Be Curious Photography Walk – February 2024

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I have been a bit quiet lately with paid work and other stuff, but I bring you a few photos I took on the February 2024 Be Curious photowalk. The walk this month was at the Black Mountain Peninsula, sticking out into Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.

A Shield Bug in a tiny patch of sun.

As usual with Cristy’s walks, there is a strong focus on macro photography. I didn’t actually put my macro lens on the camera, but nevertheless did some macro-like photography. I used the 24 – 70mm lens for most of the walk, capturing my usual variety of subjects.

This tree has definitely seen more lively times.

While not related to the above tree (as far as I can tell, anyway), the patterns on this leaf were quite amazing. I was trying to capture the whole leaf in focus – obviously I failed in that, like usual. If there’s one thing I really haven’t mastered, it is judging the depth of focus for photos like this. Still, it has a nice feel about it, so it made the cut for public consumption.

The patterns on this leaf were really quite amazing.

Black Mountain Peninsula is on the other side of Lake Burley Griffin from New Parliament House. The main part of Parliament House is not visible behind the trees along the far shore, but the giant flagpole sticks up marking the place.

A different perspective on New Parliament House.

Shortly after taking the photo of New Parliament House, I spotted a number of birds in the trees near where I was standing. Attempts to photograph them with the 24 – 70mm lens proved fruitless as I just couldn’t get close enough. Most walks I don’t change lens, sticking with the one lens for the whole walk – but this time I justified why I generally carry the whole kit with me. I switched lenses! For maximum reach, I put the 70 – 200mm telephoto zoom with the 2x teleconverter on.

Boy and girl Blue Wrens were nesting in this bramble patch.
A Blue Wren (I think?) surveys the world outside this bramble nesting spot.

By this stage, I had just about run out of time. However, as I went to leave the Blue Wren family I noticed a few butterflies doing laps around some flowering thistles. The beauty of having the long lens on is that it is possible to get good photographs without having to get so close you scare them away – not that I was getting close as the thistles were growing amongst the brambles.

A butterfly enjoys the nectar of a thistle flower.

You can see a previous post about the Be Curious Photowalks here. They are on monthly, and I generally attend. I have been very slack in posting about them here, however. Cristy runs the walks, and she can be found on Facebook at @cristyfroelichphotography.

Please feel free to join us on future walks. Cristy is a mine of knowledge, and is very happy to share it! See you there!

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