tessa_murray

tessa_murray, 10 months ago to PetBirds

When I first started using a telephoto lens to photograph teeny tiny leeetle birds I felt like I was being transported into a magical miniature world. Today took me right back to those wonder filled first experiences, but with a bit more technique to back it up. It looks like this superb fairy-wren is standing watch over a little fairy garden. #birds #birdphotography #nature

tessa_murray, 8 months ago to PetBirds

The blue on these guys has to be seen to be believed. He's not quite in full breeding plumage (or he just forgot about the white spots on his chest) but he certainly was keeping very busy chasing the ladies around. White-winged Fairy-wren at Mindarie today #birds #birdphotography #nature

tessa_murray, 8 months ago to spiders

And these are of Mr Handsome Pants doing his sexy dance. I only have a cobbled together macro set up using a 50 mm lens with a 35 mm extension tube and no fancy flash or ring diffusers. This means I get an incredibly narrow depth of field - and even though the spiders are only a few mm in size I can't quite get the head and body in focus. I could try focus stacking - but it's Spring and all my spare time must be spent outside enjoying nature - not computer screens 😁 #spiders #peacockspiders #nature #macro #photography

A peacock spider (M gummier) in partial dance mode. His brightly coloured abdomen is lifted but not completely flared and 2 palps are extended out laterally.
He is now side on to the camera and his abdomen is fully flared showing the peacock like colours
He is now full on to the camera and his abdomen is fully flared showing the peacock like colours

tessa_murray, 9 months ago to random

I had to lie in a puddle to get this, and it was much colder than the sunshine suggests! Glossy Ibis (yes, again).

tessa_murray, 3 months ago to random

Still on the early morning silhouettes - this is a white faced heron that conveniently flew in and landed right in front of the sunny patch.

A silhouette of a just landed heron against and orange sky / water background. Its wings are still outspread and there are water droplets at it's feet.

tessa_murray, 1 month ago to random

Ok - we're going to take a nice family photo here, so if you could all just sit on the branch and look straight at the camera please. Oh, a few cousins want to joint in - yeah sure, just snuggle up and if we can all be looking straight at the camera please. The camera - just look at the damn camera would you. Um, Jerry, get back on the branch please. Thanks, and now looking at the camera. Please! Oh, F you all.

tessa_murray, 8 months ago to random

Just because people like floofy things 🙂. It's not high art. It's not serious ornithological study. But there are really really cute. These are Australian Shellduck-lings and there were 12 of them keeping Mum very busy and her and Dad were vigilantly trying to drown every other water bird that dared enter their "bit" of lake. The sun was lowering behind them creating lovely backlighting on the fluffy bits.

2 duckling side on to the camera with the same lighting as the previous picture
7 ducklings, 5 of which have their bums up and turned to the camera (poorly focused) and 2 at the front who are side on with their heads up

tessa_murray, 8 months ago to Birds

This is a male purple-backed fairy-wren. I think these are the most shy of our WA fairy-wrens. They often like to be near water and tend to be a little bit quieter and more hidden than the blue ones or the red-winged version. I caught this guy as he went down to drink, then lost sight of him and had to wait and wait. I was just about to leave when he popped out for a second before disappearing back into the bushes. #birds #birdphotography #nature

tessa_murray, 6 months ago to Birds

If you don't like pictures of rainbow bee-eaters you are weird, and probably should stop following me now because there may be a few more coming 😆 #birds #birdphotography

tessa_murray, 11 months ago to PetBirds

These are pied stilts. They come to "my" lake (Herdsman) in Summer, sometimes in BIG numbers and then they tend to leave over Winter so it was quite a pleasant surprise to find this group in what is otherwise a bit of a quiet time for birds here. #birds #birdphotography #nature

tessa_murray, 17 days ago to random

Hop Hop Hop. No-one wanted to stay still for me today.

A Female red-winged fairy wren walking along a concrete border.
A male western (golden) whistler) just hopping out from behind a tree trunk

tessa_murray, 1 year ago to random

No it's not in perfect focus. Do you know how fast these things take off! Sacred kingfisher with a bit of tidying in lightroom - photo taken at ISO 25600 1/2000s 700mm so pretty happy to get the feathers even if the eye isn't sharp. #birds #birdphotography #nature

tessa_murray, 3 months ago to Birds

Another day too hot to do anything. So I got up before sunrise and watched the birds getting ready for their day. This pied stilt is washing her hair. #birds#birdphotography

tessa_murray, 5 months ago to Birds

(apologies to anyone in the Northern hemisphere). Today a friend and I went looking for swimming ospreys. The problem with ospreys is that they can spend a LONG time not really doing much, so we spent almost 4 hours waiting on a beach on sparkling white sand looking at the crystal blue waters and eventually the juvenile came down for a bath. This shot was taken from only a few metres away as these birds are very very comfortable in the presence of humans at the moment. There are many many worse ways to waste a few hours. #birds #birdphotography

tessa_murray, 3 months ago to Birds

2 juvenile rainbow bee-eaters taken this evening. About 5m apart but 1 in sunlight, 1 in shadow. Such completely different moods #birds #birdphotography

