Room with a View

Every now and then I get distracted.

Well, I confess, it happens all the time.

But I was running around the beach at Cape Range, chasing the sunlight as it set over the ocean, creating golden hues bouncing off the water and the sand when I came accross this guy building his home for the night.

He was going between two pieces of grass that were approximately 2m apart. You you could hardly see his web yet, but the golden hues did not forget to touch him and light him up nicely.

He must have had one heck of a view from up there. And eight eyes to enjoy it with to boot.

I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. Psalm 50:11

Young Grasshopper...

So I don't know if this guy was young...but he was naive.

He landed on a sticky plant while trying to hop away. Silly grasshopper - thank you for getting yourself conveniently stuck so I could take photos with my macro till my heart was content...or frustrated, take your pick.

These were very low, as in, ankle high shrubs that came alive with grasshoppers when you walked through. The shrubs have long fingers on the shoots that are sticky, oily, grimy and just generally not nice to touch. They smell nice when disturbed though - a strong but natural smell. Almost like a toxic cleanse - it's not a particularly nice smell like roses, but it feels good to be smelling it in the fresh air and early morning light.

That's right...another dragonfly

But I love them. You want to know why? Because they always fly back to the same spot! Butterflies - you can't tell where those devils are going to next, but dragonflies...they come back to the same spot. So do you know what that means? You can focus your macro on that leaf, or straw or piece of whatever, and your selected dragonfly, if that's where you found him, there is approximately an 80% chance of him coming back. Roughly. It doesn't always work, but it's a lot easier to predict than other insects.

Now, if only I had the presence of mind to get the composition right, we would be set! I hate getting home and realising I've cut wings off....

Popeye

Insects abound in the Pilbara, especially around the water. This is one of the reasons I so dearly love my Macro - it means there are plenty of opportunities to experiment with the Macro.

This little guy took a liking to my husband. Unfortunately my husband's blue shirt did not provide a terribly authentic background so it was cropped out but, his eyes are pretty magnificent.

Canon EOS 50D f/5.6 1/200, ISO 100, 100mm

The Arachnid

I always feel putting an article in front of something makes it seem more important...or more pretentious.

Speaking of keeping your feet on the track, you need to be watching where you place them, otherwise you may very well step on one of these.

Canon EOS 50D f/8, 1/250, ISO 100. 100mm Macro

I'm pretty sure he is just a huntsman. But I love how two of his eyes are looking at me.

Macro Bucket List

Upon purchasing a macro lens, there are a number of things I have wanted to take a photo of - predominantly insects and other creepy crawlies. The top of the creepy crawly list was a bee. At Gregories Gorge, I had that opportunity. Small amount of wind, bright sun and a hungry bee made for one happy shutterbug!

Canon EOS 50D, f/5, 1/500, ISO 100, 100mm Macro 

This image is cropped and edited in Photoshop, but I must say I do like the composition. I had to keep trimming before I was 100% happy, it was a rather awkward one as there were continually highlights on the edges, but when removed the bee wasn't prominent. As it is he is a little stuck in the corner. It helps that purple and green is my favourite colour combination at the moment. This is the best angle of the bee that I captured. Not perfectly ideal, but not bad for a first attempt I would say!

Time to Grab the Macro

So while adventuring to Deep Dale Gorge, we pulled over at a tranquil pool down Deep Dale Gorge. Armed with my smartphone and my bare feet I ran (well, what passes for running in bare feet over rocks) to the waters edge to throw some stone, see some fish jumping and take in the colours of the red wall, green foliage and crystal clear water.

The smart phone started snapping away. The reeds in front of me were attracting all manner of dragonflies. I carefully stepped forward, step by step, until I was standing in the reeds, surrounded by dragonflies and with only my smartphone in tow. Sure, I snapped a few dragonflies with my smartphone, but when I realised they would sit comfortably beneath my smartphone lens not 30cm away, it dawned on me it might be time to grab the macro lens I spent a lot of money on and was sitting on the back seat of my car.

