Silver Gulls, or as they are more commonly known here in Perth, just plain old Seagulls are an enigma!
Fly Like a Bird! – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Our Seagulls are renowned for their annoying & scavenging lifestyle swooping down on unfinished open-air restaurant dishes and foraging through rubbish bins in their dozens.
Yet they are incredibly beautiful creatures, so pristine & almost picture perfect. Because of this they make very good photographic subjects 📷
These particular Silver Gulls were photographed at Burns Beach a few days ago in their natural environment not being a nuisance to anyone 👍
Burns Beach in Perth’s Northern Suburbs is a great spot for a walk, there is usually plenty of bird life and lots of rocks & rock pools to explore.
Besties – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
In a world where native wildlife is struggling to survive, mainly due to the irresponsibility of the Human Race, these Silver Gulls are thriving , mainly due to the irresponsibility of the Human Race 😱
As natural scavengers they benefit enormously from our increasingly wasteful “throw-away” approach to life in general and more importantly food & refuse.
In the animal world food is hard to come by and generally very little is wasted, in the human world food is over-supplied in abundance (except where it isn’t, which is another sad reflection on Human Society) and much of what we purchase / produce is cast aside.
One Step at a Time – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
On the positive side, many people are now trying to live a waste free life by avoiding packaged food, growing their own herbs & veggies, reusing unused food scraps as compost and recycling wherever possible. That is certainly our approach to life, we keep our bins as empty as possible and our garden as healthy as possible 😃🍎
On a Mission – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Bird photography can have it’s challenges but is also very rewarding when it pays off 🦅
Lots of patience & a fair bit of luck go a long way to getting some great images, but what I find most rewarding is seeing the individual character in each and every bird that I Photograph. Photography is as much about telling a story as it is the image itself.
Thinking of making some inspirational products soon, what do you think of my “I Love to Fly Like a Bird” Mug mockup❓
I Think I’ll get Maggie to print one for the Gallery.
“I love to Fly Like a Bird” Mugs – Wanneroo Markets
Prepare for Landing – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Preparing for Launch – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Houston, We are Go – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Chaos on the Rocks – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Are You Lookin’ at Me! – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Grace in Motion – Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Silver Gulls, Burns Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Human shortcomings aside, what do people think of our scavenging but pretty little friends? Beauty or Beast ❓
Post Processing
These images were processed using a combination of Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 & ON1 Photo RAW 2019.
Also available at the Gallery are Greeting Cards, Magnets, Keyrings, Mugs, Scarves, Tote Bags, Wall Tapestries, Lens Cloths, unique 3D Printed Gadgets & Gizmo’s and much more …
Last weekend I attended my first Tour Day at the Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre and I must say it was amazing and worth every bit of the low $15 booking fee 😃
Tour Day, KaarakinBlack Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Located in the Banyowla Regional Park in the Perth Hills on a former tourism wildlife park site their purpose is to protect and rehabilitate our native wild black cockatoo species here in Western Australia.
As the tour begins we are given an introduction to the organisation, the work they do and how they are working to restore the site to it’s original native state along with several other revegetation projects in WA.
First stop is the Kangaroo enclosure containing a community of Red & Western Grey Kangaroos left over from the old wildlife park. Sadly these Kangaroos have been isolated for decades, they are suffering from inbreeding and cannot be released back into the wild so they are cared for as best as possible.
Kangaroos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Next came the Emu enclosure, where we found that our Tour Guide had a strangely close relationship with the resident Emu’s. Personally I don’t think I’d trust getting up close & personal with an Emu!
Emu, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Finally we arrived at the Dingo enclosure, something I was really looking forward to and I wasn’t disappointed.
On the way into the Dingo enclosure is an aviary full of beautiful Finches.
Finches, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Apparently the Dingoes are walked around the site daily for exercise and also to help prevent / detect any rogue foxes attempting to enter.
