Winter in the land of sun

It is really cold these mornings. in fact it is so cool that it is difficult to wriggle out from under my cosy feather doona ("doovey", "quilt") to face the day. Colin races down to the other end of the house to switch on the reverse cycle airconditioning to warm the place up. Perhaps he is afraid that he might miss out on breakfast if he didn't! How cold is it? Well this morning was a freezing 13 decrees!

Yes, I am tongue in cheek. 13 degrees is not really cold for most people in the world but for us poor people acclimatised to the not so cold temperature of the sub tropics, it is!

The good thing about winter is the change of plants in the garden. I haven't done a thing and the garden is ablaze with colour - mostly because it is being contrasted with the snowflake or snowball bushes. These shrubs are a type of poinsettia, sometimes called the Christmas bush in the UK because the red blooms are used as floral decoration at Christmas. They really come into their own in the cooler weather.

Here is a close up of the flowers of the snowball bush. You can see the likeness with the much larger flowers of the red poinsettia. The flowers are coloured leaves - more correctly "bracts" and the flowers are tiny and mistaken as stamens.

The flowers of the snowball bush

Just to show how these plants really make a fantastic show, here is a shot of my front garden. Actually it is really difficult to find the right time of day to take a shot from the road like this - the front garden faces South so at any time of the day the sun is behind the house. The plants nearest to the house never have the warmth of sun on their soil and roots. This is why I have had to plant shade loving plants there - such as ginger, tropical rhododendron and azalea. There are many plants which can enjoy living in shady places like this but they are mostly foliage and rarely flower.

The snowball bushes are to the left of the tall Alexander Palm

The red plant to the right of the palm is a double poinsettia

So here is one shot of my front garden. If I were to walk a few paces I could show much more - enough to bore the socks of you! So one is enough. I just hope that this year there will not be a heavy frost as there was a couple of years ago. The plants were all burnt off - even the palm trees - with one night frost of minus ten. It has taken two years for the palm trees to shed their dead leaves.

AJ

Koalas and wombats

Australia is home to many unique and wonderful creatures and I would love to share with you a little information about two of our favourites. The wombat and the koala. These two very different animals are distant relatives, they are marsupials, which means they raise their young in a pouch but the distinction that links them is that the pouch faces backwards. The pouch of most other marsupials faces forwards.

The Koala has long been known as the "koala bear" but it is not a bear nor is it related to a bear. The koala has the tiniest baby imaginable, it is barely more than a tiny one centimetre long embryo but it manages instinctively to slither into the pouch and latch on to one of the two teats inside. It stays in the pouch for about five months before it ventures out. For the next few months it will cling to the mothers back as she makes her way through the tree she is feeding on until, at 12 months, it is capable of self sufficiency and will leave.

The koala has a boring diet. It eats only eucalyptus leaves (the new leaves) and usually will only eat the leaves from about six varieties of eucalyptus in its location. It does not need to drink - getting enough moisture from the fresh leaves. During extreme heat or in drought the koala will seek out water for a drink but normally it stays in the trees.

The biggest enemy of the koala is its most ardent fan - us! It is because of our need to build houses that the habitat of the koala has been decimated. We have chosen to live in the same area that they chose and with fewer trees and therefore less food, the koalas are no longer in the numbers they enjoyed before Captain Cook told the world about Australia and white habitation made a difference.

The wombat is a ground hugging animal that I find very appealing. They can grow to about a metre in length and are usually quite solitary. They too have a rear facing pouch and the young have a similar pattern of development to the koala, staying in the pouch for almost six months but they trot alongside their mother once they leave the pouch and they look very cute!

The incisor teeth of the wombat, top and bottom, keep growing all of their lives so even when a wombat is quite old it is still able to grind the tough stems and roots that it eats.

Fossil evidence tells us that there was once a wombat the size of a hippopotamus in the time of Tyrannosaurus Rex! I am glad they shrank!

Wombats are not popular with farmers - when they come across a fence they barge right through it opening up a hole through which unwelcome pests can penetrate - such as dingos, foxes and rabbits. They are furry bulldozers!

There are a few different sorts of Wombat and all have slight behavioural and subtle physical differences but to me they all look the same!

