Sydney Opera House captured by Z 9 / Z24-120
Built over seventy years ago, the Sydney Opera House is this iconic structure that sucks me in over and over and over again. I shot it our first time here sixteen years ago and I’ve shot it every time since. It takes no talent, just being able to change the Z 9 to B&W and go click. It’s so gorgeous, it’s the picture that takes itself!
The rainforest of Lamington Nat’l Park around O’Reilly’s is teaming with bird life this time of year. The vast majority are incredibly colorful, have crazy calls and do everything in a big way. One notable exception is the Grey Shrike-Thrush. While “common” you are lucky to see one during a twenty-four hour period and even more lucky to get one in the viewfinder. With that said, on everyone of my visits to O’Reilly’s I’ve have the opportunity to photograph one and long enough to get the “Say What?” cock of the head. I’m not sure if it’s trying to hear better, see around me, watching a predator overhead or what, but rotating their head until it looks like it’s going to pop off seems to be common. Knowing this was coming at some point, I wanted the rest of the frame to be “light and whimsical” to support that look. I didn’t want the “dark” rainforest like I had previously. I dialed in +0.03 exp comp into the Z 9 for the ambient light and used the Profoto A10 bringing up the value of the Shrike-Thrush. The end result just makes me smile so in the future when back in MT, I can look at the photo and know it’s saying, “Say What?”
A moment to reflect tonight in Sydney
Nope, nope, Sharon & I are definitely not in MT anymore! There’s no way we could walk out our door and see the ground carpeted with a “common finch” like the tiny Red-browed Finch nor see in the tree a Regent Browerbird. Nope, we are on holiday at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat located up in Lamington Nat’l Park. This is our fourth time here and we are simply having the time of our lives. Yep, the trip is all about birds, birds the colors, shapes, sizes and call that are soooooo different form the ones on The Ranch. And man, is the photography fun and great this trip! Why???
Red-browed Finch captured by Z 9 / Z400f4.5 w/Profoto A10
Two main factors. The first is I have grown as a photographer since I was here last. You could sum it up as, I’m not in as big a hurry last time, looking way more the story, and really focused in on making the uncommon from the common. The other big factor is the gear helping do all of this. The Z 9 and Z400f4.5 are making it soooo simple to concentrate on these aspects of the story and not on the gear. At the same time, I’ve added the Profoto A10 flash to the kit. This gorgeous, powerful light source permits great ease at bringing the color home in a click. The Regent Bowerbird was taken before the sun was up in the cover of a rainforest. The background is all ambient light, the Regent is all Profoto. Its sweet light just kissing it. The Red-browed Finch, the whole rig is lying in the grass, the monitor flipped out on the Z 9 and it’s doing all the work (except the back massage needed) and the Profoto A10 kissing this bird, the size of your thumb as it forages. Lots of pixels flying, battery being used up and color, color, color flying about, in the trees and on the ground. Yep, definitely not in Montana anymore!
Perched at the top of the mountain in the rainforest of Lamington Nat’l Park, looking down and across the lowlands can be quite spectacular! It had been a marvelous day of photography the birds of the rainforest. When we emerged from that mysterious and darkened world we were looking out at this splendor. With the long lens already attached, it was real easy to make the click!
Queensland AUS Lowlands captured by Z 9 / Z400f4.5
When the light first broke through the breaking rain, the drama to me was all B&W so that’s what I shot. Then as the opening in the clouds got bigger, the light warmed and it then became a full spectrum shot. Then from the treetop bar as the sun set, it became a very rosey photo. At that point though, the camera was put to rest. But I can tell you that it was splendid, the view from the top!
It was almost like someone flipped a switch! The hummers vacated the premises about the middle of August and that signaled the seasons were changing. Then our aspens started to drop a leaf here and there. Then the bird seed consumption really slowed down. Our White-tailed bucks have shed their velvet in the past week. And finally, the trees are mighty quiet. Fall is fast taking over our little valley and critters are hunkering down. The light has mellowed and we’re blessed with wildfire smoke only just now kinda lingering in the air. I miss the explosion of sound of spring of all the critters at The Ranch. It’s such a great start to the day. But then, I love the light this time of year. I look forward to the explosion of color I think we’ll have because of the good rains last month combined with our morning temps in the high 40s. A chill in the air and the fall color for me just make the silence so loud!