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Dingoes have had a bit of a bad rap over the years, including being threatened with removal from the protected native wildlife list (thankfully overturned) but these guys are seriously cute …
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Finally we arrived at the Black Cockatoos and were taught about all the different aviaries designed for different purposes and how injured Cockies are prepared and returned to the wild whenever possible 🐾👍
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Having been told how we had to respect the Black Cockatoos space and be respectful, we were then told that they had no intention of doing the same (being wild animals) 🤣
We then had our feet sprayed, removed jewelry and entered the Aviary to play with the Cockatoos, or maybe for them to play with us 😎
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
If you’ve never been up close and personal with a group of Black Cockatoos then I highly recommend an experience like this.
They will swoop over you make loud raucous noises and randomly land on shoulders (or heads), and they are a lot bigger than most people would imagine.
Black Cockatoos are, however, incredible social and gentle birds. They will not harm you and you will fall in love straight away ❤
Unlike cuddling Koalas, which should never be allowed as it is stressful and dangerous for the animal, interacting with Black Cockatoos is a two way relationship.
It is also worth pointing out that these “educational” Cockatoos are very familiar with humans and can not be released back into the wild for health reasons. You will never get near a Cockatoo that is being prepared for release as they need to maintain their natural caution of humans.
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia – MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Please remember that these magnificent Black Cockatoos are highly endangered, if you want to help protect WA’s Black Cockatoo population then support the local organisations that are working hard to keep these amazing birds alive:
Also available at the Gallery are Greeting Cards, Magnets, Keyrings, Mugs, Scarves, Tote Bags, Wall Tapestries, Lens Cloths, unique 3D Printed Gadgets & Gizmo’s and much more …
Would you like to make your Mum’s Mother’s Day a Natural Experience?
Show your Mum how much you love her with a Mother’s Day Gift from Mother Nature
Tawny Frogmouth from Native Animal Rescue, Perth, Western Australia
What’s your Mum’s favourite animal My Mum loves Owls, her house and garden are full of them
Barn Owl from Native Animal Rescue, Perth, Western Australia
Whether your Mum loves Owls, Blue Wrens, Koalas or any other of natures amazing creations we have a the perfect gift for her
Koala from Yanchep National Park, Western Australia
So why not come visit us at our new Gallery & Shop in Wanneroo Markets to see all the wonderful Mother’s Day gifts we have in stock
Blue Wren from Margaret River, Western Australia
Help us support Native Animal Rescue here in Perth, part proceeds from sales of NAR sourced images are donated back to help them support our local wildlife
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo, Native Animal Rescue, Perth, Western Australia – Photographic Art
Buy Prints & Photo Products
Visit our Gallery & Shop at Wanneroo Markets:
Shop 136 Wanneroo Markets, 33 Prindiville Drive in Wangara. Open Fri to Sun & Public Holidays 9am to 5pm.
Did you know it’s a proven fact that being out in nature is great for your mental and physical health
While you won’t get the full health benefit from our range of prints and photo gifts they are always a great reminder of where you’d rather be 👍🐬
Southern Boobook Owl Triptych, Mindarie, Western Australia
Bird photography can be a time consuming process but rewards can pay of at the least expected times. a few days a go I got a call from my mum to say she had spotted a small owl in her back garden. As an avid owl lover mum has owl ornaments and images all around her house & garden so maybe this little guy just felt at home in her garden …
Southern Boobook Owl Triptych, Mindarie, Western Australia
Anyway, we headed off to mum’s to check out this visitor of hers hoping that he would still be there … and he was. We found him nestled in the foliage of a small tree in the garden. Luckily for us the tree’s foliage was dense enough to keep him protected but with enough gaps that we could get a good view of him, it’s not often you get so lucky 🙂 Ironically the only reason mum spotted him was because the local birds were going crazy about his presence, fluttering around the tree and and making a rawkus noise. But then it is spring and no doubt they were a little concerned about their nests becoming potential dinner plates!