AJ

Skin Colour

When I went to Noosa for the Video Convention there were two festivals in the locality in the weekend preceding the event. Although I principally used my still camera, I did manage to grab a few shots of the happenings in Eumundi - a country town just up the road a few klicks from Noosa. I do apologise for the wobbly nature of the shots, I used always to use a tripod and to see such lurching of the images makes me cringe - but when in crowds it is impossible and dangerous to try and use a tripod. So even though I know I should have used one (didn't take it out of the car) I know I could not. So hang on to your seat and enjoy the body painting competition at Eumundi.

AJ

Mighty lizards

I had heard about them, they seemed like something from a fairy story. An island on which lived lizards that were so huge and had such appetites that they could eat humans. I remember being told of an elevated walk way that had been built so that visitors (human) to the island could walk in safety above the reach of the lizards and look down on them and admire them. Woe betide anyone who fell off the walkway and did not clamber back before being spotted by these huge reptiles.

The lizard is real, It is known as the Komodo Dragon and I saw one on my visit to Australia Zoo.

My photograph is not really very good, the dragon was half in half out of the shade and so large I couldn't get it all in anyway. A thick glass shield separated the public from the reptile and yet allowed perfect viewing of it. The head is larger than the head of my dog, a curly coat retriever which will give you some idea of its size. What an ugly creature it is! But fascinating - in a scary way!

You can't but help respect a creature that considers itself above humans in the food chain!

Australia, too, has large lizards - and hundreds of varieties of smaller ones. The lace monitor, which is one of the goannas is one that often visits picnic sites in the bush and is rather partial to barbecued sausages, They are about a metre long and although are allowed to come reasonably close it is not wise to put fingers near its mouth. All goanna eat carrion so there would be many nasty germs on their teeth so getting bitten by one would not be a good idea.

When I asked what the goanna was - in this next picture, the Australia Zoo fellow who was chatting to us said it was a "perrenti". I am not sure if that is a common name for this goanna but I tried looking it up and found a picture similar to it with the spots running in rings around the body like on this one and it was called a Kimberley Rock Monitor. If you have any other suggestions to the name I would appreciate your input.

One time, on a visit to Central Australia I took a photo of a large black goanna sunning itself on a rock and was told that it was a black perrenti. So "perrenti" could just be a common name used instead of "goanna".

Lizards, to me, are a link with the dinasaur past. There is a similarity among many of them to the mighty lizards that roamed the earth before the mammals took over.

AJ

Echidna on the move

This little character is quite used to having his photograph taken and paid not the slightest attention to the camera held over the side of his pen. I love his "drunken Sailor" gait!

AJ

Botanic Gardens, NZ

Last day with the video groups

I received a question about the echidna and would like to tell you a little more about this unique Australian creature before I write about today's activities.

The echidna is unique, it is not related to the porcupine or the hedgehog. Surprisingly this little creature is a pouched animal. A single egg is produced and held in a pouch which opens to the rear. This direction is because of the low slung nature of the animal. If the pouch opened at the front like (a kangaroo) soil and twigs would be scraped into it and the egg and the young damaged. The egg hatches in the pouch into a bald, hairless and helpless embryo that, like a kangaroo joey, attaches itself to a teat which swells in its mouth, so anchoring it to the mother. Gradually the tiny embryo forms into a miniature echidna with soft hair and still it is anchored to the teat. The spines form but are soft at first. When the spines start to harden the tiny echidna is expelled from the pouch and is left in a hidden nest for a few more weeks while the mother goes out to gather food for herself and return often to feed the young milk. When the young echidna is weaned it is independent and may leave to live a lone life straight away. Defence is to disappear downwards into the soil. The echidna seems to be able to go straight down even in the hardest of ground! A hedgehog would roll up into a ball, The echidna merely pulls his head right under his shoulders and the four legs do the rest! Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle and down it goes.

Now just one more picture from yesterday's visit to the zoo, I was delighted to see this cat being walked along like a dog! So far this big puss is not in a pen where the public can see it so the keeper takes it for a walk - on the other side of a wire fence - past the public tracks so that people can see it. I was fortunate to be able to spot the cheetah (leopard?) as it was taken across the path from its walking track to the other side where it was to be taken back to its invisible (to the public) pen. But why did the girl walk so quickly when she could see a few of us wanted to take photos? I only just managed to drag the Samsung camera out in time - nearly missed them! I never saw the face of the animal, it was turned away from me all the time it was walked across the track.

