Textual of a concrete jungle

1 Briscoe Lane, Melbourne
376 Little Collins St

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

    Superb Fairywren (Male)

    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

    Crested Pigeon

    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

    Red-crowned Parakeet
    Red-crowned Parakeet

    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 

    Little Black Cormorant

    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

    Mordella

    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

    Superb Fairywren (Male)
    Superb Fairywren (Male)

    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

    Grey Teal looking cute

    Grey Teal

    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

    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

    Fisheye view of Melbourne Central

    Melbourne Central Shot Tower
    Melbourne Central Clock
    Melbourne Central Clock

    I acquired the Nikon AF-S Fisheye Nikkor 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED lens a few years ago while I was still using the Nikon D850 as my main camera. However, I have not had the opportunity to do this lens any justice until 21 December 2024 when we visited the city. On this day, the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S lens was my main lens on the Nikon Z8 but took the fisheye lens with a Nikon FTZ II adapter just in case there would be a reason to use it.

    Someone once said that to use a fisheye lens effectively, the photograph must look like it wasn’t taken with a fisheye lens at a glance. When we were in Melbourne Central, I thought the architecture of the location was designed to be photographed with a fisheye lens. The circularity and curvature of the interior of the building will compliment the distortion of the lens. I think I have achieved the goal of taking a picture with a fisheye lens that still looks reasonably natural. I hope you agree with me.

    The first 2 photographs are taken at 15mm which has a 3:2 aspect ratio. When the lens is zoomed at 8mm, I have to remove the lens hood so that a circular image can be taken. The lens has a 180 degree view of view from the front element with either focal length. Owing to the high contrast, I have to employ 5-shot backet of 1 2/3 stops apart and stack the images with Adobe Lightroom.

    First: Nikon Z8, Nikkor 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED @ 15mm f/4.5 1/200s ISO-64.

    Second: Nikon Z8, Nikkor 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED @ 15mm f/4.5 1/200s ISO-100.

    Third: Nikon Z8, Nikkor 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED @ 8mm f/4.5 1/200s ISO-64.