Western Arthur Range, South West National Park | TAS | Australia

Looking South-West over the impressive Lake Oberon at sunrise. You can see the two red tents that was our base for the trip. This is an image from the archives (taken in 2015), which I never got around to processing until now. I'd love to head back there again, as it's a beautiful part of the world. I also love how rugged and remote it is - may it forever remain that way.

Tags:   16:10 2048 3xp Arthur Ranges Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Gav Owen Gondwana HDR Lake Oberon Mount Pegasus National Park Sony A7R South West National Park Summer Tasmania Western Arthurs calm glacial golden granite hiking lake landscape mountain mountain ridge mountains outdoor remote ridge rocky sunrise water wild wilderness Australia exif:aperture=ƒ / 11 camera:make=sony exif:focal_length=28 mm exif:make=sony geo:country=australia geo:state=tasmania geo:location=western arthurs exif:lens=24-70mm f2.8 oss geo:city=south west national park exif:model=ilce-7r camera:model=ilce-7r exif:iso_speed=100 geo:lat=-43.14399444 geo:lon=146.26670833

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Binya State Forest | NSW | Australia

I have been inspired to try my hand at birding after my recent hiking adventures at Wilsons Promontory, where I saw beautiful robins, wrens and gang-gang cockatoos. I found that my 70-300mm doesn't give me quite the reach I need, so after a bit of research I purchased a Sony "FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS" lens which while expensive, is only a small fraction of what the Sony 600mm f/4 lens costs. Bang for buck - it seems to be a great birding lens. Even with the 600mm I would like to get even closer, so aim to order the 1.4x TC to get me out to 840mm, albeit at a stop slower.

One thing that I was disappointed at was the "Bird AI" autofocus on my new Sony A7RV. I thought it was supposed to detect the bird in the scene and then focus on the eyes, but it seemed to prefer grass, leaves and twigs! I'm not sure but maybe I didn't have it setup right - birding is so new to me. I ended up switching to manual focussing.

The doves were up in a tree and scoping out the water hole I was at - the so-called "Wattle Dam" in the Binya State Forest, near the Cocoparra National Park and about half an hour's drive from Griffith, NSW. This was my first time here and my first time with a real birding lens. During my couple of hours at the dam I managed to identify the following birds: Bar-shouldered Dove, Peaceful Dove, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Eastern Yellow Robin, and the Turquoise Parrot. The latter is apparently rare, according to the Merlin app. This was the only bird shot I consider of decent quality due to issues with focus, lighting and/or obstructions, but I aim to get high quality shots of all these birds, and more in the future.

Another reason for the sudden birding interest was that at Wilsons Prom I was walking around with my camera and 70-300mm lens when a lovely lady on the track excitedly asked me if I was birding, and I said something like, "sort of - birds and whatever else I can find of interest". She told me about the Merlin app and she was so lovely and knowledgeable that I felt really welcomed in the birding community, and that birders are peaceful and lovely people. How much birding I will do in future I honestly can't say at this point, but I do enjoy it, and I hope that bird lovers will enjoy whatever bird-related imagery I produce and upload here at Flickr. 😊

Tags:   Bar-shouldered Dove Binya State Forest Cocoparra National Park Gav Owen Griffith Sony A7RV Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS Wattle Dam Yenda alert beginner bird birding birds branch copper dove doves grey perched wide-eyed NSW Australia exif:focal_length=600 mm exif:iso_speed=1000 camera:make=sony exif:make=sony geo:location=wattle dam exif:aperture=ƒ / 6.3 camera:model=ilce-7rm5 geo:country=australia exif:model=ilce-7rm5 geo:state=nsw geo:city=binya state forest geo:lon=146.255475 geo:lat=-34.21010278 exif:lens=fe 200-600mm f5.6-6.3 g oss

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Rye | VIC | Australia

I had been at this location the previous week, but the tides dictated I could only shoot the Dragon's Head at midday. After my Wilsons Promontory hike, I lobbed back here (exactly one week later) when the tide charts said it would be just right for a sunset shoot - and it was! (I used the Willy Weather app's tide charts btw).

As I waited for the shoot to get started, I sat on the sandy beach sheltered by a rocky cove and was startled by three guys. After I realised that they weren't there to rob me, we got chatting and they said they were going to see if they could get around the headland, and then climb up onto the lookout above. I told them about how I was waiting to photograph the "Dragon's Head". They wished me good luck and moved on.

When the light turned golden, I ventured out onto the rock shelf. The water was flowing over my feet but I didn't care as I was pumped! It was really exciting to be standing there as the waves exploded just in front of me. When the sunset light got great, I felt all this adrenaline coursing through me, and my energy levels peaked. If you can picture the Australian swim coach Dean Boxall at the Tokyo Olympics thrusting the railing as Ariarne Titmus won the gold medal... I wasn't quite *that* pumped, but was ballpark there after I chimped some shots and jumped up and down with excitement, knowing I'd captured something I thought was really great!

