Bunya Bush

My trip to this Nature Reserve was primarily to take photos, however the more I wandered around this clump of Bush I felt my batteries recharging themselves. I kept on taking shots but mainly I was soaking up the Eucalyptus tang in the air the sounds of all the Aussie birds living wild and free. I guess that this is what being an Aussie means. I didn’t know I was down until being in the Bush lifted me up, the last image here says it all, why would that leaf need to be purple, none of the oters were? It was cause it needed to be. Expect more of these bush shots in 2011.

I thought that you Snow Bound friends could do with looking at the green, Open a bottle of eucalyptus oil and you can pretend you are there!

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Bunya Nature Park

Went for my first visit to the Bunya Nature park a week or so ago and this was the welcome committee, there were a group of around20 Kookaburras singing thier hearts out, most were not in a position to photograph well, but I think this guy was just checking me out – Up Close

If you would like to hear this uniquely Australian Bird go HERE and read down to Family Life and click onto the link marked “this is what a kookaburra sounds like“, a little quiet but nice and long. It will also explain why they are known as laughing Jackasses and why that sound can be most annoying to a golfer who has just duffed a shot.  I swear the birds know they really do.

Experimenting with Favourites

Over the last few years I have tried my hand at Painterly Effects on Photos using Jeff Perry’s Psuedo HDR Effect, but have had generally negative reactions to it, Primarily from Boomer and Sally. I however like the look (Even of the garish ones). I have left them alone for quite a while now, just learned how to use Karen B’s Layers Technique, which ellicited a snide remark, warning the world of what I was doing. Never one to let sleeping dog’s lie, after some experimentation, I decided to try and meld the two Niches.

Below are two sets of images, showing; 1. Normal Image Processing: 2. Psuedo HDR Effect, 3 The two Blended using Karen’s Layer Technique. The first was virtually my first attempt at this technique, but I like the end result. The second set was a little better thought out and I am fairly proud of the result.

These shots were to start with quite good action. When I applied the HDR effect I thought the seas looked wonderfu, and like I remembered seeing them. Although the rock colours became extreme I did see some glimpse of the textures they held, so I decreased contrast by layering both images.

To my mind this is a good example of blending the reality with the paintly effect that the HDR brings out. I relly like the finished product.

Sally and I Wish all our Virtual Photowalk and Elements Village friends a Safe but Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Setting up for tomorrows post

I am posting some shots taken on my recent trip to Noosa, showing the boats using the Noosa River while I was there. Tomorrow – Christmas day I am posting a few experiments that Boomer warned you about but with a little twist. One of these shots is part of that exercise, but I doubt that anybody will have time to look on Christmas Day. In the last three, try and find the pelican preceeding the dhingy across the river.

Then the storm came! Enlarge to enjoy.

I was amazed by the colours the Sun and Clouds provided, but was blown away by the results I got when processing my “Lightning” shots. as it seems that discharge electricity has strange effects on the colours too. All shots after the first one hree were taken on a tripod in auto mode using a battery shutter release and the exposures were up to 8 seconds in duration depending on the electrical display. This is the most frustrating of photographic exercises. You start with your lens pointed towards the area with most electrical activity, activate the shutter release, and of course the lightning occurs to your hard left (or right) so I just let it go and took what came out. In the end I took over 300 shots before the rain drove me indoors, and only dustbinned 200 + or – of them ha ha enjoy!

Approaching Storm – Enlarge for best results.

The other day We had a series of Thunderstorms and on the second day I could see it coming just before dusk so I set up to try and get some lightning shots. I did later but am still working on them as my luck was out in that I only got a few with lightning in them. However prior to the storm hitting, I got fascinated by the play of the setting sunlight on the roiling clouds. Sorry for the number but have a look ay as many as you can as the colours took my breath away. I don;t think even Boomer would want to do any of these, in B&W Vive la coloure!

Coincidentaly, while shooting these cloud shots I noticed a plane flying towards the clouds and snapped three shots as it headed South East. Rather than show the three shots I thought that I would follow Karen Brockney;s tutorial on merging Layers HERE and that required me to use Karen’s  Adding Layer masks technique HERE as I only have PSE7. Karen the invoice for this Ad is in the mail.

Taken on same walkabout

Some other shots that I got that same day, only going to comment on the last as I thought that you could use some advice on keeping Snow out of the house.

Muscle Machines

Minutes before snapping that little bird among the red flowers, I got one of the instinctive from the hip shots I love. I can only assume that he was stopped at the giveway sign on the roundabout, as the roar of the Engine of this Corvette, brought the camera to my eye and I got this shot before traffic from the other direction marred my shots, couldn’t get a decent shot of the Chevrolette following close behind but I took encouragement from the friendly hand signal, which I reconsidered after I enlarged the shot and checked his numberplate. LOL.

Some Work For YOU to do!

While roaming the other day, I noticed this RED RED Flower (that Sally thinks is a weed) and as I took the first shot I heard a bird singing, really close, but saw nothing. Then I did, the 4th – 7th shots need to be enlarged and even then the bird is hard to see. So I created a collage using the 4th as background but cropping heavily to create my last shot which I feel is the best collage I have ever created. What do you think?

Tammy this was harder to see than the Dragonfly!

Moondoggies Cafe – Chocalotto Heaven