Lovey Dovey

Yes I know it's a cheesy title.

But while I was having fun taking photos of finches, these doves kind of stole the show. They were pretty adorable sitting in the branches, and even though it was approaching the middle of the day, the sun filtering through the yellow and green leaves made for some beautiful golden light underneath the shady tree.

These guys were preening each other, just chilling in the shade. I love springtime. It's important to recognise that even in the Pilbara, where springtime marks the end of the cool weather and warmer temperatures returning, it also is the time for love and new life.

Birds of a Feather...

There are some things that I would love to have photos of but don't - simply because I don't have a huge zoom lens and I always manage to scare things away. And I'm not the world's most patient person so I very rarely will wait for something to come by.

Finches are one of these things. (FYI they are pretty much all birds of some kind - budgies, jabiru, bee eater...you get the picture). You get flocks of them around the Pilbara - more of that stunning wildlife that you can't understand how it flourishes - but they don't hang around for long. I did manage to snap a few last year while camping in Exmouth but in typical me style, I wasn't real happy with them and I couldn't get close enough to them.

So after the adventure with the Brolgas, my sister in law and I headed into Cossack to sample the coffee at the coffee shop (although it was over 30 degrees, so I actually had an iced coffee...). There is a gorgeous setting in this little cafe - it's set up under a big tree, not sure what kind but any kind that provides shade you can sit under in the Pilbara is big. It was around 10:30am in the morning. Cossack is so peaceful.

We ordered our drinks and went outside and sat down. I noticed a grey nomad with his camera out taking pictures of the branches and thought this could be interesting.

While sitting there we noticed that this grand tree was full of finches building nests. Like FULL of finches. Right above us. I counted at least four nests that I could see. Needless to say that I grabbed my camera and started snapping away. I took 100 photos. Finally, the perfect opportunity for finch photos had come!

The only downer was the midgies - we got hammered. Was it worth it?

Snapping gets lucky

While roaming around the glacier and the forest that lines it I was happily snapping away trying to get great photos. I think I have shared previously here the difficulty I faced getting good photos, especially on tours as we were constantly rushing on.

Well, once, I got lucky!

Old mate random person just happened to walk into my shot, and stop. I took the shot and it became one of my favourites of the trip. I have no idea who he is, but he gives my shot perspective of the huge nature of the glacier. You look up at it and almost feel overwhelmed. You can't help but think - man, that's a huge chunk of ice! This photo I feel kind of captures that feeling.

Canon EOS 50D, f/9, 1/1250, ISO 200, 170mm

The Original Kodak Moment

Remember what I said about not taking photos of anything that moves? Well, sometimes life presents an event that you either say “I wish I had my camera in the car right now!” or “I’ve got to do anything to I can to get a photo – the opportunity is too great!” I call it the Original Kodak Moment. Or making your own luck. Or putting yourself in silly situations just for a photo.

One such moment presented itself on the weekend.

I was driving my little car along an outback road, when suddenly my tires nearly burst thanks to the little guy below running out onto the street! I slowed down, the guy coming the other way stopped, and I raced out with my camera, and my grandmother’s camera who was visiting at the time. Of course, I wasn’t first to the scene of the terrified echidna, but I think my Betsy managed to intimidate the other onlookers a little…oops, that’s really not meant to happen!

So here I am, crouched down on a road where the speed limit is about 80km an hour. It’s a popular road on a weekend as it leads to a nice little cove. Two cars had to swerve to the other side of the road to miss me. I’m sure they thought I was quite mad but let’s face it: you don’t want to hit one of these guys with your car!

Pilbara Echidna. Canon EOS 50D f/4.5 1/6400 shutter, ISO 500, +1 Step, 50mm, shutter priority setting. So this picture is boringly composed - who puts the subject almost of dead centre? - but I like it because it shows the echidna literally in the middle of the road, with the gorgeous Pilbara colours behind and even a bush of some wildflowers! Plus I like how the echidna is in focus. Why does he have a stick on his back I wonder? Fancy Dress? Not likely.

Canon EOS 50D f/5.6 1/6400 shutter, ISO 500, +1 Step, 110mm, shutter priority setting. I like the shape of the echidna in this picture, and the pattern his spikes make. I'm still confused about the spike - I wasn't game enough to remove it on the day, I'm a chicken! The only thing that could have improved this picture is getting his eye. I only caught a brief glimpse of it, but my father always said when photographing wildlife, get the eye in focus or else it's worthless! And the threat of speeding traffic should be no excuse, not to the real amateur photographer!

Normally I would remove such a gorgeous creature out of the way on my departure (generally by chasing it, yes) but to tell you the truth I was a little intimidated by those spikes! When left alone however, he quickly scampered off into the bush so no harm done. Well other than the fright of its life!

At the end of the day, if it moves it’s difficult, but if it refuses to move out of shear fright it’s fair game!