| Portraits of Australian Animals | Tilcheff

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Eastern Water Dragon

Well... this is one of those images that just look good. The setting, the light and the actor – everything was right. I just had to carefully get closer, squat as quietly and as slowly as possible, compose and press the button. The rest was done by Canon.

Eastern Water Dragon, Lane Cove National Park, NSW

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Three predators

Three different birds in one afternoon decided to demonstrate how they catch and eat their prey. All this only a couple of meters away from me and the camera. At times I thought that somehow I have become invisible.

above: Noisy Miner, Sydney

There are quite many images in the Heron series, but unfortunately he caught the fish facing away from the camera. I could have asked for a second take, I guess...

above: White-faced Heron, Sydney

By the time this Kookaburra caught her worm the sun was very low and the light was insufficient. I had to lower the shutter speed to get decent exposure and the moving parts got blurry. Still, I decided to publish the last image as it shows certain expression.

above: Laughing Kookaburra, Sydney

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Monday, May 25, 2009

Some of my new 'neighbours'

These guys frequently check what I'm doing and if my camera is ready and responsive enough. I didn't want to disappoint them so I took some quick snaps from the window.

above: Rainbow Lorikeet at the window, Sydney

above: Juv. Pied Currawong, Sydney

above: Rainbow Lorikeet at the window, Sydney

above: Juv. Pied Currawong at the window, Sydney

above: Adult Pied Currawong, Sydney

So far at the new place I have seen/heard the Laughing Kookaburras (they wake everyone else up at 5:45 every morning), the Aussie Magpies, the Pied Currawongs, the Butcherbirds, the Aussie Ravens, the No(i)sy M-s, the Suphur-crested Cockies, the Rainbow Lorikeets, the Galahs, the King Parrot (I think), the Feral Pigeons, the Brushtail Possums, some tree frogs and lots and lots of insects.

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

My Tasmanian icons

My stay on Tasmania started and ended with the Masked Lapwings. They were the first birds to spot near the airport, minutes after landing. They are very common and extremely cute. Black-faced Cormorants were a very common sighting too. I've taken hundreds of cormo photos and still find them fascinating. Even though I'm thousands of kilometers away now, I will keep posting Tasmanian wildlife for a while as I go through the thousands of unsorted images. So stay tuned...

above: Masked Lapwing, Tasmania

above: Lovely Magnolia, Tasmania

above: Black-faced Cormorant, Tasmania

above: Vested Seal, Tasmania

above: Masked Lapwing, Tasmania

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Monday, May 11, 2009

A tear for Tasmania

I've had two fantastic years on Tasmania – the most beautiful island of them all!
It has been time of contrasts: exciting wildlife adventures, huge professional disappointments, great friends, backstabbers, shared interests, thoughts and tastes, a lot of wasted energy and time, countless enjoyable conversations, great local beer, thousands of photos (even some nice among them!), hundreds of beautiful fresh and sunny mornings, freezing cold weather, poorly designed houses, idiotic separate cold and hot water taps, and, I'm sure, tons of unforgettable memories. I will always miss Tassie.

Hobart must be one of the most beautiful towns in the world. It combines cosy with spectacular, friendly with majestic. I tried to stitch some photos together, but unfortunately no image can convey the countless nuances of colors, the true senses of freedom, awe and pure pleasure, the scale of the vista, the freshness of the air and the calls of the birds.