Southern Boobook Owl, Mindarie, Western Australia
Maggie began looking into what type of owl he was while I started snapping away with my 70-200mm. The late afternoon sun was behind him making the light interesting and challenging. I knew the bright blue glimpses of sky would be blown out but the important thing was getting the owl exposed perfectly and retaining the brilliant green of the backlit foliage. The little guy was barely moving so shutter speed wasn’t so important but I still needed to keep it up high enough to prevent any camera shake. It was pretty dark inside that tree and after a bit of experimentation I compromised at manually setting my exposure to 1/160th, f7.1 & ISO 1000 and I was very happy with how that worked out. Noise levels were very low even with the shadows brightened up in Lightroom and the level of detail around his eyes was astounding as you can see from the exploded view below.
Lightroom Close Up of Southern Boobook Owl, Mindarie, Western Australia
Although the owl was not moving all that much it was a windy day and the leaves were blowing around all over the place making it tricky to frame the owl and causing the sunlight to randomly blow out parts of the owls body.
Blown Out Patches – Southern Boobook Owl, Mindarie, Western Australia
All up we were there for around 40 mins, I took 213 photos and got some crackers. Turns out he was a Southern Boobook Owl, quite common around here though not so much in backyards! One good tip for photographing animals is to always focus on the eyes. At 200mm in low light depth of field is often sacrificed for shutter speed and if the eyes are not pin sharp then the whole image can be ruined.
Focus on the Eyes – Southern Boobook Owl, Mindarie, Western Australia
As usual my initial processing was done in Lightroom followed by adding effects in the new ON1 Photo Raw 2018 with some final tweaking in Photoshop, the Master File is then imported back into Lightroom from where I can export it in any format as required. All 3 tools have their benefits and work well together to produce a final image that is extremely high quality and suitable for any purpose.
Southern Boobook Owl, Mindarie, Western Australia – Tabletop Print Suggestion
I haven’t really looked at the new version of ON1 Photo RAW 2018 short of using the effects module to create & apply presets. Keep an eye out for my upcoming review of this very interesting photo processing software package that is becoming serious competition for Lightroom.
Image Details
Location: Mindarie Backyard, Western Australia Date: 26th December 2017 Time: 3pm – 3:40pm Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mk11 Lens: EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Camera Mode: Manual Exposure: 1/160 sec, f7.1 at ISO 1000
It’s a proven fact that being out in nature is great for your mental and physical health. While you won’t get the full health benefit from our range of prints and photo gifts they are always a great reminder of where you’d rather be. So be sure to check out the rest of our range of Fine Art Prints at madcat.com.au and our unique photo gifts (scarves, wall tapestries, beach towels, tote bags and much more) at madaboutwa.com.au.
Golden Hues, Perth City Skyline, Western Australia
We spent a lot more time in South Perth recently when my brother visited from the UK so I got the opportunity to view & capture many different colours & sunsets of the Perth City Skyline during November.
This second image in my Perth City Skyline series was taken at 5:15pm as the sun was starting to set. Again we were blessed with a nice amount of cloud coverage picking up some of the colours from the sunset however the difference in how those colours played out compared to my previous shot (see below), taken at a similar time of day, was mind blowing.
Afternoon City Glow, Perth City Skyline – Western Australian Landscape Photography
The light was less diffused and the colours much stronger making for a much more striking scene with rich golden hues reflecting off the buildings. You really never can tell how the natural colours of a West Australian sunset will evolve.
Original Stitched Image in Lightroom, Perth City Skyline, Perth, Western Australia
As before I had my camera mounted on a tripod oriented vertically with my 70-200mm lens set to 70mm. This time I reduced the number of images I was taking by reducing the amount of overlap between each image to about 1/3rd resulting in only 5 images being needed to create the same size 35MP panorama. I also didn’t bother with exposure bracketing as the light variations were much more even.