Then seemingly out of nowhere, I heard all these noises coming from the shoreline above me. The three guys had made it around and up onto the headland and were now looking out towards me, yelling out and waving. They obviously made it to the top and were enjoying a beautiful sunset, just as I was. I also think they were looking out for me, as it would have looked a little dangerous standing where I was on the ocean shelf with flowing water and exploding waves. They were good guys. Actually, if you zoom into this photo and have a look off to the right, you can see the faint spray of a wave that had hit the shelf. By sunset the explosions weren't as big as they were earlier, but they were still fairly active right through to the end of the shoot - a fantastic shoot and one I won't forget in a hurry.

Tags:   2.4:1 2048 Gav Owen Mornington Peninsula NiSi CPL Nisi 0.9 ND soft grad Number 16 Beach Rye Sony A7RIII Sony FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G Victoria Year of the Dragon beach crop croporama cropped dragon dragon's head flow glow long exposure rock saltwater sea seascape seaweed spray sunset Australia geo:lon=144.789135 camera:make=sony exif:iso_speed=500 exif:aperture=ƒ / 9.0 exif:make=sony geo:lat=-38.392997 exif:model=ilce-7rm3 geo:city=rye geo:country=australia camera:model=ilce-7rm3 geo:state=victoria exif:lens=fe pz 16-35mm f4 g geo:location=number 16 beach exif:focal_length=19 mm

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Wilsons Promontory | VIC | Australia

This is exactly the shot I had envisaged before embarking on a multi-day hike into Little Waterloo Bay, in the Wilsons Promontory National Park. I had previously shot this location many years ago. I told myself then that if I was to ever come back, that I would have to do it justice with a panorama. Seeing the end result in front of me now, I am pleased beyond words. It makes all the suffering and full-body soreness from lugging in the tripod, heavy steel panorama head and slider, filters, and not to mention camera, lenses and other equipment, totally worth it! The body can recover, but I'll always have this image to remind myself of what a beautiful and unspoilt part of the world this is.

What you see is about 20 minutes before sunrise on a very calm and peaceful morning. The air was still, and the air temperature was cool but not cold (at least it didn't feel cold to me). You can see the distinctive red lichen which nature has "spray painted" onto the rocks; the tannin stains on the rocks close to the water; as well as the incredible turquoise colours of the bay. Little Waterloo Bay is to the right, with Waterloo Bay just visible far off in the distance.

This image is comprised of 6 exposures shot vertically panning left to right, and stitched in Adobe Lightroom. I haven't had to crop the resulting panorama very much at all, and with the Sony PZ 16-35 f/4 shot at f/11 - the resulting image is tac sharp with loads of detail.

Enjoy.

Tags:   2.4:1 2048 6xp Gav Owen National Park Sony A7RIII Victoria Wilsons Prom Wilsons Promontory beach calm flow glow lichen morning nature ocean pano panorama pre-dawn pristine remote rocks sand seascape turquoise unspoilt wilderness Australia exif:aperture=ƒ / 11 camera:make=sony geo:location=little waterloo bay exif:make=sony geo:country=australia exif:model=ilce-7rm3 exif:iso_speed=100 exif:focal_length=17 mm geo:lat=-39.06541389 camera:model=ilce-7rm3 geo:city=wilsons promontory geo:lon=146.43211667 geo:state=victoria exif:lens=fe pz 16-35mm f4 g

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Hokitika | Westland District | New Zealand

New Zealand’s oldest "living dinosaur", the Tuatara. These reptiles were considered extinct until they were found on local offshore islands and introduced back onto the mainland in 2005, when a breeding programme was launched. The Tuatara are only found in New Zealand and are sometimes referred to as the World’s oldest living fossil. They are the only survivors of their reptile species which lived before the dinosaur age, over 200 million years ago. They are the largest reptile in New Zealand but are not a lizard. They are cold-blooded but unlike most reptiles, prefer cooler weather.

In Māori, the name Tuatara means "Peaks on the Back" and this is especially evident on the male Tuatara who has a crest of spines running down their neck and along their back. They stiffen these spines to look impressive to the females, or to intimidate other males. Juveniles have a "third eye" on the top of their head which is believed to help soak up UV rays to help them grown. This eye is not usually visible because they grow scales over it between 4-6 months of age. Tuatara are slow growing until 35 years old and can live over 100 years. Males can grow up to half a metre in length and weigh 1.5kg.

This Tuatara was photographed at the National Kiwi Centre, Hokitika, New Zealand.

Tags:   2048 3:2 Gav Owen Hokitika New Zealand Sony A7RII Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS Tuatara animal captivity green reptile rocks wildlife Westland District geo:lon=170.96351944 camera:make=sony geo:country=new zealand exif:make=sony exif:iso_speed=1250 geo:location=the national kiwi centre geo:state=westland district geo:city=hokitika geo:lat=-42.71688611 exif:lens=fe 70-200mm f4 g oss exif:aperture=ƒ / 4.0 camera:model=ilce-7rm2 exif:focal_length=200 mm exif:model=ilce-7rm2

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