O’Malley Pond seemed like a good place to go to try to find macro subjects so I could continue to practice with my new lens. I had been there in warmer weather, when the insect and spider life was abundant. I was hoping the winter months may still find a number of spiders and insects around, I was wrong. I was not upset as I had a nice time nonetheless photographing Australian Wood Ducks and I also practiced my landscape photography thanks to a dead tree in the water. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
Dead tree on a fog covered O’Malley Pond
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 200, 40mm, f/8.0 and 1/40 SEC])
The same dead tree from a different angle with the rising sun reflected in the water
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 200, 40mm, f/8.0 and 1/125 SEC])
The same dead tree from a third angle later in the morning
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/60 SEC])
Frost-covered curled leaves
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 200, 40mm, f/8.0 and 1/20 SEC])
There was a group of about 10 Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata) on O’Malley Pond. When I approached the pond they stayed on the water but slowly moved away from me. Some of them were dipping their bills into the water as they were swimming. They eventually swam to the north-west end of the lake where there was a structure. Some fo the birds climbed onto the structure with one female flying to the top. That area received sun earlier than the other parts of the pond, so they were in the sun while I was still firmly in the shade.
Australian Wood Ducks on a structure in O’Malley Pond
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 286mm, f/8.0 and 1/50 SEC])
An Austral Ellipsidion cockroach (Ellipsidion australe) nymph made an appearance on a shrub in my garden when I was at home later on that Sunday. It was up on a leaf, crawling towards the stem. The cockroach was a good excuse to play around with my new macro lens. This is a day time species of cockroach and it does not like being in houses. It is also probably not a scavenger, rather it most likely feeds on fungus, pollen and other similar small matter.
An Austral Ellipsidion cockroach nymph
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)