One thing I love about Lightroom is that when you stitch your images together the resulting image is still in RAW format allowing all of the processing to be done after you have successfully created your stitched image,
Initial Processing in Lightroom, Perth City Skyline, Perth, Western Australia
My current workflow involves initial processing in Lightroom followed by some adding some effects in ON1 Photo Raw with some final tweaking in Photoshop, the Master File is then imported back into Lightroom from where I can export it in any format as required. All 3 tools have their benefits and work well together to produce a final image that is extremely high quality and suitable for any purpose.
Effects Added in ON1 Photo Raw, Perth City Skyline, Perth, Western Australia
ON1 Photo RAW has been a great addition to my workflow over the past year. I have built up a decent set of Effect Presets which I will be making available through my new online store in the near future. Each new image I process generally starts off from one of my existing Presets and evolves into a new set of effects and eventually a new Preset. It’s such a simple way of creating amazing looking images.
Final Processing in Photoshop, Perth City Skyline, Perth, Western Australia
Photoshop is where everything in the image is held together and the final tweaking is done. My Master File consists of the Lightroom image, the modified ON1 Photo RAW image & any additional changes I make in Photoshop to finish off the image. I am a big fan of non-destructive editing and like to be able to re-visit any part of my post-processing steps at any time in the future which is exactly what this workflow provides.
Final Image in Lightroom, Perth City Skyline, Perth, Western Australia
Once my Master File is complete I flatten it, import it back into Lightroom & add appropriate keywords and meta-data. From within Lightroom where I can export it in whatever shape & format I require in the future. I have many export Presets saved in Lightroom so whether I’m creating a Fine Art Print, a Greeting Card or a Tote Bag I know I can go to Lightroom and create the exact file I need quickly & easliy.
2:1 Zoom into Elizabeth Quay, Perth, Western Australia
Finally a quick 2:1 zoom in Lightroom shows just how much detail is available in such a hi-res image, if you look closely you can even read the “Mini Golf” banner near the entrance to Elizabeth Quay …
Image Details
Location: Perth City from South Perth
Date: 27th November 2017
Time: 5:14pm
No. of Images Stitched: 5
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mk11
Lens: EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
Camera Mode: Manual
Exposure: 1/13 sec at f14
It’s a proven fact that being out in nature is great for your mental and physical health.
While you won’t get the full health benefit from our range of prints and photo gifts they are always a great reminder of where you’d rather be.
So be sure to check out our range of Fine Art Prints at madcat.com.au and our unique photo gifts (scarves, wall tapestries, beach towels, tote bags and much more) at madaboutwa.com.au.
Afternoon City Glow, Perth City Skyline, Western Australia
We live in one of the cleanest & most beautiful cities in the world here in Perth and we think it’s time to showcase just how amazing the Perth City Skyline is.
We are currently in the enviable position of having access to a flat on Millpoint Road in South Perth with stunning views of the Perth City Skyline throughout the day. It never ceases to amaze me how much the colour & quality of light changes as the hours and days go by.
In this series of posts I’ll be showcasing unique images of the Perth City Skyline in all it’s glory and variety.
Afternoon City Glow, Perth City Skyline, Western Australia – Lightroom
This first image was taken last week just before sunset. There were plenty of clouds in the sky with many gaps through which the sun streamed as it approached the horizon.
I had my camera mounted on a tripod oriented vertically with my 70-200mm lens set to 70mm. The plan was to take a series of images and stitch them together in Lightroom to make a very high resolution image, it turned out to be 35MP in this instance. I set my camera up to take 3 bracketed images for each shot as the dynamic range looked liked a potential problem. Ironically I ended up only using the first image from each set, the dynamic range of modern camera’s has come a long way but it never hurts to be safe 🙂
Blowup of Elizabeth Quay from the Final 35MP Image to Show the Detail
To the West of the city the golden sun was filtered through the clouds providing a surreal golden glow that slowly faded towards the East into the cooler blue tones. The difference from one side to the other was enormous and simply breathtaking.