A juvenile bee eater on a branch in a shaded area. The colours are now all soft greens and pink tinged.

tessa_murray, 2 months ago to random

I've never successfully uploaded video to mastodon - if it works this is the black shouldered kite hovering in slow motion. It is remarkable to watch how still they keep their heads

A black shouldered kite hovering in the air whilst scanning the ground for potential prey

tessa_murray, 7 months ago to nature

Something a bit different - these are bluebottles blown onto shore by a blustery wind. In the ocean they sting, but on the sand with the sunlight streaming through their sails they are exquisitely beautiful. #nature #photography #bluebottle

3 images of blue bottle jellyfish stranded on a white sand beach. The sail is finely veined and mostly translucent, whilst the body is a vivid blue jelly like structure. 2 images are side on and the 3rd is taken from above.
3 images of blue bottle jellyfish stranded on a white sand beach. The sail is finely veined and mostly translucent, whilst the body is a vivid blue jelly like structure. 2 images are side on and the 3rd is taken from above.

tessa_murray, 2 months ago to random

Birding is still appalling in Perth - we had a few days of rain (and atrocious light) and then the rain went away and it got stupid hot again. So there's about a 1 hr window just after sunrise when the birds are still active and they spend the rest of their time hiding in shadows or just doing nothing. Here is a black shoulder kite hovering against a dawn sky and it is actually the best photo I've taken for 2 weeks. 😂

tessa_murray, 1 month ago to Birds

Normally, when I find a perched raptor and wait 20 minutes for it to do something I lose patience and lower my camera just before the critical moment, or my camera suddenly finds a little twig or leaf far more interesting to focus on than the bird. Or the bird takes off away from me and I only get bum shots. Today none of these things happened and I am so happy. This bird is now very tolerant of photographers and merely flew about 10 metres to a shadier tree just behind me. #birds #birdphotography

tessa_murray, 2 months ago to Birds

This one is a red-eared fire tail finch. They are small, shy, fast and like to stay in shady patches so getting a photo wasn't easy. I also needed to lie down in an area with copious kangaroo poo to get this shot. I think he's pretty enough to justify the challenges! #birds #birdphotography

tessa_murray, 1 month ago to Birds

Normally a very hard bird to photograph! (for me anyway) This is one of many that were hanging around the Stirling Range Retreat campground this weekend -- probably because they put water out for the birds and the rest of the region is extremely dry at the moment. This was just adjacent to the bird bath, their normal behaviour puts them high up in trees or they are extremely wary of humans when near to the ground and do not generally tolerate being approached. Regent Parrot. #birds #birdphotography

tessa_murray, 3 months ago to Birds

Australia's most under-rated bird to photograph - the purple swamp-hen is actually far prettier than most of our parrots or fairy-wrens but because they're so common we tend to walk past them. Here's a rare flight shot on a golden lake at dawn. #birds #birdphotography

tessa_murray, 1 month ago to Birds

I went out today to take photos of these guys - Western Spinebills. Unfortunately, Yanchep was infested with large, noisy (endangered) Carnaby's Cockatoos so I took over a thousand pictures of them and only managed about 8 of the target species - who apparently does not feel comfortable sharing space with a bird 50 times it's size, even if that bird does only eat honky nuts. #birds #birdphotography

tessa_murray, 5 days ago to Birds

The number 1 rule of photography is to capture the things that give you joy. I went to the lake tonight, I missed the best light and thought I wouldn't get anything good. But it was warm, and peaceful and as the sun sank the water turned pink and the pied stilts came across the shore right in front of me and I thought it was beautiful so I took some photos of them and their reflections. I've had to apply some serious de-noising as these photos were taken in the almost dark and I've also taken the liberty of removing some little black splodges that were marring the mirror perfect water. I think these give a good FEEL of the serenity of the moment, although obviously I can't capture the whole experience of sunset outdoors on an unseasonably warm Autumn night. #birds #birdphotography

A pied stilt hunting through a pink hued sunset lake. There are a few drops of water falling from it's bill and it's red legs make crazy geometric shapes with their own reflections.
A pied stilt facing the camera with it's bill and legs merging with those of it's reflection.

tessa_murray, 5 days ago to Birds

If you like my photos I give you more! Another Pied Stilt enjoying the sunset and taking the opportunity to have a little bath. It was pretty close to dark when I took this photo and it is only due to the wonders of modern technology (cameras that can shoot at massive ISO and de-noise technology to clean up afterwards) that I can take a photo in such low light AND still freeze water droplets - I could barely see the birds without the camera - but I could still see the colours of the water (and sky). #birds #birdphotography