From one of my other  adventures. A female Rose-ringed Parakeet munching on something yummy

 

 A common Kingfisher looking for food in a river in India

 

White throated kingfisher looking for food

 

 

 

He found a little something to munch on

 

But it was obviously very hard for the bird to crack open the BUG. I could hear the bird from a far distance when she tried to open the bug slamming the bug in to the branch.

 

 

 

The bird refuse to give up

London party . . . 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/56053365@N07/30095786521/in/photostream/lightbox/

6 hours ago, MJP said:

London party . . . 

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/56053365@N07/30095786521/in/photostream/lightbox/

That is a very nice picture. The shadow, impressive! This looks like taken using flash. May I ask what flash exposure you were using? I'm a happy hobby photographer and I like to experiment with the flash exposure and to keep it at a minimum at close range to get effects like the above without any glare or what ever they call it.

 

 

I was out looking for leopards (with out any luck regarding the leopards) but I was very lucky to run in to a juvenile Changeable Hawk Eagle (Crested Hawk Eagle) The bird was so young I don't think she/ he could fly walking around on the ground looking lost

 

 

 

 

 

An adult Changeable Hawk Eagle. And we can see that she/ he have caught dinner

 

OK, now they are in my office screaming at me. Seems like they want me to stop playing internet and waste the money the company spend on my salary and start to make use of my self. But I must take the time to post the pictures of this beauty I saw. For sure not a bird I see everyday

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Aladdin said:

That is a very nice picture. The shadow, impressive! This looks like taken using flash. May I ask what flash exposure you were using? I'm a happy hobby photographer and I like to experiment with the flash exposure and to keep it at a minimum at close range to get effects like the above without any glare or what ever they call it.

 

 

I was out looking for leopards (with out any luck regarding the leopards) but I was very lucky to run in to a juvenile Changeable Hawk Eagle (Crested Hawk Eagle) The bird was so young I don't think she/ he could fly walking around on the ground looking lost

 

 

 

 

 

An adult Changeable Hawk Eagle. And we can see that she/ he have caught dinner

 

It is flash, but off camera . . . and not by very much.

 

It was taken with a Pentax K-1 and Pentax FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited at f/5, ISO 100, 1/320s. The flash was in P-TTL HSS (through the lens metering and high speed sync mode).

 

The Metz AF-1 64 flash was held off camera using a TTL flash cable and the light was bounced using a Rogue Flashbender 2 light modifier. Flash was powered using a Godox PB960 with 2-into-1 power cable adaptor.

 

Equipment list . . . 

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.uk/en/digital-slr/PENTAX-K-1-DSLR.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/409200-USA/Pentax_20180_SMCP_FA_43mm_f_1_9_Limited.html

http://www.metz-mecatech.de/en/lighting/flash-units/system-flash-units/mecablitz-64-af-1-digital.html

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0086UUVU0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SYIW756/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I03B3N2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SWCUUIK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Post-processing in Lightroom and Photoshop CC. Basic workflow - Lens corrections and chromatic aberration removed in Lightroom, then edit in PS CC, Camera RAW adjustments > Smart sharpen > High pass.

Daytime strobist . . . 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/56053365@N07/30168861316/in/photostream/lightbox/

17 hours ago, MJP said:

 

It is flash, but off camera . . . and not by very much.

 

It was taken with a Pentax K-1 and Pentax FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited at f/5, ISO 100, 1/320s. The flash was in P-TTL HSS (through the lens metering and high speed sync mode).

 

The Metz AF-1 64 flash was held off camera using a TTL flash cable and the light was bounced using a Rogue Flashbender 2 light modifier. Flash was powered using a Godox PB960 with 2-into-1 power cable adaptor.

 

Equipment list . . . 