Afternoon City Glow, Perth City Skyline, Western Australia – Original
Replicating such an effect can be very tricky in Post Processing, what starts out as a living atmospheric glow as light bounces of particles in the air all around you simply becomes a flat dull haze when the image is first loaded into Lightroom. You can see from the original image above there there was not a lot of “magic” to it at all.
As always Lightroom did a great job of the initial processing which I then transferred to ON1 Photo Raw to add some effects and then into Photoshop for some final touches and to create my “Master File” for this image.
Afternoon City Glow, Perth City Skyline, Western Australia – ON1 Photo RAW
Image Details
Location: Perth City from South Perth
Date: 4th July 2017
Time: 5:32pm
No. of Images Stitched: 7
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mk11
Lens: EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
Camera Mode: Manual
Exposure: 1/25 sec at f11
It’s a proven fact that being out in nature is great for your mental and physical health.
While you won’t get the full health benefit from our range of prints and photo gifts they are always a great reminder of where you’d rather be.
So be sure to check out our range of Fine Art Prints at madcat.com.au and our unique photo gifts (scarves, wall tapestries, beach towels, tote bags and much more) at madaboutwa.com.au.
We heard that there are some baby Swans around Lake Wagardu in Yanchep National Park so we took a trip out there for our daily walk, sadly the Swans were a no-show but we did get to see a lot of other bird life around the Lake.
Abundant Bird Life, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Wester Australia
If you look closely at the above image you can see a Pelican and numerous other wading birds and ducks going about their daily business. The Park really is a natural wonder 🙂
Hungry Duck, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia
One thing Yanchep National park has in abundance is Ducks!
When we sat on a park bench to eat our lunch three Pacific Black Ducks waddled on over to see if they could get some crumbs. One was immediately chased off by the other two, obviously he wasn’t part of the “In-Crowd”!
Luckily for the Ducks we know more about what is good for them than they do so they weren’t very lucky in the food department. It is really important not to feed Ducks or any other wild animals as it can upset the balance of nature as well as causing serious health problems according to the Department of Parks & Wildlife.
The first couple of Duck shots weren’t quite so sharp, something to do with having a shutter speed of 1/40th sec I suspect 😳 However, you can get some interesting shots of animals with slow shutter speeds sometimes, the first 2 photos I took looked like the Duck was shaking and nodding his head …
Duck Says No, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia
Duck Says Yes, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia
Maybe he was just going Quackers
Being Spring there were also a lot of incredibly cute Ducklings around this extended family of Australian Wood Ducks were gorgeous …
Duckling Creche, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia
Spring Ducklings, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia
Ducklings On Watch, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia
These two Pacific Black Ducklings cuddled up by the Lake were pretty damn cute too …
Twin Ducklings, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia
While on our walk around the lake I spotted this awesome carving on one of the tree stumps, no idea who did it but it looked cool.
Kangaroo Carving, Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia
Hopefully we’ll spot the Swan’s Cygnets on our next trip to the Park.
All of these images were processed in Lightroom CC & ON1 Photo 10 & Photoshop CC. You can download free trials of these programs or purchase them from the links below:
We went for a bush walk in Whiteman Park last week and spotted these two Twenty-Eight Parrots having lunch while being cleverly camouflaged by the yellow Daisies.
Twenty-Eight Having Lunch in the Daisies, Whiteman Park, Perth, Western Australia
Twenty-Eight Standing Tall in the Daisies, Whiteman Park, Perth, Western Australia
Whilst only found in Australia these guys are not considered endangered though they do compete for nesting space in the south west with the introduced Rainbow Lorikeets.
According to noongarculture.org.au the Twenty-Eight Parrot or darlmoorluk is the ‘guardian or protector of the camps’, not that that stopped them from being eaten when the need was high 🙂
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