Running again in bare feet back to the car, I grabbed my camera, swapped my lenses and dashed cautiously back to the reeds. Thus started the shutterbug, snapping, checking exposure and experimenting with exposure. Still getting used to using my fixed macro, I had to experiment with different exposure settings. I learned that in that particular situation, a fast shutter speed was key given the propensity for camera shake and wind.

It was almost as good as the butterflies at Iguazu Falls.

Canon EOS 50D f/5, ISO 100, 100mm (Macro)

Canon EOS 50D, f/5 1/320 ISO 100, 10mm (Macro)

Canon EOS 50D f/3.2 1/500, ISO 100, 100mm (macro)

Guess who loves the macro??

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun. I could fill this post with numerous happy emoticons.

I do still need to master editing and reducing the grainy noise that cropping causes. But I think I can safely say that at the moment, my macro is my favourite.

Happiest Place on Earth: Part 2

I think everyone is in agreeance that waterfalls are cool. That they make people happy. The second part to this happy place though is a little more subtle but no less incredible.

The place was filled with butterflies.

I love butterflies.

I love to take photos of butterflies.

I was in heaven!

Because the butterflies loved me! I had three on me at one stage - I had them landing on my camera, obliging for my smartphone even! I have a rule on Instagram - I don't put any SLR photos on there, just ones from my Samsung because I believe loading an SLR picture defeats the purpose. Instagram was happy that day! At first I was just snapping away on the smartphone, but eventually I was just walking around with my SLR because they were just prolific.

Here are a couple. Some are obviously from the smartphone and others are from the SLR. I hope this rainbow of butterflies brings you as much joy as they brought me!

Samsung Galaxy - not bad for a smartphone hey!

Samsung Galaxy - butterfly love!

Possibly a favourite - also from the Samsung - two of my greatest loves!

And now we are down to business...Canon EOS 50D f/10, 1/200, ISO 250, 140mm

I just love that this guy has transparent wings! Canon EOS 50D f/5.6, 1/50, ISO 500, 200mm

Happy as a butterfly in mud! Canon EOS 50D f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO 1250, 200mm.

Pilbara Gems: River

There are many places to camp in the Pilbara, if you are prepared to battle the rocks, the spinafex and the lack of shade. But we were delighted to discover camping in the riverbed is nearly like camping on the east coast - there is shade! 

For a weekend away, I strongly recommend finding a river and driving down it, respecting all signs, gates and fences of course, and finding a nice waterhole. You may even find a dragon fly among the peacefulness!

Our campsite - ignore the blue esky...EOS 50D, f/9, 1/640 shutter, ISO 500, 18mm.

Sleepy dragonfly - here's a tip, photograph dragonflies in the morning! They are really sluggish. Betsy (EOS 50D) f/5.6 1/200, 200mm ISO 500

Pilbara Gems: Python Pool

The landscape of the Pilbara is vast and arid. There are continuous subtle changes for those driving for more than an hour that may go unnoticed to the unappreciative eye. For those willing, there are a number of small but precious gems scattered across the region.

Python Pool is one – situated in Millstream-Chichester National Park, it is a local haunt when it has had a flow. Sure, it’s not the grand canyon, it’s not even Karijini, but for a relatively short drive, it’s refreshing.

Not to mention the drive out there is spectacular. I am planning a trip out there soon – we have had a lot of rain and I can just imagine the wildflowers that will be gracing the roadside!
My last visit to Python Pool was in April this year. I am only showing you the photos now because I was about to format my card when I realised  I hadn’t backed these ones up yet. Always, always double check!

Python Pool. Canon EOS 50D (Betsy) f/3/5 1/400 ISO 200 +2 step exposure bias 18mm, shutter priority

Dragonfly Python Pool. Canon EOS 50D (Betsy) f/5.6 1/400 ISO 200 +2 step exposure bias 200mm, shutter priority

Dragonfly Python Pool. Sitting on my camera bag. Canon EOS 50D (Betsy) f/5.6 1/400 ISO 200 +2 step exposure bias 200mm, shutter priority