shot of this one before it flew off.
This next series of shots is of a Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) exploring a hollow, again you can see why a Galah is gray in these shots, they really match the tree in these shots.
Now the weather has started to warm up so have the reptiles in the gardens, so watch here your walk if walking about now the weathers warmed up, this ones a Red Belly black snake, one you'd know about if it took a fancy to you. But if you stay still they generally move off out of the way.
Walking along the path after the snake has moved on I came across this Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys) this ones face looks like he is none to happy.
A Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) was being moved on by the Bell Miner. You can see the miner coming in from the right to move the Kookaburra on, he made several passes often making contact and the kookaburra just sat there unconcerned. It eventually moved on, but seemed more in line with the time of the Kookaburras choosing.
Next up was this Eastern Yellow Robin, (Eopsaltria australis) Theres quite a few of these ones about now all over the gardens.
Walking my way out of the Stolen generation walk to the road into the gardens there a gum tree with a few hollows in. It's currently occupied by a Long-billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) and a Sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)
The fledgling Pied Currawongs (Strrpera graculina) are getting ready to leave their nest now, nearly to large to fit in now.
Next up is a series of shots of a pair of Red-browed Finches (Neochmia temporals) siting in a tree after a bath and going thought some feather maintenance.
Another Eastern yellow Robin, this one in the connections garden and certainly giving it his all as he sings out.
A Male Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis) Was feeding on the wattle seeds as I started to made my way out of the connections gardens.
Next up a Noisy Miner (Manorina melancephala) was sitting there keeping a eye out.
Next one I came across was this Satin Bowerbird (Pitlonorhynchus viloaceus) again keeping an eye out, seemed to be a lot of that this week. The first of these is as per normal, the next two are after having play again in Topaz Impressions to give it more of a painting style in the back ground.
So thats it for this weeks shots a good variety of bird life this week in the gardens.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, I'll be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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This first shot is of a Variegated Fairy-wren (Malurus lamberti) Lighting conditions was a bit dark so the I have upped the ISO and as the wren was a fair bit back from the path this one’s been heavily cropped so the image is starting to break up a bit particular around the tip of the wrens tail. If it was a bit closer could have made a nice shot. So having a high ISO certainly limits the amount of cropping you can do.
Same issue on this one a White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) again well set back from the path so heavily cropped in again to frame the shot but the image is again breaking up. The image at full size isn't so bad but the detail of the bird is lost so its a bit of which is better the cleaner image which shows no detail or the cropped image which has the framing. Either way both these images aren't the best. One for the learning box. To know for next time.
Here's the same shot still cropped but not as heavily. This shot is only at ISO 1250 so not excessively high ISO but shows you how cropping will deteriorate the image.
Next up I walked a long the path towards the plant bank on the opposite side of the road to the stolen generation memorial and just before the clearing leading to the plant back I found a small group of White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos) these were foraging around the leaf litter on the ground.
From there I drove up to the connections gardens and checking on the Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina) nest the Chicks are still in the nest so maybe another week or so to go, not as windy as last week but still a good breeze blowing so the nest was still moving about a fair bit so not so easy to get a clear shot, but managed these two.
After last weeks shots of the Swallows being feed at the lake I took a walk down to the lakes to see what was going on there, on the way I came across these Kangaroo paws with the sun on them. Not happy with this one the backgrounds fine but not enough depth of field to the flowers.
Again the swallows were in the branches in the middle of the lake. Again quite a bit away so when cropped in to show the sense of action the image start to break down again.
This week I took a drive around to the Banksia Garden as well to see what was about there, A few Grevilleas in flower of different types from bright yellow to pinks and reds.
This Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) was also about cleaning up the ice someone left behind after their BBQ.
This little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera) wasn't at all shy so good got quite close of once this weekend for these shots you can see the difference in clarity in these two compared to the earlier ones.
One last Grevillea for the week.
So thats it for this weeks shots, lesson learnt is get as low as an ISO as possible if you will be forced to crop into an image.
Thats it for this weeks blog post, I'll be back next week wth more.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn
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This week I headed out Saturday afternoon, again no mushrooms found this week. The weathers been warming up and pretty dry out this way the last few weeks, but the good news is rain is predicted for the next few days so hopefully something interesting next weekend. We'll see I guess.
This week I started off around the plant bank and walked along the cannel walk Found this Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans) in the wattle trees along the walk.
From there I headed back toward the stolen Generation memorial and came across this Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys) around eye level which they are normally a lot higher up. I couldn't get a clean shot so plenty of sticks in the way of this one, plus not in the best of light so high contrast here as well.
While taking these shots of the Bell Miner I heard some movement in the leaves and saw this lace monitor (Varanus varius) making its way along the ground, these are usually spotted by the birds making noises around it and trying to chase them off, as they rob the nests of eggs, easily climbing trees to do so.
This next shot is of a Juvenile male Variegated fairy-wren (Malurus lamberti) This one not fully coloured up yet, but starting to shoo of the colours he will soon be sporting. This shots pretty heavily cropped as even with a 600mm lens on a crop body pretty far away.
Also came across this Olive-Backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus) again not the best of shots but a good collection of birds about to pick from this weekend.
Walking back towards the road I came across another Bell Miner, again not positioned in the best.
Also high up in the trees this pair of Red-rumped parrots. (Psephotus haematonotus) With the Male feeding the female in this shot.
Next up at the small dam beside the road this White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) This one was taken with the sun behind the bird as I tried for a better angle it took off into the trees, so sometimes you have to take the first shot as you may not get another.
In this case I did get another from its perch in the tree, certainly an interesting pose it gave for this shot.
The dam was a popular spot as several other birds came down to drink this ones a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galleria).
Not to miss out an Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) also came down, this one has the better reflection.
Another example of a hollow in use as this Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) was investigating this one.
These next two are of the Pied Currawong form last week, the chicks in the nest are getting larger this week.
This next shot shows just how cleaver these ones are. The bird had the remains of another smaller bird and would hook the remains in the fork of the bush here and would pull to break the pieces down small enough to feed the chicks then fly back down to pull some more, It kept this up for a while slowly shredding the piece to chick sized mouth fulls.
From there I headed down to the lakes to see what has going on down there as I walked across the grass another Sulphur-crested Cockatoo was on duty patrolling the lawn.
On the lakes were a few Cormorants this first one a little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo Melanoleucos) coming in to land.
Next up a Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) motoring along on the lake.
Last up fro this week this series of shots of the Welcome Swallows (Hirundo neoxena) Feeding its young while still one the wing. There were four young not eh branch and all got turns at a feed. The parent would skim the lake collecting insects along the way then come back to feed the young then back over the lake again. So I managed a few shots of this activity this week. These would be the best of the weeks shots.
So all up a good collections of birds this week in the Australian Botanical Gardens, some shots Ok this week others not so great so a mixed bag for the week, but happy with these last few. No mushrooms this week, maybe some next weekend if the rain shows up that was promised, so far still dry there so not holding my breath.
Thanks for dropping my my blog this week.
Glenn
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A Bit of a mixture this week in shots. starting off with a Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leugophrys) in the grass opposite the plant bank. This one was collecting nesting materials and seamed to be heading to the sheoaks beside the small dam there, So I'll have to keep an eye out there for the future.
Then walking along to walkway beside the cannel I eventually came to the clearing where this Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) was sitting along with a small flock of them, this one is the only one that stayed its ground, the rest took of and this one didn't stay to long.
Heading back to the car I spotted the Long Billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) playing Peek-a-boo in its hollow.
From there I drove up to the connections gardens where I spotted this Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina) on its nest its mate came by and passed over some food to feed to junior, which you can just make out the orange been in this shot, the afternoon got a bit windy here so the nest was moving in and out of shot and in the dark environment of the understory not the best conditions for this shot.
With not so many shots under my belt for the week and wind picking up I tried a detail shot of this tree fern frong. Hand held, using my normal mushroom set up, Canon 60D with 100 mm f2,8 L Macro lens. (No flash used this time)
This Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera Carunculata) was doing a spot of feather maintenance. No doubt the off feather was out of place from the wind on the day.
The Western Austrlian Paper daisies are starting to come to an end now, so think Last week end was the pick of the days for these, this year, the wet weather easlier on in the year when the garden bed was all but washed away took its toll this year on the display.
The last few weeks I've taken a few shots of the white Waratah this week it was the more common reds turn to flower so this is shot of the red Waratah. This shot was taken with the Sigma 150 to 600mm sports lens a bit of over kill but thats the set up the tripod was set to so easies to get the shot with. In this case I did use the flash so was able to underexpose to get the black background and only light where I wanted with the speedlite.
This last shot for the week at the start of the car pard was the stem of a grass tree, so you can see that the spike is really a host of tiny flowers, no wonder last weeks lorikeet was interested in one of these.
Well thats it for this weeks shots from the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, some exciting news coming up here in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Glenn
]]>I started out around the Stolen Generation Memorial, where I usually find a few birds about and some time mushrooms, this week no mushrooms and not to much bird life around. So I moved on to the small dam opposite the plant bank where this White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) was on the hunt. So this three shots are of the bird scouting out.
Preparing to strike.
Then the strike, you can see the protective eyelid come over the eye to protect the eye and all the feathers on the back of its neck stand up from the force of the strike.
Just behind this dam is a walk along the side of the cannel in the wattles there are often the Thornbills both yellow and Brown, this shots of a Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana).
With not much bird life about and no mushrooms so far I decided to try my lens at flower photography, The mistake here was not to note down their names, Shall pick them up next week so will update this blog when I get the names. These are all taken in the connections gardens, for those that know these gardens.
These next two are of a small native Pea with the second shot showing the pea pods.
The White Waratah's were in full flower this week so this was the week to see these. With the first shot showing the flowers on the whole plant this one about 1.3 meters high, with the flowers measuring around 150mm in Diameter. This shot was taken on the curve in the path, not standing in the garden as it may appear.
Then a close up on an individual flower light with one speedlite, the shot under exposed to loss the back ground then light with the speedlite to fill in the flower the speedlite was to the left slightly in front. hand held as was the camera in this case so a bit of a juggling act here, mainly because I have the Gimble head on the tripod and didn't change it out for a ball head. Still need to come up with a workable system of changing out the heads on the tripod.
I did eventually fine a mushroom to shoot this weekend. This one in the connections garden, The front edge of this one has been eaten away but a snail or slug as there is still a bit of the silver trail on the right edge of the cut out but looks like a little home for someone. This one lite with two speedlites one in a soft box to the left and a gelled speed light to the right.
The last three are back to some of the birds found this week, starting with am Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) This one was eating insects which is a bit different to the normal sector they take.
An Australiasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) maintaining its nest, theres already a few chicks motoring around the lake now.
Last shot for this week a dusky Moorhen (Gallinule tenebrous) watching me watching it.
So thats it for this weeks shots I did mange to get a mushroom shot for the week plus a few bird shots so all up not to bad for the week. Nothing to exciting but still time out and about with the cameras so all good.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, I'll be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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Thought I’d reflect on my journey through mushrooms so far, this week.
It’s been a few years now since I took my first decent mushroom shot, June 2012, my first attempt at off camera lighting. Since then my photography moved up a whole new level and has not looked back. My first attempt was using the Infrared trigger inbuilt in to the flash and camera so needed line of site Camera to flash and only one flash used. I only owned one at time and was working out how to use it and what to use it for.
I was happy with this one and did a little post processing work in lightroom, pretty basic colour correction a little bit of a post crop vignetting that was it, and with that I had started my trip down the road of mushroom photography. More by happy accident than planning.
One of my next shots was again my experimenting and seeing what I could do, not really knowing what I was doing, for this shot, I set the camera up on a tripod, set it on remote timer and had it set for a long exposure and hand held the flash over the top of this group of mushrooms and manually triggered the flash many times over the top, blasting the light through the tops of the mushrooms, I tried quite a few of these and eventually got a few I liked. Once again just playing around and seeing what effects I can get with light. This one I did a bit more work in light room as by now I was getting a little more experienced with light room and just what it can do.
About now I found Google plus and found a weekly theme called +ShroomshotSaturday curated by Patti Colston (https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PattiColston/posts) where each Saturday you post a Mushroom shot on Google plus, This was the real start of the mushroom photography for me, From then on I have pretty much managed to post a separate mushroom shot every Saturday for the last few years, Where ever possible I head out every Saturday and go looking to shoot a mushroom, each week trying to improve from the week before, not always easy depending on what I find. Occasionally I come back empty handed but then go through my back catalogue to see what’s worth posting that hasn’t been posted as yet, In this way I manage a shot every weekend well pretty close to it. It gives a reason to go out and take photos not that I really need one, but with a goal set of one shot every Saturday Ideally taken on the Saturday then you have a driver to push you.
When Google Plus created the collection function I started to put my mushroom shots into a collection, Collecting all my mushroom shots in one place in google plus. Somehow and I’m not sure how that happened Google plus managed to find this collection and it now appears as one of there recommended collections to follow and since then my mushroom collection of shots on Google plus has taken off, I currently have over 55000 following my mushroom collection, (https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/8enZW) compared to only just under 7000 following my bird collection (https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/A7TRT). Who would have thought there were that many people interested in mushroom shots, certainly surprises me each week as the number of followers grows there. I think the google recommendation certainly helps that a long mind you.
My next step was getting a second speedlite and going to wireless triggers, also adding in a small spray bottle to my kit so I can add in a fie water spray if needed to add some effect or just to damped a mushroom and the moss to enhance the colours. I also started to use a small piece of alumni cooking foil to add as a fill reflector as well. So by now going from a simple one light set up to a quite completed at times set up. But the results are getting better I feel.
My final step late last year was when I meet Spikey Mikey, a Mushroom that stayed around for over a year (Yes this one has a name) This one was one of the more unusual mushrooms I’ve found to date like a donut on a stick but covered in small spikes the mushroom is only around 8mm in Diameter and very contently growing on a small stick which I can pick up and walk around with, this makes a great subject as I can take Spikey Mikey for a walk to areas that are very mossy or in one case supported the stick in a tree and shot him at a comfortable height. With all the detail that Spikey Mikey possessed to do it justice I need to go to yet another level so I taught myself Focus stacking and bingo Spikey Mikey in fully detail.
My final set on my journey so far has been to take my shots and take them to a different level, adding a fine art touch to them, This one I picked up by going on a photography workshop. I found a workshop by Steve Parish on his nature connects website https://www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au/upcoming-events/categories/ Where I found the Western MacDonnell ranges tour https://www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au/macdonnell-ranges-tour-2016/
The trip was great only a small group of six of us with included Steve and Ruth I got to visit central Australia again after about 28 years, and had a great time. One of the things I learnt from Steve was taking an image and taking it to a different level again, I’ve been playing around with that the last few weeks since I got back and getting some good results so far, early days yet and certainly on a learning curve again but I can see this has promise and can’t image where it will take me.
So that’s my trip through mushrooms so far, in four years I’ve come a long way from someone that took basic snap shots, to some one that can now technically craft an image using multiply lights and software to enhance an image, the journey has only just begun so who knows where it will take me in the next few years. I’ve now got a presents in Google Plus, 500PX, Ello, TSU, Instagram and Flicker. TSU also has communities and there is a group there again for mushrooms ran by Harry Yale and some great photographers in that group as well.
The trick is to never stop learning and be open to ideas and let things go while getting out and enjoying all that nature has to offer.
Thanks for joining me this week on my journey through mushrooms over the last four years, for all those that’s following my mushroom collections on google plus a big thank you to all still hard to believe there are over 50 000 following my mushroom collection.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, Back next week for more.
Glenn.
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Saturday morning the local Camera Shop, Macarthur Camera House, Macarthur Square, had a Canon Rep in store showing of the new Canon 5dMk4. So I had a bit of a play around with it, the shots below are just testing out a few things, so the shots aren't the best and far for what I would normally show here. The 5D is a camera I am interested in looking to replace the 60D I use for landscapes and mushroom shots, one of the big draw backs on the 5D for me was the lack of an articulated screen, which I wanted for the mushroom shots with the camera siting on the ground in all kinds of difficult situations often amongst tree roots and the likes making it hard to get down and view through the view finder not to mention often wet and muddy as well, so the lack of the Swivel screen was one issue I had with the new 5d, considering I shoot more mushroom shots with the 60D than anything else definitely as issue for me. There is always the 80D two generations up on the 60D and also if I wait till next year the 6dmk2 is rumored to have the articulated screen, so I could hold out getting the articulated screen and a full frame camera at the same time, at half the price. My other issue is timing, I'm heading off to Tasmania again next year again on a Steve Parish photography tour and would really like to have a full frame camera suitable for low light for all the lush forest shots under the canopy’s there. One option is to rent a camera for that trip then buy the 6D when it comes out. Or buy the 5dmk4 and get the best for a full frame less the articulated screen and that’s where these test shots come in. The new 5dMk2 will connect via Wi-Fi to a smart phone for remote shooting, so instead of a flip out screen I can hand hold the phone or iPad and shoot from that. So I tested this out with the two shots below of my watch. You can tap on the phone where you want the focus to be and the shot is actually focused on that point the phone doesn’t actually refresh that focus live which is a little disconcerting at first but the actual image seemed to come out pretty good as in focus wise. As I said these shots were just set up on the counter and I didn’t really take my time, but as far as proof of concept goes the system did work and I did get a few images to play with focus stacking with.
Certainly shows up all the details of the wear and tear on my watch and every little scratch there. With 30 Mega pixels plenty of detail to zoom in on as well. The app only has some pretty basic functions controlling aperture shutter speed ISO a few other minor things but would certainly help if it allowed you to control the off camera speedlites from the Camera menu, I mentioned this to the Canon rep who said she would pass it on, she also said they are working on developing the app so maybe some time it will be updated to include controlling the off camera speedlites. Would be great if it could, Then it would be a no brainer and definitely on the wish list, Though I’m pretty sure it already is.
The shops in the middle of a shopping centre so not a great place to go and practice with but I took a few shots at 32000 ISO and pretty impressive, really quite usable there, you wouldn't want to zoom in and go into the details but at 32000 on a screen really looked OK. Again not the best picture but at 32000 ISO certainly workable.
The l at last shot here is 5000 ISO a more normal range if not on the high end, but again clean shot and zooming in in lightroom I can see every scratch and mark on the frames here so very happy with the results. A big thank you to the team at Macarthur Camera House, Macarthur square for putting on this event with Canon to test out the camera wiht hands on and the Canon Rep to answer my questions and help set up the Wi-Fi. Canon are bringing out a Wi-FI card for the 7D Mk2 in November so I'll probably get that test it out a bit further see how the phones battery life goes with it, I suspect it will certainly eat that up. then make a call on which way to go, I've got till early February, but would like to have time wiht the camera before I head to Tasmania with it.
After play time it was back to the gardens and some shots fro the day. First up a Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys) Bell bird. Not a great shot and a little to far away, the other issue with this one is the light from bright to dark shade so not the best location for this shot. But I'll keep trying each week and see what I can come up with.
Next up I could hear this one but took a while for me to locate it, A Grey Shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica) they really have a pretty call and can be heard from a way off when in full voice. Again this one was a fair way off so more patents needed till I get a decent on of these.
As usual the Male Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) was playing hide and seek with me more handing than not so a shot through the sticks here not a clean shot this week.
Another one playing hide and seek was this Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans) so this one was in the shadows and high ISO to get the shot so a little grainy here in this shot. Followed by again hiding behind the sticks.
Next up a little Brown thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) there was a small group of these hunting the insects, around the walkway along the cannel opposite the plant bank.
Along with the Brown thornbills was a couple of Yellow thornbills (Acanthiza nana) were hopping about as well, this time they got a bit closer and allowed me to get a few decent shots the first one would have been better if its beak didn't line up wiht eh branch in the back gourd but they never stay still long enough to recompose the shot, still some nice details here in this one, followed buy two more shots as it bounced around.
From there I moved on tot eh connections garden and at the moment the paper daisies are still doing there stuff as is this rock Orchard, some great colour in the connections gardens at present.
The White Waratahs are not flowering and will be fro about another week or so, one plant seams to be more advanced than the others so you may still have some time if your in the area, this shot was taken wiht one off camera speedlite to give the light and shade effect. Plus under expose the back ground giving the black back ground effect. Hopefully they will be still out next weekend so I can have another go at these.
Last up for the week as I was walking back to the car for the day to head home there was this pair of Rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus) feeding on a spike of the grass trees in the sculpture on the main lawns.
A noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) watched on while the lorikeets were feeding patiently waiting its turn.
So thats it fro this weeks shots a bit of a mixed bag started off with a few not so good shots and finishing up with better shots as the day went on. plus still have to make up my side about the new body. Pretty sure its already made but still a few months to decide.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week. Be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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The shots this week weren't the best probably because I was rushing a bit this week, the gardens I was after the weekly mushroom shot so any bird shots were an added bonus. The first shot was just as I got out of the car nice shot of a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) Nice details of its feet but the heads a bit soft, so guessing the aperture was to wide so not enough depth of field. Don’t think this case was motion blur more depth of field issue. Another one to watch next time.
The same location on the other side of the road was this Long-billed Corella (Cacatua Tenuirostis) in its hollow, the other week I got a shot of two of them in the same hollow this week only the one. The Shots OK but missing something I think. One of the categories for this year’s competition is animals in hollows or nest boxes, I don't think this ones quite there for that though.
A quick walk along the path looking for mushrooms I came across this male Supurb Fairy-wren (Malurus Cyaneus) this one was high in the tree and moving about as they do so not a great shot on this one. The a good back ground to shoot against in this case so the back grounds well blown out for this shot.
The little Brown Thornbills (Acanthiza pusilla) were were also out and about, this one just wouldn't sit on the right side of the stick for my this week. So not a clean shot this time round.
This next series of shots was different, the focus is a little off so not the best quality but this Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) seemed to be dusting out its hollow with this small branch of gum leaves it moved around the hollow and kept moving the leaves up and down, I don't know if it was removing the spider webs from the hollow or trying to coax someone out of there but he kept it up for a good few minutes there.
I did manage to find a few mushrooms for the week this next series was all in the same little grouping. Taken with the Canon 60D and two off camera speedlites as well as a small piece of aluminium cooking foil which I use as a small reflector to add in some additional fill light.
This last shot is the same shot as above only after processing it with topaz Impressions 2.
These next shots are all taken in the Dharawal National park, with a small group of 6 or so photographers and a national parks ranger arranged by Campbelltown Council as part of there Macarthur Nature photography competition. The walk started a 3:30 and was to finish by 5:00pm it actually finished around 6:00 so a bonus hour. We spend about an hour around Minerva pool, Taking shots of the waterfall as it entered the pool.
The first shot was at the entrance to the park at the carpark where this golden whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) was caught mid whistle. This shot was hand held at 600mm. The bird was pretty high up so not the best of shots, but the golden colour certainly shows up in this shot.
These next two shots are some of the native wild flowers that were out along the way.
White Throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaeus) these work their way along the branches looking for caterpillars and the likes under the bark The light was pretty low and again quite a way off and up high so again not the best shot of this one today.
This shot just shows you the shapes trees can grow into no doubt something fell on it earlier in its lift and gave it that shape.
This next shot is of the bark of a scribbly gum (eucalyptus haemastoma) fro once its all natural not some one carving their name in the tree the lines are caused by a small larvae that burrows its way along under the bark leaving the lines where its been.
Now for a few shots at Minerva pool.
This tree has a natural window in it with its own tiny garden growing in it.
This last shot for the week is of a wild flower that was all over the bush this week bright yellow called Eggs and Bacon (Eutaxia obovate). they certainly coloured up the bushland.
Well thats it for this weeks shots, thats for dropping by my blog this week, back next week with more.
Glenn.
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https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au/
https://symbiozoo.com.au/
Saturday I went for the usual walk in the gardens. Nice enough day out this weekend so was looking promising.
First up around the stolen generation memorial was the usual group of Superb Fairy wrens, plus a couple of Variegated Fairy-wrens (Malurus lamberti) This one is banded to has been captured at some stage by the banding group in the gardens which capture and ring birds for their studies of the bird life in the gardens. These ones are really quite colourful.
Next up is the ever present Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) These ones are around all year round and always pose for their photo, this ones also banded.
Next up one of the many Galah's (Eolophus roseicapilla) that make their home in the gardens, This shot shows of the grey of the bird against the grey trees, so easy to see why they have the grey colour when seen in this shot.
The gardens also had a population of Rabbits that seam to have made there home here, most times they take off when they see anyone this one stayed long enough for this shot.
Next up one of the many Magpie-larks (Pee wee) (Grallina cyanoleuca) This one was patroling the grassed area of the walk beside the water cannal opposite the plant bank. I set up and took a series of shots this one wasn't at all afraid and ended up only a few meters from me as it kept walking towards me. Most times its best to set up and wait for them to come to you.
Not so brave is the Eastern Rosellas (Platycercus eximius) these guys never stick around and are always taken from a distance, any time you even look like getting close they take off, this small group only stayed for about two minutes before they took off so this was the best I got of these ones this week.
As I got to the car I found this Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) exploring a tree hollow.
From there I drove up to the connections gardens to see what was about where I got this shot of a female Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) under the Bunya pines. This one has been collecting spider Webs for its nest so caught in the act here. This ones probably the best shot for the Day.
From there I walked down to the lake to practice some birds in flight shots, there was plenty of swallows darting around the lake so they make good practice, this week they were to good for me, but the practice paid off as I got a few good shots of the Cormorants in flight.
First shot is of the Little pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melaoleucos) just coming to the surface shaking off the water.
Then a series of shots of the Cormorant as it circled the lake low. All these next ones shot on the tripod with the gimbal head.
On the way back to the car I stopped by the paper daisies Still not happy with what I'm getting there this one was a close up so not so bad. Might play with this one with Topaz in the coming weeks to see what I can do with that.
Sunday, We headed out to the Symbio Wildlife park, been about 40 years since I was last there so lets say its a little different to what it was back then. So unlike the gardens where all the Birds are wild birds in the wild even if banded, all these shots are of captive animals. For this trip I only took the one Camera the 7dMk2 and one lens the 70 to 200 f2,8 MK2 L lens, so all the next series of shots are taken with this combination.
First to are Koalas, we go t there in time for feeding time, so these were a little active compared to the normal sleep in the tree fork.
The next two are of the Sumatran Tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae), there’s a pair of these there, these shots are taken through the wire fence So some of the shots didn't turn out, The trick is to get as close to the wire as you can, use a wide pen aperture and then try and get the subject to be at a reasonable distance for the fence as the shots are, otherwise the fence shows in the shot, Even so I can make out the fence blur in the first shot if you look closely in the upper left over the grass you can see the diamond pattern of the fence.
This next shot is through glass and is of a Cotton-top Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), These ones are tiny but the next ones are even smaller.
This little ones are the world’s smallest monkeys and are pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea). To get an idea of the scale the black rope are shoe laces, so if you compare the width of the shoe lace against its eyes you start to get an idea just how small these ones are. Both these shots are also taken thought glass.
In case you hadn’t had enough of cuteness yet this next series is of the Red Pandas (Ailurus fulgens) these guy pretty much like Koalas most of the time they appear asleep, Happened to be around feeding time for these shots so a little bit of activity here for these ones.
Next up the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) out catching some some, not that it was that cold when this was taken but still happy to pose for this shot.
The park also had a pair of Freshwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus johnsoni or Crocodylus johnstoni)
As well as a pair of Dingos (Canis lupus dingo).
The last shot for the week is of a meerkat (Suricata suricatta) on watch duty, keeping an eye out this one was constantly scaring the skies looking for something threatening.
So all up a few decent shots of different animals than I normal do. Again these last shots were all of captive animals all my shots amongst the gardens are all naturally wild animals so it’s a patience's game for them, these ones it’s more a walk up wait for the right moment and shoot.
Next week I'm doing a Ranger guided walk in the Dharawal national park so we'll see what shots I get from that one next week, having done a few of these the walks good but usually with a group of people I don't get so many shots so we'll see what next week brings.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, back next week with more.
Glenn
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I started on the walk from the stolen generation to the plant bank, first up was the Bell Miners (Manorina melanophrys) theses a small colony of these around the stolen generation memorial. First shot is the better of the two but still a bit too much greenery in the way. Still a nice enough shot for two weeks of no shots.
This second shot not so good, the light wasn't great really harsh and slightly missed the focus on the eye on this one so not the best.
I kept walking after reaching the plant back and walked along the path beside the cannel where I found a pair of Yellow Thornbills (Acanthiza nana). The first shot here is the pick of the week for me, Happy with this one all-round Focus is good on the Bird and eye, the composition is well framed with the branch and overhead leaves and flowers framing the bird and the little bit of air moss on the branch to keep you searching the photo for more, so happy with this one, also like the colour tones to the shot where it’s all a yellow flavor to it all.
In this shot I'm certainly being stared down.
This ones of a little Striated Pardalote, He was way up in an old dead gum tree so only the tiniest shot of this one.
As I was taking the Pardalote shots I noticed down along the cannel what I first took to be a hark hovering just above the ground then I realised it was a Noisy Miner (Manuring melanocephala) As I watched it turned out there was a small flock of these all taking turns to hover over an ants nest then they dove down and grabbed an ant and landed near by to eat. These are normally closed as honey eaters, but not today. This series of shots shows them in hover mode and the last few a dive and take.
As I walked back to the car along the trail I came across this Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) unfortunately the tail was behind the small tree and it soon took of so didn't stay around for a second shot.
From there I drove up to the connections gardens to see what was on offer there, being the start of Spring here the wild flower display of the paper Daisies was out in Bloom more on that later. But first I headed up looking to see what I could find in the way of mushrooms, When I saw this Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) These ones are pretty quick but I managed two decent shots of these this week.
I also managed to find a small group of mushrooms so got a few different shots of these.
