Birds on my balcony

Over the years I have befriended some birds that are territorial in my neighborhood; they live there and don't migrate.
Magpies are often seen roaming around gardens and are rather used to people in the suburban sprawl.
From my initial timid toss of some cheese towards them, the magpies soon regarded me as a "friendly" person (they can recognize dozens of people and they form an opinion if you are deemed as "safe").
It did not take long for them to fly in onto my balcony when they saw me around and started to expect a hand out every so often.
I was more than happy to have the feathered guest: after all they sing much nicer than the crows.



And then all of the sudden they disappeared: did not see them for a month.
Eventually returned and were more hungry than ever but rarely consumed their food on the balcony: they would fill up their beak and fly away to return a short time later.
Something was going on: they must have young ones that they are feeding?

I was right: one day I saw a brown looking, fluffy feathered nagging (for food) bird in the nearby tree with parents now shuttling food from my hand to him.


M.Zuiko 75mm f1.8 1/160sec

A week or so and the young one was able to fly well enough to be brought closer and soon he was right beside the parents, eventually accepting food from my hand.
A few timid bights (some to my fingers when he missed) he now can feed himself rather well.

At the same time the Butcher Birds also started to observe that good food was handed out at my place; they soon joined in and after some initial protests from the magpies are now on friendly terms: there is enough food for all.


adapted E.Zuiko 4,5cm f2.8 (for Olympus ACE) 1/160sec

Much more agile than the magpie these birds will catch food mid-air but I prefer the interaction of them reaching for my hand


adapted Jupiter-9 85mm f2 1/800sec

And yes, the butcher birds also has their young which is much more cheeky than the magpie chick.


Samyang 12mm t2.2   1/160sec



Samyang 12mm t2.2   1/1250sec


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The gaze

Two black and white images of wild animals
I used an adapted old Russian lens (1957circa) from a rangefinder camera since I like it renders the out of focus background more than my auto-focus modern lenses


adapted Jupiter-11 135mm f4  1/60sec




adapted Jupiter-11 135mm f4  1/160sec


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Rainforest birds

The subtropical Queensland rainforest is an incredibly rich and diverse natural environment.
The canopy is very dense allowing for little light to reach the bottom floor: a photographic challenge.
This time I tried to capture some birds even tho I insisted on using manual focus lenses.
I missed a lot of great images as the birds fly around randomly in tight places or scurry erratically on the ground. My auto-focus lenses would probably have given me sharper images.
However, sometimes it's not about sharpness


Kodak Cine Ektanon 102mm f2.7   1/80sec

A very elusive Albert's Lyrebird, something I have only seen twice.


Duo-Tamron 135mm f4.5   1/100sec

Hard to spot as they strike the "tree-trunk" pose these well camouflaged Tawny Frogmouths stood still trying not to be detected


Duo-Tamron 135mm f4.5  1/320sec

I also managed to spot this baby pademelon hiding in the grass, on the edge of the forest.


Kodak Cine Ektanon 102mm f2.7  1/100sec




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Birds in the garden

My local botanical gardens are open to birds and human visitors to roam free. No cages, no nets, like nature is meant to be enjoyed.


adapted C-mount Cosmicar 50mm f1.4  1/2500sec



adapted Kodak Cine Ektanon 102mm f2.7   1/2000sec


adapted Kodak Cine Ektanon 102mm f2.7  1/5000sec


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January late afternoon on the beach

While some of my friends are enjoying (or hating?) winter in the Northern hemisphere I get the pleasure to walk barefoot on a sandy beach in Queensland.


Vivitar 135mm f2.8  @f5.6  1/125sec

I never tire of a walk before dark, sometimes I am gifted with a spectacular sunset.


G-Lumix 14mm    f5.6  1/10sec 


Vivitar 135mm f2.8  @f5.6  1/350sec


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Evening walk with my sister

I wanted to get out of the house but I did not feel like driving for hours to get out of the city.
I rarely explore the countless parks that this great city offers and today I decided to visit one that promised to have uninterrupted views of the river.
Little I knew that the river was not going to be the focus this afternoon.


M.Zuiko 40-150mm   f4.6  1/500sec



M.Zuiko 45mm   f2.8  1/1250sec


M.Zuiko 75mm   f2.2  1/800sec



my sister; we share a passion for images

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Fishing bird

An egret catching its dinner before sunset.


M.Zuiko 40-150mm  f5.6  1/160sec


M.Zuiko 40-150mm  f5.6  1/250sec


M.Zuiko 40-150mm  f5.6  1/320sec

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