Tag Archives: Photography

New life in the mangroves…

While on a birding trip, exploring Reef Island in Western Port Bay, I found a germinating seed pod of a mangrove plant…

Reef Island Mangrove Seed germination, Reef Island, Western Port Bay, Victoria

Germinating Mangrove Seed Pod, Reef Island, Western Port Bay, Victoria

A happy bride…

Walking along Elwood beach on the weekend, I noticed a wedding taking place on the balcony of the Elwood Sailing Club. Having only taken a few photos of a starling I was itching to photograph something a bit different…it was an interesting viewpoint to shoot the ceremony…

Elwood Beach wedding, Elwood, Victoria

Elwood Beach wedding, Elwood, Victoria

Elwood Beach wedding, Elwood, Victoria

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Elwood Beach wedding, Elwood, Victoria

the vows…

Elwood Beach wedding, Elwood, Victoria

oops spotted…

Elwood Beach wedding, Elwood, Victoria

done and dusted, and an embarrassed flower girl….

Maybe this one….

A fisherman hoping for the big one…off Elwood Beach breakwater this afternoon…

Fisherman, Elwood Beach, Victoria,

The Fisherman, Elwood Beach Breakwater

Classical Busking in Block Place

There is a pretty wide selection of buskers around Melbourne. From electrified bands to jugglers to statues. I often stop,  have a listen and occasionally buy one of their CDs. While walking through some of the laneways along Little Collins Street this week, I found this Cello busker in Block Place.

Classical Busker, Block Place, Melbourne CBD

Classical Busker, Block Place, Melbourne CBD

Preening along the creek…

While walking along Elster Creek, I photographed a flock of Australian Wood Ducks that have been in the area over the summer. Wood Ducks breed in large numbers with parents and the occasional aunt raising up to 16 chicks. The one photographed below was grooming its finer down feathers. I thought the wind was blowing the feathers forward but as I photographed the duck it raised and lowered the feathers at will as it preened.

Australian Wood Duck, Elster Creek, Victoria

Australian Wood Duck, Elster Creek, Victoria

 

Motorised Coffee Table?

Walking today with Ron, a fellow photographer, along one of the main roads near my place, I saw a low object speeding down the bike lane on the road. Something about it did not look right but at the time we were talking about the local chimney designs (as you do)…the object sped past and noticed that we were watching and laughing, so he did a big u-turn, waved us on to take photos and sped off again down the road…

Groovy Scooter, Elwood, Victoria

Groovy Scooter, Elwood, Victoria

Groovy Scooter, Elwood, Victoria

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Groovy Scooter, Elwood, Victoria

Rock On…

Groovy Scooter, Elwood, Victoria

Off into the sunset…

Cockatoos and Barbed Wire Emus

On a day trip with a few birder friends, we explored Eynesbury Forest in the western plains about half an hour from Melbourne. Eynesbury is a growing commuter suburb established in a rural setting with a 288 hectare Grey Box Forest. It has a good variety of birds and animals and has an open under-story with good foliage for the smaller birds. I have always enjoyed walking in the area. On this particular trip we found large groups of cockatoos and parrots. I found the group below feeding on salt bush seeds. Later we explored the old colonial homestead grounds and found the barbed wire Emu.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Eynesbury Forest, Victoria

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos feeding on seeds, Eynesbury Forest

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Eynesbury Forest, Victoria

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Eynesbury Forest, Victoria

Barbed Wire Emu, Eynesbury Forest, Victoria, 20 Feb 2016

Barbed Wire Emu, Eynesbury Homestead, Victoria, 20 Feb 2016

Tree Man of AC/DC Lane

Over a few days I watched a new mural being created in AC DC Lane. Multi-story high man with a large tree branch. There has been a lot of construction work within the area of ACDC Lane and Duckboard Place. It makes a nice change to have something new and interesting to look at rather than construction vehicles and piles of excavation mess.

BW 2 ACDC Lane Man with Tree Mural, Melbourne CBD, 29 Feb 2016

A new mural in ACDC Lane, Melbourne CBD

The smallest Laneway

There is a tiny shoulder-width laneway between Little Bourke St in China Town and Lonsdale St. It actually has a doorway within the wall that leads into a small courtyard at the back of the shops on Lonsdale St. The lane opens onto Corrs Lane that has several Japanese and Chinese restaurants including the very good Shanghai Street Dumplings Restaurant where you can watch the ladies making the fresh dumplings through the street window. The shops on the Lonsdale St side all used to be Greek cafes, cake shops and restaurants.  Several good ones remain. This narrow portal can take you from China to Greece….

Laneway off Lonsdale St, Melbourne CBD

Laneway between Lonsdale St and Corrs Lane, Melbourne CBD

Where do they hide?

