I revisited the Queen Mary Falls area the next morning, again very early as I didn’t have much time on this day. My main focus was to photograph the male Satin Bowerbird in his bower, plus to walk the trail down to the foot of the falls and capture anything interesting. Also, I removed the 1.4x TC and just used the 300/2.8 at its native focal length, which gave me an extra stop of light as well as better resolution. After a couple of hours at Queen Mary Falls, I stopped briefly at Daggs Falls on the way back to my parents’ place. Then, on the way back to the Gold Coast, I paused at a lookout and took a shot of the Head, an iconic mountain near Boonah.
Queen Mary Falls
Daggs Falls
Satin Bowerbird (male)
Satin Bowerbird (male)
Satin Bowerbird (male)
Satin Bowerbird (male)
Black-shouldered Kite being attacked by Willie Wagtail
Bell Miner
Brown Thornbill
Collared Sparrowhawk
Collared Sparrowhawk
Collared Sparrowhawk
Eastern Spinebill
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Spotted Pardalote (male)
Superb Fairy-wren (male)
Buff-banded Rail
Swamp Wallaby
Grey Kangaroo
Eastern Water Dragon
The Head
John, Your descriptions of your brief trip home are wonderful. I love your pictures and especially the names. That Willie Wagtail is something else. The birds have a tropical look and many are not really similar to birds here in USA. Recently I have read Bryson’s “The Sunburned Country” as well as Robert Hughes’ “Botany Bay”. Needless to say, Australia can trigger one’s imagination in the most enjoyable way. Bryson’s book, although much more casual than Hughes, which seems more of a text but still fabulous, had some pretty incredible descriptions of a million things there in Australia which can kill a person in seconds. His tales are quite comical in some ways.
I find it pretty amazing that you could capture all these species in such a brief time, and everyone IN FOCUS!! I am so jealous of your talents. Thanks for the great info and beauty of your home country. One day I hope to get over there for at least a month or two. And then there are New Zealand and Tasmania….
Hi Pam!
Thanks for the comments. Actually, it is very nice to photograph wildlife in Australia as opposed to Japan because many birds and animals are quite approachable. Even just a 300mm lens was sometimes too much and I could have quite comfortably worked with a 70-200mm instead if I had wanted. Of course, there are the shyer species or smaller species that would be better with a 500 or 600mm lens. Also, the light is much “brighter” and “clearer” than what is usually encountered in Japan, so photos are more vibrant and resolution is better.
When I relocate to Australia in the next few years you are more than welcome to visit!
Cheers,
John
I know what you mean about brighter light. I lived for 20 years in New Mexico which is in the SW part of USA and compared with the light here in the Pacific NW, there is no comparison. Many artists live in NM for that very reason. The shadows are so crisp and that can give photos a lot of drama for little effort. I hope I can come visit you in Australia. BUT, I am not getting any younger….Love your art, John.