Same pose, same activity

above: Masked Lapwing, Tasmania

above: Silver Gull, Tasmania

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F 16

The machine guns on the wings are ready to fire and he has that look in his eyes too. I love the plovers! Have I mentioned that these birds are also called Spur-winged Plovers? You can see why.

Masked Lapwing, Tasmania

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Hunt

This image is pretty crisp. Don't miss the hi-res version! It's worth the click.

Masked Lapwing, Tasmania

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Frozen milisecond

Beautifully arranged feathers!

Masked Lapwing, Tasmania

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Alert! Alert!

Masked Lapwing, Tasmania

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D.S.L.R.

I keep telling friends who don't know much about photography that their compact cameras are OK, that it's only better performance that you get from this big, bulky, expensive thing I'm carrying in my backpack... I don't want to make them feel bad about their 'soapholders'. But it is NOT only the performance, it is the image quality, the per-pixel detail, the color response, the bokeh, the feel and warmth. I'm so glad I have my black, ugly, heavy Canon!

Masked Lapwing, Hobart

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On the way back home

Captures like this one make a day spent in the studio worthwhile! I was carrying the camera and couldn't get a single picture at lunch time, so I decided to take the longer way home. And I was instantly rewarded for this decision.

Masked Lapwing, Hobart, Tasmania

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Meditating

Masked Lapwing, Tasmania

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More lovely Plovers

I know I haven't posted for ages... There are unfortunately many other not so interesting things that keep me busy these days and I have less time for photography and the blog :( Plus I haven't fully recovered from the flu yet :( :(

Masked Lapwing family. They have succeeded in breeding up one kid. Not many of the Plover couples around have been that lucky. In fact most of them failed to protect their babies.

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The young Lapwing

Lovely creatures are these Plovers! A young Masked Lapwing, Peppermint Bay, Tasmania

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Gravity is a relative thing

This is probably my favorite from the Lapwing series. Yo can see the young Plover walking gracefully on the water. Gravity doesn't seem to bother it much. I love these birds!

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BBC feel

A friend of mine recently made a very nice compliment about my photos and the way I frame (crop) the shots. I was really pleased to hear this from him as he is an awesome artist and animator and I appreciate his opinion very much.
I took this series of pictures two days ago at Peppermint Bay, Tasmania in a warm and cloudy day. I like the mood and the film feel that these photos have. It's tempting to think that they somehow look like stills from a David Attenborough BBC documentary, showing the Plovers in a typical habitat, behaving in a very 'natural' way and looking quite undisturbed.

Masked Lapwing family, the juvenile has spots on the wings and body

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Every loan has its Plover

Every loan in Tasmania has its cute and shy Plover.

Two Plovers, if fact. They mate for life and are always close to each other.

It's funny how they incubate their eggs on the ground,

but apparently they are quite well armed. On the photo below the yellow barb on the wing is clearly visible. And their wingspan is huge for such a middle-sized bird.

But instead of tirelessly guarding his busy wife, the gentleman on the photo below often gets distracted by the interesting look of his own feet. They are interesting indeed!

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The Masked Lapwing

Another very cute and popular in Tasmania bird is the Masked Lapwing (also known as Plover). Quite shy, they never let people get too close. You can see them always in pairs.

above: Masked Lapwing resting

above: Masked Lapwing hunting

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