Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 9 July 2024.
(Recent Posts, Top Posts, Subscribe and Search at bottom of page. Clicking image doubles size (on PC). Trip summary and posts . . . . . . ..)
.
Eastern Great Egret.
On our last full day on Kangaroo Island was fairly leisurely with visits to a few nearby locations. This is at South West River, Hanson Bay.
.
.
.
. 
Hanson Bay.
Can you see the cormorant at the end of the squarish rock outcrop in middle distance? Umm. Maybe not.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. 
Cormorant, Hanson Bay.
Here it is though, taken from the same viewpoint as the previous image. It’s a Great Cormorant, which is kind of appropriate because it’s in a great location. There is also the head of a silver gull poking up above the rocks on the left, that you will just be able to see.
I took this with a very long telephoto (1260mm full-frame equivalent) and the previous image with a wide angle lens (35mm).
.
.
.
. 
Rocky River.
We are now behind the old temporary visitors’ centre. This is potentially a place to see platypuses though likely in low light with a lot of patience. (The plural of platypus is not platypi because the name comes from Greek, not Latin).
.
.
.
. 
Large xanthorrhea, Rocky River.
In flower, this would have a spectacular stalk.
.
.
.
. 
Rock formation, Rocky River.
We are still on the Rocky River, but about six kilometres downstream and approaching the coast. We are now on the Snake Lagoon Track.
.
.
.
. 
Lots of interesting strata and formations in the river itself.
.
.
.
. 
.
.
.
. 
Eroded cliff on the other side of the valley.
.
.
.
. 
I suppose this beach must be Snake Lagoon.
We didn’t see any snakes. The only snakes on Kangaroo Island are the Black Tiger Snake and the Pygmy Copperhead. Most of the top ten dangerous snakes in the World are found in Australia and number three, the Eastern Brown Snake, lives over the back fence where we live in Canberra and occasionally comes into the yard. That doesn’t mean snakes are particularly dangerous because we are not their prey and they don’t have good capacity to deliver their poison to us. The most dangerous animals in Australia, in other words causing the most deaths, are in order: horses, cows, dogs, kangaroos, bees and sharks. Only then comes snakes, with 14 deaths in the last ten years, as against 77 for horses. You are also nearly a thousand times more likely to die in a road accident than from snakebite..
.
.
.
. 
Getting closer….
.
.
.
. 
Rocks and sea.
If you click on the image for a larger view, you can see Cape du Couedic Lighthouse on the headland in the distance. That’s where we had to return to.
.
.
.
. 
Rocks and spray at the west end of the beach.
.
.
.
. 
Last look at the south end of the beach.
.
.
.
.
Murray Foote 
Hi Murray,
Thank you for sharing your great photos with us.
Q. How you manage to move around with all your ‘heavy’ gears? Do you carry them yourself, or have somebody to do it for you??
Thanks for replying.
Regards,
Waldemar
LikeLike
Thanks very much Waldemar.
I carry them myself. I have sometimes in the past ten years carried as much as 20kg of camera gear. Then it’s essential that you have a very good quality pack. Usually it’s not close to that. My last overseas trip to Sabah (both Nikon and Fuji) I carried just over 15kg in camera gear and the previous one to Ladakh (just Fuji) it was 10kg. (Plus 2.2kg for tripod if I’m using that).
But this time I was operating out of the car and I wanted to compare different cameras and telephoto options for Nikon and Fuji, so I took everything I might use and didn’t carry much at any one time.
LikeLike
Hi Murray,
Thank you for your prompt reply.
I do admire you for daring, strong body to be able to carry all these great photo gears indeed. This is my problem for I cannot carry much of my great Nikon, Fuji gear at all. I got a trolley, and sometimes I put my photo bag on it and drag the trolley behind me. But even dragging the trolley is a problem for me. Similar to this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1115067-REG/sachtler_sa1001_snaplock_trolley_system.html Not the same, but similar. I bought it from B&H Photo in N.Y.
Often, as a result of my carrying limitations I take one camera and one lens only with me.
All the best!
Waldemar
LikeLike
Hi Waldemar
I’m approaching 75 and still seemingly in pretty good health. I’ve had health escapes of course and you never know how long it’s going to last. Just got to make the best of it as long as I can.
If you have a look at the images on my Blog from New York in 2011, they were all with a Fuji X100 (fixed 35mm equivalent lens). That was all I took because I wasn’t sure about safety at the time, but still got many successful images. (It turned out there was no safety problem but might have been 20 years earlier).
I also remember there was a French photographer whose name I can’t remember who in old age when he was no longer mobile created still life masterpieces with the objects in his flat. So, I think, inspiration can often overcome all obstacles.
LikeLike
Hi Murray,
It looks like we are the same age!! On20th October I will be 76.