Lastly to end of this weeks shots the Paper Daisies (Rhodanthe chlorocephala) in flower opposite the visitors centre, This year earlier on in the year a large storm came through the gardens and several sections of the gardens were either Raging rivers or lakes, these garden beds were the rivers so large sections were washed away and had to be rebuild up and replanted. The Daisies are now in flower and make a great display but not as thick as previous years so guess the storm took its toll, think they have another week or so before they will be at their best. These are native to southwester Western Australia. So a few shots of these to end this week.
So after two weeks of no shooting, back into it this week with a few good shoots. We'll see what this week brings, feeling much better now thought the cough still hasn't left me yet, but doing much better. So all good.
Thanks for dropping by this weeks blog, be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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Lightroom is far more that a software for just editing your photos, one of its biggest strengths is the ability to catalogue and search for images using various methods.
Lightroom is only as powerful as the data it stores. So depending how much data is captured or added as you add images the more power you give lightroom to later being able to find an image.
Lightroom has many ways to sort and find images, from collections, to smart collections to metadata (The data captured by the camera including type of camera, date, camera settings, down to lenses used and focal lengths. Star Ratings colours flags and key words. You can search on one or as many of these as you like to narrow down your search.
Some of this I'm well organised with others still trying to work out whats best and will give me the best results, so very much a work in progress and what works for one person won't work for all, so what I'll cover here is what my current process is and what I can use the various search results for.
Starting with collections in th library module. The smart collections have the little yellow cog in the lower right corner of the icon, where as the ones below are standard collections and the images need to be physically added to them.
Light room has two types of collections. Smart collections and plain collections, Starting with the simple collections, a collection is a named virtual folder (not really a folder) but everyone understands folders, that you can set as a target collection or just simply drag and drop images into. Note collections even though they appear as folders in the left navigator panel they really aren't and are a series of virtual tags that an image can be attached to. The actual image is in a folder on your hard drive somewhere where you imported it into, but can be in several collections folders with only one copy on the hard disk. Saving hard disk space and duplications of images, For instance you may have an image of a sunset over the sea and have a folder for sunsets and a folder for Sea side shots, the image can be in both collections.
Smart collections are a step up where you can set certain criteria and as images are added to your lightroom catalogue they will depending on the criteria automatically be added to the collection. For instance you could set up a Criteria for a smart collection for all images taken between certain dates, within some may Kilometres of a known point and with certain keywords, would all automatically be added into a folder, you can take it further and say only with 3 or more start ratings. I have a similar collection set up each year when I'm looking for my photos to submit to the local competitions, all photos between the certain date, within the area the competition allows the shots to be taken and with 3 or more star rated shots go into the smart collection, I then only have to review a select number of images to make my final selection. Of cause this only works if you star rate your images as they are added into the catalogue. So the search is only as good as the data you add.
This screen capture starts to show you how you can add various search criteria to a smart collection to really drill down to only a select set of images, this will search your entire lightroom catalogue and keep it updated as you keep adding images into the catalogue
As I have over 100000 images now, and earlier on I didn't keyword, the earlier shots are not so easy to find. I also have a smart collection which includes all the images without keywords, and another one for all the images with no GPS data, as the data is added these automatically get removed for the collections. Hence the smart part of the collections. Very powerful and simple way of finding certain images. When I have spare time I go into the Smart collections and start to add in the keywords, rate the unrated images or add in the geotag information.
Each shot you take also captures a stack of metadata which again is fully searchable. From Aperture, Shutter speed, focal lengths shot which includes working out the actual focal length used with a zoom lens. Camera body, Lenses used is also captured and searchable. Great for when your thinking of getting a new lens or camera body you can start to check which focal lengths you prefer, what settings are the ones you use the most etc, then drill down to the shots if you want to see with you took with that combination. Based on tis infomation you can start to see what are your favourite lenses, focal lengths shutter speeds etc, even if you use flash or not, so from this you can start to see were to upgrade a lines if you have the spare cash to spend on new gear.
Two other methods of sorting images is the star rating and coloured flags. Star ratings I'm reasonable at and use one start for a shot that’s in focus, two stars for a shot in focus and is a clean shot that is no branches in the way of a bird, or no distraction elements that spoil the shot. Three star images are ones worth more work on or maybe had more processing done, Four starts are the better shots and getting to the ones I'd show around or upload to social media, though at times the three star shots also make the social media scene. Five starts are my best off shots and I try and limit how many are in this category. The coloured Flags I use to mark images for various reasons usually Red for focus stacked group of images, Yellow for images of note usually for a temporary use then remove the colour later once that’s done, and Blue are for images to be returned to for further processing. Green and purple as yet I don't have a use for so are kept up my sleeve for something at a later date.
Lastly is Keywords, this one you can go as wild as you like with Keywords. But the good thing is if you export an image the keywords from lightroom will be in the metadata so when you bring it into some social media it already knows the keywords so you don't need to add them again great for 500PX and a few others. So for my keyboarding I have a hierarchical system, with at the top level Event, People, subject, Social media. Then I break each of these down further for example in people I have work people, Family etc, then the individuals under that. Speaking of people Lightroom now has facial recognition which helps to add the people keywords in, as you start to keyword people Lightroom starts to learn and will suggest names against images of faces. You'll find this feature in the library module at the bottom there’s a small icon of a face. But be warned it will find a few odd shots and think it can see a face in it and you'll be surprised who it things some people are. under Subject again I break it down Animals, plants etc with Animals further broken down into Birds which in turn is broken down into the individual species. Each image can have as many keywords as you like, but the trick is to be consistent in your naming. You can copy and paste strings of keywords against images and also and also use the spray can icon in grid mode to mass copy strings of keywords to multiply images.
This is really only scratching the surface of the power of lightroom and there are plenty of great resources online on how to go about organising your work within lightroom and many more things some links are here below, these are all great resources.
http://blogs.adobe.com/jkost/lightroom-training-videos
http://www.lightroomqueen.com
http://lightroomkillertips.com/library-2/
Well that’s it for this week’s blog, hopefully this weekend I’ll be well enough to head out with the cameras and see what I can find two weeks of no shooting is just not right. We'll see how I go. Still suffering a bit of a cough but nothing like I was, so hopefully next week I'll be back to sharing images here.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, something different.
Glenn
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Thanks for dropping by my blog this week sorry nothing much to see here this week.
Glenn
]]>As I've done nearly every weekend, I spend a few hours walking through the Australian Botanical Gardens Cameras at the ready to see what Birds and Mushrooms I can find.
This first shot is of a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) This one was a fair way away so the shot is fairly heavily cropped in with the added distraction of the small sick across most of the bird so all up not a great start to the day.
I walked along the path and eventually came the the grass area opposite the plant bank, where I found this little female Superb Wren (Malurus cyaneus). This one was a lot closer only say 10 meters away so a lot cleaner shot. The birds in clear focus and nothing in front of her so much better compared to the first one of the day.
Around the plant bank in the grass area there of late there’s been a few mushrooms growing there so I headed that way to see what was about. Before I got there however I heard the call of a Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) so set about seeing if I could find this one. Managed a few shots over the last few weeks of these nothing to good, so was hoping to improve on the last few attempts.
I set up in the grass area between the road and small dam besides the Sheoaks. It didn't take long for the little robin to come bob bob bobbing along.
I managed a few decent shots of this little guy as he went from branch to tree and around the place. A few nice detailed shots this time.
From there happy with theres I headed of to the connections gardens where not to be left out a little Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) was also in posing mood for me again a nice clean shot, of this little one.
This next one I've been trying to get a clean shot of for some time now, and finally managed to get a complete shot of the Eastern Whipcord (Psophodes olivaceus) This are usually well hidden in the bushes or far to quick, this tie I managed a complete shot and pretty much no motion blur which is what I usually get of these ones. So not the best but happy with this one, The best I have of one of these so far today.
The last shot for this week was the mushroom shot for the week, three little Mushrooms all growing in the wood chips in the garden beds. Same set up as usually two speedlites, Canon 60d on the ground with the 100mm f2.8mm Macro.
So thats it for this weeks shots, Not sure how this weekend will go, been a little under the weather with a bad cold come flu this week and the gardens are closed Saturday for an even so the whole gardens closed so we'll see if I'm up to heading out Sunday for this weeks shots.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
]]>First up as I pulled up the car to the side of the road for my first stop I noticed this pair of Long-Billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) in their hollow just checking out the passing traffic to see what’s going on.
Again plenty of mushrooms about this weekend, this one was pretty much turned inside out so made an interesting subject. Look smore like a flower than a mushroom.
This pair was also in the same grouping The orange and green always stand out together so makes for a good combination in a shot.
This one’s a Grey Shrike-thrush, these really do have a great call when they are singing. The pair around the stolen generation are often heard calling out. This one was high in the trees so not the best angle, but happy with the focus this week compared to the last few weeks so over those issues it appears.
Up the top of the connections gardens I found a pair of Brown Thornbills (Acanthiza pusilla), these are tiny little birds and don;t stay still to long to get a shot, but managed this one. Again happy with the focus this time.
Competing with the Thornbill was this little Jacky winter (Microeca fascinans) seeing who got the insect first. Both shots nice and sharp again so all up happy with the collection of bird shots this week.
Last up the final collections of Mushroom shots from this week.
These first two were taken up in the Wollemi walk of discovery area and along the track was quite a few of these white mushrooms growing.
These next two were taken in the connections gardens again in the elevated garden.
So that's it for this weeks shots. Little bit better quality than the last few weeks I feel, I was happier with them at least.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, Back again next week.
Glenn.
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First up just as I got through the main gate there was this Black shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) hunting over the first patch of grassland. Managed quite a few shots of this one thought not really happy with these, Still trying to get to the bottom of this issue but think partially to do with having image stabilisation switched on when it should have been off not eh tripod, partially depth of field issues so to wide an aperture little bit more work to get to the bottom of this one, but here are three of the better ones for the week on this one.
While shooting these one the kite would fly off for a bit then come back so in-between stints I walked over the other side of the road and found a pair of Striated Pardalotes (Pardalotus striatus) investigating a hollow up in one of the river gums.
In the same tree was a pair of Galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla) snuggling up against the cold.
Thought I'd try the Topaz effects with this pair to see how that worked out, not to bad on this ones, with the blown out background the topaz added texture to it and gave it a bit of life to the background to break it up a little. The Sky was blown out to correctly expose for the birds who were in shade.
From there I moved on to around the Plant back where again I found some mushrooms growing in the longer grass there.
This next shot is the same as the one above but processed with Topaz, I masked back in the mushroom so it's not so strong effect there but left it on the grass so make it a little less messy compared to the shot above.
This next ones of a little Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) Didn't quite get the angle right for this one, I'd already moved to try and get a cleaner shot but this was the best I managed before it took of. Would have been better if the branch was a little more to the left of the shot, otherwise happy with this one and the mood it creates.
A White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) was hunting in the small dam opposite the plant bank.
Not to be outdone by the Rose Robin the Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) also put in an appearance for the day, and this is not the last I saw of these this week.
From there I headed up to the connections gardens to see what I could see there. and found this crop of mushrooms again in the elevated garden from last week.
Another Eastern Yellow Robin came by to see what I was up to for the day.
A long with a small flock of Red Browed finches (Neochmia temporalis) where were looking for a feed amongst the Sheoak litter.
Late every afternoon in the Gardens the Red Rumped Grass Parrots (Psephotus haematonotus) come down to feed on the freshly mowed grass around the main lakes. These are always colourful.
This one I caught as it was taking its evening drink for the lake.
Last shot for this week again playing with the gimbal head tracking a flock of Intermediate Egrets (Ardea intermedia) as they came in to land on the Island in the middle of the lake.
So that’s it for this week’s shots from the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan. A bit better than last week, though again room for improvement on some of the shots here.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, back next week with more.
Glenn.
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Been waiting a few weeks for this one to come in and it finally came in last week so managed to take it out two days this weekend, the first three shots are the unboxing of my new toy.
The first day out I had a few issues with the camera and Lens not talking not each other, Had a few issue with this the last few weeks but only once or so a day, Saturday was a constant issue having to turn the camera off drop the battery out and restart, not a fun time and missed a few shots, on a whole Saturday wasn't the best days shooting.
The Next few shots not the best were of a wattle bird as it darted across the grass areas near the main lake, but the Gimbal head was smooth and kept the camera steady, the shots are pretty heavily cropped in, but the first signs of a good thing, a lot easier than the ball head and steadier than hand holding.
Sunday was a better day and after taking he lens off the camera trying it on the other body and shaping lenses around trying to see if it was lens issue or Camera issue I put it back on the right body and didn't have problem all day so a better day all round.
First shot for the day was a Mushroom, little messy in the foreground so not the cleanest of shots, but interesting enough, I do like the reddy brown cap and the cream stem.
I wanted to try out the Gimbal head so I headed down to the lake to see what was flying about and quite a bit actually so plenty of birds in flight shots, some better than others and a few pretty heavily cropped in, but no trouble tracking the birds as they flew so that was a good thing, Some of these are from the same flight sequence so you can see the tracking and how it kept up, especially with the white Intermediate Egret (Andea intermedia) as it landed in the Sheoaks on the Island. Some of the Magpie shots aren’t the best as it was flying straight towards me s not the best for the camera to track thought still I seemed to do a reasonable job, Though none of these shots are that great, But a good start to the first time out with the new tripod head, bit more practice and should be fine, but certainly from what I've seen happy with this one.
After that I decided to see what I could find in Mushrooms and while looking for them I found a small group of Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) and managed this one, again not the happy with it but not that often I get a clean shot of the males. The Females are usually a lot less shy.
From there I found a few mushrooms and for once they were in one of the elevated gardens so they were taken with the camera on the ground of the elevated garden bed and I could stand up to take the shots for this series which makes a change for mushroom shots. So I took a few here. Also had a play with a few of them in Topaz again so a few the same shots here some before Topaz others after. Tried one here a little less heavy handed which turned out OK.
While shooting the mushrooms I notices a few Spotted Doves (Streptopelia chinensis) laying around on the woodchips.
So that’s it for this week’s shots, certainly happy with the Gimbal head so far, the Shots aren't the best but that will come but for not managing to track the birds keep them in the shot, so the rest is just practice. which is always fun. So all good. A few decent mushroom shots again this week as well, and still getting the hand with Topaz Impressions as well.
So that wraps up this week’s blog, thanks for dropping by. Be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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This week’s blog is again a walk though of the shots taken last weekend in the Australian Botanical Gardens, again this week not so much in the way of Bird shots but a good collection of mushrooms again this week.
First up as I drove into the Gardens I spotted a black shouldered kite above the grasslands in hover mode, but by the time I parked the car and got the camera out there was no sign of it, but I did manage to get this Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leugophrys) as it hunted along the road.
Again there was a lone Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) causing the lake. Other wise pretty quite bird wise this week in the gardens.
To make up for the lack of bird life again there was no shortage of mushrooms to be found at the moment these seems to be quite a few of these orange ones popping up, As usual these images of the mushrooms are taken with the Canon 60D where the articulated screen really helps with the low shots, two speedlites for the lighting and some with the added small reflector to add some additional fill light, and then processed in lightroom and focus stacked in photoshop from several images to get the depth of field.
With no luck chasing down birds this week I tried some flower shots this first one comes with a bonus Bee. Mind you not so much flower more a Bee shot actually.
This one I thought I'd play with Topaz with and see how it came out, using topaz Impressions2 this one came out pretty much like a painting, easy to see where they got the name from Impressions. vEry much like the impressionist's paintings.
This next shot I tried an attempt at focus stacking only this time hand held. Looks like I needed just a few more images at the far focus point as the very back petals are just out of focus just. But Photoshop managed to alight all the shots even hand held so looks like a workable solution in the future.
Again I had a play with topaz with this one as well a different style this time, not as happy as the easier one with this one, but still something different. Still working this out and have;t really settled down on a definite style with this yet, but it will come.
Thats it for this weeks shots from the Gardens, Be back next week wth more.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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I started off on the opposite side of the road from the stolen Generation walk and followed the track a little way into the woodland, I've found mushrooms here before and this is where I got last week’s shots from this week there was even more there.
The colours of these with the Greenery stands out and goes well together. These images are all focus stacked form several different shots at different focus depths to give the best focus.
Got a few shots of this lot as there was a couple of nice groupings of these.
This one I had another go at Topaz and seeing what it can do, some images work better than others, this one seemed to come out OK particularly the fury leaves.
The next few are a couple of more shots of these ones.
While taking these a Grey Shrike-thrust (Colluricincla harmonica) can alone and was picking around the ground litter. The day wasn't so bright today so I had to increase the ISO for this shot so shot isn't as clean as I'd like, so have to try again on a brighter day for this one.
The usual Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) was hanging about, this shot is not played with in Topaz but does look a bit that way, this one is pretty much untouched a little work in lightroom to adjust the black and white levels, Otherwise not much to this one.
From there I went off to the connections garden and that was also covered in mushrooms so plenty again to choose from. So here's a collection of the shots from there.
This one again I had a play in Topaz with this one as shown below.
The next ones are the last of the collection from this weekend so a good weekend for Mushrooms this week.
As I was walking back to the car I heard the call of the Yellow tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) a small group of them was feeding in the Banksias at the top of the gardens. I didn't have long to get these before they took of so this is the best I got this time.
Thanks for dropping by my weekly Blog, be back next week with more.
Glenn
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This first shot is of a pair of Galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla) doing a spot of feather maintenance. These were taken fairly high up so image quality isn't the best, There are a few this week that aren’t the best for various reasons, in this case to heavily cropped in.
I did manage to find some mushrooms for the week as usual this little group were only around 15 mm high so quite small, but made a great shot with the grouping, turns out that my batteries were a little on the flat side this week for the flashes so only had one working for these shots, so missed the usually back lighting / Rim lighting I try and get, but still happy with this one, I did use the piece of aluminium foil to act a s a fill reflector to give a bit of the two light effect.
This next two images is the same image as above but after playing a bit with it in Topaz Impressions, Some of these come out OK others less so these two are in the less so category. But each has their own flavour to them.
This next one is another Mushroom this time around the plant bank in the grass beside the main tunnel to get to the entrance. Again for this one only one of the Flashes had power but no excuse not that happy with this one. This one has some grass over the mushroom that I missed getting out of the way and I couldn't manage to get the bottom of the image clean, so a messy shot.
So this one was a good candidate for Topaz and this one turned out a little better with the colours.
From there I want up to the Lakes in the gardens and there was quite a few Welcome Swallows (Hirundo neoxena) were skimming across the lake, quite a few decent clear shots of these nicely frozen. These Birds are so small so all these shots are cropped quite heavily so won’t make for good blow-up prints and are starting to suffer a little form the crop. But good practice at panning birds in flight, If I can get these ones darting around it will give be a better chance at getting others latter on so always good to practice.
A the same time this Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata) flew across the lake and I managed a couple of shots as it came across. By the time I noticed it and locked focus it had past would be better catching it coming towards me, so one to watch out for next time.
As the Afternoon got on a lot of the gardens was in shade so light was starting to go and in this one had to up the ISO these ones are also pretty timid so couldn't get to close so this ones cropped in so the Background on this ones starting to turn to mush here so not a great shot, need to be either closer of better light, this ones of an Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) coming down for the final feed of the afternoon in the grass beside the lake.
Managed to find some sunlight and this one a much better quality image lower ISO and better lighting plus not so timid so I could get much closer to this Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) Little over blown in the highlights but very harsh lighting here. Some days the light doesn’t play ball.
While the light was out there was a few insects in the daisies so had a bit of a quick go at some Macro work on the insect, again nothing to flash here not overly excited about these two, but so something else for me to practice with in the coming weeks looks like. I do like the striped eye of the first one.
Last shot for the day was this little Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) Found this one twice in this location now so I know where to hunt this one down now just need to be there in better light, again low light so high ISO and a fair distance again, Be good to get a clean shot up closer and lower ISO, something to work on, so a bit to work on in the coming weeks looks like.
So that's it for this week’s shots from my walk in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan. Some OK shots some that need more work and some over the top Topaz work that needs to be toned back a bit, but still learning this new tool so in the coming weeks this should improve, I hope. Stay tuned and follow the journey on that one.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, back next week with more.
Glenn.
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This first one was on the first lake in the Gardens a Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) Haven't seen one of these around for a few months now so good to see one back.
This ones become a regular of late and only to happy to have its photo taken a Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo Melanoleucos)
The same shot after some post processing with Topaz impressions 2 giving it a painting feel to it.
For this shot I gave it a little more room to get in the mirror reflection, the last few weeks have been good for reflections here.
In this shot White faced Heron flew by and the cormorant is putting on a display trying to scare it off, the Heron wasn't really interested and kept flying past.
Another good week for mushrooms this week. This week I've several shots with the same set up but just different lighting so you can see the effects the different lighting can have, some work better than others. this first one its more of a natural lighting but still a lit shot.
This one I've gone for underexposing and using only the lifting to light the mushroom you can see the effect of the back lighting on the right of this one.
This one again I also took into Topaz Impressions and had a quick play with it, these so far haven’t taken much time to get these effects, given more time and a bit of practice and getting to know it better I'm sure some of these will turn out better. Starting to get a feel for what I like in it, though a long way to go yet here.
This one’s sort of in-between with the lighting, but not a clean shot as there was still some grass in between the camera and the mushroom. So not the best.
I had a bit of a play around with Topaz on this one to see if it improved it, but looks like I needed to take it much further, so not really hoary with these two.
This shot shows the set up and actual lighting conditions for the next few shots, the Speedlites and foil are re-positioned in each shot otherwise pretty much the same, the camera is not moved though over the shots seams to sink lower so something I’ll need to watch out for next time.
So the above shots are mainly just different positions or strengths of the lights, the next ones are after playing with them via Topaz Impressions and just some of the different effects you can get out of the same shot. You get the idea that there are so many options to play with here. These are just a few. Some go for the abstract to the realising styles of painters, so plenty to choose from there.
So you can see from one setup you can do so much between lighting and post processing the above six shots are all form the same camera location. So plenty of options out there to explore.
This next shot was for the same place I took these last shots from what I was taking these a little Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) came by to watch, it kept coming back so I managed to get this shot, would have preferred a slightly better angle to get the stick in the back ground away for the bird, but when I moved it took off, so one to look out for next time I'm there.
Lastly for this week a shot of and Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) The first one a straight shot and the second one after playing in Topaz again, not happy with the bird life ones as yet so need more play time here to find what I like, but still a nice effect so gives you an idea what’s possible.
For a limited time, the Topaz Labs have this at 40% off till the 7th July 2016 from memory and I also have a discount code that is supposed to give you $20 off, it also gives me $20 credit for the first person that uses it, after that everyone will get the $20 credit don't get anything. Which is fine I am only passing on what I find and what works for me, if you check back on some of my work on the last couple of posts you'll find a few more that I've used it on, you can take it way over the top if that’s what you like. I try and keep it a little more realistic so far though have done a few further down the track. http://www.topazlabs.com?hr=aq4E8 You can also give it a go with a 30 day free trial license from their site for anyone that’s interested. I've now bought the full license of Impressions, but not Simply as yet, I'll keep playing with impressions and maybe go for simply later on if I find a need or a want.
So that’s it for this week’s blog, IT gives you an idea of the effects of different lighting and post processing can have on a shot.
Thanks for dropping by my Blog I'll be back next week with some more.
Glenn
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This first shot was taken pretty mush were I pulled the car up, as I got out a small group or Eastern Rosellas (Platycercus eximius) were going from tree to tree, this was the best I managed they don't let you get too close to them, so still working towards a good shot of one of these. Their bright colours makes them easy to spot as they dive from branch to branch.
Next up is the first of a few mushrooms I found this weekend, this one was a smaller one.
This next one was a little further along and it wasn’t till I got it on the big screen that I realised you can see the spores falling for the cap, these are back light from the rear speedlite.
While I was taking the last shot I had the second Camera set up on the tripod and as it happened a Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) landed on a branch only about 3 meters away so I managed to get a few nice shots of this one.
In the same place a small group of Superb Fairy-Wrens (Malurus cyaneus) can through and also got quite close so I got these shots as well the depth of field could have been a little greater on these two, in both cases the eye is spot of but the depth of feed let these ones down a little.
Further still along and the White Faced Herons (Egretta novaehollandiae) are still around the small dam opposite the plant bank, ago a nice shot with a good still reflection.
A couple more mushrooms from the day both of these are focus stacked to get the depth of field.
After the Mushroom shots It was starting to get on so I headed down to the lake to see what was going on there and found this Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) circling the lake.
The last three shots for this week was a juvenile Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) The first one is with it in flight.
This one shows it n a determine walk to its next spot.
The last shot was a nice close up as he sat on a bench and allowed me to get quite close to it.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week another good week with a few decent shots so happy with this weeks effort.
Be back next week with what I manage to find.
Glenn.
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So this week I started off around the first lake as you enter the gardens and on the far side of the law was a pair of Black shouldered Kites (Elanus axillaris) roosting in the gum tree.
The Lake was filled with the usual suspects. This ones of Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) back lit by the sun.
An Australian Raven Raven (Corvus coronoides) was matching soaring skills with a Wedge-tailed Eagle, th eRaven eventually gave up and the Eagle took the honors for the day.
While below was a small Superb fair wren (Malurus cyaneus) keeping its head down.
This next series of shots was of a small Little Pied Cormorant (microcarbo melanoleucos) still drying out form its recent fishing trip.
The same location had this white faced Heron doing the rounds at the edge of the dam. I like the light on this one.
Last up is this weeks collection of mushroom shots a few decent ones in this weeks collection.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, I'll be back next week wth more.
Glenn.
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The previous three weeks I've managed to get out thou and here are some of the shots I managed to get out there plus some more practice at the Digital Art work with some of the shots with mixed results.
The first shots here are a series of shots of a Noisy Miner (Manorina Melancephala) taking a bath by flying into a small dam opposite the plant bank the last two are the better of this series of shots here. The first two the focus seemed to have eloped onto the water droplets and reflection rather than the actual bird, but happy with the final two there.
This shots of a Grey Butcherbird (Cracticis torquatus) feeding on a case moth larvae it found in the gum tree.
The grass at the tunnel to the plant bank has started to have mushrooms growing there each week so now a regular spot for me to check each week now, This one is focus stacked and lit with two speedlites you can see the effect the second light at the rear has on the steam on the left. Buy dropping the power so as not to over power the shot but just give enough to add a bit of a glow makes a good effect I think.
The next two are the same shot but after giving different effects to the shot. Again practicing some of what I learnt on the Steve Parish, Western MacDonnell ranges photography tour. This one gives it misty feeling to it.
Where as this one is more of an Alice in Wonderland feel to it.
There next one as a small mushroom growing up in the connections gardens, this one had only just pushed its way through the bark coving on the garden bed so had a bit of debris on the top. Again focus stacked and two lights
The next ones of a small light blue flower that was growing amount the maiden hair fern. So tried to get a shot with the flower contracting the greenery, didn't get this one right its missing something for this shot for me.
I then went down to the main lakes and had a look what was about, got quite a few shots of birds in flight this time round. The first ones of an Australian Raven ((Corvus Coronoides)
This next ones of a Peregrine Falcon, Iv'e seen this one a few times now of a late afternoon as it flys across the lake, but never managed to get a good shot of it, this week I did better but still not great, but one to look out for of a late afternoon. The other birds give out their alarm calls when its in the air so when you hear them you know to look out for something that has them worried.
I did manage to get a couple of decent shots of some Australian Wood ducks (Chenonetta Jubata) coming in to land on the lake Late afternoon the light was just right and enough of it to be able to freeze the action so happy with these two shots.
Then I just practiced panning shots of what ever flew in front of me, the trick with darker birds and in bright blue sky is to set the exposure on manual by setting it on the nearby grassy hills or some distance trees and then sticking to that and just focus on the bird as it flys, Well thats the way I've done these ones and pretty happy with the results expire wise, if you use an auto function it will more than likely expose for the sky and you'll have a black bird with no details.
Magpie-Lark (Grallina cyanoleuca)
Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo Melanoleucos) Would have been better had I framed this one to the left but I'm luck to get them in the frame at times hand held with a 600m lens. The lens is great but not the lightest thing to swing around at times.
An Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis Moluccan) Taking its afternoon bath on the island in the middle of the lake.
This next series is again of a pair of mushroom growing outside the plant bank. The first one is the normal shot then the next is the same show but playing with it with different effects, and applying different textures to the end result. Again this was trying things out seeing what works and what doesn't some are again better than others.
An Australian White Ibis in the small dam opposite the Plant bank.
Soon joined by a White Faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae).
This one I caught the Noisy miner taking a drink with a great reflection, I didn't have time to reposisiont to get clear of the grass this time, but will keep an eye out next time and see if I can get in a better position.
An Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta) patrolling the shores of the first main lake in the gardens.
One of the little Yellow thornbills (Acanthiza nana).
The Birds of Prey were out as well this ones of a Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) as it sits high on the high tension power lines watching the world go by.
The next is a series of a pair of Black Shouldered Kites (Elanus axillaris) These ones have the most amazing eyes with bright orange eyes against the white bird. Happy with some of these and one I've already had printed large just waiting from me to mat and mount it so it can be hung on the wall here.
This ones a little smaller being a little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) as it did a circuit of the lake.
In the main lakes there was also a pair of black swans (Cygnus atratus) that seem to betraying out the lake for size.
This pair are the same ones as above but one week later, again the first shot is the original and the next are variations of this shot with different effects, again just trying things out experimenting with it all.
So thats it for this weeks blog, a round up of the last few weeks shooting for those that missed the weekly shots, the weathers looking better for this weekend and a long weekend here as well so we'll see what I can come up with this weekend when I get out.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, be back next week wth more.
Glenn.