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.uk/en/digital-slr/PENTAX-K-1-DSLR.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/409200-USA/Pentax_20180_SMCP_FA_43mm_f_1_9_Limited.html

http://www.metz-mecatech.de/en/lighting/flash-units/system-flash-units/mecablitz-64-af-1-digital.html

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0086UUVU0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SYIW756/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I03B3N2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SWCUUIK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Post-processing in Lightroom and Photoshop CC. Basic workflow - Lens corrections and chromatic aberration removed in Lightroom, then edit in PS CC, Camera RAW adjustments > Smart sharpen > High pass.

 

WOW! That was a lot of equipment. I just carry my (the smallest canon flash I could find) with me. I use it more in day light than in the dark as I try to take pictures with out flash in the dark. Or with a minimum flash exposure trying to make it look like it is ambient light. And it is fun to experiment with the flash exposure and the angle of the flash. I'm just a beginner so I have a long way to go. But it is fun

 

But your picture above shows me that you already master the technique to use flash without any glare from the reflexes, something I have tried many times and only manage a very few times. But plenty practice...

 

I bought a underwater house and a strobe and I tried it on dry land. BOOM! The strobe filed a whole room with light. Way more powerful than anything i have used before

 

Now I just wait for my wet suit. And yes, I had to buy a "SPECIAL EDITION" with so many X's I could not believe it and I will hopefully be off to Tonga to swim with the humpback whales

 

 

 

 

 

 

This will hopefully be a lot better with my new underwater gear

 

 

This is taken with my Canon  Scooby-Doo water camera that I bought for Songkran

 

 

 

 

Cage diving in South Africa. The Great White is a beautiful fish

 

 

 

4 hours ago, Aladdin said:

 

WOW! That was a lot of equipment. I just carry my (the smallest canon flash I could find) with me. I use it more in day light than in the dark as I try to take pictures with out flash in the dark. Or with a minimum flash exposure trying to make it look like it is ambient light. And it is fun to experiment with the flash exposure and the angle of the flash. I'm just a beginner so I have a long way to go. But it is fun

 

But your picture above shows me that you already master the technique to use flash without any glare from the reflexes, something I have tried many times and only manage a very few times. But plenty practice...

 

I bought a underwater house and a strobe and I tried it on dry land. BOOM! The strobe filed a whole room with light. Way more powerful than anything i have used before

 

Now I just wait for my wet suit. And yes, I had to buy a "SPECIAL EDITION" with so many X's I could not believe it and I will hopefully be off to Tonga to swim with the humpback whales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reason for the powerful Metz flash with a guide number of 64 is power is lost in HSS mode. I can turn up the EV in TTL-HSS and retain sufficient power at higher shutter speeds/lower ISO. I have six Cactus RF60's and a V6II HSS transceiver for off-camera flash work (using light stands and modifiers, Wescott Halo and Orb, shoot through umbrellas) or I can mount three RF60's on a SmallRig grip and use handheld. The Godox PB960 power packs are needed to reduce flash recycle time, down well below half a second.

 

It's the first time I've ever really put strobist technique into practice and I'm hooked.

Some of the famous Australian wildlife

 

 

 

 

I was very lucky with this one, the only, and I saw many Kolas during my looking for koala and kangaroo adventure in Australia. But this one was the only Koala I saw moving.

 

The koala was moving from one tree to another and the koala was jumping like a monkey between the trees. I saw the koala reaching the end of the branch and I just knew that there would be a jump. So I hanged the camera around the neck and I watched the jump, impressive

 

More excitements from Australia

 

Flying dogs or foxes

 

 

I was actually VERY lucky to get to spot a tree kangaroo. So I was very happy even though a was a wee bit disappointed. I had expected a "mini" kangaroo jumping around in the tree. This one did not eve remind about a kangaroo

 

 

 

 

 

And I spotted a wombat

 

 

 

 

I was very excited to see my first ever wombat. But after having walking around for an hour or two I had seen 20++ wombats. I stopped to count at 20

 

 

I spent a month in Australia looking for wildlife. The original plan was to stay for a weekend to look at a koala and a kangaroo. I have been in Australia before but never seen a kangaroo or koala. Drunk all the time as these Australians always said " time for a beer mate" when I ran in to them. And beer it was, but this time not one single beer. Only wild life.