This afternoon was the final activity for the delegates to the Video Convention. We were all taken to a little country town to a very old theatre that ran silent movies with a fellow who played the pedal organ to accompany the movie and give mood to the images on the screen. The trip to Pomona took an hour (detour to a lookout on the way!) and we all piled into the theatre.
Colin and I took our seats where we felt we would be able to see the screen without too many heads in the way. Five minutes later my head was swimming and I could hardly breathe. The musty mouldy smell was overpowering (have you even been into an "op shop" where there are lots of old clothes?) Two minutes more and I just had to get out, I felt as if I would pass out! I have never felt that way before. Fortunately Colin could see I was serious and we hastily made our way outside. It was only three in the afternoon and the departure time was 7.30pm What were we to do in a little place like Pomona for all that time and rain on its way?
We wandered down the shopping street to the old pub and decided that it was definitely not a place for any female! Talk about rough! I called into a news agency and picked up a puzzle book and we managed to find a coffee shop that was open. The tables were outside on the pavement but it was still daylight and still not too chilly so we sat there and enjoyed a palatable cup of coffee and a muffin. As we wandered along the street someone going home from work advised us to return to the theatre side of the rail track and seek shelter because a serious storm was on its way. I assume that when it rains the foot path turns to a quagmire! We did as suggested and chatted to the team doing the cooking for the theatre. They were using what looked to be a covered barbecue on the pavement to cook the roasts. A table was set up out on the pavement for us and when the theatre program was over we lined up with the rest of the delegates for our meal (which we took to our outside table) and no one was even aware that we had missed out on the films!
Yes, the storm came. About ten of us had climbed in to the bus for the homeward trip when it hit. Everyone else (the other forty) got soaked getting in! The rain poured down in buckets for fifteen minutes and we were hopeful of getting to the Conference resort and the cars without getting wet. Three minutes before we pulled up the heavens opened again and the rain was heavier than before! Most people dashed the ten paces into the foyer of the place but Colin and I were prepared to get wet, we wanted out of this convention! We ran fifty metres to the car and dropped in as fast as we could, stripping off our jackets as we did so!
Its been a good week, we have caught up with a lot of enthusiasts and have been enthused. Now I am ready to go home!
AJ

A day at Australia Zoo

Wednesday was not a working day for the people who attended the Video Convention, it was a day in which cameras could be used. Breaking from the norm (for this group of people) I opted for using my still camera in preference to the video (but I did take a couple of minutes of video for Youtube videos!) There was a choice of two outings and I chose the trip to Australia Zoo. Yes, I have been there many times before but I always enjoy seeing the changes in the place. It has grown from a reptile park with creatures in rather makeshift enclosures to a very attractive green and clean place and the animals are in such enclosures that they have plenty of room to move and yet are never too far away from the people who come to see them.
So I was there to take photos of the animals and not to see the shows. (I hate crocodiles!). Barely had we arrived when we came across a keeper explaining facts about the Galapagos Turtle (to me it looks more like a tortoise!) and straight away I was struck by the way the huge lumbering creature related to its handlers. I know these things are quiet and not prone to bursts of speed and aggression but the young man with it was hand feeding it and tickling it under its chin and the turtle would follow him about.
More amazing is the interaction and trust between the tigers and their handlers. There was no one around when Colin and I hovered in front of the huge plate glass barricades that separated the public from the tigers. I spoke to one of the staff who happened by and learned that the handlers lived 24 hours a day with the tigers when they were cubs and later spent every hour of their working days with them. We were treated to a private presentation explaining the way the daily health examinations are conducted. Its all to do with a small carton of milk with a tiny hole punched in it to allow drips of milk to be dripped into the eager mouths of these magnificent cats. One of the handlers came into the sunlight and stood about three metres away and showed us how he checked the teeth and the claws and many other health checks. My camera was kept busy. How lucky that I had changed the lens to the 40-150mm so I have been able to take my shots and non of them need any cropping.
My final shot is for readers of my blog who are not from Australia. This wonderful little animal is our echidna. When I lived in the UK he was known as the “spiny ant eater” but the only name we know him by is “ekidna” (that's the phonetic spelling, “echidna” is the correct spelling) The spines are hard and quite sharp and the head and snout quite soft, so to protect itself from being eaten by some hungry fox, Mr. echidna will tuck his head down so the spines all stand up and with no further ado will dig with all four feet and gradually disappear into the ground so that all that is above the soil are a few spines – and NOTHING, except a spade, will remove him from his protective pad.
There were several echidna in an enclosure and it was here that I took some video with the Samsung. I will share it when I am back to my PC and a more reliable internet source.
AJ

