A Lull in Travel, Catch-up time & Australian Kingfishers

There is a lull in travel at the moment and I've been utilzing the time to sort, keyword and post process many of the images I took recently on my US Yosemite National Park. This has been in addition to preparing for two seperate 3 day trips to northern Tasmania to photograph Tasmanian Devils.

However, I did manage to catch some time in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia).

During my stay I noticed this Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) hanging out in the trees in front of my parent's house. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, and having my 300 2.8 lens with me, I took the opportunity to grab a few snaps before thre kookaburra decided to fly away to find something more interesting to occupy its time with.

Kookaburras belong to the Kingfisher family and there are two species in Australia; the one shown here and a northern species called the Blue-winged Kookaburra. All kookaburras are carnivorous and their favourite food is often small lizards and moderately sized snakes. I have obsevred kookaburras catching and killing highly venomous brown snakes. This just proves that predation from the air is the wiorst nightmare for many terrestially bound animals!

The "Laughing Kookaburra" is known by its name for its "laugh" which it uses to greet its mate after periods of absences. It can be heard at any time of day but most frequently shortly after dawn and especially when the colour drains from the forest after sunset.

One bird starts with a low, hiccupping chuckle, then throws its head back in raucous laughter: often several others join in. If a rival tribe is within earshot and replies, the whole family soon gathers to fill the bush with ringing laughter. Hearing kookaburras in full voice is one of the more extraordinary experiences of the Australian bush, something even locals cannot ignore.

I'll try and figure out a way to install a MP3 file so that you can hear the laugh, so cruise back soon to see if I've figured out how to install a sound file.

Laughing Kookaburra Sound File (MP3)

Slack - I know I know!

I realize that the blog entries have been rather slow.  I wasn't really near a stable internet connection on my last trip to the US, so image management and blog uploads wern't really possible unless you wanted to spend hours staring at a little screen into the virtual world.

Since returning to Australia 10 days or so ago, time has been a little tight - mainly because I have been busy catching up on other things - which also included a brief trip to Brisbane, Queensland for 4 days.

Hopefully I'll have an update on my recent trip to Yosemite National Park with some images in the very near future.  I promise!  I really do!   TRUST ME.

Ranch Shooting, Carmel California

I've spent the last two days at a property (called a ranch in the US) located 30 miles inland from Point Lobos and approximately 3 hours drive south from San Francisco.  The ranch is located within an area called the fly zone and comprises rolling grass and shrub covered hills, and is dotted with numerous oak trees, some of which are as old as 400 years.   The fly zone is an area in which migratory birds fly along during their migratory routes.  As such, numerous birds can be observed at differing times of the year.

The owner has established a number of small permanent watering holes (ponds) with a drip water system.  This permanent water is favourable to any birds living in the area or migrating through the region as California is a desert environment and water is a relateively scarce resource.  During my stay temperatures reached 102 F and were stifling until an warm afternoon breeze started.

The main target species we were after were the numerous birds that visit a small pond located on the property, however, other wildlife seen include the Common Gray Fox, bats, jack rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks.  

All the shooting was conducted from a camoaluged blind set up adjacent to the pond.

This fox, made a very fleeting visit to the pond on the second morning of shooting and was probably attracted to the pond by a large family of California Quail that has taken up residence in the area.  Unfortunately, the fox did not hang around and only made three passes in front of the blind, stopping only to mark a tree with its scent.

I'll post some of the bird images in the next few days.

Next Venture - San Francisco & Yosemite NP, California

In 2 weeks time, I am off again. This time to San Francisco, California.

I fell in love with this city when I passed through in the early part of the year.  At that time I used the city a base to visit some other locations within California.

I never thought I would hear myself saying that I love a city - as most cities I dislike with a passion!  But San Francisco has ponash, flare, culture, mystic - and most of all is exceptionally picturistic.  And I'm not just referring to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and popular tourist haunts such as Alcatraz Island.  There are other hidden attractions that just beckon a photographer: stunning architecture, immense parks & gardens, cultural delights such as the Legion of Honor, impressive museums, art galleries, and the natural splendour of the California coast. This is not even mentioning the wide assortment of ethnic food available.

Research as always is the key to the success of any trip, and weeding through the maze of information can be exceptionally daunting and time consuming.  Where to photograph, the best time, and how to actually get on location are major challenges to overcome when you lack local knowledge!  Not too mention, I'm an Australian and we have differing road rules, customs, and drive on the other side of the road!

In addition to shooting locally in San Francisco and hopefully at a few other locations firther afield, I am visiting a ranch on the outskirts of the city that is, I have been told, a mecca for birds.  I am particularly keen to photograph hummingbirds and have been informed that a number if hummingbird species can be observed at the ranch.

I will then be joining a small group of like-minded photographers to hike and camp within the high altitude regions (High Sierras) of Yosemite National Park.  To be honest, I'm not exactly organising and researching anything for this part of the trip as all the logistics has been accomplished by local individuals - I'm just an add on!!

Blog & Website Improvements

Well it certainly has taken considerable patience, resolve and time to get things to the next level with regard to the BLOG and website. The last month has been very hectic - challenges were presented that required overcoming and issues needed to be resolved. Which has meant minimal time to be out and about actually shooting anything!

PHOTO SHELTER, WEBSITE & BLOG IMPROVEMENTS

After spending a considerable amount of time researching various backend image gallery sites that could be attached to my website and BLOG, I decided that Photo Shelter was the best option. None of the commercial sites are perfect, but until you customize the site to your requirements you have to be slightly flexible with your requirements.

The good thing about Photo Shelter is that it provides a searchable database based on keywords. This was lacking in my existing website (see website tab above). I believe a searchable database is a key feature that is required if you expect anyone to seriously look at your work.

The image galleries at Photo Shelter are on there way to completion, although I still have to post process, keyword and upload considerable work from several overseas assignments conducted in 2008 and 2009 - not to mention many black bear, squirrel, bison and pronghorn photographs captured on an American trip in late 2006. Then there are images from several trips to Papua New Guinea (ahhh - will it ever end).

Now all that is left is to customize the Photo Shelter template, however, I'll wait a few months to see if I'm happy the services offered by Photo Shelter before I delve too deeply into this.

A search link box has been added to the blog to search for images directly within Photo Shelter as has a direct link tab (above tabs).

I finally found time to mess about with the title banner of this BLOG page and include my motif - the anaspides shrimp. For those who have a good attention to detail, you will notice that the banner matches my website in motif, style, colour and design. The design and motif also matches my business cards and letterhead. In my opinion, branding is very important for all your work; it creates consistency across various media mediums, inspires client confidence, and is professional.

WHAT'S PLANNED NEXT?

I want to include a dedicated gallery on this BLOG site and add several short articles on pressing conservation issues.

So that a wrap work wise for the last 4 weeks!