 

I had seen what Australia had to offer , not much during daylight if you compare with the night. All pictures taken handheld with only a flash light as light source so excuse me for the poor quality

 

 

 

 

I think I got to see all the animals, at least most of them.Many pictures taken and most of them ended up in the garbage as it was not easy to take pictures with the flash light. I even got to see the Kangaroo rat, and they say this is the mammal mother to all the mammals in Australia from back in the time when Australia was covered in rain forest. 

A Tawny frog mouth and it is easy to imagine why the named the bird frog mouth when seeing the picture. Again, sorry for poor quality. Handheld and flash light only

 

 

 

 

And to top it up, and excellent month in Australia and YES, I GOT TO SEE A PLATIPUS. It had been worth every Bath going to Australia

 

And these bad photos are for me a good way to remember the platipus. I even got to see the platipus leaving the water crossing land. Not something we get to see everyday. A rare occasion even if a wet platipus looks like a piece of leather

 

 

 

If you are going to Australia to look for wildlife it is a must to take the time to do it in the dark as well

 

A Magpie at our former home in Australia, it had come inside to take it out of my hand.

These birds can be tamed up to a point but it is a different game at nesting time.

They have a beautiful singing sound.(See Under)

 

 

Beautiful Ron

 

The Magpie, when on my adventure in Australia I often mistook it for the Butcher birds as for me they look the same. Just swapped the colours around

 

Pied Butcherbird

 

And I never got used to their singing. Both of these birds, well, for me it is a crow. So every time I heard them and I looked around for the bird making this beautiful sound. And everytime, I was surprised to see the Australian  Magpie or the Pied Butcherbird.

pied_butcherbird.mp3

 

Australian Magpie

 

 

Ron, our friend the Peewee looks very small next to the Magpie

 

 

 

Ron, I don't mean to make you homesick with all the beautiful birds from Australia

 

Another beautiful "crow" The Pied Currawong

 

 

 

 

 

First time I saw this bird they told me that it was a Laughing Kookaburra. I told them that it looked like a Kingfisher. And when I checked up the bird it turned out to be the biggest Kingfisher in the world

 

 

Here is another bird you will never see in Thailand

 

 

 

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

 

 

Ron, I'm getting old. And my memory fails me at times. But I think I remember you mentioned that you used to live in Perth.

 

Did you ever go on the boat doing whale watching?

 

The Humpbacks comes out like a rocket and during the second they are in the air you will have to get your camera to you eye and take the picture. Hard to get them in to focus, but the splash is in focus most of the time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes your are more lucky, especially if they make a 2nd or 3rd jump

 

3 flips with the tail is enough to lift 35 to 40 tons out of the water. They  are same size as a truck

 

So now we can imagine how I will look in my new wet suit. Of course, I will not be able to fly out of the water

 

 

 

17 hours ago, Aladdin said:

Ron, I'm getting old. And my memory fails me at times. But I think I remember you mentioned that you used to live in Perth.

 

Did you ever go on the boat doing whale watching?

 

The Humpbacks comes out like a rocket and during the second they are in the air you will have to get your camera to you eye and take the picture. Hard to get them in to focus, but the splash is in focus most of the time

Yes ,I am from Perth but never did the whale watching thing.

A bird from the northern hemisphere. Should be in colour

 

Arctic Tern, a fantastic bird. Breeding in the far north of our globe. Winter comes and they fly to the south pole to enjoy the summer down there. That is a pretty long flight, return and every year, amazing

 

 

 

Sydney Harbour and I found a Italian restaurant where I had my daily lunch between the whale watching. Food excellent and I got some "BONUS" bird watching while eating.

 

Beautiful rainbow lorikeets jumping around on the tables

 

 

A Noisy Miner having a hard time to find the way back out again

 

The Gulls are so common it is easy to forget how beautiful they can be

I Blue whale swimming along minding her/ his own business