Camping at Halls Gap, in the Grampians, I got up early one morning to check out the locals birds. Walking across the road to some paddocks near a few houses I watched several deer resting after a nights feeding. Apparently there are 6 species of deer in the forests and associated farmland in Victoria and they number in the tens of thousands.  It seems incredible that I have only seen them a few times over the years. I spend so much time in the forests and yet I never see them. There is still so much to be aware of when walking around. As soon as the general campground started to wake up these two quietly wandered back up the slopes and into the forest.

Deer, Halls Gap, Grampians, Victoria

Deer, Halls Gap, Grampians, Victoria

Deer, Halls Gap, Grampians, Victoria

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Silo Art in Brim

While driving back to Halls Gap, from one of my excursions to the North Eastern districts of Victoria, I saw a group of people stopped on the road and taking photos of one of the giant wheat silos that are dotted around the wheat belt. It is very flat, dry and hot country. I slowed the car down and had a look at what was going on. People were looking at a giant 30 meter high mural, partially completed on the silo. The artist is Guido van Helten from Brisbane. In researching the artwork I found a number of articles that are worth reading. The articles also show the completed work.

I met a local while I was photographing the art, she said it was fantastic that such a small town like Brim (100 people) could have such a beautiful drawcard to attract people to stop. The people in the mural are actually known to the locals and are copping a bit of a ribbing by neighbours. Their identity is being kept secret to allow the focus to be on the art and not the people.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-07/brim-grain-silos-guido-van-helten-art-wimmera-victoria/7072768

Wheat country Brim, Victoria

Wheat country, Brim, Victoria

Wheat Silo Murals, Brim, Victoria

Wheat Silo Murals, Brim, Victoria

A Growling Grass Frog

On a visit to the Western Treatment Plant we stopped at the Crake pit in T-Section which due to intermittent rain has maintained a water level that is perfect for several species of Crake. Along with watching and photographing the crakes we heard a Growling Grass Frog – a frog becoming more rare and endangered in many areas of Southern Australia including Victoria. It is also called the Southern Bell Frog and rather unkindly: the Warty Swamp Frog. I quite like the name Growling Grass Frog. It has a deep drawn out call and you assume it is a larger frog but when seen it not very big at all. Recently I started to record sounds of various birds and pretty much anything else I could get close to. I have found that there are very few areas that don’t have man-made noise pollution in the background – freeways near wetlands, boats along the coast, distant chainsaws and trail bikes far out in the forests. Luckily in this case the background sounds were two rather melodic birds: the Australian Reed Warbler and a Little Grassbird.

Click on the play button to hear the Growling Grass Frog

Growling Grass Frog, Western Treatment Plant, Werribee

Growling Grass Frog, Western Treatment Plant, Werribee

Thornbill and the Magic Fantail

I travelled down the Western Port Bay coastline over the long weekend and camped at Balnarring Beach with some friends. On Sunday I met up with my mate John and explored a new site – a long forested gully called Wuchatsch Reserve in Nyora.  The site had an impressive list of forest birds including Crimson and Eastern Rosellas, Spinebills, Silvereyes and a good number of honeyeaters. While watching the honeyeaters we found a small flock of Striated Thornbills and a Grey Fantail hunting flies off a branch.

Striated Thornbill, Wuchatsch Reserve, Nyora, Victoria

Striated Thornbill, Wuchatsch Reserve, Nyora, Victoria

Striated Thornbill, Wuchatsch Reserve, Nyora, Victoria

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Grey Fantail, Wuchatsch Reserve, Nyora, Victoria

Grey Fantail watching the watchers…

Grey Fantail, Wuchatsch Reserve, Nyora, Victoria

a quick jump in the air…

Not a Grey Fantai, Wuchatsch Reserve, Nyora, Victoria

and magic…

A bright red cap

On a drive around the Little Desert National Park as part of my compass tour of Vic,  I stopped and walked through a copse of pine trees looking for anything that might be out in the heat. I found a group of small robins and followed them for a while trying get a clear shot through the branches. A  male Red-capped Robin finally popped into view. The robins are like little raptors, they perch on a branch and when they spot something they pounce down and catch the prey. If you stand still for a while they just ignore you and you can get quite close.

Red-Capped Robin, Little Desert National Park Victoria

Red-Capped Robin, Little Desert National Park Victoria

Too hot to be bothered…

By the time I had left the Nurcoung Bushland Reserve it was getting quite hot (by mid-afternoon it would be low 40’s). Driving out along the rough bush tracks,  I spotted a large male Grey Kangaroo resting in the hole he had scraped in the shade of a bit of scrub. He sat up as I walked closer and then decided it was too hot to leave the shade…he probably reckoned he could take me…I reckon he could too. I walked back to the car and left him to it…

Male Grey Kangaroo, Nurcoung Reserve, Victoria

Male Grey Kangaroo, Nurcoung Reserve, Victoria

Male Grey Kangaroo, Nurcoung Reserve, Victoria

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