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Welcome Everybody

Hello - Welcome. The purpose of this site is to document my experiences photographing wildlife and nature throughout Australia and abroad.  I hope you find the content interesting and educational, and the images  cause you to reflect on how important it is preserve natural places and their inhabitants.

All wildife has been photographed in the wild and animals are NOT captive or living in enclosures.

For me photography of the natural world is more than just pretty settings and cuddly animal photos. It's a concern for the environment and the earth all living creatures must share.

Note that images appearing in journal posts are often not optimally processed due to time constraints.

You are welcome to comment on any post.

 

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Conservation Matters.....

Articles Archive (newest first)

Entries in Cliff (2)

Wednesday
Apr152009

Dusty Conditions

An early wake up at 530 AM and a short scramble to ensure I was in place for the early morning light. I want to capture the yellow foots as they made their way back up the slope to their daytime hides.

I'm particularly careful when photographing wild animals that I do not approach too close, which can cause undue stress and alarm. The desert environment is boom and bust - and energy used unwisely can cause potential shortcomings later on. Wet conditions are boom times and all wildlife profits, however, as soon as drought kicks in, only the strongest and most hardy survive.

The days here are quite warm with temperatures in the early 90s (30C). The wallabies hide from the harsh conditions in their rock shelters as photographers hide in their vehicle. The time between shoots (9AM and 3PM) I clean and service equipment, make meals, sleep, read, and reconnoiter new locations.

My base camp on this trip is nowhere fancy - in fact it isn't really a nice camping place at all; it was selected for its proximity to the talus slopes. It's along a dry creek bed and I parked alongside some river gums. Note I said alongside and not underneath; camping beneath river gums is foolhardy, as changes in temperature can cause tree limbs to fall. Several campers have been killed by falling tree branches in the past!

The biggest hassle I have encountered on this trip is photographing in extreme dusty conditions. I mean there is dust on everything and inside everything - and my vehicle is air conditioned and relatively well sealed! The dust has been made worse by a continual 5-10 knot wind which continually blows. At times during the day, the vehicle is buffeted as the wing gusts to 20 knots. Thank goodness it stops in the evening. Keeping digital camera sensors clean is a nightmare and I try to not change lenses if possible, instead relying on the use of 3 bodies with different focal lengths - more to carry in the field, but less work cleaning and dust spotting images during post processing.

Despite there being a multitude of camp sites available, every site captures the wind at some stage during the day, and the dust is impartial - it goes everywhere.  The dry rivercourse above is where I spent my entire time when shooting this assignment.

Photographing this afternoon appeared to a waste of time, until I observed a juvenile and mother amongst the cassarina trees. I also noted two sub adults mating higher on the slope, however, obtaining a clean shot of "mating behaviour" was impossible. The two wallabies in the trees were feeding on flowers located amongst the rocks. Due to the high amount of dust in the air clear images were not possible so I took solace in watching instead!

That night I listened to bats swooping low overhead feeding upon insects. I also heard several wallabies scurrying across the rocky creek bed in search of better food on the opposite bank.

Wednesday
Apr152009

Challenging Environment - No Turkey Shoot

The yellow foots are right there - not 30 yards. The light is perfect and it looks like an easy shot. Think again, as this is no turkey shoot.

I have to maneuver myself into a suitable position by jostling amongst the rocks, being careful not to fall from the 45 degree slope. The tripod must be placed securely because the light is low and a slow shutter speed will be used. Then there are the cassarina trees and the dead branches and logs that seem to be located in the most annoying places - like right in front of the lens!

I have to position myself so as to remove these annoying obstructions as no one wants an image of wallaby with a tree growing from its head! 7/10 times after all this moving here and there, the wallaby bounds away apparently tired of your sideshow antics. Add to this a very short time envelope due to the sun setting and minimal light (the location is a easterly facing cliff and the sun sets behind the cliff.) However, with patience (and time) a successful shot can be accomplished.

The image at left really does not to the region justice, but the yellow foots hang out on the ledge you can see.  To photograohy them you must drag yourslef and equipment up onto the ledges and around the base of the rocks.