At the start of 2022 the weather in Canberra was anything but summer-like. I even stopped taking my camera with me when I was paddling on Lake Burley Griffin because the light was always bad and the weather meant the lake was never calm. That said, I often regretted not having taken my camera because I would then see a subject I thought would make a lovely photograph. In the end, I was glad that I took my camera with me more often than not because even on the bad mornings I felt I found things that were special, like a pair of Black Swans feeding near the shore where the water reflected their curving necks. It would have been magical if the water was still but it was still a special moment to watch these lovely birds so close to shore. I enjoyed the moment and I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.
More of this story is on my blog at https://bit.ly/3tG8yQu
Black Swan eating in the early morning, reflected in the lake
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Looking east along promenade on the southern side of Lake Burley Griffin’s central basin
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 3200, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/125 SEC])
Bridge connecting the housing sections of the Kingston foreshore at the lake’s eastern end
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 3200, 158mm, f/8.0 and 1/160 SEC])
Pedestrian bridge over a small canal that feeds into the lake from Telopea Park at the south-east end
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 2000, 227mm, f/10 and 1/200 SEC])
Looking west along promenade on the southern side of Lake Burley Griffin’s central basin towards Canberra Tower on top of Black Mountain
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 2000, 158mm, f/13 and 1/250 SEC])
Black Swan eating lake weed just under the surface
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Australasian Darter juvenile
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Silver Gull juvenile flying into land
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/11 and 1/800 SEC])
Purple Swamphen
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1250, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
While the lighting on those early summer mornings was not the best due to overcast skies, I still enjoyed taking photographs. Some of the location shots had a different mood because of the lighting. I suspected even the photographs of the birds in the overcast conditions also brought out a different character in the animals. Even though the weather was not always great I did enjoy being on the lake and it was often worthwhile having a camera to capture some of those moments that occurred when animals were just going about their normal lives.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory has on offer. All the best until the next post.
