The night scene (with my wife posing with binoculars), was taken in “The Desert”, a stunning, picturesque sand blow some 2 km inland from the resort. We made the 4km round trip (on foot) to arrive around 10:30pm, just as the last quarter Moon was rising. The exposure was 30 secs at 800ASA using the Canon 17-40mm and 40D. I really wanted to take a more ground level shot but gusty winds were blowing along the surface of the sand, generating small sand storms, so I kept the tripod at full height to prevent the camera and optics from being sand blasted!
The bird in flight shots were all taken with the Canon 70-200mm F4L on auto mode as the birds surprised me and I didn’t have the time to use more optimal manual settings. The pelican was panned and I was lucky enough to keep the bird mostly in focus whilst the background shows movement blur from the panning action.
The daylight sand blow shot was taken on a previous visit in June this year and shows the region from where we took the night shot.
Oh, and we got to feed the wild dolphins too! Thanks for looking.
How did you get the Mrs to stand still for soooooo long?
Thanks Matt.
The short focal length of 17mm is quite forgiving of subject movement and I also have a very understanding Mrs! Holding the binos up for 30 secs was a bit of a challenge though!
It was a bit of a spooky walk-in along the narrow trail through the forest, although we did have head torches; mine was red as you can see! The night expedition was a very memorable excursion; the stillness, peace and inspiring night time scenery, bathed in the cold light of the rising last quarter Moon was simply out of this world!
Excellent images, Dennis. I bet it was nice and dark out there?
Thanks Mike.
Surprisingly, we were both a little disappointed by the lack of a really dark sky, as Brisbane is only some 35km away and the sky glow was quite noticeable. The skies are definitely darker at the Qld Astrofest.
However, having the whole desert to ourselves whilst watching the Moon rise was just an amazing experience, a memory that will be with us for a long time to come.
The night expedition was a very memorable excursion; the stillness, peace and inspiring night time scenery, bathed in the cold light of the rising last quarter Moon was simply out of this world!
Brilliant Dennis... I love the shot of the desert sands + Crux rising in the east... Looks great...
The (im pretty sure) whistling kite shots are great, you know im a big fan of the birds of prey! The first one looks to me to have been pushed a tad to hard in shadows and highlights under the wing... But all things being equal, lovely shots..
The 70-200 F/4L served you very well thats for sure!
Good to see some terrestrial shots from you mate... seems like forever since you posted some photos..
I notice that there appears to be notches in the tip feathers of the wings. Would the rangers have tagged the birds to identified from the ground? Or am I reading too much into it?
Great shots BTW. I would like to print a large image of a raptor to hang in the back yard to keep Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos out of the pecan tree. Thats the theory anyway. Could I use no 3, Dennis?
Tony.. A few well placed 12 gauge rounds ought to get rid of your cockie problem! jokes... Just put a webbing over the tree... works for vinyards and orchards..
The (im pretty sure) whistling kite shots are great, you know im a big fan of the birds of prey! The first one looks to me to have been pushed a tad to hard in shadows and highlights under the wing... But all things being equal, lovely shots..
Alex
Hi Alex
Thanks!
Yes – I had to push Shadow/Highlight quite hard, blended across several Layers as the bird caught me by surprise - I was on auto everything doing a casual resort walk about! He/She came out of nowhere and Narelle guessed it was a Whistling Kite too; we certainly heard the pair whistling from the tree tops later that day.
I notice that there appears to be notches in the tip feathers of the wings. Would the rangers have tagged the birds to identified from the ground? Or am I reading too much into it?
Great shots BTW. I would like to print a large image of a raptor to hang in the back yard to keep Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos out of the pecan tree. Thats the theory anyway. Could I use no 3, Dennis?
Hi Tony,
Thanks!
I’ve seen several bird shots where there are notches in the feathers, mostly in the end-of-wing location it seems. I am guessing that this may just be normal wear and tear caused by the bird flying through the foliage in tree tops when roosting, perching or observing?
Yes – you are welcome to use any of them although I’m sure Alex could provide you with even better, scarier shots of raptors!
An excellent collection of images Dennis. I still haven't made it over to Moreton - will have to get there one day!
Cheers,
Stephen
Thanks Stephen – it’s only taken me 15 years (a Pom) and my wife (a Brisbane girl) over 40 years to make the journey across the bay! Well worth a visit, we just had a week there based on their pre-Xmas sizzling summer sale; $59 a night in Pandanus Lodge.
I’ve seen several bird shots where there are notches in the feathers, mostly in the end-of-wing location it seems. I am guessing that this may just be normal wear and tear caused by the bird flying through the foliage in tree tops when roosting, perching or observing?
It just seemed that several of the feathers in a row on each wing had similar notches
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexN
Tony.. A few well placed 12 gauge rounds ought to get rid of your cockie problem! jokes... Just put a webbing over the tree... works for vinyards and orchards..
12 gauge sounds good (with ear protection), especially as I heard a wildlife guy on the radio all these Cockatoos are not native to the area but escaped pets . The tree is starting to get a bit of hight to it so I don't relish trying to mesh it. I was looking for a low cost and (hopefully) effective deterrent. I intend to place at least an A3 sized raptor image in view of the tree. Alex, would you have a aggressive looking image of an eagle or kind I might try for this purpose?
Isnt that first shot a ripper, it looked like a perfect night.
Well you can just about see the homunculas .
Get them binos spun around south for a better view.
Great work Dennis.......cheers Kev.
jokes... Just put a webbing over the tree... works for vinyards and orchards.. 
. The tree is starting to get a bit of hight to it so I don't relish trying to mesh it. I was looking for a low cost and (hopefully) effective deterrent. I intend to place at least an A3 sized raptor image in view of the tree. Alex, would you have a aggressive looking image of an eagle or kind I might try for this purpose?