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https://www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au/upcoming-events/categories/
Where I booked on the Western MacDonnell Ranges 5 day tour.
It started off with a train ride from Campbelltown to Sydney Airport where I boarded a plane for Alice. As I boarded the plane it was fairly full no spare seats but Turns out I was actually sitting beside Steve on the flight over, Now what are the chances of that on a full plane. It turns out that all but one of the participants were on the same plane.
apon arrival at Alice we all got in a Maxi Cab together and headed off to the hotel again pure coincidence but we were all staying at the same hotel. We booked in and Steve suggested since everyone’s together that maybe we could unofficially go out for an afternoon shoot even though the tour didn’t start till the next morning, no one disagreed and we agreed to meet up in a few hour’s time to give everyone a chance to unpack and set up their gear.
So I assemble my gear and turned two carry one camera bags into one usable backpack with both cameras mounted on my Spider pro belt holster.
As I had a few hours to kill before we headed off I went over the road from the hotel where the Todd river bed is and took a walk along the river bed to see what was about as a small ridge was opposite and I thought I take a walk and see what was on the ridge.
After those shots I headed back to the hotel and we all headed out to Simpsons Gap for the afternoon, Our first shoot together less one. We drove out to Simpsons Gap and on the way stopped by to shoot this range. This was one of the things I picked up from this workshop long lens stitch panoramas. This shot reminded me of the old western movies the colours are what does it I think for me. But certainly not the American wild west.
Then on to the Gap, After all the rain the last few days there was plenty laying around out there. Though pretty sure this one is one of the more percent sources of water as last tim eI was out that way this one had water in it as well.
There was a small group of little rock Wallabies living on the rocky hill side, this shot captures one having a yawn.
So after a Yawn what better to do than have a chew on your tail I guess. These shots the light was already going so low light and higher ISO was used so you can start to see some of the effects of upping the ISO in the background, but sometimes to get the shot you have to make sacrifices as long as you know what your getting your self into, these ones won't make for good prints, but still the make great memories.
That night we all ate together in the restaurant and the final member of the group arrived introduced themselves and retired for the night as they had spent the most of the day travelling on a bus up to Alice.
The next morning we drove out to the Alice Springs desert park there was some light rain falling most of the morning as you'll see in these shots from time to time, but certainly made the animals more active, and the bird life was certainly very active so plenty of chances for some decent shots there.
The first one here is an Eastern Barn Owl.
The Owl and the next few shots were part of a free flight show were the birds were flying free, the next few shots are of a Brown Falcon in flight the same type of bird I caught earlier in the river bed in the wild.
After the show we took a walk around the park where they had several aviaries that you can walk into, others had clear glass that you can shoot through. So the next series of shoots are a combination of each, see if you can pick the difference.
This next shot is of an Orange Chat. (Epthianura aurifrons)
Still trying to ID this little one, should have taken a few shots of all the ID plates in the various aviaries, One for next time in the mean time I'll try and get the ID of this one and update this post when I do.
A Spinifex pigeon. (Geophaps plumifera) There was a small group of these in one of the open aviaries, Though through out the trip we say plenty in the wild as well.
Crimson Chat. (Epthianura tricolour) This ones not fully coloured up as yet.
The park also had a pair of Dingos, but again we were to see a few in the wild later on and certainly hear them at night calling out. This shot was again taken in the rain but makes a nice effect in the background I think.
A nice portrait of a Dingo.
Next up both of them eventually appeared on the log together. This is one of those cases when it paid to revist a shot as early on there was only one up there and later on when I returned I got this shot.
From the Desert part we drove out to the Glen Helen Gorge resort where we stayed of the next few nights. One we had unpacked and settled in we went out to a local lookout across a small cause way for a sunset shot, at the time there was a small trickle across the causeway, that was soon to change in the coming days.
The next day we drove out to the nearby Ormiston Gorge, not too far from where we were staying. This one’s a shot of a Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, (Acanthagenys rufogularis) that was near where we parked. So many different birds out there that I wasn’t use to, looks very much in the style of the Wattle Birds and seams to fill that roll out there.
One of the things that Steve taught us was how to take a photo and get creative with it and turn it into something of an art work not that photos are not art but to take it to a different place, this was one of my first attempts at this and for a first go I was happy with the results given time I hope to be better at this one of the people of the tour had been doing this for a while and some of his work was great so something to aim for later with practice.
One of the many river gums growing on the gorge face. The white trunks against the orange rock are certain a sight.
This shot is a sunset shot but the river is just a few meters up form the cause way and as you can see its no longer a trickle but a flowing river, the Fink River was actually a river, that put an end to our trip to palm valley, as the way into the valley is along the river bed, not this week as it was actually a river for once, still made for a nice sunset shot.
This shot is of the Glen Helen gorge at night right outside my room. This was my first attempt at shooting the milkyway and for a first attempt happy with the results. I was setting this one up at 20 seconds exposure with my fisheye lens and light painting the ridge with my spot light, the shot was taken at 3:00am in the morning and this one turned out a lucky shot as Glen Helen gorge is about 150 km west of Alice so pretty much the middle of know where and at 3:00 am the place is pretty quiet turns out that during this exposure someone arrived by car and the car did a turn in one of the turning circle and just happened that its head lights swept along the ridge at a steady pace enough to create this effect, nice, how luck can you be some days.
This shot was from the lookout again that the first sunset shot was taken but a few days later after the river had dropped. An early morning shot.
One of the highlights of the trip from me was a helicopter flight of the local area around Glen Helen gorge the scenery for the ground is amazing and from the air even more so, the next series of shots are from the short 30 minute flight we had but some great shots and amazing scenery from the air. We had several days at Glen Helen gorge and were trying to pick the day with the best light for the flight, as the first day was still raining a bit not a great day, turns out we fly on our last day there and as we took off the sun started to come out so we got some shots with nice lighting on the ranges.
After the flight we drove off back toward Alice On the way back we stopped at Ellery Creek Big Hole where again you can see the river gums and the orange rock. Again another percent source of water so a fair bit of bird life around.
This is a pair of White Plumed Honeyeaters that came in for a drink, love the way the far one peers under the near one.
We stopped along the way as we say fit depending on what we say and this time a dried river bed with a few pools of water in the deeper parts, again with the river gums along the side.
From there we drove off to Standley Chasm, this is a narrow gap in the range and vertical walls, at mid-day the light lights it up, we just missed the full light in the chasm but saw enough to get an idea what it would look like, Guess I have to go back now one day to catch the light there.
After that we headed back to the hotel in Alice and from there got unpacked got to our rooms and then got ready to head out for our final shoot of the tour, the old Telegraph station at The Original settlement of Alice springs, around the telegraph station are a few rocky outcrops were a group of Rock Wallabies reside, so here are a few shots of the wallabies at the old telegraph station.
This first shot was as I got out of the van a Brown Falcon flew over so just had time to get this shot exposure was a little underdone as I didn't really have to time set the shot but lightroom saved it a bit.
This last shot was a fitting end to the tour as we were leaving so was one of the wallabies so that ended out Fantastic 5 day MacDonnell ranges tour with Steve and Ruth. A great trip and some great shots. Steve and Ruth did a great job and everyone enjoyed them self on the tour. Well done to the pair of them.
If you enjoyed the shots in this blog there are more over at the MacDonnell ranges gallery follow the link here.
http://glennsmithphotography.
You can run the slid shot by clicking slideshow in the top right or just scroll thought the images.
Don’t forget to check out Steve’s web site for any events he has coming up, check back over the next month or so as he adds in more.
https://www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au/upcoming-events/categories/
Thanks for dropping by my blog, Be back next week with some more, around the Botanical gardens back home.
Glenn
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The morning was an early start with a 7:00am pick up at the company works. From there we drove up the Blue Mountains and had the first stop at the Neck a rocky plateau that runs in to the Megalong Valley, from there we drove to the Hydro Majestic for a morning tea break too early for the hotel to be open unfortunately to have a look around after its renovations. Then on to the caves.
We had a private tour booked of the Lucas Cave which is an hour and a half tour. The next series of shots are taken during that tour.
This shot shows one of the older ladders in the cave, not in use apart from cave maintenance now days the guide said its known as scary ladder, hmmm wonder why.
This one is a shot of an area where they use to and occasionally still do hold church services in the caves, called pulpit rock.
This shot shows a piece of limestone with a light underneath it to show the translucence of the stone. One of the only piece of limestone in the caves hey allow you to touch, other wise it turns black for the acids in the skin as you constantly touch the stone.
This ones only a small opening say about 50cm high very hard to get a sense of scale to these shots at times with nothing to gauge against.
These next Three shots are of a formation called Broken Column, funny that, this was caused not by an earth quake but by the stone at the bottom slowly sinking under the weight and eventually snapping the column. The Diameter at the break is apron 50cm held a metre. So a fair bit of a column to snap like that.
This formation is called the Bishop as if you look at the formation on top o the Stalagmite it looks like a Bishop reading from his book.
The coloured lights like this seam to be in once cavan in each cave to show what it looks like they have a set of coloured LED lights and use the colours to this effect. Personally I prefer the natural look, but for one cavan its Ok to see what it looks like.
Through out the cave system theres underground rivers and this is where the rivers flow out. Around the bend is a small weir which store the water forming this lake the blue colour gives the lake its name the blue lake and the colour comes form the minerals in the water from the limestone deposits.
This shot is of a skeleton of a Wombat that was found in the cave, over the years the caves have been in existence animals have become trapped in the caves, not so much these days since the cave system has been discovered.
Now on to the second cave tour this one only had around 15 people in the tour so a small group, again on cavan with the coloured lights.
This formation is called the Dragon and with a bit of imagination you can see a dragons head.
Well thats about it for the tour shots of Jenolan Caves, something different from my usual shots.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, I'll be back next week with something different again.
Glenn
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The first shot here is of a White Faced-Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) this one was again in the very first dam as you drive into the gardens.
The grasslands as enter the gardens are a popular place for ro of the Raptors that visit the gardens to hunt and this weekend was no exception the first shot here is of a Black shouldered Kite (Elamus axillaris) potholing the skies above the grassland.
But it wasn't long before a Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) came along to claim the skies for it self and tried to chase the Kite off. The next series shows some of the close flight this pair had as they tried to master each other.
The Kestrel finally gave up leaving the skies to the kite.
Watching on as all the activity took place up above was a small group of Golden-headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis) comfortable in the grass well camouflaged with their golden colour in the golden dried grass.
Leaving the grasslands for the afternoon I walked around the lake and came along this Eastern Water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii). This one didn't seam to concerned with me there taking its photo and quiet happily feed on the grass while I took a few shots.
There was a good variety of bird life around and this ones of an Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius).
While taking this shot I heard the call of the noisy miners calling out there alarm call so went looking for what was causing there concern and found a pair of Pacific Bazas (Aviceda subcristata) high up in the gum trees.
There was a few days during the week that had a couple of light showers enough to keep the mushrooms poping up, so heres a few shots of this weeks mushrooms. The first two here are the same mushroom group from different angles.
This ones probably the best of the day, again the brown gel over the speedlite really bought out the colours of the gills to great effect.
The last shot of the mushrooms for this week was a tangled mess of mushrooms.
The final shot for the week this week as of a Geraldton wax flower, light with one speedlite in a soft box to give some mood to the shot.
Thats it for this weeks walk in the Gardens, not a bad days shooting this weekend, getting back into it all now.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week. Be back next week with some Cave shots taken for a few weeks ago at Jenolan caves
Glenn
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Long weekend here in Australia last weekend, where we remember the failed solders and the sacrifice they made so we can go out and enjoy all that life has to offer. ANZAC day.
I managed to get out for a few hours both Saturday and Sunday here. The shots are still a little rough after the three months off but starting to get there and some of the mushroom shots this week I'm happy with, the bird shots for the week are not there yet so still need to get back into those again. But some are looking ok but still need some improvement here.
Again as usual these shots were all taken in the Australian Botanical Garden's Mount Annan.
The first shot here is a female Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) Not a clean shot wiht the small twig in front of the bird, and the background is a little busy, there was a small dam between me and the bird and I couldn't get enough separation between the bird and the back ground in this case. To get the clean backgrounds you need to get a bit of distance between the subject and the back ground and shoot at a small Aperture number (Wide open) this will give the creamy looking back grounds and take away some of the distractions that the back grounds can give at time. This time the environment was against me, i.e. a dam and gully. The gardens would not appreciate me in their dams.
This next shot is of a male Mistletoebird (Dictum hirundinaceum) This one was keeping an eye on me while it hopped around the Shears. A little better shot this time, wiht only the tips of the sheoak over the bird and the background is a little less busy though still not the best, but the colours are more neutral so not so distracting as the first shot.
There seams to be quite a few Laughing Kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) about the gardens at the moment, this one seemed to be having a bad hair day so to speak. With its top feathers all ruffled by the wind at the time.
This next ones of a tiny female Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) Also in the Sheoaks, these are all at the back of the first lake as you enter the gardens.
While I was taking these an Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) watched on for the lakes edge.
Through out the week here in southwest Sydney we had a few light showers and the temperatures have finally started to drop a bit now, so a few mushrooms are starting to show up now int eh gardens after a few months I not finding to many. This first shot of mushrooms is taken opposite the stolen Generation walk just a short walk up the trail and right on the very edge, these are tiny only a couple of millimetres in diameter and very delicate, this image is focus stacked from a series of images to get the depth of field.
This next one is also a tiny little one and this one was all alone in the lower part of the connections garden. this one again is no larger than 4mm in diameter. The bright red colour was what caught my eye, enabling me to find this one.
Further up in the connections gardens I found these ones there was a few in this patch these ones made the more interest shot, To see just how I get these shots the shot ofter this one shows the set up for this shot.
This shot you can see the actual light conditions the shot was taken in actually quite bright, two separate speedlites used the one on the left in a small soft box with small piece of aluminum foil opposite to add in some fill light on the opposite side, then a second speedlite at the back with a brown gel in place to give the warm glow at the base and rear of the mushrooms. To get the dark effect I under expose the shot using the live view on the LCD till the whole shot just about goes black usually with a shutter speed of around 1/200 of a second, (Only one of my speedlites handles high speed sync) and I'll adjust the aperture to achieve the rest of the darkness then I adjust eh flash power usually down near as low as they can go till I get the effect I want, so a bit of trial and error and moving the lights around till I like what I see. Once happy with the shoe I'll take a series of shots at the different focal plans to allow me to focus stack later on when I get back home. Again you can see how handy the articulated screen comes in on the 60D on the ground.
These next shots are from the Sunday. The first two here are of another Rose Ronin this time around the stolen generation Memorial.
Followed by a shot of Australian Raven (Corvus Coronoides) in flight, More practice needed here on this one.
The Kookaburras were around again and this time I got a better shot than the day before, this ones more a portrait shot, he also took the time to brush his hair this time. Much smarter
The last shot for this week is a final mushroom, pretty much the same set up as show above similar lighting conditions as well this time the sun was actually out as well so had to step down the aperture a bit more than normal to get the effect. again focus stacked in photoshop afterwards. The rear speed light adding a bit of rim lighting around the back left.
Well thats it for this weeks shots, hope you like them and it gives you an idea of of how some of the mushroom shots are taken.
Thanks for dropping by my blog and I'll be back next week with more shots wiht luck time permitting.
Glenn.
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The bird up is the White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) There was a pair of these sound the first small dam. They were a little timid and took of int a newly Sheoak for a short time before going back to the mudflats they ere patrolling.
Also in the Sheoaks was this White=plumed Honey eather, (Lichenostomus penicillatus) This one seamed more interested in tiny insects than honey this day.
The next over two days was a series taken of a Black shouldered Kite (Elamus axillaris) This one was overing over the grasslands looking for a feed , fully concentrated on the ground below.
I managed to find where they rested and found two of them in the same tree.
Last one for the week is this shot of a golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) Will need to see if I can get a cleaner shot of this one in the coming weeks as this one has a bit of the tree over the tail still so not the cleanest of shots, but something to work on next time.
So a few decent Shots this week nothing great but a few ones to be happy about, so all good. Long Weekend coming up here now so we'll see what I can manage this weekend.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn
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The First shot here is of a Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) these ones are all over the woodland area chasing down small flying insects, they perch for a short time then back in the air hunting.
This next ones a Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis Flatbelliformis), in Spring you can hear these calling all over the woodland area with their distinctive trilling call. This one was in the middle of a wattle tree so not really clear shots, till it moved on to another tree branch here I got this shot. Still got one branch in the way so not the best shot. The one a few months back I posed in the blog was much better.
As always the Eastern Yellow Robins (Eopsaltria australis) were about, These little ones are all over the tree trunks studying the ground for insects to drop on.
This weekend on both days I spotted a couple of Rose Robins (Petroica rosea) about as well, these certainly added a splash of colour around the woodland area with their bright, red.
There was a few Jacky Winters ((Microeca fascinans) about competing with the fan tails for insects in the woodland area as well.
The last one for this week was this Red Wattle Bird, (Anthochaera carunculata) high up in one of the gum trees, I haven't seen to many of these in the woodland area so something different for this area of the gardens.
These next few shots as some of the shots taken over the last few weeks in the odd times I managed to get out with the cameras while carrying out the home renovations.
This first three is of a purple fungus growing on the base of a tree stump up in the Wollemi pine walk of discovery area of the gardens. This one as best as I can get is Chondrostereum purpureum as ID-ed by Ray Palmer over at flickr, Ray has a good collection of mushroom shots there on flickr for anyone that likes those sort of shots. It wasn't till I got home and viewed these shots on the screen till I realised just how fluffy these ones looks up close, these are only tiny and no more than 2 to 3mm high so just looked like a layer of purple over the stump.
This next shot of a katydid was taken right out side my front door, so this one was a easy get in the middle of the renovations.
This one was from the back yard again another one that I managed during the renovations with out spending a great deal of time away from the work.
This last one is of a Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) again taken in the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
That's it for this weeks shots and some of the ones from the past few months for this week. So should be back to normal now with the regular weekly blogs again rolling out.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, be back again next week.
Glenn.
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To start with these are shots I took back in January on one of the days I did get out, these are taken again in my usual place of the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
The first two shots are of the same mushroom for different angles, this one was growing in the grass beside the first main lake as you drive in the gardens.
While I was taking the mushroom shot I was being watched by this little Australian Eastern Water Dragon. This ones only a small one, and he soon jumped into the small creek he was over looking that feeds in to the lake.
A family of Australasian Grebes (Tachybaptus Novaehollandiae) came paddling past as well and I managed this shot. Before they were shepherded out into the middle of the lake.
This next ones of an Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus Sagittarius) there are quite a few of these around the woodland area of the gardens and they have a very distinctive call that usually draws you automatically to them. Their bright red Eye certainly stands out.
Next Bird I found was this female Grey ButcherBird (Practices torquatus).
There was also plenty of Mushrooms to be found that day up in the Wollemi pine walk of discovery area of the gardens. the ext few shots are just some of the mushrooms I found that day.
I'll leave it here for this week but in the coming weeks I'll share some of the other shots taken over th last few months plus some of the shots from each weekend as I get back out and start taking shots again.
Thanks for dropping by my blog again, sorry for the delay in posting but most nights after work I was working on the renovations as was most weekends so didn't have time to shoot or post images the last few months, but should be back to normal again now.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn
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Well this year was another successful year for me in the photography area, Again this is only a hobby of mine and don't attempt to make money from it, just something for weekends for me. Most of my shots are taken in the Australian Botanical Garden's Mount Annan, which I can see for my back window so a close trip for me there. The Gardens have 12 km of roads within the borders of the gardens so no small gardens by any means these gardens have natural areas as well as cultivated gardens and some flower gardens.
This year I managed to take 33961 shots. between my Canon 7Dmk2 and the 60D or as I call them Birds and Mushrooms. The 7Dmk2 fitted with the Sigma 150 - 600 Sports lens. This lens is something else and the image stabilisation on this beast of a lens is amazing I've managed to hand hold a shot at 1/15 of a second at 600mm and the shot was tack sharp so can't complain about that. The 60D though getting on a bit fitted with the 100mm f2.8 L Macro lens for Canon still does a great job and the articulated screen is great for the mushroom shots with the camera on the ground. I have a fair selection of lenses but these two are the only ones used in the top ten shots about to be reviewed below. So looks like my main set up based on these shots.
This year I entered two local competitions the Gardens run a competition each year and I managed to win that one again, with a mushroom shot from late 2014 it made the 2014 top ten in last years review. I also entered the local Council competition and managed to win the macro division of that one as well with another Mushroom shot. So mushroom shots are doing OK this year.
One of my bird shots also was featured in the Australian Geographic's reads shot of the week they saw my shot on Flicker and requested that they can put it on there web page they also linked to my blog and had a small write-up about me so I was happy with that.
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/photography/reader-photos/2015/07/reader-photo-brown-thornbill
The last highlight of the year came from my work each year the company has a calendar with various photos of the cranes we build, this year they used on of my shots for Junes photo Each employee gets a copy of the desk calendar. The company has office in Malaysia, China, USA, Denmark, Singapore and Australia.
So all up happy with this years results plus from the winnings from the two competitions pays for my web site and a few extra bits a pieces.
This first shot is of a Mistletoe bird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) these are tiny little birds and a pair of them was making repeated raids on this bullrush for nesting material. SO I set up and waited for them to return I got several shots that day, this was the better of the two. As you can see the detail and sharpness of the shot from the sigma lens is pretty good.
This next one is of a Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) These little fellas are very inquisitive and bounce around seeing what you are upto again taken the 7dmk2 and the Sigma combination. This is the one that the Australian Geographic used.
After the success of the Bird shots I thought I'd turn the 600m to the shy and took a series of moon shots over a few nights getting the various phases go the moon. I also managed to get the orion nebular and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, I was surprised to see the detail in the nebular that I captured including some colour so very happy that night. The best of the shots was this moon shot.
This shot I love the mirror reflection I managed to get, this was a lucky shot, I was actually shooting some wrens on the opposite side of a small creek flowing into one the the lakes int eh gardens when this Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) came swimming past, right place at the right time.
As usual several mushroom shots also made my yearly top ten. These I shoot with the 60D on the ground and two speedlites usually one 90 deg to the axis of the lens giving side light to show up the details and gills, I'll position the second light either behind to give some rim lighting and maybe some see thought light as shown in this shot. and maybe use a small piece of alumni foil I use a sa small reflector to add in some fill light to the opposite side and front.
These little ones are common in the gardens and make great subjects as they sit and study the ground searching for insects then dive but while they wait they stay still so a good chance to line up a shot.
This one was captured handheld with the 7Dmk2 and the Sigma 150-600mm again. 1/640 sec f8 ISO 1600. Australian white Ibis (Threskiornis Moluccan)
This little Mushroom has been in the gardens now for over a year, so when I can't find a mushroom I know I can rely on this one to be there. I've named it Spiky Mikey, This Mushroom won the Campbelltown council photography competition.
This year I tried my hand at focus stacking some of my macro shots, Starting to use this a lot more now on my shots. this one is a close up of a Barb wire fence post. Still need more practice at some of these focus stacking shots but getting there certainly shows up the textures in the post. So I've added focus stacking to m tool kit this year.
The last shot in this years top ten is another Mushroom shot this time focus stacked and lite with the two speedlites and same deflector so using all my toys and skills for the final shot.
So that was my top ten for this year. My flower shots and landscape shots didn't make the cut this year so looks like I'll need to spend a bit more time on some of these. To improve my skills there. I've booked in already this year for a photography workshop tour of the Macdonnell ranges central Australia, so we'll see if this makes an improvement to my shortfalls this year. But overall happy with my shots this year. Even managed to do a photoshoot for a friend who just had her second baby, so first baby photoshoot, still processing those ones but for the shots I've shown her so far she is very happy with them. So definitely a bigger year photography wise for me. We'll see what this year brings.
Thanks for dropping by my blog Be back next week with more.
Glenn
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From there I drove up to the Wollemi pine walk of discovery where I went looking for mushrooms this week much better after the rain with quite a few colourful little mushrooms about. The first one was only about 6mm in Diameter (1/4") so quite tiny, and only just managed to spot it a I was walking along. this shot was focus stacked as is all the mushroom shots this week.
Heres the set up I used for this shot for those interested in the behind the sense shots.
There was also a series of these little colourful mushrooms about the top of them was covered in this clear sticky gel which gave them a smooth surface and almost a translucent look to them there was a few different colours here from reds to oranges and almost yellows. So a good collection of Mushrooms here this week.
Finally I drove down the hill for the Mushrooms and stopped of at the Big Idea garden where I found this Grey Butcherbird (Craticus torquatus) sitting watching.
So a much better week for mushrooms and a few decent Bird shots as well so all up a good week this week. Happy with a few of these shots this week.
Thats for dropping by my Blog.
Glenn.
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On the other side of the road is a large grass area with tall grass, that has a fair population of Australian reed-Warblers (Acocephalus australis) you can hear these well be fore you see them and this shot was the best tI managed and shot through the grass so not a clean shot, shall have to try again for these next time.
Walking towards the stolen generation memorial within the woodland area of the gardens there are numous rabbits about being a bit earlier than usual I caught this one on the main path. Not good for the gardens these.
The warmer weather has bought all the reptile out of hiding as well this smallish skink was on one of the small boardwalk areas along the path.
The Superb Fairy-wrens are always hopping about in the woodland area, so you can usually manage a shot or two of these most days though they don't like you getting to close so most are like this one a little to far away for a really nice shot.
Like wise the Eastern Yellow Robins (Eopsaltria australis) are also always scouting around for a feed on the forest floor.
By now the temperate was starting to warm up a bit so I headed off to the Wollemi pine walk of discovery area of the gardens where its well sheltered and usually well watered so cooler also a good place to find mushrooms and even with the higher temperates this week I managed to find these two. I set up to take a few shots only to find one of the speedlites had flat batteries, I changed them out with a spare set but again they were on on the flat side so had to make do with one light and the piece of foil I care as a small reflector. Still happy wiht both these shots. Some behind the scenes shots follow these two in anyone is interested in how I go about the set up for these. From these shots you get a good idea of the actual lighting conditions the shots are taken in. Most of these I under expose the shot and then use the flash to add in the light where I want it and at the power I want, either by adjusting the flash power up or down or by moving the flash closer or further back from the little mushrooms.
The last shot here shows the flash setting sI used for this shot as you can see the flash power is dialled right down to a little over 1/16th power. The soft box also cuts down some of the power as well so not that much flash is required to light these up. I suavely have a shutter speed of around 1/200 of a second and then adjust the aperture to get the required exposure, I'll then take multiple shots with slight change in focus each time to get a series of shots to enable focus stacking of the shots in photoshop when I get back home. This is the case with the two shots about both were photo stacked in photoshop.
Well thats it for this weeks shots hope its helpful going behind the scenes of some of these shots. lots of rain here this week now so hopefully there little mushrooms will be popping up all over the gardens over the christmas break here so hopefully plenty to practice with here.
Till next week, thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
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So finally last saturday I managed to get out and take my normal shots in the Australian Botanical Garden's Mount Annan. Nothing to exciting this week in the way of shots.
The First shot is of an Olive-Backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus) sitting high up in its nest. I noticed this pair building its nest two weeks ago so good to see it now sitting. Not really a clear shot. Interesting to see the way the nest is hung from the forked branch woven onto the branches.
Nest I walked up to the small water hole opposite the seed bank where the night Heeron seamed to have been the previous weeks no sign of it this week but I did see this Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) the lighting was pretty harsh so not the best shot there with the strong contract due to a black and white Bird in direct sunlight.
This Purple Swamphen (Porphphyrio) was not that far from the Ibis so same light so again not a great shot here.
Not far form the water hole was this Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) doing a bit of maintenance in a Sheoak this one was pretty high up and not really a clean shot but the best angle I could get so had to make do with these two shots here.
The Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) were about as usual and I managed to get this shot. I didn't manage to get a decent shot with the wren facing me this time.
The local airship came over head while I was there and I managed this shot as it was coming over. Only a small one this one with room for the pilot so mainly used for advertising.
Not to much in the way of Mushrooms about but I did manger to find this one, again focus stacked as described previously.
Over the last few months I've been noticing this Fungi on the side of an old log and this week decided to give them a go, Need to revisit these again in the coming weeks and see if I can improve on this shot. not overly happy with this one as yet, so more work to come in the coming weeks. Full depth of field is not right there towards the right rear.
Final shot for the week is one of the paper daisys growing in the connections gardens again not that happy with the detail shown in the centre so again more practice needed here I think. Gives me an excuse to head out next weekend, though will have to go early as they are predicting high thirties this weekend so going to get hot out here now.
As I said nothing to exciting this weekend, But still practice and things to learn from here for me so we'll see if I can do better next weekend.
Thanks for dropping by my weekly blog missed two now in the last few months, but should be back on track now.
Glenn.
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The Last few weeks there has been a Nankeen Night-heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) in the trees opposite the plant bank this week was no exception these ones even though punched up high within the trees sit takes off if yo get to close, this was the best I managed this week. Getting closer each week but still not a 100% clean shot.
From there I drove up to the Wollemi walk of Discovery to see if there are any Mushrooms about and managed to find this one, This is a tough little mushroom not soft like some but like string cardboard.
From there I went off to the connections gardens and had a walk around there to see if anything of interest was about, there was a few flowering gum trees out, this is one of the.
I then walked down tot eh lakes and near the lakes there was a camp of Yellow Kangaroo paws out in flower and this Noisy Miner (Manuring melanocephala) was having its evening meal before dusk.
As I was making my way back to the car with only about 15 minutes before the gardens close I found this little mushroom so quickly set up both flashes and took a series of shoots at varying focal plains, this one is focus stacked to giveth increased depth of field.
The last corner of the lake had a small family of Australian wood duck (Chenonetta jubata). So here are the las two shots from the day here.
