Tag: photography competitions

That was 2017, part 2

We got back to the cold and wet in early July. While we were checking up on the Bridgetown house, I was lucky enough to see a Restless Flycatcher on the back patio – such a beautiful bird.  July also saw a mad dash to Canberra for my daughter’s graduation, sadly without my camera. Back in Perth, I did get to Herdsman Lake a few times as the house we are renting is not far away.

Restless Flycatcher dining alfresco
Backlit Great Egret

In August I flew to Adelaide for the awards night for the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. I was super excited to find out my “Windblown Egret” was the winner of the Animal Portrait category, at a great evening where I met many amazing nature photographers in person. It was a surreal experience seeing my image on banners in front of and inside the South Australian Museum.

Windblown Egret
Outside the South Australian Museum

After the awards I was lucky enough to have a day or two to explore the region, seeing the stunning little Diamond Firetails and some other great birds.

Diamond Firetails at Monarto
Male Hooded Robin
Musk Lorikeet
Red-Capped Robin

Perth had plenty of of rain this winter and Herdsman Lake has been lovely and full, providing many photo opportunities in spring.

Buff-Banded Rail
Male Hardhead showing off
Great Crested Grebes courting
Eurasian Coot

School holidays in October gave me a bit of time to get out and capture more birds doing their reproductive thing, from Tree Martins collecting nesting material in Bridgetown to Moorhen chicks at Herdsman.

Dusky Moorhen chick waving its ‘wings’ while being fed
Tree martin collecting eucalyptus leaves in Bridgetown
Young Dusky Moorhen being adventurous
An immature Common Bronzewing in Bridgetown

Going through all my images has made me realise I found time to take photographs – what I struggled with was time to sort and process the images. In November, I was out of action for a few weeks when I was in hospital and recovering; on my first outing with my camera I did feel lots of sympathy for this poor Willie Wagtail who had lost all its tail feathers, possibly in defending its nest from a family of Australian Ravens.

Willie Wagtail missing all its tail feathers
Young Raven with what I suspect is a Willie Wagtail nest

2017 finished in a lovely relaxed fashion, spending some time at our house in Bridgetown, enjoying all the birds who visit the bird baths and sprinklers, and watching a pair of Tree Martins very busily feeding their chicks who were somewhere in our roof space. Two of the Tree Martins fledged the day before we left; so adorable.

Australasian Pipit drying off
New Holland on a Grevillea
New Holland Honeyeaters hogging the bird bath
Ringneck enjoying a bath
Male bronzewing on the bird bath
Tree Martin fledging waiting for their parents

Thank you for reading. I’m really hoping to get a few more blog posts out in 2018, so you don’t have to wait until this time next year. In the meantime, wishing all my followers a wonderful year.

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ANZANG and other competitions – 2013 review

Bee visiting Eucalyptus macrocarpa
Bee visiting Eucalyptus macrocarpa – Highly commended, Botanical section, ANZANG 2013

One of my goals for 2013 was to enter a few photographic competitions. My most exciting result so far has been to achieve a Highly Commended for this image in the 2013 ANZANG competition, organised by the South Australian museum and celebrating the diversity of nature in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea. I received a beautiful book with all the finalists’ images in, and am looking forward to the exhibition coming to Perth some time next year.

Another result I was happy with was being selected as a finalist in the Mono (West Australian Architecture) section of Clickwest, a competition organised by the WA Photographic Federation. At the awards night, all the finalist’s images were shown on a big movie screen, which was pretty awesome. We also each received another lovely book of images. My image was taken in the chapel of St Michael the Archangel in Leederville – the surrounding buildings were a convent but are now the head office of the Catholic Education Office.

St Michael the Archangel Chapel, Leederville
St Michael the Archangel Chapel, Leederville

I entered a few images in two other competitions – the International Loupe Awards and the Better Photography Photograph of the Year 2013 – mainly for feedback, as if your image meets a certain standard you are awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold certificates. If you are lucky, you get a few comments from the judges about where you can improve. The monthly competitions at my camera club have been an awesome source of feedback and learning, as you get to hear the judge’s comments on all the images, not just your own. It makes you realise too how subjectively we view images, as each judge has a unique perspective. I was pretty happy with coming 6th overall in the club for the year, and getting two second placings in the end of year print competition.

A print of this image came second in Colour prints at the NEPG end of year competition.
Taken in Kruger in July 2013 – came second in Mono prints in NEPG end of year competition.
This image scored 83 in Amateur illustrative with a big score range (94/84/70) – would have been interesting to see how it went in the Science & Nature but I couldn’t afford to pay for more Open entries.
Orangutan photographed at the zoo – score of 83 in Loupe Awards, with range from 70 to 95.
Scored 84 in the Loupe awards, with the most consistent scoring of all my images entered. Squeaked into the top 50 of the Science and Nature section at number 47.
A young kangaroo captured at Pinnaroo Memorial park. This image also did well at camera club, winning the Mono prints in February.
This image of a pelican’s foot also did well in the WAPF interclub comp, coming 4th in Mono prints.
This was taken at sunrise on a morning when the sun didn’t really make an appearance, whilst on a camera club weekend away. We had no luck with the sunrises for three mornings in a row! So I decided to process it as a black and white to suit the name of the lake (really an old coal mine pit lake).
This image also did well in the WAPF interclub competition, coming 4th in Colour prints.
Experimenting with motion, an image of my daughter playing the viola. I was pleased to get a bronze for this, as it is not my usual genre.