A day of learning

Accommodation Houses along the foreshore at Noosa Heads
The timber walkway has been replaced with a wider walkway and a boulder barricade put a little distance out so that the next huge seas do not cause the damage the last one did.
The little yachts are all ready for action for the River Carnival (on Sunday)

I am weary but it is a good weariness! I have just been listening and, of course, chipping in with Questions, to a speaker at the FAMM Convention. This speaker is from Bond University and was talking about many things relating to video, light, sound and objectives. Very stimulating!

Another of the speakers held more appeal to the (even) older conventioneers - is that a word? - as he was talking about and demonstrating his money earning video job - telecine conversion. In other words, transferring old movies to DVD. There was plenty of chat about film and video speed relating to "flicker" - a typical result of the film speed not matching the video speed and a phenomena of conversions done by backyard conversions as well as those done by camera shops that offer that facility. Anyway, I am not at all interested in that particular subject so sat quietly and behaved myself (for a change!)

During the morning the AGM was held so not all attendees at the Convention attended. At that meeting I was elected to the Board as the Queensland Directer. That sounds impressive but until I manage to raise my voice and encourage change I do not need any congratulations!

Visions members will be horrified to learn that I have also agreed to rejoin the Gold Coast Video Club and start to try and encourage more thoughtful video making.

After seeing the videos shown so far (only the one minute videos) I was so disappointed in the quality of the video making that I feel motivated to get on my video hobby horse once again and start stirring and hopefully start one group to get creative. As Qld Director I may be able to visit other Queensland Clubs and keep the enthusiasm flowing elsewhere too - but many people I am meeting are so cock-sure of themselves that they will be closed to any input from an outsider. They can quote the techniques and can possibly write excellent tutorials but they cannot make videos.

More videos to watch tonight so I had better get ready for them!

AJ

Rainforest beauties

Today is the day in which I will register for the Video Convention – but most of the day was mine to enjoy. After enjoying a relaxing cup of tea from our picnic hamper and admiring a few of the magnificent homes on the Noosa River we drove up to the carpark of the Noosa National Park. The National Park wraps around a headland and in the past we have walked the coast track but this time we took one of the other alternative walks, it was called the Palm Loop because there is a patch of the rainforest that has several palms in among the other large trees and vines.
My picture of the palm area shows how dense the trees are in the forest. I have had to brighten all my photos – but using the Samsung made taking photos so much easier. The Olympus had been fitted with the 40 – 150mm lens because I was hoping to sight a koala. (I didn't!). Having a longer lens requires a faster shutter speed for hand holding the camera – the down side of that is that the camera will not allow a low enough f/ stop to give the brightness to see the subject. After two almost black images I pulled out the little Samsung and had much more success – even without the flash.
Along the walk we saw many things of interest – lots of different fungi. I seem to be attracted to taking fungi! There were a few ground fungi with stalks and a few “ears” that attached to dead tree trunks. The trees were interesting too. There was a wonderful bulgy tree! I wanted Colin to climb up and pose cross legged on the bump but he was too shy to try, he did strike a pose for me – there was a crowd of young people with children following us and they would have seen our antics! When we left the tree I looked back and guess what? You got it! They were clambering all over the bump – and sitting cross legged on it!
I love the way the strangler figs create such wonderful patterns over their host tree. The fig seeds are spread by birds, the seeds stuck to the beak are scraped off high in the branches. An occasionally seed will germinate up there, it may have become lodged under a flake of bark and so escaped being washed out of the tree during rains, the roots grow and grow in their quest for the soil, and they envelop and eventually strangle the tree that gave them life. This tree host has almost come to the end of its useful life, the fig has buried its roots in the soil and is starting to hide what trunk is left. As the fig takes the nourishment from the soil the host tree can no longer win and will die and rot away within the casing of fig roots.
AJ

Festival in Noosa

There were two festivals happening in this part of the world today and I greedily went along to both of them. Rather than send you pictures of fire trucks taking part in a parade or people eating hot sausages I am including a picture of one of the participants in the parade that marched up and down Gympie Terrace, a piper who played most beautifully while standing on the edge of the Noosa River, I have heard many pipers playing and have cringed at the sound but this fellow was really talented and really made the bagpipes sing.