Thats it for this weeks shots from the gardens. Hope you liked them.
Be back next week with more shots. Thanks for dropping by my Blog.
Glenn.
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The First one was of a Grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) These little birds birch on small branches briefly then dart off trying to catch small insects while in flight. They will stay still for a minute or two if your lucky then dart off. This shot was taken at 1/60 of a second and ISO 1000 plus heavily cropped in so not the cleanest of shots. in fact there wasn't that many good clean shots taken Saturday.
The next one I came across was of a red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) This one was hunting around a gum tree.
Around the same area was quite a few Olive-backed Orioles (Oriolus sagittatus), again not a clean shot with a stick across its face, Didn't notice this will I got hoe and viewed it on the iMac. So not a great shot
Turns out the Orioles were building a nest just above the main walk here so will have to keep an eye on this one in the coming weeks to see if there can be any decent shots here.
As usual the Eastern Yellow Robins (Eopsaltria australis) were about as they are most days here. They always pose for their shot each week.
As the lighting was quite dark most of these shots were shoot at to slow of a shutter speed to get great shots as the birds are constantly moving even if its only head movements etc so I decided to try some close up macro shots of things that don't move. At the start of the water canal (Sydney's water supply) Theres a small fence to keep every out away form the water supply the Wooden fence posts are covered in lichens and various stains form the weather so make for interesting textured subjects so I managed to get this shot here of the barbed wire and the post. This one was focus stacked, but doesn't stand up to closer inspection so looks like I need bit more work in this area. Had a few goes at focus stacking this weekend and wasn't really happy with any of them if yu start to pixel peep. Heres the two best ones of the post I came up with.
Last week I spotted a Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) So this week I had a look to see if it was still around. It was but these ones don;t let you come to close before they take off so this was the best shot I got of this one, again not great, but hopefully this one will stick around long enough for me to get a decent shot.
As I was walking back tot he car and came up to the small dam beside the road a small family of White-faced Herons (Egretta novaehollandiae) were hunting around the dam before I saw them they took off to the safety of a near by gum tree, this is one of the juvenal birds.
With the previous two days being well over 40 Deg C here I really didn't expect to find any mushrooms about this week but I actually managed to find this small group one of the dirt stairs on the main track. The shot below shows the set up for this shot, so one speedlite above one to he side and a small piece of aluminium foil to add in some fill reflection.
That was it for the shots for the gardens. By Saturday afternoon I had started to come down with a bit of a cold here so Sunday was going to be a quite one so I sat in the back yard and took these two shots of the birds from the back yard. A Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps loopholes) these are often seen in the back yard under the pine trees as this one was.
Lastly a Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) in one off the small trees in the back yard having a look to see what I was up to.
Well thats it fro this weeks blog, nothing to exciting this week some more lessons learn on how to get better shots, for focus stacking I'll need to ensure I get better range of shots seams like a missed a few focus planes and for the birds really need to get eh shutter speed higher so will need to boost the ISO up to ensure the shutter speeds are at more acceptable levels 1/500 of a second or greater. But still learning so all good.
Thanks for dropping by, be back next week with what ever I get up to.
Glenn.
]]>The day was suppose to start at 9:30 So I got there a little easier to start off. so started with my own gear of the Canon 60D and took the first to shots so I had a bench mark to start with.
After I got these two shots the group had started to gather so we were introduced to the Canon Rep and all his toys and we got to select what we wanted to test. I started out wiht a Canon 6D and the 24 to 70mm f2.8 lens. I was interested to see how the Camera's WiFi worked wiht the iPhone and the ability to focus via the phone from the Canon App.
This first shot was a test shot of the group, nothing to flash but just seeing how the 24 to 70 goes on a full frame body, my first time shooting with one, so getting an idea of the focal length and actual shot coverage. This one was at 65mm so nearly the max zoom of this one at the time.
Next I tried some close up work with my Speedlites, For this shot I switched out lenses and tried my 100mm f2.8
Macro lens to see how that goes on a full frame body. This shot was taken at f4 so it was always going to be a shallow depth of focus on this one. But happy with the results.
This one was also with the 6D 100mm Macro and at f4 again, again wiht a speedlite.
This one was again taken with the 6D and the 24 to 70 f2,8 at f4 at 70mm hand held. Again not a stunning shot but really we didn't have that long to play with the toys so had to make the most of it.
I tried several shots wiht playing with the iPhone for focus and wasn;t that excited with the results, the screen allows you to tap anywhere for the focus point but didn't seam to let you zoom in for finer location and the screen didn't show the refocusing when you selected the position only after you took the shoot so not really what I was expecting, could be I wasn't getting it right again short time and all but where I thought that may be a great option for the mushroom shots and focus stacking, not so convinced now. so could be the day was worth the while, could have saved me some dollars here. Think Canon needs to spend a few more R & D dollars on there App for this to be a real success.
After that I changed over to the Canon 5Dsr and the Canon 11 to 24 f4 lens. OK this is the kit to dream of, well it is in dollar terms. With the Body alone going for Just over $5000 and the lens at $3900 thats a rather expensive kit. The Lens was really nice and the amount of View you got at 11mm on the full frame body was really amazing, I did like that. This shot was taken with the 5DSR and the 11 to 24 mm at 24mm. The amount of detail you get out of the 5DSR was pretty impressive as well and I took a few shots at the wider end and then zoomed in on the screen and the detail was exciting. I shot both these bodies hand held so no doubt would have been better still if I fitted the tripod plate. But still happy as a test round. This one was using the speedlites again and in both cases used my Youngnuo Wireless flash triggers with no issues at all.
This shot was using my 7DmkII and the Sigma 150 to 600, so back to my old gear for this shot, would;t have had time to change lenses to the 5DSR at the time.
For this shot I again tried out the 100mm Macro lens on the 5DSR This time at f9 still a daily shallow depth of field at this distance so if I was set up not the tripod I would have had a go at focus stacking these shots.
That was the end of the Canon event shots, I managed to take around 182 shots from the morning, but to be honest I think the better shots of the morning were the Kangaroo paw and the Noisy Minor both taken with my existing gear. So Maybe best not rush out and put down some dollars on the 5DSR just yet. I'm sure given time I'd get use to them as I didn't get to set them up the way I have my ones, so part of it comes down to familiarity of the gear but for now the 11 to 24 mm lens was very nice and the resolution of the 5DSR was also good, but think i'll hold off for a while yet and see whats around the corner with new 5D mk 4 and 6d mk2 predicted some tim next year. the 60D I use now is getting a bit old and the ISO performance is now where near wha the modern ones are at like my 7dmk2. but since its mainly used on mushrooms with sppedlites and has the articulated screen which the 2 bodies I tried didn't have I'll be sticking with that for a while yet. So the morning was good got to try some new gear and walked away thinking what I have is still good enough for what I do. Mind you a full frame body would be handy for the coming weekend.
In the afternoon I returned to the gardens to see if I could find any mushrooms as I didn't have a shot for the mushroom group on G plus. And After a week of rain I thought there was a pretty good chance of finding something. Turns out I could only find one and that was a tiny little one and a little chewed about. But still managed to get a mushroom shot for the day, this one was not plreccessed using selective colour thou it appears that way it was done using my two speedlites as normal the shot below this one shows the actual set up of rah shot and also gives you an idea of the actual lighting conditions. You will note a few drops of water on the lens hood so you can see there was still a few showers about when I took this shot.
So thats it for this week,a bit of fun testing some gear that is some what cost prohibitive but still worth while having a go with it. Helps put the grass is always greener myth to rest for now.
Thanks for dropping by this week hope it helped some out there. I recommend any one gets the chance to try gear like this in the field to take it up its a good opportunity to see just what your missing and if you really can take your photography to another level by changing gear. fro now looks like not. We'll see about that in a few months time if the new bodies start to come out form Canon.
Thanks for dropping by this week.
Glenn.
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In the afternoon I headed out to the gardens as usual but being later in the afternoon of a warm day not to much activity about, but still managed to find a few decent shots, not to many thou.
First up is the usual Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) these little fellas are all around the gardens and are often seen hanging off the sides of trees studying the ground looking for insects to pounce on.
There was a fair bit of rain about through out the week so Thought I'd find quite a few mushrooms this week, however I only found the one this week. Though with time a little short I didn't centre up to the Wollemi area this week. The rest of this week is also suppose to be wet so maybe next weekend I'll have better luck.
Around the plant bank there was a fairly large noise going on and I eventually tracked it down to this one an Olive-backed Oriole. I managed a series of shots before he took off, this was the best I managed today of this one, happy with this shot.
Coming back for the plant bank and back on to the board walk. I heard a noise in the trees and and found this Nankeen Night-Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) First time I've seen one of these in the gardens, I know they have them there at terms from there bird list, but I've never been able to find one, I managed to get this shot which is far from great before it took off and I could;t find it again. But I know where to start to look for it next time and we'll see If I can get a clearer shot next time. This time as I moved around to try and get a shot between the branches it took off, so not like the little robins this one doesn't like you to get anywhere near close. This shot has way to many branches in the way, but its one of only three shots I have of this one so far.
From there I drove up to the connections gardens to see what was up there and managed to get this shot of an Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) These are probably the closest thing we have to a humming bird here in Australia Very fast and they don;t stay still for long.
Lastly I walked down tot eh lakes to see if anything interesting was down there and a Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) trying to chase off a much larger Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) This much larger birds prefer to lay their eggs in the little Magpie-larks mud nests. Looking at the size different it would certainly have its work cut out if the Cuckoo succeeded. I'll keep an eye out as I think I know where the nest is.
Another shot of the Channel-billed Cuckoo when it settled down for a few minutes.
Thats it for the shots from this weeks walk around the gardens.
Some news here and the reason I was a little busy the week before was each year the Australian Botanical Gardens holds a photography competition where you can enter three shots per category and see how you go. This year there wasn't that many entries only about 81 from memory I entered a few shots in the Wildlife category a few in Macro which also included plants this year so not just macros and a couple in the landscape category. I the past I have won a few prises in this competition, its usually the only competition I enter. This year I managed to win the Wildlife category with the Brown hornbill shot, and one of my mushroom shots won the overall open division, so a good day out last Sunday in the gardens, Heres a couple of shots of me besides my some of my shots.
The first one I'm beside my white Waratah shot.
This one the top Mushroom shot was the winning shot and the mushroom shot in the middle is also mine.
Lastly the Grebe with the reflection the Thornbill below it (The winning shot) and the mistletoe bird beside the Thornbill were all my shots in here.
So that was a good day out for me.
The council also runs a photography competition and in the past I've never entered that one this year I thought I'd give that one a go as well, they limit you to only 5 entries in that competition. This year they got over 300 entries and the awards night was Wednesday night. I managed to win the Macro category for that one as well. So two competitions and a win in each so a good year here for my this year.
The local paper has also featured the winning shots on its macbook page and is currently using my mushroom shot as its banner shot. So all up a good week for mushrooms last week even though I didn't actually pick up the camera here.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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To start with Friday night was suppose to be the Astrophotography night again in the Gardens but the cloud cover put an end to that for the night and that was called off around 3:00pm. So postponed for a few more weeks, but still on.
So I headed out Saturday for only a couple of hours knowing I was already booked in for Sundays Photowalk.
I started out around the stolen generation memorial and found the usual Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys) These seam to have taken over the area here and are quite aggressive to anything of similar size in the canopy they occupy.
As I walked along the trail here I came across a few Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) in a gam tree carrying on.
I soon found out what they were on about as I spotted this Lace Monitor on the board walk. They certainly weren’t happy about this one in the area. If oyu note the claws on this one you’ll see there some what large and these have no issues climbing a tree and are often seen feeding on Bird eggs they get form nests in trees so the bird life try and push them along.
In this case the Cockatoos were screeching and soon an Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) joined in seen here. A Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) or “Peewee” as formally known all joined in to swoop on the monitor and see it on its way, It was interesting to see the three different types of birds all working together to see of this one
This week like last week a White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) was bouncing around the understory of the woodland area seeing what it could find. This one wasn’t in the best light so harsh mixed light but still the shot turned out ok. Probably the best shot for the week this week.
I also came across a small Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) This one didn’t co-operate and stayed behind various branches and leaves so I didn’t get a clean shot this week, that went the way of the weekend this week.
As I was shooting the Thornbill I heard the Nosiy miners alarm call going off, followed by quite a few other birds alarm call so I set off to see what set them off. Turns out an Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis) was at the top of a gum tree on the edge of the clearing. I managed these few shots but nothing to great here shot wise but still gives an idea of the Bird and its massive feet.
The last shot here is of the Hobby just as it left the branch before heading out of the canopy and then it started to ride the thermals as it set off.
The last shot in the gardens this week was of another Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo Feeding on one of the many flowering trees in the gardens.
As part of Bird Week the Campbelltown Council organised a talk on Wednesday night with guest Speaker Mark Fuller of the Cumberland Bird Observers Club. Mark gave a talk on the Various birds to be found in Western Sydney and gave some photography tips. The talk was good and Mark was very knowledgeable on the topic, a great evening. The council as a follow up had a guided walk in the local Noorumba Reserve by Mark and Michael Rhydderch from the council. The rest of the shots here are the shots I managed to get on the walk.
The First shot on this walk was taken before everyone arrive and I took a quick walk alone to see what was about, I saw a pair of Eastern Whip birds but didn't manage to photograph the, these ones are quick and I only have a couple of shots of these over the last year or so. This shot is of a Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) This one was stretched out to reach the truck of the tree.
This next one was of an Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus) taken from quite a distance so this shot is heavily cropped in to get this shot, not the best but still gives an idea of the bird.
Like the Australian botanical gardens there was a few Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos flying over the reserve.
As we walked around the reserve there was a few Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) in a small group of bushes on a grassy plain. Again not a clean shot of this one.
Up in the upper canopy there was spotted a Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata) Again another non clean shot with plenty of sticks in the way of this shot but the best I got this time.
Another shot of a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo in flight, as there was numerous ones of these flying over. during the four hour walk we had.
Later on the Pacific Baza was spotted spring on the thermals.
Lastly as we were wrapping up the walk the last bird we came across was a Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus) again a lot of branches blocking a good clean shot of this one. So this weekend wasn't a good week for clean shots, but some weeks your more luckyer than others. Still not a bad week.
So the guided walk was a good even Mark was very helpful and knowledgeable of the local birds their calls and habitats you would find them in. The walk had about thirty people so with a group like that the birds didn't hang around but even so the group spotted just under 50 bird species in a four hour walk. so a pretty good effort. The Reserve is even closer to my place than the gardens so I'll bare-visiting this one again and seeing what I can find with out the group. A great even by the council.
Thats it for this weeks Blog. Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
]]>But on with this weeks shots.
The first shot is of a Red-browed finch (Neochmia temporals) this one was taken a little to far away so been heavily cropped in, and I'm not 100% happy with the focus on this one, could be the amount of cropping on this one, but not 100% happy with this one.
Nest up is the Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) These are alway s about in the woodland area of the gardens and this week there was a juvenile being attended by one of its parents.
The next two are of a White-browen scrubwren (Sericornis frontal) these ones are usually not so timid and you can usually get a little closer to thee ones before they take flight. You can usually hear these ones well before you see them as they call out their alarm call to warn of an intruder.
While I was taking these shots turns out I was being watched by one of the local Wallabies in the gardens through the under growth.
Just opposite the plant back theres a small dam and this weekend there was a Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) building a nest in the reeds. heres a few shots of the nest building underway. So far the nest is pretty much out in the open so a good chance of getting a clear shot later on in a few weeks time.
Lastly for the week I went up to the Wollemi Walk of Discovery see if i could find any mushrooms up there having no luck elsewhere for the week. Bouncing around int eh pine trees was this little Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) This little one wasn't at all shy and was darting around me all the time. The Brown colour almost the green pine frongs looks quite good to me with the last shot being the better one, just missing out on getting a clean shot of its feet as well as the rest of the bird. Oh well one for another day looks like.
Lastly for the week the only Mushroom in sight was again Spiky Mikey so I set him up for another few shots for the week, in case I got a better shot than last week, I still think last weeks shot was better again these are both focus stacked so getting the hang of that process now. But no other Mushrooms about this weekend.
Well thats it for this weekends shots, well the better ones from the weekend. Next weekend the local Council has arranged for a Bird walk / Photo walk in one of the local reserves I've put my name down for that one so we'll see how that goes this Sunday. So stay tuned for what shots I get form there next week.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, Be back next week with more shots and some commentary on them.
Glenn.
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Turns out after many nights of clear skies Friday night wasn’t to be, started out with a large bush fire near by so the sky was smoke filled so not a great clear night, The decision was made to head up to the area and see what it was like so we drove of to the foot of the hill the Human Sundial is on and walked up, still quite smoky and a thunder storm was also heading our way so being on top of a hill with Metal tripods in a thunderstorm hmmm probably not the best conditions for Astrophotography so the night was cancelled but we managed to get a few sunset shots in. this is one of the ones I got from that.
From there the night was cancelled as s the storm was rolling in and lighting was starting to fly around not that far away.
The next day I headed back out to the gardens to see what was about, no luck on the mushroom front not to be found. But better luck on the bird front. This first one is on an Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis), there’s plenty of these about in the gardens and they are just starting to be come vocal now as well so you hear them before you see them.
While walking along the track I spotted this little tortoise on the dirt track ahead so waited till he moved away, got a couple of shots here as he watched to see what I was doing.
Thought I'd try my hand at a few different kinds of shots so went for a detail shot of the old fence post with the barbed wire on it, not sure that it worked that well but something to practice a bit more on in future I think
Opposite the Plant bank a White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) was on the hunt for lizards, managed to get three while I was watching. So didn't go hungry today there.
Theres a few Spotted Pardalotes (Pardalotus punctuates) about as well and managed to get a few decent shots of one this week. These are colourful little birds. that actually nest in burrows on dirt mounts or in rock walls.
This next one is of a Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) Chick waiting to be feed these were chasing the parent birds around constantly demanding food.
The other week I got a shot of the white Waratah this week the Red ones were out. They are usually a few weeks later than this so a little early in the year this year probably due to the hot weather of late, quite a few days already in the thirtys (Degrees C.) here already this year and still early spring.
But a sign of the warm weather about seams to have bought out the snakes in the area this ones a little Brown snake indent one you would want to be bitten by. According to Wikipedia these are the second most venomous land snake in the world so not one to play with, need to keep an eye out when I'm on the ground shooting mushrooms with these about now through summer.
Well thats it for this weeks shots. Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
Last weeks blog is still coming for those that are wondering what happened to it, Zenfolio the web site service I use for my web site has been having a few technical issue over the last week. The post is a walk thorough of the shots taken last week.
This week the walk through is a mushroom shot. Like most of my mushroom shots its taking in full daylight and under exposed and then light with two speedlites and in this case a small piece of aluminium kitchen foil as a small reflector.
This shot shows the set up.
As usual I use one speedlite to add some rim lighting to give a bit of separation to the background and second light usually around 90 deg to the camera lens to fill in the details will adding some shadow to give better definition to any texture there. You can see how bright the setting is compared to the final shot below, mainly done in camera by under exposing and lighting just with the flashes on low power.
In this case the little mushroom is growing on a small stick so east to move around to get a better angle and in this case a better environment, the mushroom and stick were on a plain patch of ground but I moved them on to a nearby mossy patch of ground for the shots, (Also moved it back to where I found it when I had finished.
The Mushroom is a hardly little one this one its been around now for nearly a year and when the weather dries up like to day. 35 deg. C. it shrivels up. In this case I gave it a couple of sprays of water form a small spray bottle I carry and it expanded up and lifted its skirt to expose its gills.
From lightroom I do my normal edits on one of the shots in the stack, getting it as close to how I want it as possible. these are usually dropping the highlights a little, darkening the blacks sometimes increasing the shadow slider a fraction then adding clarity and contrast. I'll then add a little sharpening and noise reduction and then add a little bit of a post crop vignet to darken the corners, I'll then review the image and sometimes add in a couple of gradual filters to darken further some of the edges as required. Once all thats done I'll check the image again and maybe increase the exposure a fraction. depending if it needs in, I also use either the radial filter to high light the actual mushroom in areas that may need it or use the adjustment brush to darken some areas of the background that are drawing the attention.
Once one image is fully done I'll sync the adjustments to the rest of the series to be stacked.
From there go to the top menu bar and select Photo / Edit in / Open as layers in Photoshop
In the layers palet select the top layer and then shift click the bottom layer to select all layers.
Then in the top menu bar of Photoshop select Edit / Auto-align layers ….
From the pop up dialog box I select Auto and hit OK.
This will align any miss-alignment that may have occurred wither from the actual act of changing focus points or by accidently moving the camera when adjusting the focus.
This aligns all the layers so they are all in alignment it will most times result in the need for some cropping which I do when the image comes back into lightroom.
Next select Edit Auto-blend layers ….
Again a pop up box appears and by default its selected Sack images and the check box seamless tones and colours is checked.
This only takes about a minute to do so not long at all. It depends on how many layer (Stacked images you have) This Edit Auto-blend layers creates a layer mask for each area that’s in focus and removes the rest automatically. So very powerful and very effective.
I save the file and exit photoshop the file automatically appears back in light room where I crop the image to remove and issues from the alignment. I then make any final adjustments in lightroom and that’s it the finished image.
All up this week I created 7 stacked images of this mushroom in various angles and lighting configurations here’s the rest of the shots from the day. All slightly different. Most are around 10 images stacked together the one above is actual 21 images stacked.
Thanks for Dropping by my blog, hope this ones helpful to anyone interested in trying out stacking images, its pretty straight forward and not to difficult, but you do need both lightroom and Photoshop, which if you use the creative cloud and either the full version of just the photographers bundle which I use then you have them both to use.
Be back next week with more.
Glenn.
]]>The First shot is of an Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) this one I managed to get the framing wrong and to much head room and cut off one of its feet so not the best framed shot, need to watch that in future.
Nest up a Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides)was hunting for lizards in the grass hills near the first lake, the First shot shows it coming down feet out ready for a strike.
While the next shot shows the success of the hunt and feeding on the wind as it looks for its next target.
Around the First lake the Kestral wasn't the only one on the Hunt this Great Egret (Ardea modesta) was also on the lookout for what it could find.
Around the lake there's a small creek that feeds into the lake and sitting on a branch over the creek was this Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos). This one allowed me to get quite close so a nice close up on this one.
The day was contestant showers on and of and this one was taken while I was sheltering under the walkway of the plant bank. I was there for a while and had to shelter in the car at other times due to the wet. So not the best day out.
After the Rain stopped I went out again and found this little Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis), this one not looking its best after the rain.
While the rain stoped I managed to catch this one a little Female Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) was around and I managed to catch it just as it took of. With its feet down and wings out looks a bit like a little Ballerina.
The rain started up again so I got in the car and drove around the gardens to see what was about and while driving I spotted this Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus niggrogularis) sitting in the rain, this one was shot out the car window on the side of the road, Not a happy little butcher bird.
When the rain stopped I managed to get out and see if I could find any mushrooms I only found one but was happy with this shot This one was growing an a small stick only about 10 cm long so easy to pick up I placed in in the fork of a tree so I didn't have to get down on the wet ground a and could position it how I liked so got a good shot from underneath as usual I underexposed the shot to get the black background and lite the mushroom with two speedlites, the one underneath with the Brown gel and the one on top plain, I hand heed the two flashes and fired the camera with the ten second timer giving me time to position the flashes and wait, in some cases a little to long, but still got the results I was hoping for. Happy with this one. We'll see how it goes in the competition this year.
The rest of the day stayed pretty much dry after that so got to walk about and get a few more shots, this ones of the paper daisies.
The White Waratahs are just coming out as well. This shot is taken with two flashes both 90 degrees to the camera on either side of the flower.
The Sturts Desert Peas are also in flower at present, these are a vivid red with black centres, I again under exposed to get the black background and then light the flower with two flashes, one on either side.
This one shows a Grey Shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica) with a caterpillar it found hiding under the bark.
The final shot for this week is of an Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) as he to was seeing what he could find among the leaf litter on the ground.
Thats it for this weeks round up of the shots for the week.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, Be back next week.
Glenn.
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The first shot was taken in the woodland area these little mushrooms were nearly completely berried in the leaf litter and were hard to spot a few leaves moved out of the way and this was the result a passing ant dropped in to see what all the fuss was about.
While taking the above shot I had an audience of a Yellow faced honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops) just checking to make sure I behaved myself.
A bit further a long was this Black faced cuckoo-shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) This one was a bit higher up in the tree tops so not the best quality.
In the small dam opposite the plant bank was this White faced Heron (Egret novaehollandiae) Hmmm seams to be a trend here this week all the birds names are a colour of their faces so far.
OK nearly this one is a Grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) colour right but wrong end of the bird this time.
A small flock of Red-Rumped Parrots (Psephotus haematonotus) were feeding on the days outside the plant bank heres a couple of shots of these, again going with the colour again for the birds for the week with the naming.
A walk around the plant back showed up these small ferns growing and the light was just catching them nicely so this show showed off the bright light green of the fresh ferns.
From there I drove around to the connections gardens where the paper days are now in flower so theres a shot of one of the main flower beds there, the ones after that were singling out three pink flowers amongst the see of yellow ones.
I walked up the top off the connections gardens and found a few Eastern Rosellas (Platycercus eximius) feeding on the ground.
Beside the Rosellas was a small group of Long-billed Corellas (Cacatua tenuirostris) also getting there final feed for the day.
The last shot for the day was going back to the start a gain a mac shot with an ant, this time a small Geraldton Wax flower that had an ant feeding on the nectar.
Thats it for this weeks shots from the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan, hope you liked this weeks shots, I'll be back net week with shots from the week.
Thanks f0r dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
]]>I started out on an walk in the local Dharawal National park supposedly for a guided two by one of the park rangers, after waiting half an hour after the time the tour was to start and with 20 other people waiting we decided that the ranger wasn't going to show up so we started walking on our own.
The first thing I cam across was these little pink wildflowers out in bloom, no idea what they are but happy with the shot all with natural light this time so no flash used for once.
A Little further on we came across a wild flower know as Eggs and Bacon from the colours of the flowers, the bush was alive with these flowers and this was just a small sample of what was out there.
While I was taking the above shot a beec game by so the next shot was of the bee in the flower.
As we walked along the road there was a couple of these large ants, don't think I'd like to get a nip from these ones looking at the nippers on this one.
At the same area the ant was there was a flowering Grevillea which was covered in flowers. It was attacking a small group of New holland Honeyeaters to the flowers for the nector they have.
This shot shows one the Honey eaters at the flower. Very colourful ones these are.
From there we left the national park and went home for some lunch after lunch I headed out to the Australian Botanical Garden's Mount Annan Where the next series of shots were taken. I try and find at least one mushroom shot each weekend but no luck this week. First week in quite a while where I had no luck. I still managed to find a few shots for the afternoon.
The first shot was of a Red bellied Black snake sunning itself beside a gum tree, these are one of the many poisonous snakes in Australia, best not to step on these.
Further along I came across this male Superb Fairy (Malurus cyaneus) wren on the board walk as it was looking for insects to feed on. These ones are pretty shy and you can never get so close to the males of these.
While looking for mushrooms the best I found was this Banksia cone laying on the bark no the ground so I set up the lights and managed this shot, for once I over processed the shot to see what could be done, something a little different still not sure how much I like this one, but certainly a little different for me.
As I was about to leave for the afternoon I saw this Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) testing on another Grevillea so I got these two shots here.
That was it for the day so some OK shots nothing to startling but some reasonable shots so all good.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, some more shots next week.
Glenn.
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Plenty of birds about now the weather has started to warm up here. So a good day for bird shots the days are brighter as well so I can now get a faster shutter speed now to get clearer shots.
As I drove in to the gardens the first small dam is the home to a small group of Tree Martins, So I stopped there to get a few shots of these. The first one here is taken with the Little Martin up high on a dead branch, they seams to be setting up nesting sites in the various hollows in the dead branches.
This is a pair of them sitting on the branch just beside the hollow.
On the other side of the road was a few dead leaves the little Martins kept coming back for the dead leaves and would grab one then fly back to the hollow to line there nest with. So with them keep landing and taking off I set up and waited till I got this shot of one just taking off.
This ones just coming in to land but putting them together makes a nice series of shots.
Another shot of the Martin taking off.
The there was a couple of little yellow Eastern Robin's about as usual these are there every week all year round.
This next one is a different little Robin this one is a tiny little bird a Rose Robin this one is even smaller than the Eastern yellow Robins.
This little guy was not shy and this shot was taken only about 2m away from him. So some nice closeups on this one.
After a weekend here of quite a bit of rain I thought the place would have loads of mushrooms about, but no such luck this week. Only a couple of mushrooms about.
After that I tried my hand at the swallows on the lake again with practice I'm getting better but still a way to go on this yet.
From there I drove home and driving in the drive the sun was getting low and was just lighting up the lavender growing my my front garden so I grabbed the 60D and shot this one before I unloaded the car.
Sunday we drove out to La Perouse I was hopping to see if we could see a few whales along the coast no luck but did get a few more bird shots these ones are of a Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) that was hunting along the shore line in the grass hill sides.
The last shot for the weekend was of this New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) there was quite a few of these around in the banksias that filled the scrub on the headland.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week, I'll be back next week with more.
Glenn.
This little female Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) was at the first lake in the gardens in the reed beds singing for all its worth, this shot caught it in mid tweet, This shots heavily cropped in so not the best quality here.
Next I drove up to the woodland area and the Stolen generation walk and as I approached the first dam there was this Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) drying out from an earlier dip in the dam there.
It didn't seam to mind me as I walked around so I managed to get this closer shot as well before I continued my walk.
