Koala
A koala spotted through the eucalyptus leaves on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/2.8 at 1/45th of a second
Red Kangaroo Mother and Joey
Here’s one from my first trip to Australia back in 2006. I saw a few different species of kangaroo on that trip, including the red kangaroo. This mother and her joey were grazing late in the day near Flinders Ranges National Park in the state of southern Australia. My old manual 600mm f/5.6 lens really created a nice smooth bokeh when the conditions were right with all that out of focus foreground and background and the soft late day light.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second
World Koala Day
It has come to my attention that yesterday was “Wild Koala Day.” I figured better a day late than not at all. So here is a koala that I met back in 2007 on Kangaroo Island in Australia. He/She was enjoying a eucalyptus snack… Like always. Hope you had a great day, koala, and that it was appropriately wild.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm lens, f/5.6 at 1/80th of a second
Flame Robin
Robins are sweet little birds. They come in many color varieties, including a fiery, orangish-red. Meet the flame robin — a little guy that I had the pleasure of meeting on Bruny Island in Tasmania. That brilliantly colored breast can really light up the otherwise dull colors of the forest.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second
Four O’Clock Moth
This spotted little yellow monster was photographed in Daintree National Park in the tropics of northeast Australia. It will eventually develop into a four o’clock moth. I took the shot well before I had a macro lens but rather, travelled with a close up filter that I screwed onto the front of my 80-200 lens. An inexpensive and easy-to-carry solution for grabbing the occasional close up.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm with Canon 500D close up filter) ISO 100, f/16 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon D-600 flash
The Painted Cliffs of Maria Island
These two photos are from Maria Island in Tasmania, Australia. The patters in the rock were caused by groundwater which seeped down through the sandstone thousands of years ago and left behind iron oxides which stained the rock.
Top photo — Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 100, f/18 at 1/4th, 1/15th, 1/8th, 1/2 and 1 seconds
Bottom photo — Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 100, f/18 at 1.6, .4, 1/10th, 1/5th and .8 seconds
Yawning Koala
A koala takes a good yawn in-between bites of eucalyptus leaves on Kangaroo Island in Southern Australia. Eucalyptus is, of course, all that a koala eats, making the species very vulnerable as eucalyptus forests get more and more fragmented across southern and eastern Australia.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 130mm) ISO 100, f/4.5 at 1/40th of a second
Brushtail Possum Portrait
This will be me last post for about a week as I head to Panama early tomorrow morning for six nights. Hopefully I’ll be back next week with some great new shots, including some nocturnal creatures like this brushtail possum from Tasmania. One of the nice things about a lot of the animals in Tasmania is that they were very accepting of my presence and didn’t spook very easily. This gave me time to really get my lighting just the way I wanted. I usually use two flashes, but in this case, and for most of my night shots in Tasmania, I used one flash on a tripod which I was able to set down in one spot, and then take my camera to another spot to get the photo. In this case, I was probably twenty feet from the flash, and twenty feet from the possum — me the possum and the flash forming a bit of a triangle. I use remote controlled units on camera and flash to be able to separate the two without using cables.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/6.3 at 1/160th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my next big trip. I’ll be going back to Australia in early November. This time to Tasmania. It’s been almost ten years since my first visit to the country — my inaugural journey with a digital camera. At the time, I was shooting with a Nikon D200 and a manual-focus 600mm lens. It will be nice to have a second chance at kangaroos and all the other marsupials and monotremes with updated equipment and a more experienced eye. The above photo was taken on Kangaroo Island on that first visit — a young, aptly named, Kangaroo Island kangaroo, which is a subspecies of the western grey kangaroo. If anyone has been to Tasmania and has any advice, especially concerning wildlife, it would be good to hear from you. Thanks.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm manual focus lens, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/80th of a second
Kangaroo Under Fiery Sky
Here’s another one from Australia. This might have been one of the most amazing skies I’ve ever seen. It kind of looked like the clouds were on fire. You can see the silhouette of a kangaroo down below, going about its business as if this happens every night.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 400mm with TC-20 teleconverter) ISO 200, f/6.3 at 1/80th of a second