At the start of 2022 the weather in Canberra was anything but summer-like. I even stopped taking my camera with me when I was paddling on Lake Burley Griffin because the light was always bad and the weather meant the lake was never calm. That said, I often regretted not having taken my camera because I would then see a subject I thought would make a lovely photograph. In the end, I was glad that I took my camera with me more often than not because even on the bad mornings I felt I found things that were special, like a pair of Black Swans feeding near the shore where the water reflected their curving necks. It would have been magical if the water was still but it was still a special moment to watch these lovely birds so close to shore. I enjoyed the moment and I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.
I will be honest, photographs of urban and built up areas are not my thing but I couldn’t resist taking some photographs one morning. The light was an overcast greyish dull but that meant there were still street lamps illuminated, which I thought gave an extra dimension to the shot. Sometimes I like to use a square format for the image because I think it constrains the composition without guiding the viewing eye along a obvious path. The shots below were taken along the southern side of the central basin with the temporary venue for a local pub established to take advantage of the alleged summer weather. The other shots were taken in the east basin near Kingston foreshore, which is becoming an area trying to embrace a waterside city experience but it is still not there yet. Which brings me back to my opening about not liking urban shots. I wish the lake did have more preserved natural environs around it but I guess it is hard to preserve such a habitat in a growing city.
Looking east along promenade on the southern side of Lake Burley Griffin’s central basin
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 3200, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/125 SEC])
Bridge connecting the housing sections of the Kingston foreshore at the lake’s eastern end
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 3200, 158mm, f/8.0 and 1/160 SEC])
Pedestrian bridge over a small canal that feeds into the lake from Telopea Park at the south-east end
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 2000, 227mm, f/10 and 1/200 SEC])
Looking west along promenade on the southern side of Lake Burley Griffin’s central basin towards Canberra Tower on top of Black Mountain
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 2000, 158mm, f/13 and 1/250 SEC])
Returning to the shore after one of my paddles I noticed two lovely Black Swans (Cygnus atratus) swimming in the shallow water not far from me. The sky was overcast with a slight breeze rippling the water. There were also rowing boats going that probably kept the swans close to the bank but created small waves across the surface. I wished that the water was stiller because I loved the graceful curve of the swans neck and how it was reflected in the water. I knew that I did not really catch the shot that I wanted but I thought that it was good practice. Still, there was something pleasurable about these two stunning birds, calmly paddling a short distance from me. I probably spent a bit longer watching them then I should have.
Black Swan eating lake weed just under the surface
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
I love taking pictures of Australasian Darters (Anhinga novaehollandiae) and I found this juvenile during one of the paddles. It was in a shaded area on a dead branch poking out of the water. The darter was not certain about me so it was preparing to depart but I kept my distance, allowing it to calm down. Fortunately, I was able to photograph it before I reversed my kayak gently away from its perch. Because these birds tend to be solitary it is more common to come across individuals around the lake rather than groups.
Australasian Darter juvenile
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
One morning, after finishing a paddle, I was enjoying the Silver Gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) flying low over the water near where I was standing. I took a few photographs to practice my in flight photography. Of all the shots, the one I most liked was of this juvenile because of the brown colouration on the wing, which will disappear when the bird is an an adult.
Silver Gull juvenile flying into land
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/11 and 1/800 SEC])
Another bird that I couldn’t ignore was a Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) that was patrolling the shore near where my car was parked. This bird, or another of this species, often wanders along the shoreline picking at the vegetation. There is a substantial bunch of reeds nearby where it probably roosts of a night time. There was still a lot of shadows over this area so I could not get the bird in great light but I thought that this semi profile shot seemed to show off the detail in the beak and feathers.
Purple Swamphen
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1250, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
While the lighting on those early summer mornings was not the best due to overcast skies, I still enjoyed taking photographs. Some of the location shots had a different mood because of the lighting. I suspected even the photographs of the birds in the overcast conditions also brought out a different character in the animals. Even though the weather was not always great I did enjoy being on the lake and it was often worthwhile having a camera to capture some of those moments that occurred when animals were just going about their normal lives.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory has on offer. All the best until the next post.