Uploads from Callocephalon Photography, tagged big

Common Wombat

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Sun, 01 May 2011 05:36:53 -0700

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

Thanks to everyone who commented on the previous Wombat photo, I learnt lots I didn't know about these generally slow but fabulously interesting creatures. Here is another photo.

My First Canon L Lens

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:45:51 -0800

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

My first 'L' lens and my first f2.8 lens. What a way to start it off! The Canon 300mm f2.8L IS USM.

Still don't know how I managed to end up with this optical monster, but all I do know is that I have it! It is actually a second-hand copy, which helped reduce the large price somewhat! Pretty lucky being able to find a good second-hand one.

Only got it yesterday from a shop in Akihabara (Tokyo), so only been out with it twice. But so far, only two words come to mind: SUPER AWESOMENESS. This lens is optically very very sharp. It is not a case of WHETHER the photo is sharp (as it was with the Bigma); rather, it is a case of WHERE it is sharp, due to the (potentially) ultra-thin depth of field. An example is below, a huge crop from the next photo along.

I thought the Bigma (Sigma 50-500mm) had a large lens diameter at 86mm. I was wrong. It is tiny in comparison to the 300 f2.8. The lens is not that long without the hood, but boy is it wide.

The IS and f2.8 aperture work to enable me to shoot in much lower-light conditions than I had ever thought possible with the Bigma. Amazing. And the autofocus is EXTREMELY fast. Very very fast. It means that I can easily shoot birds in flight. The AF is easily 2 or 3 times faster than the Bigma, and the Bigma wasn't too bad.

Sorry for the caps and everyone, just pretty blown away by this lens. Look out for some sharp photos with a nice smooth background!! That is, if I can carry it around for long enough to take the photos. Despite being about twice the size of the Bigma, it only weighs 600gm more (at 2.55kg). Definitely handholdable, but certainly heavy!

Emu, MIA SF, 31.9.09

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:15:36 -0700

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

The quality of these photos are not fantastic, in comparison to some of the other images I have posted. However, it is nice to get an idea of some of the different species we get out at Cocoparra.

We saw several Emus during the trip, but most of them are quite wary of humans. One poor bird tried to get through a fence while we were driving past. He didn't really seem to get that fact that fences are fairly solid, and won't let a big bird like him through very esaily. He eventually got through, after many tries, each looking more ungainly than the previous.

Australian Pelican, August Wollongong Pelagic, 23.8.09a

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:00:35 -0700

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

Big birds!!! Apparently they have the longest bill of any bird in the world.

Gibson's Albatross, June Wollongong Pelagic, 27.6.09g

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:39:52 -0700

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

A Gibson's [Wandering] Albatross against a storm cloud.

I hope you all aren't getting sick of seabirds---I've got another pelagic in a week!:))

Wandering Albatross, Wollongong Pelagic July, 26.6.08dbb

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:13:20 -0700

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

Here is an albatross photo from the archives, just to relieve the short amount of feathers in my recent posts. This bird is a probable olderish adult male Gibson's Albatross.

For those of you who don't know, I will be doing a project on albatrosses and pelagic birding this year:)

Great-winged Petrel, February Wollongong Pelagic, 28.2.09h

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:12:31 -0700

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

Another shot of Great-winged (or Grey-faced) Petrels.
School (in the last year) is quite harsh at the moment, which is why I cant get out a lot and post lots of new and exciting images.

Pomarine Jaeger, February Wollongong Pelagic, 28.2.09b

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:10:14 -0800

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

Here is an image of a Pomarine Jaeger. About 1/3 of the way to the continental shelf, we were joined by a group of up to 10 Pomarine Jaegers. These are big birds, about the size of large gulls, and behave as such. While the Arctic (Parasitic in America) Jaeger is very piratical, actively chasing smaller birds, the larger Pomarine is more lethargic, with deeper slower wingbeats. Most were of the pale-intermediate morph (like this one), but there was one dark morph.

Pomarine Jaeger, February Wollongong Pelagic, 28.2.09bbb

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:13:12 -0800

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

Green Catbird, Lamington NP, 4.1.09

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 21:44:48 -0800

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

Here is another classic from the rainforest, the catbird. Their voices are unmissable in a suitable part of rainforest, although they are a little harder to see, blending in with the green rainforest despite being large birds.

Their call sounds like a wailing baby (it actually really does), less like a cat, but worse names have been given out.

This is a young bird, the adult below has stronger markings and a red eye.

Monarch, Lamington NP, 6.1.09

nobody@flickr.com (Callocephalon Photography) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:08:29 -0800

Callocephalon Photography posted a photo:

These large, beautiful butterflies are uber-common north of about Newcastle. Because they are so large and colourful, you see them heaps:)

Also known as Wanderers, they were introduced to Australia, and have established themselves successfully on the Eastern coast.

The last two pics are of two pairs mating. Mating involves on butterfly sticking itself on the end of the other, with the latter having to fly while the former just hangs on. It makes for an interesting spectacle:)

These shots were taken in Lamington NP. The butterflies werent present in the rainforest, but were very common on the more open grassy spots.