Along the track in the woodlands high up in the trees I spotted this Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus) ,The males are quite brightly coloured and the red beak and eye certainly add to the colouring against the Olive head. Later on I found a female but that shot will come later.
This little Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans) was also hanging around hunting for insects about the woodland area. These are often spotted here of late.
This ones of a Grey Shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica) there was a pair of these about in the area. I heard this one well before I saw them I kept hearing it but couldn't find them eventually I found them. This ones the female.
I then drove up to the Wollemi walk of Discovery to see if I could find any Mushrooms this week, another dry week there so they have been in short supply of late, (That should change after all the rain we've had here the last few days, yesterday I recorded 57mm of rain in the rain gauge here so that should be good for a spurt of mushrooms this weekend). As I was about to enter the walk I found this male Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus). The males are a lot more timid than the females so can never get close enough to these for a decent shot, So more work required on these.
Mushroom wise for the week was again a poor week with only two found and they were certainly worse for wear. This was the best of the two. Hoping for better results this weekend with all the rain we've had here the last few days.
After that I went on to the connections gardens to see what was around there I found a pair of Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) bouncing around. These are brightly colours and for a nest they actually burrow into the ground usually on a bank or mound or into a rock wall.
We'll that's it for this weeks shots, Hopefully more mushrooms about next week and with the warmer weather the bird life seams to be coming back.
Thanks for dropping by my Blog.
Glenn.
So I started out in the woodland area of the gardens and walked along one of the bush tracks there, sometimes I've found mushrooms there and not expecting to find to many this week I thought I'd try all known locations, No luck there for mushrooms but I did find a small flock of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) feeding on the ground, this one was the one on watch, while the others feed.
As I was walking along the train a couple of Wallabys bounced away, a few minutes later the reappeared further away, this is the only shot I managed before they took of again I would have preferred a clear shot with out undergrowth in the way. You can still see the little Joey in the grays pouch. Just.
The little Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) was about as normal, this time posing on a nice branch at a reasonable distance enough to blow out the background. I like the second shot better composition wise but the head is s little soft, probably a little motion blur form it turning its head. The top one is a lot sharper.
I did manage to find a mushroom for the week only just, this one again was beside the plant back. This week I used the normal two speed lights and one gelled with brown as usual, but this time when I got back home I Adjusted the white balance based on the white stem, this then turned the background a blue colour.
From there I drove over to the connections gardens to see what was around there some of the garden beds often have mushrooms there, but no luck this week. Last week this is where I found the Fan-tailed cuckoo. But no luck there but there was a few Eastern Rosellas (Platycercus eximius) These are very brightly coloured as you can see below, they don; let you get to close before they take off so this is about as close as I could get to these.
There was also a couple of Magpies on patrol around the gardens and I a managed to get this one before he got on to the walkway.
This ones of a Masked Lapwing (Vanillas miles) use to be called a spur winged Plover but was renamed a few years ago due to confusion with a South African bird of the same name. As I was walking around the connections gardens in a newer part of the garden there is a low section and up above was where the lapwing was it was walking around but as I went to talk the shot is settled down this was as it was abut to settle down on the ground.
Lastly a Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) took off for the island in the middle of the lake, I managed to get this shot as if flew over the lake.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, I'll be back next week with more from this weekend photos.
Glenn.
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So what has happened in the past year, well there has been 4117 separate sessions on my site, of which 14% are returning visitors. The first two months had no visits to the site, then every now and then I would put a link to the site on my google plus stream and that would create some interest in the site, You can see form the spikes in the graph here from Google analytics when I mentioned the site.
In this time I have had people from 93 countries look at my work on my site.
The biggest number so far comes form the United States the Russia followed by Australia then China, but 93 different countries wow who would have thought.
My galary pages also have the ability to sell prints from and in year I even sold one small print, mind you that was to another photographer who was testing out the site and the print quality before starting a site of there own, but still the system seamed to work, so something thats available but not something I push.
This year I'll see about setting up screen saver images to down load from the site as I have had a few people express an interested in getting some of my images as screen savers. But something I'll have to work on. There has also been a few comments added to the guest book on the site so always good to get some feed back on the posts I make, lets me know what people like and would like to have more of. So its been a fun year learning all about keeping a weekly blog going and putting up the better shots each week, or some of the not so good ones with east I've learnt so I can improve. Thanks to all those thats spent some time looking at the site, some longer than others with the vast majority not staying more than 10 seconds on the site, where as others have stayed and then gone on to other pages around the site, thanks.
All the statistics from the site come form google Analytics in case anyone is wondering.
Also this week The Australian Geographic web sit has put up one of my shots as shot of the week so something I'm quite happy about.
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/photography/reader-photos/2015/07/reader-photo-brown-thornbill
Now back to the blog, Last weekend as usual I went out to the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan, so heres a walk through of the shots for the week.
First up is the usual Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis), on the hunt for insects not the the ground, these are found in the woodland area or often in the connections gardens punched on a branch or the trunk of a tree watching for movement on the ground then they drop.
Next up a small flock of Red-browed Finches (Neochmia temporalis) came by this was one of them sitting sunning it self, before they headed off.
Walkng along the track I came across small flock of Weebill's (Smicrornis brevirostris) These ones don;t stay still for long as they flitter about the trees also hunting insects.
After last week not finding many birds this week slightly warmer weather seamed to have bought them all out, this ones of a little Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans) also on the hunt for small insects in the upper branches.
Over in the Daisy garden outside the plant bank was a small group of wrens this ones a female Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) in amounts the daisies. Makes for a brightly coloured shot.
August is always a bright time in the Australian Bush with all the wattles coming out, the gardens are no exception with many wattles out in flower there now, these little balls of yellow fluff cover the trees around this time of year. They certainly make a bright sight.
While walking back to the Car I looked up and spotted this Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata) was souring on the thermal air currents got this one when it was still reasonably low but within a few minutes it was only a speck in the sky as it kept increasing its elevation.
This week mushrooms were getting really hard to find and I only found one small patch here that were certainly worse for wear these were past there better days, but still managed to get a shot of them thats acceptable. A bit of rain would certainly help here to bring a few more to life, with winter here and no rain not good mushroom hunting times at present. We'll see what the next few weeks brings.
Over the last few weeks I've kept hearing these ones calling high up in the trees of the woodland area but have;t been able to sight them then this week in the connections gardens there was two of them little Fan-tailed Cuckoos (Cacomantis flabelliformis) these have a loud call that is heard from quite a way away, but not always easy to spot them this time they were in the open in a couple of sheoak trees. Though they didn't stay long so only got a couple of shots of these.
The last shot or this week was of a Little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera) feeding not on the wattles that are out but on a Banksia.
Thats it for this week and the first year of these posts.
Be back next week with another week of what ever I find in front of my camera.
Thanks for dropping by my Blog.
Glenn.
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The first shot here is of a Bell Miner (Manuring melanophrys) often called bell birds, these birds make a distinctive bell noise calling to each other in the colony. They are quite aggressive and chase any other bird specify away for there territory.
The next shot is of the yellow faced honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops) still chasing for a better shot of these. again not overly happy with this shot, so will have to keep trying for these ones.
The Gray fantails (Rhioidura albiscap) are always around though they don't stay to long in any one place often bouncing around in the hunt for insects to eat. These are not to shy and you can get quite close to these its just they don;t stay still to long.
This next shot was the first mushroom i came on for the day and thought I better get this one incase I don;t find any more, this one was grabbing not he top of a hill in art of the gardens that marked no entire due to regeneration so I could only shoot this one from a distance with the 600mm Sigma instead of the usual marco lens so no flash just as is in this case.
As I headed back tot he car I though Id try on eh the side of the road as there was a few mushrooms there the other week and I was rewarded with this little one. this was right beside the path so no worries getting close to this one and setting up the flashes for this shot.
From there I drove over to the connections gardens where I had a walk around again not to much to be seen here in the way of bird life the gardens are very quite at the moment that way. Even the lakes are pretty much deserted with only a few birds about there. This next series of shots is of a White-faced Heron (Egret novaehollandiae) coming in to land along the side of the bank of the lake closest tot eh main car park.
This next one is on an Eurasian coot, (Fulica atra) these little water birds are often seen in the gardens besides the lakes on the freshly mown lawns, these birds are more suited tot he water and have trouble walking on land, there feet are not webbed like some water birds but have what is called lobed toes, this shot below shots the toes wither little round series of lobes on each toe. This makes them have a difficult time of walking on the land but on the water the almost seam to be able to walk across the top of it when chasing each other about.
After that I though I'd try the top of the hill again where I found some bird life last week, but that was also empty of bird life so no joy there, but I did find a small family of Wallabies there the first shot is of the mother watching over her journal joey, who is now out of the pouch and taking car of itself.
The next two are of the little Joey sitting int eh grass and looking around. These are Wallabies and are a smaller version of a Kangaroo basically.
Well thats it for this weeks Blog post, hope you liked it, thanks for dropping by my blog, more next week.
Glenn.
I started off around the Stolen generation area of the gardens in the woodland area, and the first shot I 've got is of the Yellow faced honey eater. These guys are usually pretty fast and don't stay in any place long this one was behind me and when I turned around here he was stilling there waiting. So I turned set and managed this one, it wasn't in the best of light as the face was in shade, but still managed to pull it out of the shadows in lightroom when I got home. So the shot came out OK, still not the best so still need to work to get a really good one of these. But starting to get there with them.
Nest I stopped off at the plant bank where there's a Daisy garden in flower, quite a few honey bees were doing the rounds of the flowers so I found a group of accessible flowers and waited till a Bee arrived took about 15 minutes till I got this shot, so takes patients to get some of these shots just waiting for the right moment to come along but planning your location. This one was taken with the CAnon 60D and the 100mm f2.8L Macro lens.
From there I went to the Wollemi pine walk of Discovery area haven't been up there for a few weeks and there was quite a few mushrooms up there. So here's a collection of what I found up there.
This time there was quite a few white ones up there as well, so that makes a bit of a change and the white contrast well with the darker backgrounds so really stands out. this two are the same mushroom just slightly different compositions. Hard to pick between them but I think I like the first of the two here.
Then I found this pair growing on a bank with enough height to get the camera underneath them for this shot. The shot below this one is the set up I used to take this shot you can also see the lighting conditions that the shot was taken under.
So the Flash on the left has a brown gel over it to give a bit of a tint tot he shot, gives a bit more depth to the shot rather than the plain white it would have been, the other is a plain flash to give some of the white with the foil reflecting the light back down from the top. As usual I built up the light gone at a time and with out the foil it loses some of it, so each light adds a bit more while giving some shadows to give it interest.
From there I started to drive out of the gardens but at the last hill decided to stop and see what was around and here I found a decent collection of birds getting the last light of the day. This ones of a Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinates) it was happy sitting warming it self int eh last of the sun light before the cold nigh set in, occasionally diving on to the ground on some insect it spied.
Then down in the grass was a small flock of Yellow-rumped Hornbills (Acanthiza Chrysorrhoa) I sat on the ground and they just bounced all around slowly getting closer till I got these couple of shots, these guys were pretty quick and the light was fading so had to up the ISO to keep a respectable shutter speed here other wise they would have all blurry from motion.
This ones the one of the flock standing lookout in a tree over looking the grass area. Not sure it was doing a great job as I was there photographing them the whole time. Maybe it was just enjoying the last of the sun.
Lastly a little Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leugophrys) perched in a low branch looking for the last of the insects, the light had turned a nice golden colour by now so the colour of this shot is for the last of the sunlight for the day, the magic hour. This was the last shot for the day.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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This week I thought I'd go over how I took this shot.
This was taken this afternoon and follows the normal process I use to take my weekly mushroom shot for +ShroomshotSaturday, A google plus theme page on mushrooms photographed on Saturdays.
The shot was taken with a Canon 60D fitted with ehCanon 100mm F2,8L Macro lens. The shot is taken in normal daylight, The shot was taken at 4:00pm in the afternoon on an overcast day. These ones were found besides a walking track, after a few days of rain here in southwest Sydney. These little guys are quite small only about 6mm in diameter of the cap.
The first thing I do is frame up the shot, to do this I set up the camera on the ground often using my home made bean bag and some times a few blocks of wood to give extra hight as in this case. If I can get underneath the mushrooms I will to highlight the gills. In this case since they were so tiny I couldn't get underneath them. I'll set the exposure so I can see the mushrooms in the live view LCD and angle the screen so I can see it. (One of the big pluses of the Canon 60d the articulated screen) I'll frame up the shot then zoom in 10 times on one of the Caps and focus manually around 1/3 of the way from the front edge of the cap to the top of the cap, this point will give me the greater depth of field when I go for the final shot. I then take a test shot and see how it looks often zooming in to again check focus is OK and look for any stay items in the shot I may want to remove, often a stray leaf or blade of grass will need to be moved.
I'll move any think in the way of the mushroom and reposition any greenery around the mushrooms to the best effect.
Once I'm happy with that then set the aperture to get the mushroom in full focus will keeping the background out of focus as mush as possible. I then set the shutter speed around 1/200 of a second which usually make the live view go black well under exposed and then stat to add in the lights.
Starting with the rim light or back light, I position the light to give the effect I want. which is to to give an edge light to the cap of the mushroom. This shot is only the rim light on, which is a plain unglued flash to the right rear in this case.
This often need to be adjusted to only light the mushroom and leave as much background unlite as possible. In this case I had to angle the flash head up a bit. Once happy with that I add in the second flash usually to the opposed side and 90 degrees to the camera, this is usually enough to light the mushroom while still giving it shadows to give it some three dimensional feel to it, rather than blasting it with light front on which tends to remove some of the death tot eh shot.
I'll take a shot and reposition the lights as need be to get he best effect in this case the light is actually a little behind the mushroom adding a little more edge lighting on the left, the front of the mushroom and the foreground is still a little dark, as I only have two flashes I then use a high tech piece of aluminium cooking foil about 10 cm square and use that as a reflector to reflect the plain flash back into the shot. This give the effect of a third light at less power and adds a bit of fill light on the front.
Heres two shots showing the set up on the ground where you can see the two flashes the reflector and the Camera not eh ground with the tilt screen angles so I can see. This is the actual lighting conditions the shot was taken in so as you can see a lot brighter than the image looks.
From here the shots pretty much done not much more to do out in the field, one final check of the shots no the back of the camera zoomed in on the LCD to check for focus and make sure nothings in the shot then head off home to play in light room.
In light room I'll First crop the image to make the mushroom as large as possible if not already so while removing any items to the edge of the shot thats distracting to the shot. I'll then reduce the highlight to make sure the rim lights not to blown out, I'll increase the contrast and clarity quite often a lot on the clarity ( in this case it didn't need to much, it depends on the mushroom), I usually increase the shadows a little bit and drop the blacks down, occasionally increasing the whites as well as in this shot, to add a light more brightness to the mid tones.
From there if the exposure needs any find adjustment I'll add or subtract as required then move down the development panel adding a little more to sharpness and adding a little more to noise reduction both basic and colour.
Finally I'll add a bit of a post-crop vignetting to dragon the edges and may add in a graduated filter as well to darken a side on the bottom of the shot, again to my taste. I check the image again and see if theres any areas that are to bring in the for ground usually any stray sticks or foliage that got to much flash and I'll use the local adjustment brush to take down the exposure about half a stop or so, just to take the brightness away for all but the main subject. I'll check the Cap of the mushroom and may add in a Radius filter just over the cap and slightly increase the exposure to bring up the brightness there. and a final check to make sure theres no sensor dust spots or other distracting areas that need cloning out and then the image is done.
So a bit of work in each shot both in the field and on the Computer, the computer time is around ten minutes these days as I've pretty much got that sorted out, the field time may be up to half an hour to get the lights in the right place, trying out left and right locations and any other options I think will work. the hard part is when I get back sorting out which image is the best for the week, as I'll often have several subjects I've taken and several shots to sort though of each.
Hope you found this helpful and and a bit of an inside to how I go about these shots each week. Happy to answer any questions any one may have just leave a comment on this post and I'll respond in time. This is only my hobby so I'm still working my way around these things as well still learning here.
Thanks for dropping my my blog check back next week for more.
Glenn.
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To start with before the walk started we walked along a bit and found some surfers out in the water the surf wasn't that large but still good enough for the guys to catch some small waves and my first attempt at some surfing shots form the beach with the sigma 150 - 600 sports lens. again happy with the results That I got out of this lens. I'll need to practice a bit more to get the right sort of shots and angles but still happy with what I got here.
Being at the beach of cause the usual suspects were around sea gulls and pelicans so heres a few shots of them flying past.
I normally don't take a great deal of people or street photography and hardly ever go into black and white but this one I'm glad I took and the black and white treatment looks much bette than the colour version of this one so happy I took the shot, I quite like this one one of the better ones of the day.
I even managed to find a small group of mushrooms just beside the meet up point fro the photowalk so MY Saturday mushroom shot still managed to get taken. Though I posted an older shot for the Google plus group this week as I didn't get a change get home and process the shot before Saturday night.
The walk was right beside the main entrance to the port of Newcastle so there was quite a bit of shipping going though the channel right beside us, heres a few shots of the boats in action.
Walking along the beach I found old weather beaten log that was hollowed out so I set up the speed lights and had a go at that, not as happy with the results of this one as I thought I would be, this one needed more work there to get it right but I did't want to miss the sunset, so rushed the shots here a bit.
Walking along the breakaway I tried to get a few wave shots side on this was the best of my efforts here but again not that happy with this one, needed a little better depth of field and perhaps a faster shutter speed as well, which would have meant a higher ISO as well, but looks promising so will have to try this again one day.
The wind started to pick up as the sun was setting so a few of my shots were not as sharp as I could have liked with the longer exposures even on a strong tripod and even hanging the camera bag off the tripod to add bit of stability to it. So the couple of shots below are off the sunset and light house at Nobbys head Newcastle.
After the sun set a small fishing boat made its way into the harbour so heres a few shots of it as it made its way around the breakaway into the port.
Sunday we got home around 12:00 so still time for me to head out to the Australian Botanical Garden's Mount Annan to see what was happening on the day.
Mainly Bird shots here for the day. Starting with the Australian wood Duck.
Managed a shot of an Eastern Spinebill as wellThough not so happy with this one, still need to work at a good one of these.
As usual the welcome Swallows were diving around the grass area looking for there late afternoon feed so heres a few shots I got of them in flight, these arn't so east to get as they move so fast across the grass and keep changing directions as well to add to the difficulty, but still managed the two shots.
There's a group of Kookaburras that seam to have made there home in the gardens now and they are there most afternoons when I'm there, this one is a nice portrait shot of one.
The last shot for the day was of a Hardhead or white eyed duck as it took off across the lake, this shot was a bit late so I didn't catch the duck square on, oh well something for next time :-)
So that was this weekends shots something a little different on Saturday including a few people shots and even black and white shot. So the photowalks get you to take different shots than you normally would even though your usually on your own when you take the shots. A good weekend and some decent shots from the two days.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, be back next week with more.
Glenn.
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So similar to the last few weeks Ill run thought the shots and a little about each one. The first shot is a little mushroom that was growing in the middle of a walking track in the grass, I set up and was taking a series of these shots when I heard a noise down the path and looked up to see a mountain bike rider riding a long the path, So I grabbed my gear and moved it out of the way while standing over the mushroom to protect it as the bike rode past then reset up and went to work on this one below. AS usual this shot was done with two peed lights plus in this case a small piece of aluminium cooking fold I use as a small reflector to bring back some of the light in the shadows. One of the light has a brown gel over it to add some colour to the shot.
I also used a small water spray bottle I carry with me to add in the water drops this usually helps bring out the colours of the mushrooms and in some cases gives some highlights for the flashes to reflect off as on the upper cap of this one.
Fromt ehre I walked along the track to the plant bank and found this little Grey fantail bouncing around. The shot below shows it with its fan tail up.
The next shot shows the Bird just after it leaped from its branch and is in a sort of dive to the next one. Needed a fraction faster shutter speed for this one, But still not to bad.
This week around the daisy no butterflys but some insects to practice with.
Around the guarded the wattles are starting to come out now as well usually August is the best time for Wattles but there is still a few coming out now, mind you you can always find one somewhere in the gardens in flower depending on the type it is.
As I was driving around the gardens I spotted this immature grey Butcher bird catching the last of the afternoon sun. The juvenile birds are a brown colour before urn gin he grey of their parents.
Lastly I finished up by the lakes near the main car park before driving home when this Australian White Ibis flew right over head so I managed to get this shot as it flew by. The ISO was up to 2000 of this shot, happy to go up that high with the 7d mk2 would never thought to go much over 800 on the 60d so the 7d mk2 is certainly a much better performer when it comes to that a and many other things.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, hope you like it, next week will be somewhere different other than the Australian Botanical gardens so you'll have to wait for next week to find out where. Have a great week there.
Glenn.
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This week I started off in the Stolen generation walk and found the usual suspect the Eastern Yellow Robin. He also found me by the looks of it as he is staring me down.
This shot the background is a little to busy and the sticks across the feet also take from the shot on this occasion. But still makes a nice subject and they are always around to pose for me each week.
This one is a different one to the normal one a Jacky Winter, these are a little more timid that the Eastern Yellow Robin. So they don't stick around and don't allow you to get so close either. Still working of getting a decent shot of one of these. Oh well always next week.
I walked along the board walk and along the path past the plant back and found a small group of Yellow faced honey eaters and managed to get this portrait shot, getting better but I still want a better one of these ones as well, but an improvement on the past few weeks shots of these.
The Next four shots are of the same mushroom just two different angles and different lighting effects, this one was growing on a rotting tree log.
The first is natural light no flash used.
Where as the next one was the two light set up a plain flash underneath and a brown gelled flash to the right.
From there I changed angles and shot back across the mushroom and again with two lights.
Finally the one I liked the best out of these four this shout with the two lights again, such a difference in the shots just changing the angle and lighting.
I decided to check out the Connections garden again and again found a different collection of mushrooms up there so more to choose from again. Again the next two shots are of the same mushroom just different lighting on the subject.
By then it was getting late and the red-rumped grass parts were coming down for the final feed for the night before heading up to the gum trees to roost. This is a shot of them coming in to feed.
Followed by a shot of two of them heading of for the night. Not that happy with either of these shots, the top one needs a better depth of field and faster shutter speed though a bit hard in the low light of the evening even with the ISO raised up. The one below is OK but this has been quite heavily cropped and the low light and high ISO is starting to show up the noise a little to much so when bought down in lightroom the image is taking on that painted effect. But still shot in flight thats reasonable sharp, certainly showing why its named a Red Rump.
That's it for the best of, from this weekend, hope some of the shots give you a flavour for this week and some of the better shots and issues I have each week.
You can also find me on TSU a social media site like google plus but the royalties urned are shared back amounst the contributors.
https://www.tsu.co/Glenn_Smith
Or google plus, Flickr or Ello, though by far the most shots are posted to my blog each week.
Thanks for dropping by my Blog, There will be more net week.
Glenn
]]>This weeks blog is going over the shots I took last weekend at the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan. A good day weather wise so not so cold and not raining as it was all week here in Sydney here last week. So a good day out. With all the wet weather about there was plenty of mushrooms out. Started off heading to the Stolen Generation memorial walk were there us usually plenty of birds about and of late some mushrooms as well.
The first for shots are a collection of some of the mushrooms I found there. Again all the mushroom shots are taken with the Canon 60D with two off camera speedlites, one with a brown gel to add some toning to the shot.
The first shot has the brown gel on the right of the shot.
The next shot a different mushroom has the brown gel on the left this gives the brown tones on one side and the plain flash on the opposite side gives a whiter light.
Same set up again but again a different set of mushrooms, so I'm pretty well set up for these these days and its only a matter of moving the lights a little bit to give the best effect, wither I back light one or use two sidelights on opposite sides. the position of the lights makes a big difference to the shot and only a small difference can make all the difference. For me this is still trial and error moving the lights around, I have a fair idea what will be but until you move it you never know, it really brings out the gills if you get it right with the lights and shadows.
While shooting the mushrooms the yellow faced honey eater were about and I finally managed to get at the first clean shot of one, still needs improvement os need to keep working at these ones but certainly a lot cleaner shot than the past of these ones.
After that I walked along the walkway to see what else was about and eventually found my self over at the plant bank garden, the plan bank is a recently new facility in the gardens where all the scientists work, including a seed bank of all the seats they collect out in the wold, they are often sending the seed collectors out in exotic locations to collect seed specimens and these are stored in the plant bank in the gardens. If you interest the link below will take you to their site where the cover a lot more detail of what they are up to there. all very interesting they run tours thought the facility and often run student education sessions there for school groups.
https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/support/Fundraising_projects/PlantBank
The shot below is one of the wild daisys they have growing there.
While I was shooting the daisys there was a Monarch butterfly about so I got a few shots of this as well, something different for me, compared to birds and mushrooms.
After the butterfly fly off I found a red Browed Finch in the nearby sheoaks so heres a shot I managed of it.
Of cause as of recent no trip there would be complete with out at least one shot of the Eastern Yellow Robins in the gardens, so heres two shots of them.
From there I drove up to the connections gardens to see what was going on there as its been a few week since I was up that way, I found loads of mushrooms up there so heres a few shots of these as well, No shortages of subjects there to shoot.
The next two shoots are the same set up the difference is just the exposure and lighting taken only a few minutes apart but shows you the effects the lighting can have and what happens when you get creative with the exposure. Same set up just using flashes and under exposing to kill of the background.
From there I started to head back to the car as it was getting late and I came across the small group of swallows and tried my hand at panning shots with these once more, these are really fast so far more deleted shots that acceptable ones of these. Even with the 600mm lens these are pretty heavily cropped in to get these so starting to loose out on the detail. Oh well more practice required on theres looks like.
Lastly a shot of a grey Butcher Bird, these birds though plain looking have an amazing bird call and are quite the song bird.
So thats it for this weeks shots, hope you like them, There will be more next week, so stay tuned fro more shots.
Thanks for dropping by my blog .
Glenn.
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This weeks shots were taken Saturday Morning at the Australian Botanical Garden's Mount Annan. As usual the plan is to find at least one Mushroom shot and slowly get as many decent clean shots of all the birds found in the gardens. This week I managed a few of each so a good week this week. I started out early again this week and was in the gardens around twenty past eight in the morning.
As I was driving past the first lake there was a few ibis in the freshly mown grass picking over what they could find. These first two are of Staw neck Ibis. These ones have great colours in their wings.
I then drove to the stolen generation walking track where there are usually plenty of birds around and of late quite a few mushrooms. this week I found no mushrooms there, but always plenty of birds the Usually Eastern yellow Robins were about.
Further along the walk I found a pair of rainbow Lorikeets investigating a hollow. There wen't in the best light so not the best shots of this pair.
Walking back to the car I found an Australian Raven over looking the track, again the light was low so a slow shutter speed which meant any movement of the bird meant a blur shot this was the best I got but the head is a little unsharp from motion blur, so need to keep trying for this one.
From their I drove up to the Wollemi walk of discovery as there is nearly always some mushrooms up there at least. As I was about to enter the walk I found another Eastern Yellow Robin This time a much better shot, Happy with this one.
As I walked along the track I was starting to think I wasn't login to find any mushroom up this way either so I decided to get this shot of the Fungi growing on a trunk of a tree, liking the colours of the browns and oranges, especially when lit with the flash for underneath like these are.
Then Finally I found a lone two little mushrooms growing tall, So I had my shot for the week. I spend a while working the speedlites around to get the better angle, the one here has the light at the right rear lighting through the mushroom to give the glow to the cap. The soft box to the left front lit the mushrooms plus the moss at the rear to give the green background. the Green and gold work quite well in this shot I think.
After that it was time to head home.
Thanks for dropping by my blog this week.
Be back again next week with next weeks shots.
Glenn.
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This weeks shots are a combination of Saturday mornings walk in the Australian Botanical Garden's Mount Annan and Sunday nights Walk around the Sydney Vivid 2015 Festival.
Saturday I went to the gardens earlier than usual in the morning to see if there was nay different bird life around. Not to much different to normal, then again really was there going to be.
The first shot was of a pair of Galahs resting in a gum tree. They just kept their eyes open enough to keep an eye on me but were pretty much sleeping there.
In the same tree lower down was this Red-rumped grass parrot. its mate flew off before I could get the pair of them in the shot.
The usual Eastern Yellow robin was about. This sit on trees or low branches studying the ground then ponce on any unsuspecting insect.
A pair of Eastern Rosellas were investigating a hollow as a potential nesting site as well.
Again Friday saw a little bit of rain this end of Sydney so Mushrooms were plentiful again. Here's a collection of this weeks mushroom shots. A good collection of shots mushroom wise this week.
Sunday night I headed into the city for the annual Vivid lights festival where the light up various buildings and light displays.
Started off at Darling Harbour where they had the water and laser displays going on.
Walking from Darling Harbour into the city Star City Casino was doing their own light display form the roof of the Casino, so here's a shot of the show.
I walked through Martin place where the lighting installation below was set up.
Down by Circular quay customs house was well light up with carious images being projected on to the façade.
From there I walked through First Fleet park on my way to the overseas passenger terminal to look over at the opera house. this one below was in the middle of first fleet park.
Then to the top of the terminal directly opposite the opera house where the next series of shots were taken, this year the opera house was again projected upon with various displays the images didn't stay long to get a clean shot so these were the best I managed this year. not that happy with these shots Think I could have done a little better with the focus when I look close at the opera house foreground. One to remember for next year.
Thanks for dropping by my blog. More next week.
Glenn.
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This weeks blog is again going over the shots from Saturdays trip to the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan. The weather was a bit on the cool side and very overcast so not great light a bit dark so had to up the ISO to get these shots, some are suffering a bit from the ISO when I cropped in, the 7dmk2 is pretty good at the high ISOs especially compared to the 60D where anything about 800 I use to worry, but with this some of these are up around 3200 its only when you start to crop in that the effects start to show up.