My trolley is shown here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/43600-REG/Remin_S600_Super_600_Cart.html
I used this trolley on my long trip and without it I’d have not been able to have so many photo gears as I had hoped.
The link to Hirsoshi Sugimoto Time Machine Exhibition in Sydney: https://www.mca.com.au/exhibitions/hiroshi-sugimoto-time-machine/
The exhibition is exclusive to Sydney only and will last till 27th October 2024. As you’re living in Canberra you may consider going and see it before it is closed.
Yes, I drove my car to Sydney to see the said exhibition on 8th October, staying in Sydney till 12th October.
Before departure to Sydney I prepared my photo gears: Z9 + 24-70mm f2.8 lens; Z5 (converted to IR) + 17-35mm f2.8 lens plus lens adapter. I planned to take my trolley to enable me easy carrying my heavy photo bag.
However, on the day of departure 8th October in the morning I changed my mind and instead taking the above listed gears, I took Fujifilm X100VI only. I was happy not to have heavy, great cameras, lenses with me but only light, great Fujifilm X100VI camera, plus spares batteries and battery charger with me!!
You wrote: So, I think, inspiration can often overcome all obstacles. Answer: Absolutely, and as the saying goes ‘where there is the will there is the way’.
French photographer, Cartier-Bresson used Leica with 50 mm lens and look at his photos!!! 😊
My friend, Marie (French), used Sony camera with built in 28-105 mm Zeiss lens and did mostly photograph some still life at home. Her photos attracted some professional magazines from Germany who came to her place in France to negotiate buying her photos!!!!!!
All the best.
Waldemar
ps: I forgot to mention you inspired me to take photos of the jazz band in Montsalvat, the place name in Melbourne where once a month a Jazz Band gives out the concert. My first ever pics from such an event you may wish to see here: https://www.facebook.com/waldemar.kruk.3 There are only 4 pics shown there and in each of them I changed the background in which I applied the painting hanging above the heads of the musicians. The original background was simply horrible. Hope you will like them…
LikeLike
Hi Waldemar
I am well aware of the Hirsoshi Sugimoto exhibition and recommended it to a friend just a few days ago. You are quite right, I should consider making the time to see it.
I sold my Fujifilm X100s because since I was already taking three bodies on international trips it was more convenient to use just a Fuji X-E4 and 23mm f2. The X100 series are great cameras though.
My standard Nikon kit is Z6iii plus 14-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.8, 85mm f1.8 and Sigma 135mm f1.8 (F). Depending on the circumstances I may also take a Z6ii, a 300mm f2.8 and sometimes a 16mm f3.5 AI fisheye. I am toying with the idea of replacing the 300mm with a 400mm f4.5 Z which only weighs 1245g rather than 2900g.
I am also starting to wonder whether I should replace my Fuji 150-600mm with the new 500mm f5.6, for image quality rather than weight savings (It is only 1335g but not much different from the 150-600mm at 1605g, about the same diameter and about 20% shorter). These days, I probably take a Fuji-only system for international travel.
Your live music photographs work very well. Looks like they were taken in an art gallery.
Murray
LikeLike
Hi Murray,
Thank you very much for your reply and for liking my pics of the Jazz Musicians!
I cannot believe you take all these great Nikon, Fujifilm gears with you when travelling o/seas!! How it is possible for you to menage carrying all these gears is beyond my imagination and physical strength!!!!
We are the same age, but it looks like you still have a strength of the bear while in my case I hardly manage one camera body and maybe two lenses when on excursions.
Good on you!
I will still use my trolley when taking more than one body and more than one lens with me when going out to shoot some pics.
All the best!!
Waldemar
LikeLike
Hi Murray,
One more thing: Your ‘Remarkable Rocks’ pictures I like very much. I wish I were there to shoot them too.
Have a nice Weekend.
Waldemar
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Waldemar
In part I’m probably lucky I didn’t undertake activities that strained my back when I was young. I keep fit in part through table tennis, about 15 hours per week both social and competition. It’s a sport that’s unique in that one can play from ages of 10 to over 80 on a relatively equal basis.
Regards,
Murray
LikeLike
Maybe thinking of Andre Kertesz?
LikeLiked by 1 person
He is certainly a potential inspiration for creativity and composition but I’m not consciously influenced by him. Thank you for the compliment though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Murray
I meant that in relation to the photographer who took pictures from his window because old age restricted his mobility. I thought maybe Kertesz was the photographer whose name you couldn’t remember.
LikeLike
Ah, OK. I don’t think so. I think it was an earlier period than Kertesz and though Kertesz lived in France for a while I remember this person as French, and living in France in his old age. I checked my photo books and it doesn’t seem to be there.
LikeLike
there were quite a few photographers who kept up the craft once they were no longer mobile…..Gene smith is another, and a bit of research would probably throw up a few more.
Regards
LikeLiked by 1 person