Plenty of sleep, a touch of paddling, and some great company makes for a relaxing weekend away. Although not much study was done, we had plenty of down time and a chance for a few photos. Kookaburras that live around camping grounds are usually fairly tame animals which makes for a good shooting opportunity.
We are standing around the campsite when two kookaburras fly down to join us (probably looking for some of the food we just ate). As we watch, they both just sit there cocking their heads to the side every now and then. Suddenly and without much notice, one of them drops down to the dirt and rapidly pecks away at the soil. A couple of quick jabs later and he produces a witchetty grub from out of nowhere! We had no idea there was even grubs there, so no idea how the kookaburra managed to see them from his perch. Anyway, I thought I'd post my favourite shot from the ones I got.
It was a pretty simple little shoot with the birds sitting on the railing etc. However, something I didn't quite take into consideration was the air temperature. I have often been caught out by a difference in temperature and/or humidity from my camera bag to the outside air. If you are not ready for it, the change can really get in the way of your photo. Inside my bag was quite cold and yet the ambient conditions were relatively warm and quite humid. I found myself having to continuously wipe the lens front as I was trying to take shots.
Lesson learned: Ensure camera is fully adjusted to the ambient air conditions prior to a shoot.
Enjoy!
