September has arrived with the slightly warmer mornings than the previous few months plus the sun rising earlier. Simultaneously the ACT Government extended the COVID lockdown exercise time out to two hours. With all that in mind I decided that it was time to take the camera in the kayak again on to Canberra’s iconic Lake Burley Griffin. Because of the longer time for exercise I could now go for a longer paddle and still have enough time, and light, to take photographs. What amazed me on the first paddle was only when I took the first few photographs of the beautiful, darkly coloured Australasian Darter did I realise how much I had missed kayak photography. I think it was the combined elements of the peaceful water, drifting towards wild birds and just capturing the beauty of the moment. I was so thankful to be out again on Lake Burley Griffin with my camera and, particularly on my first trip, the weather was lovely. I don’t have many shots below from my two trips but I hope that the pictures show some of the beauty that I saw and I hope that you enjoy them.
More of this story is on my blog at https://bit.ly/3zTtQv3
Australasian Darter on a dead tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 241mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Two Australian Pelicans on a swimming enclosure fence
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Silver Gulls on the shore
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Great Egret changing into breeding plumage
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Great Cormorant shaking its wings
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/800 SEC])
Great Cormorant on a swimming pontoon
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
I thoroughly enjoyed both my paddles on the lake and photographing some beautiful birds while also getting some exercise. As the weather warms and the breeding season gets into full swing there will be much more activity on the lake and I am looking forward to trying to photograph it.
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.