The Noosa River festival probably included more than just the parade but after watching that I moved on to another small town a few kilometres further inland, called Eumundi. When we checked into our accommodation we picked up a copy of the local paper and discovered there was a body painting competition (among other things) happening over the weekend. The camera was brought into use for that! Actually I have more video shots of the event than still picture. I was using a little Panasonic mini DV camcorder and attached the gorillapod to it to give more stability for my hand held shots. Video seemed more informative for this event than still images. Here is one of the girls "almost" painted.

Returning to Noosa I made a detour and called into Tewantin Craft Market and there found this fellow with a snake casually draped around his shoulders. He was promoting himself as a speaker for schools and clubs but I managed to catch his attention and ask if he minded if I took a photo of him.

The snake is a Carpet Snake and a constricting snake. This snake is found in Queensland - I have seen one that was so large it almost reached from one side of a two lane road to the other. A couple of council workers came across it on its way and became impromptu policemen and held up the traffic until the snake was safely off the road! That was pre-digital camera era so I didn't travel with a camera in my bag!

AJ

Birds breakfast time - and off again!

After having a week away from my blog I am giving it a shot in the arm today! I love the birds that visit our home in the sub tropics, they have become very quiet and trusting. The three bird pictures I have uploaded to this blog were all taken in the morning (yesterday) and are all of birds enjoying their breakfast. The first image shows the clutter of Rainbow lorikeets as they squabble, push and shove as they try to get the most sweet juice and bread from the dish - yes there is a dish under all those green feathers! Actually there are two dishes, one contains small wild bird seeds and a handful of sunflower seeds while the other - the one these birds are fighting to get to, has a litre of water mixed with a couple of tablespoons of raw sugar and four slices of White bread saturated with the liquid. If they could squeeze through the crowd the black drongos would also love to get at this sweet treat! They are rather more timid. I have told you in earlier blogs about Twisty Beak, He (or is it she?) has been a regular visitor to our home for several years, he has a deformed lower beak and when a very young bird we took special care of it always putting out a dish of sweet juice and bread and keeping the other birds away. Now he comes in and helps us eat our own breakfast - yesterday he had the best time of his life - he was given permission to lick the marmalade jar!Son Steven went outside with a small piece of meat off the dog roll and was bombarded with a family of Butcher Birds. They will not sit quietly and take the food from your fingers but dash in and snatch it before you can pull it away! Thanks to the delay on the camera (using the Samsung NV3) it took a few attempts to get the timing right. I focused on Steven's fingers and held the shutter part down and pressed just as the bird lifted off the railing.

Colin and I left home soon after 1.45 - we had intended to leave at one but I had so many camera things to load that I was the one responsible for the delay! As well as the usual still cameras and a small video camera for incidental movies I needed to take a good video camera, microphone, headphones, tripod and extension leads for the camera workshop on Thursday. Its a good job that this Video Convention is in Australia because I would definitely have to pay excess on the extra weight if it was overseas! The chargers and batteries for everything electronic - including the laptops all adds up. intend to try and edit the video as I go along so that might prove to be a challenge. I have a swag of copyright free music in my laptop and I did remember to bring the firewire cable!

So here we are at Noosa Heads. I am showing a picture taken from the front veranda and a second picture that shows the place I stood to take the picture.

The housekeeping is not as good here as we have found in every other place we have stayed. The first thing I had to do before I could cook our evening meal was to wash the floors! The kitchen floor was sticky and the floor in the bathroom absolutely "grotty". It didn't even look as if it had been swept properly in ages, hair and sand in every corner. I will be saying something in the morning you can be sure!
There is a festival of some sort happening here tomorrow so maybe I will have a few interesting shots to share! watch this space!

