Textual of a concrete jungle

Posted on 28 January 2025 by E Y

I had never been a street photographer. I don’t even know where to start. On 21 December 2024, while in Melbourne City, I decided to bring a camera along. Far from what a street photographer would do, I brought quite a bit of gear in a backpack:

Nikon Z8
Nkon Nikkor Z
50mm f/1.8 S
Nikon Nikkor Z
85mm f/1.8 S
Nikon Nikkor Z
MC 105mm f/2.8 VR
Nikon SAF-S Fisheye Nikkor 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED

I never got to use the 85mm nor the 105mm macro lens. While indoors, I had the fisheye on the camera and was using the 50mm outdoors.

I took a few hundred photographs but only kept less than 20. I was looking for something unique that most people would not take notice of.

I spotted these ordinary-looking building but with a narrower perspective, the lines and windows render interesting textual that streaks the skyline. Of all the buildings I have photographed, I find these 3 images the most interesting.

Through a fresh look at a common sight, I hope to bring about a second, more interesting angle to the concrete jungle that is Melbourne Central Business District. I hope you enjoy it.

First: Nikon Z8, Nkon Nikkor Z
50mm f/1.8 S @ f/8 1/125s ISO-140

Second: Nikon Z8, Nkon Nikkor Z
50mm f/1.8 S @ f/8 1/125s ISO-560

Third: Nikon Z8, Nkon Nikkor Z
50mm f/1.8 S @ f/8 1/125s ISO-140

The Superb Fairywren caught its breakfast

Posted on 21 January 2025 by E Y

Superb Fairywren are all over the place these days. This one was found in Trin Warren Tam-boore on 10 December 2024. It looked like it is going to have its breakfast.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO2800

A native pigeon of Australia

Posted on 19 January 2025 by E Y

Crested Pigeons are common in Australia. They can be found easily at Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore. This photograph was taken in the morning of 10 December 2024.

The day was fairly overcast. This provided a nice soft light for the photography at the field next to Trin. This particular Crested Pigeon was kind enough to pose for me.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/400s f/6.3 ISO1400

New Zealand native found in Brunswick

Posted on 17 January 2025 by E Y

On 1 December 2024, a Red-crowned Parakeet was found in a laneway in Brunswick. This bird was identified as a Red-crowned Parakeet which is a bird native to New Zealand. However, Parakeets in the wild are naturally green in colour. This bird is mainly yellow which suggests that it was a domesticated bird, i.e. someone’s pet.

Through selective breeding in captivity, the Red-crowned Parakeet are transformed from green to bright yellow. According to the neighbours, this bird had been wandering the laneway the day prior. It seems incapable of looking after itself and finding food for itself. I normally don’t feed wildlife but in this case, I gave the bird some sunflower seeds.

Fortunately, it retreated to a small tree in a private property. This gave it some shelter. I wasn’t able to find it the next day. I hope it made its way back to its owner.

First: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO450

Second: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO640

Little Black Cormorant in silhouette

Posted on 7 January 2025 by E Y

This photograph of a Little Black Cormorant in flight at the Oak Street Wetland was taken on 6 December 2024 a bit after sunrise. There wasn’t much light at the time as the cloud obscured the sun but the combination of cloud and sun resulted in a rather dramatic sky. Exposing for the sky resulted in the bird in silhouette.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/3200s f/6.3 ISO200

A flower beetle in our backyard

Posted on 5 January 2025 by E Y

On a cloudy morning of 22 November 2024, I spotted a flower beetle of the genius Mordella. I am unable to identify the specific species of this beetle. The iNaturalist Seek mobile app was only able identify the genius.

This is the first time I have seen this beetle. It disappeared the next day.

The photograph was taken with the Nikon Z 105mm macro lens with a Roynox DCR-250 and a flash diffused by a newly acquired Cynustech diffuser.

Nikon Z8, NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, Rayox DCR-250, Nikon SB-910, Cynustech Diffuser @ 1/200s f/22 ISO400

Superb Fairywren singing passionately

Posted on 3 January 2025 by E Y

On 20 November 2024, I came across this male Superb Fairywren at Trin Warren Tam-boore singing with gusto.

The pose was excellent but there were some twigs and branches in the background. I think it contributes to tell a story of the habitat of the bird.

As an experiment, I used Adobe Photoshop to remove some objects in the background. This resulted in the second photograph.

What I feel about the alternated image is that it looks too sterile and, therefore, lacks authenticity. I think I still prefer the original photograph.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/640s f/6.3 ISO450

Ladybird portriats

Posted on 31 December 2024 by E Y

These portraits of the ladybirds were taken in my backyard on 14 November 2024. The parsleys are in full bloom. This attracted the Ladybirds. I took this opportunity to capture some macro photographs of these beneficial insects.

They are fairly easy subjects because they are slow-moving and don’t seemed particularly disturbed by the presence of cameras and lenses.

On this particular day, I was using the Nikon F-mount macro lens with a 2 times teleconverter attached. This gives me a reproduction ratio of 2:1 – 2 times life size. In contrast, the new Z-mount macro lens does not take a teleconverter. It is restricted to a 1:1 reproduction ratio unless a diopter such as a Raynox DCR-250 lens is attached. In many ways, the older lens is more flexible than the new lens. I sometimes do wonder why Nikon make design decisions such as this. Perhaps the decision was to prioritise image quality (for which the Z-mount lens is excellent) over flexibility.

Nikon Z9, Nikon AF-S VR Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-20EIII, Nikon FTZ II Nikon SB-5000, Crafty Bells Diffuser @ 210mm 1/200s f/22 ISO400

Grey Teal looking cute

Posted on 29 December 2024 by E Y

Another photograph of a sweet Grey Teal at Oak Street wetland. This photograph was take on 15 November 2024.

It was taken on a close to the water surface hand-held and composed using the rear LCD of my camera an hour after sunrise.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/640s f/6.3 ISO2200

Another portrait of a Pacific Black Duck

Posted on 27 December 2024 by E Y

On 15 November 2024, this Pacific Black Duck came very close to me at the Oak Street Wetland. Of the native ducks, the Pacific Black Duck is probably the one that is most comfortable with human, especially if they are used to being fed.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/640s f/6.3 ISO2800

The Yeo Family

What are they up to?