Part two from Alex Heads

It has been a frantically busy time, with dog shows, and sneaking away for a short holiday, attending the Australian Photographic Society Convention, held this year in Canberra. A group of us went, and spent 4 days in Cooma, before the convention. It was very chilly, but the weather actually warmed up rather nicely in Canberra during the day. A great time was had by all, and I received my EFIAP honours certificate, of which I am very proud.
Anyway, back to Alex, here are some more bird images from the w/e, followed by the group shot of us caught in a quick snowfall when out driving. 10k's down the road, and not a hint of any snow or rain. Was our highlight for the day!

Weekend away at Alexandra Headlands

Last weekend, my camera club had it's annual weekend away at Alexandra Headlands, on the Sunshine Coast. We came here last year in Nov, and there were a few things I wanted to check out again. Foremost was the osprey nest at Mooloolaba Spit. There were a couple nesting, but can only assume there were eggs in the nest, as it is up a very high pole! Certainly hope so. We also checked out Chambers Is, and we had fun photographing the willy wagtails and magpies, even though the sun was a bit harsh at times. We went back there on the way home too, but again, wrong time of day, but still fun. Inbetween, whilst most of the group were doing a workshop, some of us chased feathers, and we had a fun time doing so. Not all our shots turned out, but we had fun regardless. On the way home, we stopped at Toorbul for some later afternoon shooting. All in all, it was a great week-end away, company was great, and look forward to wherever we might end up next year.
Here is a selection of images, I haven't had time to process many yet. So this will be part one.

A recent scouting trip

Recently I went and checked out a new area recommended to me by a friend. I was a bit early in the day, as I was travelling up the coast for a club presentation, but I still had to have a shoot whilst there. Whilst not the later light that I like, I am still happy with the results. Pity it is an hour and half from me, but I will be heading there again!
On a good note, my plumed whistling duck received an honourable mention at the South Devon Salon. One step closer to my efiap/b.

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin

Found another image I quite like from my trip up north. I haven't had time yet to look at my magpie geese, maybe in the next week or so, if I am lucky. Another specialty dog show coming up, which will take up most of my week with sorting and orders.

Cisticola

Every year I head up north to visit my family, do a dog show, and fit in a bit of bird photography. Every year I have always managed to capture something that is just that bit a cut above the rest, and this year was this little fellow. I stopped the car where there was some movement in the tall grasses, and this fellow popped out to see what I was doing. A few seconds later he was gone.

Ibis

I had a very nasty ear infection which saw me grounded for nearly a month. So it was a good time to go back through the archives and see what I might have missed. I found these Ibis images taken earlier in the year. I was quite pleased how they turned out using the 800mm, as I was able to fill the frame and throw out the background nicely. These were taken at Sherwood Forrest, a suburb in Brisbane.

more of my egret

I have discovered that this egret quite likes people, especially fishermen, who tend to throw him left over bait, and even the fish they catch. So at times he comes in closer than my focal distance, so then it is time to just take the eye away from the camera, and enjoy the interaction. As he moves along the waters edge, the background colours change because of the angles of sun and shade on the water.