Time-lapse Stream

As a nature photographer its often difficult to capture a new perspective on something that has been shot a thousand times before.

It is that new perspective that allows new insights.

Such is the video I have posted below.

Although time lapse photography and extended exposures are nothing new, It is the melding of these techniques in new ways that allow the of viewing nature in a whole new way.

This, I believe, I have accomplished here for the first time for the classic waterfall shot.

I hope you enjoy this piece of footage and the new perspective it affords.

Colony

I was able to photograph an insect exodus, as a number of winged queen ants and their followers made for new territory the other day.

Sporting a new macro attachment, I took the following shots of these insanely small subjects.

Notice the winged worker, behind the queen, in the above shot.

Strangely enough there were very few, though I saw four winged queen ants.

The whole process of the departure was quite insistent, as the non winged ants coaxed those leaving with mandibles gently nipping . 

The whole nest seemed to be out for the occasion, the ground alive with these small black ants.

Trip to Mimosa Rocks

A quick trip to Mimosa Rocks today was very rewarding, with a couple of great shots and the meeting of some very interesting people - from archivists and German tourists to lighting specialists.

I have included the following shot for my Lighting specialist friend :)
Following our discussion on Germany it is, of course, Berlin Hauptbahnhof.
I've included a link here for those who would like to know a little more about this fascinating building.

It seems that there has been some strange raising of the stones at Mimosa.

This I was able to capture, as seen below.

Yes, a little arty and mystical in black and white.

There were rings of such standing stones and constructions reminiscent of Easter Island statues gazing out to sea..be it all miniature in comparison to the aforementioned.

With all the excitement, I was still able to get a nice little shot of some wildlife as well.

I believe them to be Scrub Wrens, the male in the foreground.

All in all a most interesting morning.

High speed action

At breakneck speed the Welcome Swallows are collecting the last of the insects available before the oncoming cool weather.

Shooting at 1/6400 of a second at an ISO of 6400 is barely fast enough to catch the action as they dive from power lines towards a nearby dam to skim the surface.

Aerobatics a jet fighter pilot would envy, I found photographing the Welcome Swallow in action is quite a challenge. 

Autumn Harvest

With the onset of colder weather bird life of all sorts has been taking advantage  of the still plentiful insect population.

When cutting the lawn the other day I was amazed how many wolf and grass spiders I disturbed.

This little guy was a little nervous of my macro.

Out in the surrounding fields the spider population is such that these Heron were catching a spider a minute in the long grass .

Mice are also plentiful and keep us busy blocking the ingress points they keep finding; my snake "mittens" driven insane by the scent trails that are painfully obvious to him in his pre winter feed mode.

Its all part of living in an area laden with wildlife though.

I'm looking forward to catching up again with naturalist Denis Wilson over the next week to study the local forest and should have some interesting posts on that distinctive environment to follow soon.