As I drove in and passing the first lake there was a Great Egret on the edge of the lake so I pulled up and got out the camera first thing this week, here's one of the shots. Would have liked the background a little more out of focus but still it shows the soundings of the bird. This was shot from a tripod.
While I was shooting the Egret a few cars went past and the first lake is pretty close to the road so the Egret took off over the lake, but the time I got the camera unlocked on the tripod I missed the shot of it over the lake in flight, but then you can't get them all.
A Nankeen Kestrel was also around the lake and the first shot bellows shows it on the high tension power lines over the lake. this one was cropped quite heavily so the results show the noise form the higher ISOs so not the best clean shot.
The next few are of the bird hunting and hovering over the grass lands looking for its lunch, this time it was a bit closer so the crop wasn't as server so the noise isn't quite as bad as the shot above, still not that happy with it could have used a little smaller aperture and higher shutter speed to catch the wings fully focused. Again the low light came into play here so I was stuck with what I got, maybe next week the sun will be out, the Kestrels are regulars there so I'll need to keep an eye out for them in better lighting conditions.
Again a shot heavily cropped so high noise again in this one, so not the best, but shows that not all shots are winners. and need to come back on another day.
After the Kestrel flew out of range I went off to look for mushrooms. Again a few still around but not so much to pick form this weekend. The first two are the same set of mushrooms as I was taking the shots the left mushroom was starting to collapse, so the second shot is showing more of the gills I also changed the crop to a portrait shot which gives it s tighter crop. I preference is for the top one of these two.
The next series is the same set up just changing the lighting, moving the flash locations or the powers of the flash, you can see the difference effects that only slight changes of lighting locations makes to the shot. Again one of the speedlites has a brown gel the other is in a small softbox, just depending on the locations and powers changes the whole feel of the shot.
One more shot of another Mushroom form the day.
The light in the under story was pretty dark so a lot of these shots were taken at lower shutter speeds than I would have liked so as a result there is a bit of motion blur to some of the shots as the bird moved. The next shot is of a Leaden Flycatcher just after it had a bath in a small water hole, so was still sorting out its feathers. It was a bit high up in the campy so didn't really get a clear shot, still trying to get a decent shot of of this one.
This ones of a small Silver Eye is it hunts for small insects.
The usual little Eastern Yellow robin was around but this time i didn't get close enough and again the slow shutter speed meant some motion blur to this shot so again not the best, Better luck next time.
Lastly there was a few juvenile Kookaburra about this one sat in a branch close by for a while before diving to the ground. These are quite large birds very solid and with a strong thick beak.
After that it was time to head out before the gates closed, so a bit of a mixed bag this week some reasonable shots others not quite as good as they could have been, but thats all part of the fun of it all.
Thanks for dropping by my blog for the week, long weekend coming up here in Sydney so we'll see what I can find then, the plan is one night to head into Sydney for the Vivid lights festival around the Harbour, so we'll see how that goes this year.
Till Next week.
Glenn.
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This week I've included some of the the other shots as well as the ones I think are the main winners of the week. Some of these are the same subject just slightly different angle of the subject has moved, so makes a different shot. So I'll walk thought the shots with a few comments on each.
Like most weeks This week I started off with Mushroom shots, Friday we got a bit of rain here so there was quite a few mushrooms popping up around the place this little group here had some nice colour to them and also had some greenery around them which always give the mushroom shots that added effect. The green and oranges go well together.
The two shots here are very similar but the top one has a third mushroom in the back ground which actually was laying on the ground so I placed it in the shot, the second one has the mushroom removed, in the second shot I also moved the greenery around a little to fill in some of the base with some green. The lighting for these two shots was very similar with a bare flash on the left and a brown gelled flash to the right behind, (A gell is a pice of coloured plastic that goes over the flash head to add a bit of a colour cast to the light, in this case it gives it a brown tint to the light. I also have a small spray bottle with me that gives a light mist of water droplets this was sprayed around a little before the shoot the water brings out the colours of the mushrooms and also the droplets add to the shot, in this case you can see the droplets between the gills. I prefer the second shot of these two.
The next one is the same mushroom Just a different angle Only slightly to isolate the mushroom on its own. Similar lighting but more of the greenery in the shot. To give it a different type of shot. The one below the lighting on the left is a little to strong just needed to be bought down a touch and also has the stray grass blade sticking up in the shot, very distracting and not adding to the image. So the top on here out of these tow is my preferred shot
This next one was of a lone mushroom and I gave it a softer light to it but I missed the focus on this one, needed a little tighter aperture to give a little more depth of field to it, on its best to get the gills and the stem in focus in this case I only got the front half in focus and not the stem, but the lightings OK just needed a bit more on the focus depth of field.
After I had my mushroom shots for the week I concentrated not eh bird shots for the week. The Gray fantails are still touching around and this one was hopping along a small branch. I got a series of this one here and the two shots below are different angles taken for the same set up just the bird moving along the branch. But the different angles made the different between a landscape shot and a portrait shot. The second one as the sun was on the left meant the right side was a little two dark, starting to lose some of the details in the shot around the eye.
The next bird I came across was an Eastern Spinebill I've had a few good shots of these before but this was the first time with the long lens so again two different shots landscape and portrait, based on the angle of the bird, I think the landscape shot is the better of the two though would have preferred a little more space not the right, but a tree branch was getting in the shot you can just start to see it in the top right corner. The focus on the head is great but starts to drop of not he rest of the body so could have used a smaller aperture again to give a little more depth of field for this shot. but still I'm happy with this one, another lesson for next time.
This next shot is of a Golden Whistler these are usually quite high up in the gum trees hunting insects, this one has the bird low not eh branch just about to spring of for a short flight to the next branch, not the best shot, but the best one I have of these so far, so will need to keep an eye of for this one next time.
I also stopped by eh lake again and had another go at getting swallows as they dive into the lake to have their bath as they fly, this shot is of one as it just comes out of the lake. Even at 600mm this one is a little small to see all the detail, one day I'll catch one closer to the bank. where it will be larger in the frame.
Finally as I was driving out of the gardens the sun was getting low approaching shut set and there was this Wallaby with Joey in pouch with the sun behind it nicely back lighting it, so I go this shot before it bounded away.
Well thats it for this weeks shots, thanks for dropping by my blog. There will be more next week.
Glenn.
]]>So Last Saturday I set off in the afternoon to see what I could see.
First thing I found what this unusual Mushroom, looks a bit like a loaf of bread straight out of the oven. The colour and the way the top is broken like a loaf of bread expanding to quickly which is probably exactly what happened here with this one. Shot with two speed lights one on the left with a brown gel, Which is basically a coloured piece of clear plastic that goes over the flash to add a slight colour cast to the shot, the second speedlite on the right is in a small softball and adds a fill light to the shot.
The same location that this mushroom was the Yellow face honey eaters frequent so I managed another shot of one of these, still haven't got a really decent one of these yet so more patients needed for the looks like, I'll get one one day, but this is the best I got of one of these this week.
From there I walked along the track a little way and came apon this Eastern Yellow Robin, this one was jumping about catching insects, they usually sit on a branch like this one studying the ground and then drop on some unsuspecting Insect. This one didn't stay long there before diving off for another feed.
A little further along was this Golden Whistler, As usually I heard it well before I saw this one. Another one I need a better shot of. So will need to keep an eye out for these next time as well, Slowly getting my collection of decent shots of the various Bird life in the gardens but a long way to go yet.
Around the same area was this little Rose Robin, not the best view of this little one so no real details of the rose coloured front it wears.
As I walked back to the car along the road this time for a change I spotted this pair of Wrens hunting insects. the first is a female Variegated Fairy-wren where as the second is the Superb Fairy‑wren,the difference being the Blue tail of the Variegated Wren and the brown eye patch of the Superb wren. Both Females, the males of these are much more shy.
Once I got back to the car I drove up to the Wollemi pine Walk of Discovery to see what mushrooms were growing up there this week as usual I managed to find a few, the first one was the better shot of the day Mushroom wise. Again light with two speed lights off camera.
I found a second grouping close by but the shot did;t quite work out a little to dark and not fully focused this time, Oh well better luck next time.
I then drove back to the main car park near the visitors centre and took a walk through the connections Gardens where the light was improving getting closer to sun set so I had a go at a few flower shots, neither of the two, I'm overly happy with so need to take a little more time with thees next time.
From there I walked down tot eh two main lakes and I found this family of Purple swamp Hens sharing an Apple, the Parent Bird has the apple held in its foot, I has broken off a piece and the two juveniles are taking if from their parents beak.
On the main flat grassy Green were a flock of small red Rumped Grass Parrots, there is a fairly large flock there as usual at this time of the afternoon when the gardens start to empty out and the parrots come down for the last feed of the day. These parrots are a little larger than a Budgerigar and a lot more solid.
As I was walking back to the car to head home for the day I noticed a small group of swallows flying over the lake and diving in for a quick bath and then continuing along their way, so the last shots for the day are of these little guys hitting the water and continuing on.
Hope you liked this weeks Blog post of my photo walk in the Australian botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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This weeks walk was at the Blue Mountains Botanical Garden's, Mount Tomah so I didn't totally escape the botanical gardens.
The First shot was the best of the mushroom shots I got, this one I like the other two are so so, but I like the way the lighting came of on this one though could have done with a little more depth of field around the mushroom, but still a pleasing shot so happy with this one.
The next one does;t have the character that the first has so is a little flat, It could also have done with a little more depth of field so a smaller aperture would't have hurt on this one
Where as this shot below has the character but still missing the quality of the lighting not his shot. So still not happy with this one the first one above was the better of the mushroom shots for this week.
There wasn’t that many Mushrooms about up there maybe a bit to cold up there for them, not sure, compared to last weeks effort at Mount Annan this week was very few to choose from. So after that tI decided to concentrate on flower shots,
The first one was some sort of Lilly, not sure of its name, but I bought the exposure right down and then lit it with the single speed lit in an 8" hand held soft box with the camera fired by the infrared remote. might have needed a second light on the right for this shot, but still something different.
The next two are much better and I'm quite happy with these two. The first is a King protea (Protea cynaroides) these were taken in full daylight part shade but full light so its all done with exposure and the single flash in both cases. But the different the flash makes is much more dramatic that a flat shot I think. Gives it that much more impact and more interest with the shadows on the shot. Both these has had some adjustments in lightroom though not to much.
Thats if from the better shots from the photowalk, I didn't take that many shots compared to a normal day but did get to talk to a few other people where normal I'm on my own the photowalk was also only for 2 hours so time was short and the gardens closed at 5:30.
Sunday we drove back down the mountains home and from there being mothers day I headed of to my Brothers place where this years mothers day was being held, after lunch we both grabbed our cameras and together with mum we walked down to the local lake for some bird shots, there's a small lake down the bottom of the street for him and it has a small island in the middle where Ibis nest.
Plenty of chances to practice panning shots here.
The first shot is of a swallow in flight of the lake, this one is a bit heavily cropped so starting to loose some of the details, but still enough detail to pick ou the feather details in the wings.
There was no shortage of Australian White Ibis flying back and forth for the island and plenty of chances for shots like this as they had a good flight to the island, so enough time to lock focus and pan with the birds. So here below you'll find a few of these type of shots here.
There were also a few cormorants flying around and this, these ones are black so not so easy to get any detail against the blue skys, until they bank with the sun on their feathers like these shots.
On the bank of the lake was a Royal Spoonbill checking out whats for lunch.
There were also a few Ibis still nest building and this shot is one carrying his latest home improvement to the nest site.
A flock of Cockatoos took flight over the lake as well while we were shooting and I managed to track this one while firing of a burst mode, so the series below shows how good the 7Dmik2 is at rapid fire while tracking focus, the Sigma 150 to 600 Sports certainly helps as well. But the detail in the wing feathers and wing muscles on these ones put a smile on my face.
A Pair of Australian Wood ducks (Chenonetta jubata) came in to land on the lake a swell, but the actual touch down was just behind a tree so much great splash down shot for these ones.
Mean while the bus kept coming along.
On the lake was also a Hardhead (White-eyed Duck) (Aythya australis) causing around.
And then of cause more Idus.
this one is of the nest site not he island and you can just make out the parent feeding the Juvenile bird here below on the left.
Lastly a older male all dressed up ready to party, shacking off some water.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, hope you enjoyed it, more next week. :-))))
Glenn.
The first shown shown here was the best of the weekend I think. This one of a pair of Mushrooms growing from the same base was shot with the Canon 60D and two sppedlites one of which had a brown gel on, the one on the right rear, the left rear is in a small soft box and slightly in front.The Gel coloured up the leaves on the ground where the soft box added the details to the front.
The Day was pretty wet and there wasn't that many Birds about so not a great day of shots only a handful on Saturday, a lot of the time sheltering form the passing rain on and off. But I did mange to get thsi shot of a Mountain Devil (Lambertia fomosa) with the rain drops still on the spiky leaves, so happy with that. Taken with the 7dmk2 and the sigma 150-600 sports.
As I was driving out for the day I saw a little wallaby sitting up quite near the road, so I stopped the car and got out expecting him to dart off, but this one just sat there and watched me while I took a few shots, sorry I didn't get the tripod to get a better shot, this one was hand held so not the best but still plenty of detail in the shot. Wallabies are the smaller cousin of the Kangaroos, The gardens have both but the wallabies by far out number the kangaroos
I went back the next day to start with, with my wife where we had Breakfast in the restaurant in the gardens and then a walk around the gardens, even though it wasn't raining still not much in the way of bird life around.
So after a bit of a walk around for an hour we left. There were so many mushrooms popping up after the rain I went back with the my mushroom camera the 60D as I only took out the 7dmk2 in the morning, and I took a series of mushrooms for the afternoon, heres a collection of the shots taken.
This one I tried something different with both landscape and portrait crops, think the landscape slightly has the edge but not much in it.
I did manage one shot of the little Yellow eastern Robin but not a great shot to slow a shutter speed for this one as he was moving about so not the sharpest image.
So for the rest of the day I was content to take Mushroom shots with so many to choose form.
Hope you liked the Mushroom flavour to this weeks Blog, pretty much all there was to take this week, next weekend I'll be travelling a little further a field so hopefully something different in the blog next week, stay tuned.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
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The first shot is of an Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) as it was leaving the feeder creek into the main lake, the creek had the water so still so great reflections and with the reeds on the opposite bank made great patterns in the water, the water was a little brown from the flooding so added to the golden colour for this shot. The first shot is the Male with its mate coming close behind, since the male had already passed the Female shot the water wasn't quite as smooth as this one. i like the way the reeds in the back ground lead into the Grebe at the front. Gives it that something I can't describe but adds to the image of this one.
The Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) were of cause still hunting around for their insects this one washed me fro a little while, decided I was harmless and then hunted around the ground on the path in front of me for a little while. The second shot you can see the leg ring where its been caught before here, the gardens run a catch band and release program so they can keep track of the various bird species.
With all the rain for the last week the gardens were alive with Mushrooms everywhere some in the grass lands others in the woodland areas, these This one was taken in the woodland area, the two shots are the same setup just different positions of the speedlites, it doesn't take much to change the feel of the shot, I usually take quite a few shots with different powers of the lights and different angles. these two images give you an idea of the differences that can be achieved.
Also along the way I saw red bellied back snake laying there sun bathing, these are poisonous but if you leave them alone they leave you alone, this one was only a little one about 60 cm (2 foot) catching the sun rays after a week of rain.
Another Mushroom shot again with different power settings of the flash to give different effects.
Spiky Mikey is still around and each week I have a go at trying something different with him, a very unusual mushroom this one, but I still haven't got the shot I really want with this one, not sure how much longer it will be around for they don;t usually las more than two weeks here so we'll see, but each week I get a different variation on this one, all good practice.
In the woodland aarea around the stolen generation memorial there was a family of Yellow‑faced Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops) I've seen them before but this was th first time i get a few decent shots still not great but better than I had, shall have to try a bit harder for one of these.
There was also a pair of Red‑rumped Parrots (Psephotus haematonotus) guarding their nesting hollow, seamed to be a bit of that going on this week, which is a bit late in the season for that now, with Winter almost upon us down here now.
As I was getting to the car there was a Long‑billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) also in its nesting hollow. A few branches over is a pair of Sulphur‑crested Cockatoo but I did't get any shots of them this week, but there still about as well.
The Last shot for the week is of a Brown Quail (Coturnix ypsilophora) I heard some rustling in the leave litter and spied this one, so I went to get a shot but it had moved and took a while to find it again, then when I did I heard it again first before I saw it, this one was a little odd as it walked straight towards me not afraid so it appeared it kept coming towards me closer and closer then flew past me to another garden bed where I got a few shots this is one of the shots I got as it kept coming towards me. Love the town pattern of its feathers on this one.
Hope you enjoyed this weeks walk though of my photos for the week.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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Have to work on these as the local competition for shots in the gardens is coming up and I don’t really have a decent landscape shot this year to out in.
There was also an old Kangaroo in the top grassland area looking a little worse for wear. but happy to watch the world go by.
After driving the circuits I started back at the first lake and found this Clamorous Reed‑Warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus) in the reeds by the lake. First time I’ve got a shot of one of these so another one of my list of the birds in the gardens, So thats now 94 of the 177 knowns species to visit the gardens I have now. Slowly working my way thought the list.
While at the lake I go this Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) flying over the lake, not the best shot but not to bad, not quite fully in focus, so more practice needed again. But thats all part of the fun.
From there I drove on a little further to the stolen generation memorial area again where I found a few mushrooms last week and theres always bird life here, so got this Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis)
Then the Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans)
From there I set about getting a few mushroom shots for the week as the ground still had mushrooms popping up.
After I got these few I walked along the trail to see what else I could find when I flash of red caught my eye, there was a Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) moving around the understory, quite fast and not staying long in any place this was the best shot I managed of this one and not great, but another new one to my list so two new birds found this weekend. I’ll have to keep my eye out for this one as I still Haven’t a decent shot of this one yet.
Walking a long a little further in the scrub where a few wrens both shots are of female wrens the first a Superb Fairy‑wren (Malurus cyaneus)
The second a Variegated Fairy-wren (Malurus lamberti)
Walking back to the car up in the tree tops over the road there was a racket going on up in the trees with a flock of Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) worrying a pair of Sulphur‑crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) at their nesting hollow, the Cockatoos saw the miners off in the end. But there was quite some noise for a while .
From there I drove back to the lakes to see if anything was going on and there in the middle of the manicured lawns was a large mushroom so again I was distracted and go this shot.
I also took a shot of the set up so you can see how its all done, as you can see its in full light though at the time the sun had gone behind a cloud when this shot was actually taken, other times I was shading it with my hat to take the shots, a small soft box is to the right and a second speedilite is set up to the left and a little behind this one has a brown gel, (Piece of coloured plastic) over the flash to change the colour of the light to a brownish orange, this gives the slight backlighting effect to the left back and gives and edge to the mushroom and give the shot some atmosphere. (well I think it does). The due of the grass is actually forma small spray bottle as it was taken around 12:30pm by now, The bark and leaves you see around the second speedlite around the gell was to try and limit some of the light so it didn’t add to much lighting to the grass just the mushroom where I wanted it, Again the camera I used for this and all the mushroom shots is the Canon 60D using the flip out screen so I don;t have to get down so low to align the shot and get the focus. To focus these I zoom in with the ten times magnification and manually focus, one all set up I take several shots at different settings to get the lighting I like best also moving the lights around to different locations, till I get one I like. All the images are then proceed in lightroom as described in an earlier blog post, feel free to check it out. 16/8/2014 and 23/8/2014.
From there I walked around the connections gardens trying to find a few more birds for the week, only found more mushrooms so here is two more mushroom shots from this week.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
]]>But this week loads of decent Bird shots and a few good mushrooms to be found as well, so all up a good day out.
I started around 11:00 am today and started off around the stolen generation memorial. Looking for some birds in the area, however the first thing I found was three mushrooms, So I set to work on these while waiting for the birds to get use to me.
The first one I set up and took a few shots one of the first was well over done, but when I got back home and started to process it I was about to discard it when I released you can actually see the spores being released in the flash, the shot was well over exposed with to much power on the flash, but still Picking up the spores was a bonus, I adjusted the power and also added a brown gel to one of the flashes this week to see who that turned out, so the one in the soft box was normal the the one thats usually a low power fill I added the gel so see what would happen. Happy with the result.
I the set up on the other two mushrooms in the area and the results are below.
From there I went to see what Birds I could find and this week I did pretty good on the bird front as well.
The first was a Grey Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) these little guys are becoming a regular and just sit and pose for you to take these shots, then dart of hunting insects only to return for more posing So I managed a series of these this is the better one of the day.
The next I found was a White‑plumed Honeyeater (Lichenostomus penicillatus) This one wasn’t in the mood for posing and was darting around I managed a few shots but none are 100% sharp so I’ll have to try this one again next time. This one isn’t to bad but still not as sharp as I’d like. More practice.
When I turned around fro the honey eater there was this little Weebill (Smicrornis brevirostris) watching me, so I turned the camera around and managed this shot of this tiny bird, on the Breakfast with the birds tour the other week the guide said these are the smallest of the Australian native birds, so a tiny little fella this one.
There was a few Superb Fairy‑wrens (Malurus cyaneus) bouncing around the scrub and I managed to get both female and male of these here.
I then walked around the water cannel and walking along the edge I could here some of the birds calling out there alarm calls and there was a few Magpie larks Trying to chase something off, After a while looking I found the culprit a pair of Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata) sitting high in the gum trees, This shot was the best and the focus on the head isn’t the best, the shot was hand held, but still no excuse, I’ll need to get another one of these in the coming weeks if I can find them again. Thou I did get a good shot a year ago.
As I started to walk back to the car, I spotted a Red‑rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) high up in a gum tree.
Then a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus) preening.
Followed by this Sulphur‑crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) also doing some feather maintenance.
I made it back to the car with a great collection of shots and then headed up to where I normal find mushrooms and found the same one that I found last week alone the Wollemi Pine Walk of discovery. I now named this one Spiky Mikey. Again I used the same process as I did early one flash in the soft box the other gelled with the brown gel. Again happy with this shot.
I then drove along the southern loop of the park and as i approached the banksia garden I heard the cry of some Yellow‑tailed Black‑Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) So I palled over and got out to investigate, a small family of these were feasting on the Banksias so these few shots show them munching away.
A little further a long the Bell Miners (Manorina melanophrys) were calling out so I managed to get this shot of one, these are usually pretty quick and this was the first decent shot I’ve managed of these so far.
From there I drove back tot he visitors centre car park and walked to the lakes to see what was going on there. By now I was running out of time as with daylight savings gone the gardens now close at 5:00pm and it was now 4:00pm so only an hour left, but I was happy with he shots of the day so far so all good.
On the way to the lake I found this small group of Long‑billed Corellas (Cacatua tenuirostris) and managed this shot of one on it own.
Beside the Corellas was a pair of Australian Wood Duck (Maned Duck) (Chenonetta jubata) this is the female.
I walked along the lakes edge and half way over the small dividing wall of the two lakes when the NSW ambulance helicopter flew over, so why not get a shot of that as well.
There was a few Swallows darting around over the lake these are always so fast but the 7dmk2’s auto focus manage to track these OK so I got a few decent shots of thee , they are tiny so even with the 600mm sigma I need to crop into these to get anything worth seeing. these shots are both heavily cropped.
A Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) was skimming the lake as well and I managed a shot or two of him as well.
Then I saw a Little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos)hunting and thought it would be good to catch a shot of it if actually caught anything and after a few dives it came up with a yabbie so I managed a couple of shots as it consumed its dinner, again not 100% focused possible camera shake at 600mm hand held with the light going, but still no excuse More practice needed definitely. So these shots are the cormorant with its catch, I’ll leave a few lines here blank for those that don;t enjoy these sort of shots, there is only one other shot after that of a Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) and a Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) swimming together. So if you don;t want to see the cormorant shots then you can leave the blog here as there won’t be anything else after that, If you want to see these shots just scroll down, but I know how some people don't like seeing these sort of images so I’ll leave some space here.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, hope you have enjoyed this weeks walk in the gardens.
Glenn.
Don't forget to keep scrolling down if you want to see the Cormorant shot.
As I drove into the gardens and was passing the first lake there was a small flock of tiny birds that flew in front of the car they had bright Yellow tails so it appeared as they flew, So I pulled over in the parking area and walked back to the lakes edge where I caught these shots of Yellow‑rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) They were patrolling the lawn looking for small insects.
From there I went looking for Mushrooms so I had a weekly shot for Saturdays posting on google plus. I found this one in the connections gardens, quite a large one about 7 cm across. This one was lit with two speed lights. Both lights are opposite each other and about 90 degrees to the camera.
Another day as I drove into the gardens before I go to the first lake theres a small water hole with a few gum trees growing around it, but what caught my eye was something on the powerless so I stopped to see what was there, glad I did. As you'll see in a minute.
This pair of Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) seamed to be looking for a nesting hollow and were going over all the hollows in this old gum tree
At the same time this pair of Red‑rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) were quite content to just sit there and watch the day go by.
On a near by high voltage power line sat this Black‑shouldered Kite (Australian Kite) (Elanus axillaris). I spent about an hour in this location and the whole time it never moved for its spot on the wires, I'll keep an eye out for this one in future they're know be be in the gardens so I'll have to see if I can get a closer shot than these two.
In this shot the eyes look a bit like the classic Alien eyes from the old films to me.
These small group of trees here had so many different birds there even a Sulphur‑crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) just sitting there in the shade.
Also in the same tree was a little Galah Cacatua (roseicapilla) dosing in the shade.
After waiting for a while for the kite to move on and nothing doing gI decided to head off to see what mushrooms appeared after the rain the other day, when I found this little one up around the wollemi pine walk of discovery, I've never seen one like this before, all spiky and a very definite donut shape to it as well, I took quite a few shots of this one with various lighting on it, this was the one I like the best out of them all, very unusual well it was to me, never seen one quit4e like this one.
I then drove back around to the connections gardens had a walk around and found this flowering gum tree just coming out and got this shot.
From there I walked around to the road between the two main lakes and took a few shots of the various water birds starting with this Little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) as it flew over head.
This little Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) was getting quite territorial and was chasing off another, the second shot shows her charging a rival.
Lastly there was a lone Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia) wading along the banks of the lake before it took flight to the small island in the middle of the lake.
Well thats all for this weekends shots, Hope you enjoyed them if your new to this blog I try to post a blog post each week of the weekend shots I take and how I get them, sometimes some behind the scenes shots explain how I get the shot, feel free to have a look around the site.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
]]>This week I managed to make it out to the Gardens three times on the weekend, Saturday for the normal Mushroom hunt for the #shroomshotsaturday google plus post, then again on Sunday for a Guided tour with the local Bird expert there for a breakfast with the birds walk and feed at the end of it, then again Sunday afternoon, so a lot of shooting this weekend.
The first shots of a Brown Thornbill came out OK with a bit of detail in the local environment, so happy with this one.
This one I think is also a brown Thornbill, but not so sure the beak looks a little thicker and I think the bird was actually a little larger so not sure on this one, but looks like a juvenile one.
The Red Browed finches were also around and got reasonable close to this one for this shot.
I then went down to the lake and practices some Panning shots of birds in flight, these are the three shots as a result.
There was also a Kookaburra flying around and when I tried to get close he took of but eventually settled in a tree where this shot was taken from.
This little Grey Butcherbird just sat and posed while I rattled of a few frames, even posing his head at different angles a true model.
One of the small dams in the gardens has a resident tortoise this time he was up on a log drying out.
The Grey Fantails were about as usual and they usually dart around then sit and wait a while before diving off again, this one posed long enough for this shot. Similar to one I took a few weeks ago only this time on a branch and not a wire.
On one of the lakes this little Australasian Grebe was diving for reeds on the bottom of the lake, this one still has a few water droplets on its back from its recent dive.
Some more panning practice as another Australian White Ibis comes in to roost on the Island in the middle of the lake where their safe from the few foxes the roam the gardens.
Of cause no weekend is compete with out my usual weekend mushroom shot, and this time there were several large mushrooms sticking up under some pine trees. This one had some nice texture to the cap.
Where as this one was growing up against the pine tree, the one above is my preferred shot of these.
This one is of a Pacific Black Duck after he had had a bath and was shacking the water off, rearing up and flapping his wings.
A Dusky Moorhen floating amongst the reeds.
and lastly a Noisy Miner feeding in amount the Grevilleas.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, don't forget to check out some of the galleries under the portfolio tab at the top where you'll find more images to view, or the older blog posts with other walks around the gardens.
Glenn.
]]>This week all round I was a little disappointed with the shots, fro various reasons, but not really some of my better shots this week, but good for learning form the mistakes so hopefully another step to self improvement.
As normal i try and find at least one Mushroom shot to add to +ShroomshotSaturday google plus feed, The shot below was the best I came up with this one the mushrooms were in amount some rocks so not easy to position the camera and speedlites so that made for a difficult set up, the camera was actually pointed towards me so I had to use the articulated screen to swivel all the way around to line it all up. In this one I could have used a little more depth of field to the shot to get the second mushroom more in focus, So not overly happy with the shot of this one. Lighting wise its OK but the back mushroom has a little to much light on it for my taste.
While i was shooting the mushroom near by was a small moss covered branch so I tried to get a nice shot of that, Again could have used a little more depth of field and in this case not that excited about the lighting job I did of this one, more practice needed for these.
From there I took a few Bird shots and while taking them there was this branch with lichen growing on it and I thought it would make an interesting shot, not to bad but again missing that extra to make it a really good shot, maybe I'll try with a flash on this one day see how that goes.
