Dandenong Ranges Nature Photography

Scotch Thistles

Kathie Thomas — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:02:26 +0000

The scotch thistles are out. They are a weed and I need to get rid of them but, as yet, unable to work in the garden. However, they do make for good subject matter when taking photos. And I love their colours when they’re in flower.

Bright Gazanias

Kathie Thomas — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:49:49 +0000

I’m now getting back outside into my garden, which is such a blessing. It’s not until you lose the use of something for sometime (in my case a foot and leg) that you don’t realise how much it means to you. So glad to be walking again, even if slowly. Yesterday I enjoyed the afternoon sun and my garden.

Interesting sights you see

Kathie Thomas — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:02:38 +0000

I was out with my husband yesterday. We were heading back from seeing the surgeon about my broken leg (by the way, I’ve been given permission to start walking again so I am, with just one crutch and can now venture outside and down steps by myself, yay!). We stopped at a bakery to pick up some lunch and right in front of our car was this old combi van. I thought it looked funny with the various stickers on it, including the one that said it wasn’t abandoned Definitely shades of hippy days…

And this one appealed to my husband. He’s not a fan of Volvos and thought the number plate was quite appropriate.

Common Brown Butterfly

Kathie Thomas — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:29:13 +0000

When we went out on Australia Day to buy new sheep for our property, I had to sit and wait in the car while Graham went to pick out the sheep. Trying to get down a stoney driveway and into an uneven paddock on crutches isn’t my idea of fun – I want to heal, not break more bones! So I sat in the car, with the door wide open and watched the garden close by for any movement or something interesting. Sure enough, a butterfly came into view and as I waited it gradually got closer and closer.

I wanted to make sure I got the top of its wings and the underneath so you could see its patterns clearly.

Beautiful rose

Kathie Thomas — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:21:43 +0000

As I’ve not been out in my garden over the past few weeks I’ve really missed seeing my roses in bloom. I get to see a couple outside my window but that has been it. But last week I was able to be outside for awhile and noticed the beautiful Double Delight in full bloom. Isn’t it beautiful? This rose has a magnificent scent too and is very prolific in its flowering.

Nature Photography Blog carnival

Kathie Thomas — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:14:22 +0000

Have you heard of a Blog Carnival? I used to participate in one several years ago when I first began blogging. I’d forgotten about that till recently when researching plugins and then saw one that related to receiving submissions for a blog carnival. Unfortunately that plugin is being discontinued but it gave me an idea.

I would very much like to connect with other nature photographers from around the world who blog regularly (be it daily, weekly, or even monthly) who would like to participate in a blog carnival on a regular basis.

What does this mean?

A Blog Carnival is when a group of bloggers choose to write or post on a particular topic and then links to all of their posts are posted on the ‘host’s’ blog. The next time the carnival happens someone else in the group hosts the posts for that week or month, or however regular the carnival takes place. I’m proposing to do this on a monthly basis at the moment. unless it proves really popular, in which case the regularity will be more often. The criteria is:

Topic must relate to something that is considered to be of nature, that is the elements of the natural world such as mountains, trees, animals, or rivers. As participants will be photographers the images used in their posts must have been taken by that photographer. Each Blog Carnival host may choose the theme for their turn that is a subset of nature, i.e. Autumn (Fall), Summer, Harvest, Nesting (birds), etc, etc.

Why would I do this? Because, for sometime, I’ve been looking for a way to connect with other nature photographers online, on a regular basis, and I see this would be an excellent way to do it. That way we are all sharing the load, and we get to increase our exposure and backlinks across each blog. More readers/viewers, more links, more traffic and fun.

I’ve done some research and the only photography blog carnivals I could see that were registered at the original Blog Carnival site date back to 2007 and 2008. More recent carnivals seem to concentrate on babies and portraiture. So perhaps this is new for our genre.

The first Nature Photography posts for the Blog Carnival need to be submitted by Friday 3rd February. They will be published on this blog on Monday 6th February. If you are interested in hosting a future carnival please say ‘yes’ on the form. The topic is open for this first one, as long as it relates to nature.

If you are a nature photographer (you don’t have to be professional, just passionate), have a photoblog and would like to be involved, then please fill out the form here. I look forward to you joining me in this new project!

Other cockatoos

Kathie Thomas — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:55:54 +0000

Below are three other types of cockatoos that I’ve seen. The top ones, are Gang-Gangs and there was a family in our garden one day last year. Only time I’ve seen them. A neighbour rang to say he could see them in our trees and to get outside quick, with the camera. The babies flew off but I got the parents.

The others are a female red-tailed cockatoo and a Major Mitchell (the pink one) both seen at Healesville Sancturary.

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

Kathie Thomas — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:57:17 +0000

Continuing with the cockatoos, the Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo seem to be more present this year where I live. I hear them every day calling as they fly overhead. I don’t remember hearing them that much in past years.

Below are shots that have been taken in our garden, or at Lysterfield Park in the past year.

White cockatoos

Kathie Thomas — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:19:09 +0000

A flock of cockatoos fly overhead (and I can tell you it would have been noisily – they’re rarely quiet) and below that, a silhouette of a cockatoo in a tree with its crest up.

Posing cockatoo

Kathie Thomas — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:20:00 +0000

Anyone would think these birds were experienced posers. They’ll happily sit for you (when in an area used to human contact) and let you take their photo.