AJ

Photos in a frame

I have been working on my New Zealand photographs and have come across a few in which I have deliberately framed the pictures using something in the foreground. I thought I would share three of them with you - they might give you ideas for taking your own pictures with a frame - of course one here and there is good but if all my pictures were taken this way they would become very annoying to look at - so remember not to repeat yourself "ad nauseum" (a phrase my mother was fond of using!!!!!) anything done too often loses its appeal.This first image was taken at Akaroa, a little French village on a peninsular not far from Christchurch. I organised my patient husband to stand where I could see him through the canvas on the tripod. f/9 1/80 ISO 200

I did consider giving an oil-paint effect to the picture but he is not centred well enough to let it work!

The second image is also from Akaroa - such a beautiful spot! I have so many photographs taken there! The buildings, the scenery, everything about this place just lends itself to be photographed. So this image was taken of the sea with an obliging tree giving me the frame for it. Usually the overhanging branches create the top frame to a photo but I wanted to try something a little different.

f/11 1/100 ISO 200

My third image was a photo I took from a small building high on a hill above Christchurch, The stone building is a monument to the people who first settled on the Canterbury Plains and is open to the elements. It appears to be a shelter but it has no windows or door, just openings - so I used the round opening to frame a view of the Lyttleton Harbour below.

f/11 1/160 ISO 200

Maybe you feel I should have included the bottom part of the circle too? The reason my framing is the way I have it is because to include the rest of the circle would have compromised the view.
However you can see what I mean about using structures and objects to provide a frame. I hope it inspires you to have a look around for possibilities.
AJ

Converting from RAW to Jpeg with ACR

Whenever I step out of the house I have a camera with me, usually it is a tiny point and shoot - you never can tell when a photo opportunity will rear its head and if the camera is safely at home, tucked up in a padded camera bag that shot is lost and forever forgotten. I much prefer to take my photos with my Olympus SLR but it has to be left home occasionally!

Having enjoyed a few opportunities especially designed so that I can indulge my photo taking enthusiasm,lately, I have plenty of pictures to choose from when I feel like sharing!
Today I have been reliving the latest holiday in New Zealand as I convert each shot taken in RAW format on the SLR, correcting any exposure problems and brightening the dark shadows to reveal hidden details. So far I have only reached day two so there are only 1500 files to go. (Just guessing!) With ten days shooting with an average of 100 shots per day there are still a lot of pictures to look at! I have read of pro shooters who shoot masses and only keep three, I am afraid I have more keepers than I have rubbish! The digital format was invented for people like me!
But I am not sharing any NZ pictures with you today. I spend time in this great land of ours (Australia) and never tire of the wonders I find in the bush. So many of the plants are small and insignificant but when you stop and look closer they are stunning in their complexity. I have no idea of the plant name for this little hard leafed fern I found near the sea shore. It must be salt tolerant and able to withstand all kinds of weather. The texture of the plant tells me that. But look at the little twirls on the edges of the leaves, They are exquisite!

f 5.6 1/160 ISO 200

If you wish to see this picture larger, click on it and you will be taken to a larger version which will also enlarge when the magnifier is selected.

My second plant picture is of grass seed heads. Growing in the open, some grasses have evolved to have their seeds spread by the wind. These seedheads are ripe and ready to expel their load of seeds and they catch the sunlight and look soft and tactile. Actually I cannot resist holding out my hand and letting the grasses brush over my palm.

F8.0 1/400 ISO 200

And finally one of the dramatic and very large plants that inhabit our rainforests. These plants are ferns and are epiphytic, drawing their nutrients from the air. They are found high in the trees or low on the ground - where ever the spore has taken a hold. Of course they are also a very popular garden plant and make a dramatic statement, growing equally as large as they would if left in the bush.

F6.3 1/40 ISO 100

They are given the common name "Crows nest fern" because of the way they grow into a circle of leaves surrounding the growing heart. This particular fern caught my camera's attention because of the way a shaft of sunlight caught it. Thanks to the way a RAW file can be manipulated I have been able to reveal the very dark plants that surround it without compromising the brightly lit area.
Photoshop has a special sub program called "Adobe Camera Raw" or ACR which I use when converting my SLR photos. I only use a few of the controls available because I only want to bring out the best of what I have rather than recreate the photograph completely! However it is something I couldn't live without!
AJ