A lot of the bird shots this weekend seem to all have something in the way, be it a leave, twig or branch, but they all seam to have something over the bird to caring degrees.
Or the Bird was just in the wrong position or looking the wrong way.
The light was also low so in some of these I could have used a little more ISO to increase the shutter speed, some of these the bird movement was enough to take the sharpness of the shot.
This is probably the pick of the week and seamed to go nuts on my google plus page, my highest plussed shot there yet, the Little Gray fantail was sitting on the stainless steel wire around one of the walking decks in, the wide open aperture blew all the background away nicely making a really creamy background and the depth of field on the wire did a nice job. this one was actually a hand held at 1/160 of at 600mm so the Sigma 150-600mm sports lenses image stabilisation is doing a great job.
As I was driving out one of the wild wallabies was having a snack of the grass and I took this one one the car window, wasn't till I got home I realised that this one was focused on the grass and not the Wallabies face so this one isn't quite there either. so all in all a lot of shots that are OK but not quite there, But good learning points for next time.
This weekend the gardens are running one of the usually fully booked out Breakfast with the birds, I've already booked in so you get a guided tour around a part of the gardens with a knowledgeable guid telling you about the various birds and pointing them out then you get a breakfast as well, so we'll see how that goes, I've been on one of these before and with the help of the guide would a stack of birds I hadn't noticed, hopefully this time will be the same. Looking forward to it.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
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Something different today, Ive now had the Sigma 150 - 600 lens now for several weeks now, certainly loving this lens, I have it fitted to my Canon 7Dk2. The 7D is a crop sensor camera so in effect the 600mm is the equivalent of a 960mm focal length. I mainly use this for wildlife shots of birds but thought I’d give it a go at Astro photography as well and happy that I did. For my bird shots this lens is so sharp, and with the 7d’s high ISO with little noise I can up the shutter speeds to get some really nice shots, (See earlier blog posts here) So I thought I’d try the Astro photography and see how it went.
The first thing I tried was a new moon shot, and wow so much detail, I’ve shot the moon before with my canon 70-200 with 1.4 extender but nothing like this. The details in the creators was so sharp and the image only needed a small amount of cropping compared what I previously had to do.
Over the rest of this month I took a few more shots of the moon as cloud cover permitted. One of the things I soon learnt was that as the moon became fuller only the only the area around the edge of the shadow really shows up the details of the creators.
Heres a few of the other shots of the moon as it went thought its phases.
I then thought with this extra zoom I now have I should try for a few other items. Ive never seen a nebula other than photos in books and the web so thought I’d give one of those ago. I knew there was one int the Orion constellation but wasn’t sure exactly where other than in the middle of the trapezium. So I took a few shots around there and started to zoom in n the LCD screen to see what I found and then I found my first nebula. I’ve alway hear that when you see images on the web or books the images are always shot with filters and processed to add the colours, So was quite surprised to see some of the colours in this one.
Lastly I tried a shot of Jupiter. From this shot you can even see three of the Galilean moons the fourth one was behind the planet at the time. Theres not enough detail to see any of the cloud belts there but the moons are clearly visible.
Presently Saturn is not visible at night from my location so in a few months time I’ll certainly give that a go as well. Looking forward to that now.
So a few pointers on how I got these shots. at 600mm max length any movement is greatly magnified so you’ll need a really strong and steady tripod. I set ll these shots with live view and magnified to the 10x to get the best magnification. I focused using auto focus and then manually focused as best I could to get a star to a single point. not an easy trick with it bouncing around due to the movement from hand contact. Once focused I set eh ISO to 800 Aperture to f8 and shutter speed to 1/80 sec for the first moon shot. I triggered the shutter for a wireless remote so as to have no contact with the camera. Before I triggered the shutter I waited fro the image to steady down in the live view screen. It takes quite a few seconds for this to happen so not a fast process.
The Nebula shot the settings were ISO 8000 aperture of f6.3 wide open in this case and the shutter speed of 0.8 sec, and even at this speed there is starting to show some start trails, so ideally the shutter speed needs to be a little faster.
So far I’m using a lot of trial and error with my shots seeing what works best.
Once the shots are taken I bring them into lightroom, fro the moon shot I addict eh white balance to get a realistic colour and then boost up the clarity and contracts till I get an image I like with the details, One thing that was needed was to use lightrooms Lens correction panel and click the remove chromatic aberration this gets rid of some of the issues around the edge of the moon, Other than that I cropped the image to a pleasing image to me and also in adjusted the black, white shadows and highlights sliders to suit.
The nebula image I increased the vibrance and saturation sliders to bring out the colours and increased the clarity slider small changes were made to the other basic sliders Blacks, whites shadows and highlights but not to much there. This image was also cropped but not to much.
Again these images are not the Hubble but for a Camera and lens shots I’m very happy with these shots. I’ll be taking more of these over the coming months, but so far very happy with this lens camera combination.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
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So Started with the 300 km drive to Canberra from home, when we were just about there I spotted this wedge tail eagle while I was driving. Along the way there are numerous rest/revive stops so I took advantage of one of these for this shot, not the best as he was a fair way away even with the 150 to 600mm sigma.
From there we drove into Canberra had lunch and visited questacon then off to the hotel for the night. Ready for the early start, the meet up was 5:45am at the lakes edge only 8 minute walk from the hotel so not far away. the morning was a little cool but not cold so all good. The first shot I took was of the hotel, the Hyatt Hotel Canberra. The place was lit up nicely for this shot so happy with this one.
After the shot we walked to the meet up place beside the main bridge over the lake. We the group meet up. We were told what to expect and how it would go based on their experience for the day before. So we walked off to to the Balloon launching area. Sadly there was not much activity there when we got there due to no wind at all, so while waiting for news of what was to be I took this shot of the Australian War Memorial.
Still waiting for news of what was to be I took this shot of the Moon as well, not the greatest as there was light cloud cover at times to the moon wasn't completely clear what I took this shot s not was sharp as the shot from the other week. But there is still some create details.
We soon got the news that the lack of wind meant the Balloons were grounded for the day, So instead of flying there would be a few staying on the ground and some short tethered flights. The photowalk guys decided that rather than a complete waste of the walk we'd head down to the lake for some sun rise shots then come back and see what was login on at the balloons. so we walked back to the lake a short walk. Where these shots were taken, the ones of the carillon I was trying to get a decent shot of a seagull in the top left hand corner, this was the best I could do, a little far away. Then came sun rise so a few shots as the sun neared the horizon. From there back to the Balloons to see what was happening, there were about 5 balloons up and another on the way. So these were taken there.
My wife took this shot of me as I was taking a few shots, Gives a bit of a sense of scale to the size of the Sigma 150 - 600 Lens.
From there I took several shots of the Balloons.
The temperature soon started to rise and the Balloons came down so we headed back to the hotel for Breakfast as we got back there was a pair of Crimson Rosellas taking a bath in the fountain out the front of the hotel.
So that was the weekend photowalk. Something different for a change.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn
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Since I was a little short of time I went straight to the Wollemi pine walk of discovery where there are usually some mushrooms growing I wasn’t disappointed and managed to get a decent shot of this little mushroom family.
From there I drove around to the lakes to see what I could find, but on the way there was a family of Australian Wood ducks out for a stroll, the ducklings were so tiny must be only a few days old by the size of them. This is just one of them.
Then on to the lakes. Walking for the car pack to the lakes there was three little Galahs feeding on the grass.
From there I walked around the edges of the lake and the second lake had an assortment of Royal spoonbill, Australian White Ibis and Little Back Cormorants.
I managed to get a few shots of the Ibis in flight as well as a Little Corella. The Sigma 150 - 600 certainly makes a great job with the Canon 7dmk2 of catching the birds in flights shots. still very happy with this set up. Really enjoying each shoot with this now.
From there I drove out but on the way out spotted this Wallaby with Joey in the pouch.
So another good days shooting even though a little pushed for time, but still got a few reasonable shots. So all good.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
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From the shots you’ll see below you’ll see some of the clarity again, but the speed it autofocuses on the 7dmk2 also helps out. Today I managed quite a few shots of swallows in flight as they skim over the grass, One shot even capturing a swallow as its about to feed on the wing. The weight is certainly noticeable and I’ll certainly be looking for a new camera strap in the coming weeks, but other than that really happy with it. I was aware of the weight and thats not working me but certainly you know about it carrying it around.
Any way on with todays shoot more details as I go.
Today was looking a lot like rain and I started off having breakfast with my wife in the restaurant in the gardens. So first up food :-). After that My wife headed back home and I grabbed my gear and headed into the connections gardens.
The first thing I found was a large mushroom this one was well into the garden bed and the gardens have signs up everywhere to keep of the gardens, Which I follow. So no flash used on this one, Since it was so far in I thought I’d give he big Sigma a go instead of the normal 100mm Macro. the results are pretty good, would have liked to hit it a bit with flash to give some directional lighting but the detail and texture certainly shows up really well. This one was tripod mounted.
After that I walked through the connections gardens and found two more groups of mushrooms this tome right against the path so out came the flashes and these two shots were set up, both of these were with the 60D and 100mm F2,8 L macro Canon lens. The 60D has the wild screen which I love for the low shots.
A little bit further along I came across a few Superb wrens and got a few shots, nothing to exciting there but while shooting these I saw a dragon fly and gave that a go with the 7d and Sigma 150-600, This was where I found one limitation of the lens the minimum focusing distance, but still a lens of that length, 2m minimum focusing distance I can live with, So this was the result, still happy with the clarity at the shorted focusing distance. Theres plenty of details in the wings on this one all crystal clear. Would have liked to have seen the eye segments but still happy.
Then a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo flew over I didn’t have much time for this shot, but the autofocus locked in and I managed two shots of this bird as it flow over. Again nice and clear. (Hand held.)
From there I walked down to the lakes and found the swallows skimming the grass so thought that was a good time to practice taking birds in flight, If I can get these at the speed the dart around Its good practice for any others I come to later. I usually am luck to get one or two shots that are close to anything and the birds are usually so small as to have no detail. But today with the extra reach it gave the body something to lock on to and I managed these shots, loads of detail this time.
This one I managed to capture the moment the swallow was about to feed on an insect above the grass.
On the other side of the lake a royal spoonbill was feeding So this one was taken form the other side of the lake maybe 150m across (Best brought guess) but the details there to see the drop of water on its bill and the the patterning to its bill as well.
Lastly I went to the next lake and found this Little Pied Cormorant in a tree on the island in the middle of the lake. So I set up and got this shot, It wasn’t till I got home that I realised that there was an insect shell under the branch on the left just below the branch the cormorant is sitting it. Live the details in the feathers and its feet, all so clear. The small specks in the shot around the bird are insects in spider webs in the sounding trees. So the lens is picking up things at times I’d prefer it didn’t but again shots how clear it is.
From there the rain came andI decided that was it for the day, So no more shots for the day.
So in summary the Sigma 150 to 600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens goes great with the Canon 7dmk2 all the swallow shots were hand held, so certainly possible just be prepared for the extra weight as that will certainly effect some people. I’m certainly happy with the results of the combination and glad I bought both.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
]]>I was out there for about 4 and a half hours so plenty of time to feel the weight of this beast of a lens, but with my back pack of lenses plus the 60D as well as the 7Dmk2 whats another couple of kgs.
So the first shot here is of the Lens on the tripod. As you can see its quite a size, but still hand holdable as some of these shots are hand held.
The Image stabilisation is great and I even managed a shot at 1/25 of a second at 600mm reach on the crop body as a test shot mind you I was in a lounge chair but still I could never get that with the 70-200. So very happy with this one.
So on with the shots from today. As soon as I drove in to the Gardens today there was a Pacific Heron patrolling the Grass, So this was my first shots, Ok nothing to exciting yet, but a good start.
I then drove to the Stolen Generation walk and walked along the track. First I saw a pair of Lorikeets up high but the 600mm reach on this combined with the crop body of the 7D giving an effective focal length of 960mm this one was shot hand held and only 558mm effectively 892mm.
I walked a little further here I found a pair of Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) birds raiding the bullrushes for their nest. This was the first wow moment with this lens, as soon as I saw these shots on the back of the LCD I was a happy camper.
I stayed around here for a while and high up in the gum trees was a Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera) this little one was working its way along the trunks looking for insects.
After spending a hour or so there I headed up to the Wollemi Pine Walk of Discovery To see if I could find any Mushrooms, not much luck this week and only the ones from last week there looking a little sad, so took these and headed off to the connections gardens.
This shot was from the 60d with the 100mm Macro, all the other shots here today are from the 7dmk2 with the sigma 150-600.
Here I found a family of Olive‑backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus) so got a few shots this was the best of these.
There was also a few Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) about up high, again with the new reach no problem.
So all up for a first day out with this one, very happy, still got to get use to the extra weight but that won’t be a problem if I can get these and better.
Lastly as its Valentines Day the Gardens caved these up on the hillside in full view of the main picnic area by the lakes.
So a great day all up today. Shall have to see what tomorrows like an may head out again.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
]]>i started out at the stollen generation walk looking for bird shots and found a few none that I was really happy with today in Bird shots.
A few Wrens, Crows and Lorikeets, the best shot here was the Eastern Yellow Robin below.
From there I drove up the the Wollemi pine walk of discovery and walked along the trail looking for mushrooms, another good week here with several to be found along the way.
The First again not that happy with he shot the depth of field was a bit off so should have used a smaller aperture to increase the depth of field, next time.
The next one was this poor half eaten one standing all alone, the rock below it made fro nice texture so was happier with this shot than the last.
The I found this little one when I got the small water spray bottle out the beg in the background showed up with all the droplets being caught so made for an interesting background to the shot. This one was a dark and moody shot. one of the better ones of the day.
While I was taking the mushroom shots the finches came down to bath, this one was of a red browed finch there was also a small group of double barred finches there as well.
The last shot for the day was actually taken in my back yard, where a mushroom has sprung up over night so I set up and managed this shot. This one with the wood lice on top and the texture of the cap amongst the grass looked good I thought. So this one may my mushroom shot of the day on my google plus post.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
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Started off I had to go to the shops as it’s my Mother’s Birthday next week and a Family BBQ tomorrow, so that meant a shopping trip but I was going there any way as yesterday I got a call from the local JBHI telling me my custom iMac 5K had arrived J (At this point in time still in its box unopened that’s tonight’s fun. So I’m switching from windows PCs to a mac, we’ll see what fun that brings, but the 5K screen should be great for the photo editing, I know there was some issues with lightroom on the 5K macs but I believe that’s been fixed with an update by apple to the operating system the other week, plus a new version of lightroom coming out in March so should be screaming along by then. So after the shopping and unloading the mac I grabbed my gear and headed out only taking my Mushroom gear today as the tight schedule was still on as I’ve a room to finish prepping ready for painting, The fun never stops.
But back todays shoot. Started out heading straight to the Wollemi pine walk of discovery as that’s where I’ve found the mushrooms of late and this week in Sydney has been wet and cooler than the over thirty Deg we’ve had for the last few weeks. As I walked in I saw a small family first up and thought that’s promising and would get them on the way back. I Walked along the track and found my second set of mushrooms, The first one was a little yellow mushroom that was by itself but in the leaf litter, but all around was these little Coral Fungi I’ve never noticed them before in the gardens, I’m sure they have always been around but it’s the first time I’d noticed them, so I set up on the yellow mushroom and took the shots, again various locations of the speed lights till I was happy.
I had a few shots of the corals and went on, I found another patch of Yellow mushrooms spouting Up guess it was yellow mushroom day today. I set to work on another nice one, but noticed there was several in various stages of just breaking the ground so I had to be careful where I moved so as not to damage them. So this was the final shot of got of the first one.
I then moved on to this one that had all but broken through the ground, still had a few pieces of dirk clinging to it. So I set up the speedlites again and took several shots again. This was the best of them.
I then started to walk back out, and as I turned I found this one actually growing on the path and somehow I missed it walking down, So again set up on this one, This one I set up the softbox to the side and then set the other speedlite to backlight it, It gave a nice orange glow to the cap from behind.
I checked my other shots on the back of the LCD and decided that I wasn’t that happy with the coral shots earlier so on the way back stopped and took another shot of them, Strange worm like Fungi with one tiny normal looking one in amount them these are only around 2mm in dia so really tiny and the little Mushroom one is even smaller, so delicate and small.
As I walked out I stopped at the set I first saw walking in and took this shot of them, they were out in the full sun and looked a little worse for wear for the heat. But made a nice shot just the same, This is the shot I’ve used for my Google plus post for the day.
So a quite day in the gardens, but still managed 152 shots this is the best of them from today.
I then went home had lunch and then spend the rest of the afternoon sanding back old paint and patching small holes in the walls etc. ready to paint, so more fun to come there. So the fun never stops. But a good day shooting this morning.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
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Its mate was in a nearby branch, neither shot was good really as in both cases not a clear shot of the face.
They were also hand held so not that great all round. As I got to the board walk area a few Sulphur Crested Cockatoos flew in, this time I used the Tripod so a lot cleaner shot but again not the best angle and not a clean face shot again.
An Eastern Yellow Robin was also around and I got this shot again not really a great shot but clear as shot on the tripod again.
These shots are all heavily cropped in as still no sign of the Sigma 150 to 600 hitting the shops yet L. From there I walked for about an hour and a half in the heat and humidity and really didn’t get anything much in the way of shots so good work out in the heat but no great shots. After that I headed back to the car and drove up to the Wollemi pine walk of discovery where it’s usually cooler and usually a good place to find mushrooms to shot. This week in Sydney has been warm but a few wet days as well so I thought I’d find a few mushrooms up there and I wasn’t wrong.
I managed to find four different sets of mushrooms today, three are shown below, the first one, Two mushrooms together, not that happy with could have done with more depth of field to the shot, So I’ll need to watch that in future.
The next one I shot form two angles as it was on a bit of an incline so the first one was shot straight on the next was shot from down the slope back up, looks like a totally different mushroom from the other angle. Bit happier with these two shots.
The last one again was a pair of mushrooms together, I tried these from two angles and various lighting positions including a few goes at back lighting these.
This was the best I came up with for this one, not that happy with it just the same, Need to work slower and take my time in future to get better results I think some of these should have been better than they turned out so more work needed. By now I it was getting closer to lunch time the heat was still rising and I had had enough for the day so headed home.
So that was the end of todays photowalk in the gardens.
Thanks for dropping by my blog. Back next week.
Glenn
]]>I got to the gardens around 1:30 so getting ready for the heat of the day so not the best time to be there. So I thought I’d find some where cool to start with and see how the day went along.
I started up at the Wollemi pine walk of discovery as that’s always cool and thought it was my best chance for finding any mushrooms about.
As I walked into the bush I quickly spotted a small pair of white mushrooms and thought I’d capture them on the way out. So I kept walking till I got to the small stream that crosses the path, there’s usually some mushrooms growing in that area with the wetness and also the birds come down to drink. I didn’t see any mushrooms at first then I spotted these black mushrooms, well baked from the sun, they were almost like charcoal there were some better than others some looks like they were all shrivelled up and well past being mushrooms. The one I selected still had its shape but had just gone black all over so I set up and went to work on that one. When the flash fired is lit it up and gave off some colour there in the cap so happy with that shot.
I took a few more around them but that was the best, I then walked back over the stream and found a step to sit on and wait to see if the birds will come down. After waiting half an hour and many mosquito bites later a lone double bar finch came down, It was too fast in the low light and too far away to get a decent shot this one was heavily cropped in so the quality of the image isn’t great.
I then when back to the pair of white mushrooms I found earlier and set up for them. Not overly happy with the shots of these, but Ok would have preferred a bit more depth of field on these ones I think.
As I was packing up there was a large stick on the ground and just beside the stick was another lone mushroom. This one had a small piece out of it so thought it would make an interesting subject, I moved the stick out of the way and set up for the shots of this one, again not that happy with the shot but again it’s OK at a pinch.
I then went around to the connections garden to see if there was any bird activity there, on the drive around to that there was a snake racing across the hot road, must have been hot going over the black tar in the full sun by the time I had stopped to see the snake had gone and no sigh of it, I thought better if going looking for it in the long grass there beside the road so headed on the connections garden.
There wasn’t that much bird life active around mainly due to the heat I’d imaging. I did manage this satin bowerbird up high in the branches.
The next two the Red‑whiskered Bulbul and the little eastern Robin shots weren’t to great but by then the heat was getting to me as well so called it a day there at 4:00pm so all up a so so day, nothing to great a few passable shots but nothing outstanding today, I have days like that at times. Both these are again heavily cropped in so really looking forward to the new Sigma 150 to 600 seams a bit slow to hit the shops. But one I’ll make good use of when it does.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
]]>You can find the shots also in their own gallery under 2014 top 10, if you want to skip the commentary.
The First shot was taken in Early January and all but one of these shots was taken in my local Botanical gardens, (The Australian botanical Gardens, Mount Annan.) I think you’ll guess which one wasn’t shot there. The Gardens are only ten minutes drive from my place and have 12km of roads, several dams, a small restaurant and training rooms plus as of this year the national seedbank as well. Each year the gardens also run photography workshops and run a competition for the best shots in several categories, this year two of my top ten places with one wining its category.
So back to the shots, the first shot was of a Juvenile Scarred Kingfisher, this one was shot with a speedlite mounted on camera to add in some fill flash. 1/60 sec f4 ISO 400 and focal length of 280 with was a 70 to 200 f2,8L IS USM II with a 1.4 extender fitted taken with a canon 60D. This shot got second in the plants and animals Category in this year’s Gardens photography competition.
The next shot is of a Pacific Baza taken early in the morning there was a small family of these feeding on some fruit that had just ripened in the gardens. I got a series of shots of these as the flew from plant to plant. This one is 1/320 sec f5 ISO 160 and focal length of 245 with was a 70 to 200 f2,8L IS USM II with a 1.4 extender taken with a canon 60D.
The next shot was my wining macro shot form this years Gardens Photography Competition. Each weekend I try and get at least one Mushroom shot to add to the google plus #shroomshotsaturday it gets me shotting at least once a week this way and I seem to have got the hang of mushroom shots as I also won this category last year as well. This one was shot at 1 full second f18 ISO 100 and using to speedlites one in an 8” softbox to the side the other as a fill flash fired in to the small stream under the mushrooms and reflecting back underneath. The lens used is the canon 100 f2.8L macro lens. The camera was sitting on a rock in the small stream get the shot. Again a Canon 60D this is where I love the articulated LCD screen saves me laying in the stream to get this one.
The forth shot is the only one not taken in the gardens and was one of those lucky shots that I just had the camera with me, this one was taken at my work on afternoon after I had finished for the day and walking out the door the sky was this amazing colour, the company I work for is a crane manufacturing company and I bought the camera in that day as we had a crane on the test pad, so with the crane up and the sky as it was It made a great silhouette against an amazing sky, The company has since paid for a 1m canvas print of this to hang on the office wall so it sites on a wall opposite my desk at work so I can see my work each day at the office. This one was shot 0.3 Sec f18 using the canon 8 to 15mm f4L fisheye len at a focal length of 15mm.
Now back to the gardens for the rest of the shots this one is of an Australian Water dragon and taken just opposite the visitors centre in a water garden. These are often seen sunning themselves besides the various small waterfalls there or swimming in the ponds, this one was caught sunning itself. 1/50 sec f4, ISO 100 focal length of 140 with was a 70 to 200 f2,8L IS USM II with a 1.4 extender taken with a canon 60D.
This next one was taken around mid-day in full sun, but again using speedlites and high speed sync to set my own light. This was also taken opposite the visitors centre. 1/640 sec f6.3 ISO 100 focal length of 115 with was a 70 to 200 f2,8L IS USM II with a 1.4 and a canon speedlite in 8” softbox held approx. 50mm from the flowers.
This year I treated myself to a new Camera and bought the Canon 7dmkII this was one of the first shots taken with it. I was starting to find the 60d wanting in regards to focus speed and low light ISO performance, but still use it for the mushroom shots as the 7D doesn’t have the mush loved articulated screen for the one the ground shots I take. This one was of a Rainbow Lorikeet feasting early one morning. 1/800 sec f4 ISO 400 focal length of 280 with was a 70 to 200 f2,8L IS USM II with a 1.4 extender taken with a canon 7dmkII.
This one is back to the mushroom shots so many to choose from, and so hard to select this one was taken just the other week. 1/250 sec f13 ISO 100 shot with the 100mm f2.8L macro lens on the 60D.
The last two were both taken on the same day again in the Australian Botanical gardens, Mount Annan. The first a Yellow Thornbill taken at 1/1000 sec f4 ISO 640 focal length 280 with was a 70 to 200 f2,8L IS USM II with a 1.4 extender taken with a canon 7dmkII.
The last one as an Eastern Spinebill taken at 1/1000 sec f4 ISO 640 focal length 265 with was a 70 to 200 f2,8L IS USM II with a 1.4 extender taken with a canon 7dmkII.
So a good collection this year and reviewing the previous years shots each year has been getting better results, so guess I’m heading in the right direction. Hope you enjoy the review of the best of the years shots.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn.
]]>The first shots I didn’t have to go far at all, Christmas Eve I had to take the family of Rainbow Lorikeets in the Bottle brush trees in the back yard, they have made it their home.
On the 27th I was out on the front lawn when a pair of Australian King Parrots came down to feast on my pine trees. They were only about 5 metres from where I was sitting I was in to minds whether to get the camera or just sit and watch them for a while, After a while watching I thought I'd chance it and stood up and they didn't move so when I came back they were still there and I managed a few shots of them.
I still went on my normal Saturday trip to the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan. So a Few good days out there, a few mushrooms and a few nice Bird shots as well. These shots are from the 28th mainly mushroom shots that day as I didn’t have long there.
Then yesterday’s trip to the Australian Botanical Gardens was a good one with quite a few bird shots and mushrooms
The Wagtail was just sitting on a branch only a couple of meters away from me preening its feathers not minding me at all as I managed to get of a few shots.
For the first time I saw quite a few Double Bars in the gardens and in a few different spots as well so guess a small flock has moved in.
Also around the Stolen General memorial I saw a Pacific Heron in one of the small dams as well as a small tortoise.
I then went up to the Wollemi Pine walk where there are usually a few mushrooms and as soon as I started in there was a great little group of them there.
A Little further were these delicate white ones, vivid white against the ground.
And yet further on were theres little red ones.
While I was shooting them the Double Bars re-appeared A different pair as the distance was too far for them over the short time frame, and a European gold finch as well.
So a good shoot, yesterday and now I’ve got the PC up and running again I’ve had time to edit these ones now.
So all things being equal should be back to regular weekly posts again, if not I'll have to ask my wife to hit the right button agian to fix it :-).
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
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From there I started to walk along the trail and at the first dam there was a pair of Australian White Ibis foraging along the banks, I only managed to get one of them.
Around the Memorial there was plenty of Bird life but I didn’t capture any there but walked on further were I found a yellow Thornbill chasing insects in a wattle tree.
Walking a little further I found an old log which has a pair of mushrooms growing on them, there were looking a little worse for wear but still worth a shot so the first shot is with the 7Dmk2 with eh 70 to 200 plus 1.4 extender on, the second is from the 60D with 100mm macro lens and one speedlite used.
From there I turned around to walk back to the car and found a Black‑faced Cuckoo‑shrike sitting in a tree, The shots not the best but still another one off the list form the birds in the gardens. 81 down another 96 to find yet.
I then went back to the car and drove up to the Wollemi walk of discovery to see what was around there. I only fond one mushroom there compared to last week’s load, ( Last week’s mushroom shot I entered into the Camera house Friday photo competition and managed to pick up a $20 print voucher for making the top ten for the week so we’ll see looks like another shot for the wall coming up.)
From there I drove back to the connections garden and found this Eastern Spinebill sitting in a mountain devil singing away.
So another good week in the gardens. A few nice shots for the week so I’m happy with the results this week again.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
]]>The first two my attention was got by the bright oranges and reds.
The next patch were single mushrooms but white and they had others growing in the background to so lining them up made for an interesting shot with the ones in the background being out of the depth of field, softening them.
Then there was the next one all alone, I took this one form two different angles both are attached here, I liked the texture of the Cap on this one the way it was slit in several sections.
The next patch was looking a little worse-for-wear so they always make for interesting shots, so I picked two bunches and tried various lighting on each, happy with the results I got on these.
Lastly there was one more small group which also looked ready for a shot so I had to get them as well, after all who knows if there will be any left for next week.
After I took the mushroom shots I headed away from the Wollemi pine walk of discovery and headed tot eh connections gardens to see what was there today, the temperature today was a bit cooler than of late so the gardens were alive with Bird life, so I gave my new Camera the 7dMk2 a good work out today, coming home with just over 1000 shots from that body alone, the mushrooms were all taken with the 60D as I prefer the articulated screen rather than laying in the dirt :-).
So starting in the connections gardens there were quite a few European Goldfinches around today, so the first shot is of one of the ones that were actually showing them self the rest were about you could hear them but were a little shy today.
The next shot is of a little Grey Fantail. Sitting in between insect chases.
I then walked to the top of the connections garden and found a large rock to sit on and just waited before long the little Eastern Yellow Robin was hopping around so I managed to get a few shots of it while it was foraging in the leaf litter. There was also a male Superb Fairy‑wren bouncing around.
So after some time there I went down to the lake where the garden staff were preparing for tomorrow night’s Carrols in the gardens, so I sat beside the lake and practices panning shots of birds in flight, here is a collection of some of the better efforts of the day.
So all in all a good days shooting in the gardens today.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
]]>I started up going to the Wollemi Pine walk of discovery, and there was a few mushrooms popping up there.
I then walked along the board walk there to see if the Pardalotes were still there but no sign of them but by now I was expecting them to have left their burrow by now, so not really surprised.
