Tuesday 22 November 2011

crabs

This will be my last post about Broome. Time has marched on, and I have other memories to share.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the crabs were fun to shoot, especially as the bird life was a bit quiet. These were all taken with my 180mm marcro lens (except one, with my g12), lying in the sand (or kneeling in the mud),with my camera resting on an upside down skimmer dish. Even though the light was bright, I still needed to use high iso's to keep my shutter speed up, as they do move surprisingly quick once peeking out of their shell and deciding the coast is clear.


                                     
                                       



Not sure what was happening here, maybe one crab was after the other crab's shell (not up on the mating rituals of hermit crabs).  I got sidetracked, and when I checked again, they had gone their separate ways.



          Taken with the G12 (auto mode on macro)



I call this my hallelujah crab. These guys are very tiny, and I didn't see  them until I was quietly perched in the mud, waiting for the larger crabs to come out of their holes. They were fun to watch. They would sit there,  then suddenly leap their claws up in the air, reminding me of people raising their arms when saying hallelujah.



Red Fiddler Crab...seemed to come out when the sun was well and truly high, so shooting conditions were rather harsh.Shooting the crabs was fun. Luckily the mangroves here don't smell like I am used to at home, nor were there lots of little flying bities, so apart from getting older, and finding that kneeling with head down and bum up a bit tiring after a while, it was totally fascinating to see all the little creatures come back out of hiding and go about their daily lives in front of me.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Broome shorebirds

On my last morning I found some shorebirds nearby. I set myself up, and waited. Eventually they came closer, but I really struggle with only a 400mm lens. I had my 1.4 convertor on, but it was still so very short. Oh for a 500mm! Anyway, things were looking a bit promising when a Brahiminy Kite flew over, and that was the end of my fun. These images are severe crops, but I am still pleased to have them.

                                          Grey-Tailed Tattler


                                       Red-Necked Stint


                                Red-capped Plover