From there I drove around the southern loop of the park looking out for Kestrels but there was none to be seen today, So I headed to the connections garden to see what was about there usually Mushrooms and an abundance of Birdlife. There were more mushrooms about though not so many birds I could hear them but they wouldn’t come out to play today.
There was a flock of Cockatoos flying overhead and I managed to capture a small section of them in flight.
There was a small group of Noisy Minors feasting on the something amongst the flower gardens so I managed to get a few shots of them as the bounced around.
As I left the noisy minor and when pack to the car in the car park I managed to get a shot of this Red and Green Kangaroo paw.
As I was driving out the next storm was just starting to break so got out just in time before the next soaking. So all good.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
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Enjoy.
Thanks for dropping by
Glenn
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by the amount of times they come back with food in their bills looks like they have young to feed, they land on the same perch each time so I’ve set up focus on the area they land on before they head home, this was the best of today shots of them, still not entirely happy with it is yet so more work requited here. Form there I took a quick walk around the gardens and didn’t find anything to take my interest today with the short time available so I headed to the lakes and practiced some panning shots again of Birds in flight, this is the best off of today’s shots, again nothing to great so more practice required here. But slowly getting better.
Picking on the Swallows is hard going so I figure If I can get these down I’ll be OK for mort others in the coming weeks.
There are pretty heavely cropped in so the detail is being lost here. So I'll have to get closer in the comming weeks to get better results.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
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A Rainbow Lorikeet having his breakfast on a Pine Mountain Coral tree (Erythrina numerosa)
A female red rump catching the first of the morning sun.
A Pair of male red rump grass parrots coming down to drink.
A Latham's Snipe coming in to land on a small mud flat.
The Auto focus was good enough to enable me to get a few swallow shots for the first time in flight, still need practice on this one. These two are both heavily cropped something I'm hopping to avoid when the Sigma 150 to 600 lens hits the shelves.
Practices quite a few panning shots of brids in flight this one is a Little Pied Cormorant comming in to land at there nesting site.
The next three is a set form burst mode at ten frames a second showing a male Little Pied Cormorant brings nesting material to its mate sitting on the nest. The nests are in the middle of a lake.
This one is of a Spotted Pardalote with the ISO cranked up to 3600 but still only 1/50 of a second due to the darkness in the understory of the Wollomi pine walk of discovery. But happy with the quality of that at that ISO.
So still need practice at with this new camera but so far happy with the results, but with practice hope to get better results in the coming weeks.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
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The first was a small white flowering plant, I haven’t been able to identify the plant yet of this one, but there was quite a few of these dotted around the bush.
Then the Mountain Devils (Lambertia Formosa) were out in flower. These little red flowers were also all over the bush and you could see these little red flowers everywhere.
The walk around the rim of the valley had several lookout so the falls so naturally you have to stop for a few shots of the various falls there the main falls are 81m high so a decent drop.
Also along the walk was several banksias this one was one from last season’s flowers and was opening up to allow the seeds to disburse these usually only open after a bush fire has been through.
But no luck on the mushroom front along this walk, as we were making our way back my wife mentioned that we actually had one growing in our back yard.
So after a drive for a nice bush walk,
We headed back home and found the mushroom of the day in my own back yard. Sometimes thinks are right under your nose.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, back next week.
Glenn
]]>One of the first things I found this week as a Pee-Wee or Magpie lark nest with the bird on the nest, this was a far way away and even zoomed in you don’t see much it’s not till you crop in, in the image you see the final results, not to my liking, not as sharp as some of my other shots so not entirely happy with this one but being so far away at least you weren’t disturbing the bird.
From there I went via the lakes and found an Australian white ibis by the lakes.
A lone Hare was racing across the main lawn area before the crowds start to arrive for the day so these couple of images were taken as he raced away. It didn’t stop long but with no protection understandable.
Took a few there of that, then turned my attention towards the lakes where I found these young Australian Wood ducks a family of them out for their morning walk.
I went looking for mushrooms but no luck this week, so settled for a few flower shots and then went home so four hours in the gardens this week.
Hopefully I'll have better luck next weekend.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Glenn
]]>I quickly found last week’s mushroom and set up my speedlites and moved them around for different effects.
When I get home each week after a shoot I have to go through the shots see which ones are worth publishing on Google plus and see if one is a better one that I have in the galleries on my portfolio tab on my web site. So in today’s case I had 66 mushroom shots to go through all very similar.
The first thing I do is a quick review of each shot working through them all and any that look like the exposure is OK, focus seams good and there is nothing obviously wrong with the shot like a leave of stick over the shot.
After I’ve listed the better shots as one Star I’ve now got a short list top review. At this point I usually get the first of these and start to work in the development module of lightroom and adjust the shot, adjusting the highlights, shadows, highlights and blacks, I start with the shadows lightening them to being back some of the details, I usually drop the highlights to make sure they aren’t to bright, then I bring down the blacks to darken the back ground, this is usually not to much as the lighting has usually done most of this. I’ll use the graduated filter to darken and distracting elements in the back ground, any that are in the main shot I’ll use the adjustment brush to drop the exposure leaving the main element of the shot the brightest part of the shot, (This is what the eye is usually drawn to). I’ll usually raise up the contrast and clarity a bit and depending on the shot raise the vibrance and saturation as well.
After that I’ll check out the sharpening raising it as much as possible without bringing in any artefact’s and bring up the noise reduction a little as well. Lastly I then add in a Vignette darkening the corners of the shot again to bring the main element to the main focus of the shot.
Once I’ve done all these settings for one shot I’ll set the filter to one star showing only the shots I’ve selected as one star, and then sync all the shots with the one I’ve just updated, this will bring them all to the same level of processing in one go.
Next I go back to the library module and select the survey mode with then shows all the one star shots in the main panel,
at this point I close all the side tabs plus the top and bottom tabs so the main pane is not full screen, this increase the size of the shots, in survey mode as you move the mouse over each shot there is a small cross shown on each shot in the lower right corner, any shots that are not the best if you hit the cross they are removed from the survey as you remove more shots the remaining shots get larger. So makes it easier to choose as you get less shots. I’ll usually get these down to around three shots, these I’ll mark as two stars.
I then go out of survey mode and adjust the filter now to 2 stars which will bring up the three remaining shots, these I’ll look at in full screen mode and look for the best shot, which is the one that has best focus and exposure on the whole mushroom (In this case) including the stork which is often in shadow if I haven’t got the second speedlite angled right.
The three shots below are the final shots I had to select form this week, the last shot being the one I decided was the better shot of the week.
THis one I rejected as it was to wet and lost some of the details as teh water makes it look soft and out of focus.
This one I knocked back as the front edge of the cap seamed out of focus and angle seamed a little of to me.
This one was the one I selected for the week and made the google plus posting. Once selected I'll do a little more work on it in light room till I'm happy with it and then release it for viewing
It’s a very similar angle to last week’s shot but the lighting is slightly different and the mushroom is a week older as well. I think I like this shot better than last weeks shot.
Hope you enjoy the behind the scenes detail that going in to how I finally come up with the image and some of the work flow involved.
Thanks for dropping by, hopefully next week I’ll get more time for shots and have a different mushroom to shoot.
Glenn.
]]>The day started of early again so in the gardens again just on 7:00 am, first thing I found was a few rabbits still about but they high tailed it out of there before I even got a decent focus on them, this was the best I got and sort of how the day shaped up.
From there I wound my way through the Terrace gardens where I found these bottle brushes out the red and yellow really stood out so I had to have a go with them and with the speedlite and soft box some of these turned out OK, so I thought my luck was turning.
I then walked via the lakes to the Stolen Generations Memorial (A memorial for the memory of the Australian Aboriginal families that were separated from their parents by the European settlement) Around this area there is always abundant bird life, and again today was no exception I managed to get this Eastern Yellow Robin sitting still long enough.
Then Eastern Rosella exploring a tree hollow looking for a nesting site.
Time was getting on and I still hadn’t found my Mushroom for the week so I headed back up the to the Wollemi Walk of Discovery where I found last week’s Mushroom and there was still a few left, this one was the better of the three remaining and the texture of the Cap reminded me a bit of a brain to look at so it made shot for the week, luckily as it was the only one found all day.
The last shot is the behind the scenes shot showing the set up with two speedlites and everything on the ground, the Swivel screen on the Canon 60D is certainly a back saver.
Thanks for dropping by my blog. Don’t forget you can browse the various galleries I have under the portfolio tab at the top of the page for those wanting more.
]]>This week I decided to take advantage of my membership to friends of the gardens which allows me access before the normal opening at 10:00am, so I was able to get in at 7:00 and the light was still good. This allowed for some early morning shots of some of the wild life that’s not so active during the middle of the day, starting off with a mob of Wallabies.
As I was shooting these a Kookaburra was sitting in a gum tree (don’t think it was an old gum tree) looking for his breakfast and diving on any lizards and insects he could find this shot was of him still on the ground.
As I turned around to head further into the gardens about 5 metres away from me was a lone Australian Wood duck, watching me, guess he was seeing what I was up to.
After taking his portrait I went up the hill to the connections gardens where a family of wood ducks were heading down to the lakes for their morning paddle, the light was still good at this time so managed to get them back lit though there front, so some nice light this morning. Worth getting up early for.
The Gardens have abundant bird life and on their web site there’s a bird list to down load (http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/annan/the_garden/wildlife/birds) Just click on their link to down load the list. There about 177 know bird species within the gardens at various times of the year and I’m slowly working my way through the list, so far I’m nearly at the 50% mark so still a way to go yet.
Today I added two more to my list firstly a White‑browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) In the leave litter in the connections gardens.
I then found a small flock of Gold finches and one was perched high in a Bunya pine, made a nice silhouette against the sky.
From there I walked into the water gardens where the Gardens usually have a good display of Australian Native flowing plant, by now the light wasn’t at its best so had to make do with my own lighting now so out with the speedlite and soft box, where I got a Kangaroo paw and various other native flowering plants.
So far no mushrooms and I thought with all the rain we had in Sydney this week the gardens would be alive with them, but no such luck as yet, so my last change was up on the Wollemi pine walk of discovery where I often find mushrooms so I walked up the hill to the Sundial of Human Involvement and there I found my second new bird of the day to add to my list A Richard's Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae) running along the grass like a little road runner.
From there I went along the Wollemi pine walk of discovery and found a lone mushroom for the week so I didn’t return empty handed.
Here are a few behind the scenes shots as well as the final shot for the day.
Thanks for dropping by.
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Managed a few bird shots the best of the week was the Red Rump parrot sitting in a tree. Before he dove back down in to the grass to feed.
The Flannel flowers are out in full flower now and look quite nice so I took a few shots of these and then added a flash to get different lighting, the first two are naturally light and the last one is with the flash in a small soft box, think I like that one the best of this week’s flannel flowers.
And finally this week I shot a small Banksia
Some times its not till you get back home and start looking at images on the computer you can really see the detail and and power of todays modern camera and lens delivers.
This last image is a cropped version of the one above love the little fluffy details on this.
That's it for this week, thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
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This morning I entered the gardens around 6:30am so nice early start, As usually for Saturday I’m on the look out for any Mushrooms for my Shoot mushroom Saturday shot, plus adding to my collection of Bird shots form the gardens and any interesting plants so plenty to choose from.
This morning one of the first thing I found was a Masked Lapwing chick, First one of these I’ve seen in the gardens this small, it didn’t stray far from its parents and I didn’t get to close so didn’t get a great shot of this one, shame.
I then run across a family of Australian Wood Duck (Maned Duck) out for a stroll to the pond.
At the pond the usually suspects were all there, and I managed to get this nice one of an Australasian Grebe near the bank.
While at the lake I again started to practice my panning technique still a way to go on that yet but managed to get this one of a Little Pied Cormorant not so bad, still not happy with the results yet though.
An Nankeen Kestrel was also out hunting and I managed a few shots of it hovering as well.
From there I went to the connections gardens and captures a few flowers in bloom including a revisit to last week’s White Waratah still in flower.
While at the water Garden I spotted a water dragon out sunning itself and managed to get quite close without scaring it off so got this shot down low.
The Mushroom hunt wasn’t so successful and all I managed to find in the end was alone puffball, so this is my submission to shoot mushroom Saturday for the week, The gardens are just not putting up mushrooms at present, But anyone missing them can check them out at my Gallery page where I have a dedicated Mushroom Gallery feel free to browse around double clicking any image will bring it larger size on the screen double clicking again will give you a full screen shot.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
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There was the usual swallows darting along the edge of the lake so I had a few practice shots at panning, most didn’t; turn out at all and a lot of frames empty entirely so clearly more practice needed here.
From there I headed up to the Wolomi pine Walk where there are usually a few mushrooms to spot, no Mushrooms but there was an Echidna in the undergrown, I saw him but he eventually went under a small low timber bridge and I didn’t get another chance of a shot of him I waited there about 15 minutes but he was happy to wait me out, this time he won so no shots of the Echidnas this week.
Form there I when around the gardens and went back to the connections gardens, last week the white Waratah was just starting to come out in bloom and this week it was fully out in flower.
I set up my camera on the tripod and hand held the speedlite in a small soft box and went about capturing a few shots. The White Waratah are native to the southern highlands of NSW the common red ones also grew wild down this part of NSW, but the white ones are unusual.
As I was packing up form the Waratah I noticed a few flannel flowers glowing in the afternoon sunlight.
I was looking for mushrooms to shoot for Shootmushroom Saturday, but was not having any luck finding any even after a few days rain here in Sydney this week. I had given up and was heading back to the car when the very last garden bed had this unusual mushroom, love the colours of this one reminds me of an Antique piece of furniture, so all up a few decent shots today so happy with the results of the afternoon.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, don’t forget to check out the various galleries under the portfolio tab.
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The Mushrooms were growing on the side of a small drainage ditch which was a little muddy so the Camera was sat on a rock and the speedlites had to suffer a little, I had the soft box to light the scene and the other speedlite to light the underside of the mushroom as shown below.
The final show is as you see below here. After a few sprays of water to dampen things down.
As I was finishing up across the other side of the path was a small depression in the mud with a little water left so made for a drinking hole for the local bird life and a small flock of red brown finches came down for a drink while I was there, so a quick change out of the lens and on with the 70 to 200 with 1.4x extender and I managed to get this shot, not the best but still it gives the idea of what was happening. There was one silver eye there to join the party.
From there I walked out and drive back to the main garden to see what was around there today, the usual mushroom was empty so good thing I went to the other one first other wise I'd have no mushroom shot for shoot mushroom Saturday on google plus. While walking around thre gardens I found a small flock of silvereyes at the top of the connections gardens and got a few good shots there, below is one of the better Silvereye shots I got.
I was very happy with this shot once processed back home.
On the way back to the car and home I found one of the more unusual wattles that the gardens have, a Acacia glaucoptera, a clay wattle and comes from western Australia, the little Wattle flowers usually in sprays of flowers at the ends of the branches are in this case little yellow balls along the stem at the base of the leaves.
These were all shot with the camera mounted on a tripod one speedlite on the ground shooting up and a small soft box in my hand while I triggered the camera with my remote trigger.
That was the end of the day. So another great days shots at the gardens in Mount Annan.
Thanks for dropping my.
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Last weekend MY wife and I went into the City to take part in the 500px Second Annual Global Photowalk – Sydney, this was my second ever photowalk, the last one was also in the city for the Vivid light show and went quite well though only a small group showed up for it, this one had a lot more people even with light rain, there were 49 different photographers there for the walk so a great effort from the Sydney photography community, the walk started off at Sydney’s Luna park under the north bridge pylon. From there we walked along the foreshore of the harbour with the idea of shooting the opera house under the bridge at sunset, sounded good.
One on the many little sculptures along the walk
With that many people the crowd spread out a fair way along and even though we were in the same place the variety of photos posted to the google plus walk event were really amazing. As I was half way along the foreshore we noticed a group of the walk gathering together, a fair way along, they then headed up the stairs to where we were going. But by the time we got there and we weren’t that far behind the group seemed to disappear the photographers around me continued on as planned but most of the group went elsewhere, not sure where. The small group arrived at the area and took our shots till dark. Got a few nice shots and the walk was fun, I’ll be doing another one of these. Hopefully next time I’ll stay with the main herd :-).
Two of the flowers I shot along the walk.
The shot I got from the final point of the walk.
My last shot form the night on the way back to the train station for the trip home.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
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I’ve used this lens now for a few years now and had it in light rain with no issues, thou I try and protect them in wet weather the camera body is more of a worry L lenses usually have better sealing so far so good.
The lens is extremely sharp and the quality of the images has always been great The Superb Wren shot in my portfolio Bird shots was taken with this lens, the shot has been cropped it quite a fair bit but very little degradation of the image.
The F4 is a limit but one I’ve never found an issue and in reality my 70 to 200 F 2,8 lenses is fitted with the 1.4 extender so also then sets it to minimum of F4 so by now I’m use to it, the f2,8 is handy at times but nothing I’ve missed on this lens. The Canon 24-105mm F4 IS a great walk around lens and anyone that asks me what lens they should buy when buying a new camera this is one of the first I’d recommend depending of cause what they photograph.
This weekend I’m heading on my second photo walk so my weekend blog will cover this and what its like to be on a photo walk, hopefully the rain will hold off for Saturday night here in Sydney.
Thanks for Dropping by.
Glenn.
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I then went walk-a-bout around the gardens for a while before returning back to the normal patch where I took three separate sets of shots on three different mushrooms. From the behind the scenes shots you’ll notice the small wooden blocks I carry around to level the camera to assist in framing the shot, it helps to raise the camera body at times even with the camera on the ground depending on the location of the mushroom and the slop of the ground. So I got four separate mushroom shots today so a good day plus some pocket money from the competition so all up a good day in the gardens today.
Thanks for dropping by,
Glenn
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Thanks for dropping by the weekends blog again will be how I got a shot and next weeks gear review from my bag will be the next lens I obtained and a great around walk around lens, the one I recommend if anyone asks me what one lens should I have.
Glenn.
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The next shot something I don’t normally do I moved the dial to P mode so you can see what the camera would take if it’s up to its own choosing, as you can see it tried to lighted the shot by opening up the aperture and hence lost the depth of field, you also see how washed out the shot looks. This shot is not flash even though the flash fired it wasn’t pointing at the scene so it’s all available light. The day was very overcast and after I get these shots it started to rain so that was the end of the day shooting.
The next image is again straight out of camera no editing, but this time with flash and full manual mode, This is where I found out how unprepared I was today First I realised I didn’t bring my remote trigger for releasing the shutter so I had to be careful each shot not to move the camera, I set it on 2 second timer. The camera was balanced on bark ships to get the framing right, none of today’s images have been cropped the framing is as per the set up. I then set up my two flashed and when to take the first shot, its then my next problem came to me, one of the flashes had run out of juice so forgot to charge the batteries for it, so luckily I had one working and a have a small piece of aluminium foil in my camera bag I sometimes use as a reflector and today it got a good work out. SO like normal I step down the aperture to maximise my depth of field and bring up the shutter speed to sync speed, this gives the dark to black background and the only light on the mushroom is the side light from the 8” softbox and some reflected back from the aluminium foil. So I try several variations on the lighting angles, and flash power till I get the look I like one with some shadow and highlights and try and get lighting into the gills to bring them out.
The final shot is the one after the processing work in lightroom as explained in last week’s blog, this shot followed the same process, contrast, clarity, darkening the blacks and dropping the highlight a fraction. The final shot here is the one that I put out each week on google plus.
Hope you enjoyed the behind the scenes look again and it hasn’t spoilt the magic for anyone.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn
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Looking at the lightroom count I’ve taken 13665 shots with this lens with and without the extender, the macro lens is next but that comes in at 7648 shots so the long lens has taken way more shots. At first I was surprised but then thinking about it, not really, the long lens I use a lot for bird shots and these are often in burst mode, so the count soon adds up.
The lens is the heaviest I have so I certainly know about it carrying it around, but it certainly gives great results and the image stabilisation is something else hand holding down to lower shutter speeds of 1/30 of a second at times at full reach. Thou some of those shots aren’t always the best. I’ve used the lens for some close up mushroom shots and a lot of bird shots, I’ve found that my best results are still found with it mounted to the tripod with the tripod mounted at the lens collar not the camera body, the collar nicely balances it out so less stress on the camera lens mount. The 1.4 extender gives you the extra reach but you sacrifice the f2.8 to an f4 so loose some light, but I can still get some nice background blur with f4 and often find I need to step further down to get a complete bird in focus with depth of field being somewhat limited at f4. I’ve also used this set up of the 70 to 200 with extender for a photo shoot for a works soccer match with the office vs the factor match held annually, and from the side lines got great results and some close ups.
The down side is certainly the weight and I may be needing to replace a camera strap soon as it’s starting to show signs of wear where the strap joins the camera even though I usually hold the camera while walking there is still signs of wear there now and I don’t like the idea of camera and lens taking a tumble. The only other issue is the size of the len extender and lens hood they make for a decent length and if I need to change out the lens I have to take off the lens hood and then it’s a stretch to fit in the Lowepro slingshot bag I use. These are minor things but still something to consider, but I find the shots I get with this lens and extender are still making me very happy, At times I’d love a little longer reach and I’m waiting to see what the new Canon 100 to 400mm will be when it turns up, also its price, there are a few alternatives to longer lenses like the Sigma and Tamron 150 to 500mm which I’ll be having a look at before I decide which way to go when the time comes for a longer lens. But for now the 70 to 200 with 1.4 extender is doing a great job and I’m happy with the results, and it’s easy to see why It’s the lens in my bag that’s not in the bag so often.
Thanks for dropping by, and I’ll be back on the weekend with more on how I came by a shot I took then, The paper daisies are in full flower now at the gardens this weekend by the sounds of it so could be the place to be.
Glenn.
]]>So by now you will have realised that Light room is the main stay of my photography back end. It's where I do all my post processing and cataloguing, key wording and geotaging. I find it a great tool and relatively simple, we'll see how we go now we have Photoshop to play with how much trouble I can get into.
To start with I take the SD card from my camera and place it in the card reader in my PC. The files are all raw files as it containing the maximum data for each image so I have the best chance of getting all possible use out of each image. So I import the images firstly into light room and at the same time convert them to a DNG format with in lightroom. the DNG format gives me piece of mind in that the file now contains all the data and edits in the one file with out the use of a secondary side car file which I would have if I used the raw file. It also means that if I took the DNG file else where there is a chance other software could read it, so should one day lightroom disappear (Not likely) then I still have a usable file. Ok with in lightroom I file the photos in a separate date folder so there is a main year folder then a date folder within that year, That's if for the filing, the joy of light room is the ability to be able to search and there are so many ways to search, key words, metadata galore. (more details in a future blog).
The description below is the settings I use for my mushroom shots.
Once I have the files uploaded into lightroom, usually takes a few ten to fifteen minutes for around 150 shots from a Saturday, (I usually start to prepare tea while that's uploading and converting to DNG, Once Tea's simmering away I come back to the computer and pick the better shots from the day to work on, not always an easy task, So I scan through the thumb nails of the images and score then 1 to three only every deleting the absolute worst shots if any, anything in focus is never deleted no matter how uninteresting it is. I then set the filter two two or more starts and start with each subject, I then go into survey mode in the lightroom library mode where you click on the images to remove and each time you do the list is reduced as you go through them the images get large so you are finally left with what you think is the best image, this is the one I will now work on in light room for a while, starting in the develop module I start with exposure adjust if required, usually not much needed here, then contrast usually uping this a little, maybe as much as +50, depending on the shot, I usually back of the highlights a little as the stem is often blown out a fraction form the flash or some times a highlight on the cap of the water spray, so the highlights are backed down, next following down the sliders the shadows I boost a little to bring out as much detail as I can of the gills under the cap, Whites also get a slight boost but not as much as the shadows then the blacks I bring down to get a dark back ground, though a lot of this is from within camera when I underexpose the original shot and use the flash to fill in the light locally. I'll then move the clarity slider to the right as much as I can while still leaving a natural look to the shot so this ends up about +55 there abouts again depending on the shot. Vibrance and saturation are also bumped up to around +20 each again to a limit that still looks realisist, but brings out the colours, the water spray helps this a lot as well.
Depending on the shot I may also go into the hue, saturation and luminance sliders and bring up the luminance on certain colours, usually reds, oranges and yellows and possibly some greens. I'll add a little sharpening say to around 70 and some noise reduction even though shooting at ISO 100 gives me little noise I still reduce some as Iv'e boosted the shadows and that will bring up some noise.
In lens correction I will pick the lens I use in the lens calibration section which removes any lens distortion and finally I'll add in some post cropping vignetting to about -60 with some feathering and adjust the roundness and mid point so as not to cut out the mushroom, I'll then go back to the top and maybe crop the shot to bring the mushroom to max size and where possible keep the the rule of thirds.
It seams a lot of editiing but in reality it only takes a few minutes and once done I can copy it across to all the shots via synchronise. I can usually to these in about ten minutes for around 40 shots total these days, Ill then export them including my copyright watermark and have them ready to upload into google plus or one of my Zenfolio gallaries here.
Next mid weeks blog back to about my gear, thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
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I’m currently shotting with a Canon 60D and have had it now for around three years from memory. prior to that I was using the Canon 350D and even before that was the Minolta X-700 Film camera which only had manual focus, manual settings plus aperture and shutter priority.
The 60D has been a fun camera and I love the swivel screen as it allows me to have the camera on the ground to give the low down prospective for the mushroom shots without me having to lie in the dirt / mud or water to get the shots. The Camera has the ability to remotely fire Flashes via infrared signal which I’ve used in the past until I recently purchased the wireless flash triggers from Yongnuo via bay, these are great as it means I no longer need the line of sight from the camera IR sensor to the flash so allows for fitting of the soft box and laying the flash down. The 60D has 18 Mega pixels which is a big step up from the 8 I had on the 350D has 5.3 frames per second and only 9 focus points, the ISO limit is 6400 but I really go over 1600 as I find too much noise starting to creep in at that limit for my liking. But I do like the camera and have had plenty of fun with it, I’m starting to find it wanting now as I get more into Bird photography with a faster frame rate and higher ISO limit with less noise being wanting to get faster shutter rates for the bird photography, also a few more focus points would be nice again for the bird shots. For the mushroom shots I take I find the 60D great and have no issues with it for these, I think it does a great job there and haven’t really wanted anything else that the camera doesn’t have, though the idea of wifi would be nice so I don’t move the camera changing the settings between shots would be nice, being able to adjust all that on an ipod touch would be really nice, I was hoping the new 7D mk2 would have that but looks like it maybe missing the Wifi guess we’ll find out in the coming weeks. If it comes with wifi then that will be really tempting, if not then I’ll be making do with the 60D for a while yet. Gives me a chance to improve my technology rather than using the technology as a crutch I guess. Easy to do, blame the gear.
One of the great features after the swivel screen is the second function wheel on the back, after the 350D this is a great feature and with the front wheel on the top and the one on the back make it so easy to shot in manual mode changing both aperture and shutter speed with the two wheels. I wouldn’t buy a DSLR without the two wheels after using them on this one. Most of my shooting is done in Manual mode a carry on from my film days and early cameras, though I do occasionally shot in Aperture priority or shutter priority and have the custom function set up as a quick setting if I need a high speed wild life shot in a hurry, so the ISO has been bumped up to 800 the shutter speed fixed at 1/1000, so when I see something flying over an want a quick shot I turn the dial to the custom function mode and its already set up to shot. Another part of the camera I customised was the use of back button focus this separates the exposure metering, focus from the shutter release. The expose metering is at the shutter release but the back button with the star is set for focus. Not quite as critical for manual shooting as aperture priority shooting but something once your use to it is easy to handle, takes a few hours practice at first to get used to it but once you are you stay with it, besides it’s always fun seeing someone else try and use you camera after its set up and they can’t focus.
The 60D is a great camera and I’ve had plenty of shots I like and are hanging on my wall from it, unless Canon bring out a higher mega pixel camera with higher frame rate and wifi, I’ll be sticking with the 60D for a while.
More gear next week, and don’t for gets Saturdays how I got the shot post.
Thanks for dropping by.
Glenn.
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I set the aperture for something around F22 or greater to try and pick up some depth of field as shooting this close you loose a lot of the depth of field and often between the front of the mushroom and stem you loose the focus. I then up the drop the shutter speed down till I can see the mushroom in the live view LCD, the 60D has the swivel LCD so great for when the cameras on the ground, I use the magnification on the live view to zoom in and then manually focus on the area I want sharpest. once happy I then increase the shutter speed so this usually means the screen goes black as I usually shoot around 200th of a second and use the flash to add the light this gives the dark feel to the shots and adds the light where I want, I usually take several shots with the flashes moved around different angels to see what gives the best light and shadow Ill then change the shutter speed to vary the light effects and power on the flashes to give me something I like, todays shots finished up at 1/50th of a second f32 and ISO 100 to reduce the noise as much as possible. From the shot you will see the set up I used today, also visible is a small spray bottle which I use to give the mushrooms a light spray of water this usually brings out the colours in them and also gives some interesting water drops at times, also visible is the Infrared remote I use to fire the camera so I don't disturb the set up when shooting.
Once done the next step is to head home and do some quick lightroom work on the shoot, I'll cover this in a future blog, my light room workflow.
The bird shots fro the week were not so great got a few but nothing that I'm excited about this week, better luck next time, I guess.
Thanks for dropping by and hope to see you again soon, I'll try and put out two blog posts a week the mid week will be more gear orientated and the weekend one more on how I got a shot, Hope its of use. I'm still learning each week so please don't take this as an expert guide just how I got the shot and results I got for the week.
Glenn.
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Thanks for dropping by, hope to see you here again one day.
Glenn.