Eastern Longfin Goby on the sandy bottom
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/10 and 1/320 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)

Wonders of life under shallow water - Beautiful Narooma Part 5, Summer 2022/23

Jon Steinbeck March 21, 2023

Exploring even the shallow waters of Wagonga Inlet around Lewis Island were filled with so much interesting life. Little fish and other creatures occupied the waters, including those areas that were dry at low tide but underwater when the tide was in. There were many Eastern Longfin Gobies that were so much smaller than me but barely paid me any attention. Intuitively, they somehow knew that I was too large to see them as a meal. Despite their superb camouflage they also possessed some colours that the sunlight brought out because it was able to penetrate these shallow waters.

Red Fingered Marsh Crab on the bent trunk of a Grey Mangrove
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])

Admiring the beauty of a mangrove ecosystem - Currambene Creek NSW, January 2022

Jon Steinbeck January 18, 2022

Mangrove habitats are such fascinating ecosystems because they straddle the worlds of land and water because of tidal movements. I was fortunate in January 2022 to have time to head down to the ever beautiful Jervis Bay where I ignored the stunning white beaches because I was heading for the wonderful Currambene Creek to explore a mangrove habitat. Although the beaches of Jervis Bat are deservedly famous for their beauty I was captivated by being among the mangrove trees. I was captivated by the life in the habitat, especially the crabs. The Red Fingered Marsh Crab has such striking colours with its lime green carapace contrasting with its red claws. I was fascinated to see these crabs moving on the exposed trunks of the mangrove trees. Even more fascinating, was when I approached the trees, the crabs did not head into the water but they shot up the trees to holes and crevices higher up in the trunks, well above the hide tide mark. While it was not significant behaviour it still brought home to me how this habitat provided for different creatures in a variety of ways and how much I enjoyed drifting between the crooked trunks of those amazing trees. I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.

Chestnut Teal male swimming on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day morning
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 286mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])

Ducks and other beautiful harbour wildlife - Sydney Harbour, December 2021

Jon Steinbeck January 1, 2022

Many decades ago I grew up in Sydney, where I spent a lot of time playing on and under the harbour, and ducks were not something that I remember in that body of water from my childhood. However, on Boxing Day 2021 I was on Sydney Harbour in my trusty Riot Brittany 16.5 blue kayak photographing an Australasian Darter on Shark Island’s rocks when I heard a long splash in the water behind me. In the initial milisecond after hearing the disturbance in the water my mind’s processing of that noise made me think it was a shark but when I quickly looked around I was relieved to see that a pair of Chestnut Teals had just skimmed to a landing on the surface behind my kayak. I was not really expecting to see teals on Sydney Harbour. As I wrote above, I had grown up around the harbour, where I had done a lot of paddling, snorkelling and scuba diving and I don’t recall seeing ducks on the harbour. Now I was back there on a vacation so I was surprised to see the Chestnut Teals calmly swimming past my kayak on the harbour. Those awesome birds were just one example of the natural beauty that can still be found around the busy shore of Sydney Harbour. While the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House are the world famous icons of the harbour city, I am glad that the wildlife is still there, surviving among the human activities in a busy harbour. While it was only a few days, I really enjoyed the short time back in Sydney, having an opportunity to kayak on and snorkel in Sydney Harbour. I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.

Little Black Cormorant swimming in the Shoalhaven River looking for food
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])

Beautiful coastal wildlife under overcast skies - NSW South Coast, December 2021

Jon Steinbeck December 18, 2021

Canberra is a lovely city but I also like the coast, especially the variety of wildlife there. So, with the easing of the COVID restrictions in New South Wales (NSW), like a lot of Canberrans, we wanted a break down the coast. The weather was not forecast to be the best, with the rain and clouds having blanketed the southeast corner of NSW for most of November, and no sign of beautiful weather on the horizon for early December. That meant we had to make do with the weather at hand. We had a very simple plan, to drive down for a lunch at Narooma. Then follow the Princes Highway north for dinner and accommodation at Mollymook before continuing the next day through to Jervis Bay and the Greenwell Point area. Even though this was more of a family getaway I still took my camera because I wanted the chance to photograph, even with a compalining family telling me to hurry up. I am glad that I did take my camera, even if I was only pairing it wth my trusty go to lens, the Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM. I also viewed only having one lens as a challenge to see what compositions I could achieve across the two days. Even with that self-imposed restriction I was thrilled to be able to capture some of the lovely wildlife that we saw, including a Little Black Cormorant on our second day that was looking for food in the Shoalhaven River. The two day trip was a great little rest and I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.

Little Pied Cormorant looking for food from the top of a dead tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1000 SEC])

An ecosystem in an enclosed estuarine lake - Durras Lake, October 2021

Jon Steinbeck November 9, 2021

Canberra was in lockdown for about two months during 2021 but with the easing of restrictions it was time to head back to the coast to see some different scenery. I thought that it would be nice to return to Durras Lake for a kayak and to see what wildlife I could find to photograph. I like Durras Lake because it is shallow so I can enjoy looking at what is beneath me, and it has some flooded terrain where is it is nice to glide through in a kayak. I was hoping to see some nice things to photograph as well as to use my underwater camera housing. I was not disappointed in either case with a number of birds around and the water temperature making snorkelling pleasant. The trip was a wonderful way to mark the end of lockdown with some beautiful natural things to see. I hope that you like the photographs below.

Common Stingaree under a rock ledge at Parsley Bay(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 1600, 35mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port) — Common Stingaree under a rock ledge at Parsley Bay
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 1600, 35mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)

First underwater photography and other shots around Sydney in April 2021

Jon Steinbeck April 11, 2021

Over a year previously, in March 2020, I purchased an Aquatech Elite II underwater housing for my Canon EOS 7D Mark II. I had been inspired to try underwater photography by looking at the amazing photos from under the sea and I really wanted to be able to take some shots myself. However, that was when COVID-19 really hit, and just like so many other people, I had to pause my plans. In December 2020, I thought that I would be able to finally use the kit during the Christmas holidays but a new COVID outbreak in Sydney meant we could not go there at that time. So, it was finally at Easter this year that we visited Sydney and while my family slept I headed down to one of my favourite harbour beaches, Parsley Bay, to take an initial foray into underwater photography. I sucked! However, I gained a lot of experience and I knew why people take the effort to shoot photographs underwater, there was so much to photograph. I was hooked and I am looking forward to taking more photographs so that I can hopefully improve. I realise that it will be a while before I am taking decent underwater photographs so to ensure that this post is not too disappointing I have also included below some aerial shots from Nielsen Park and as well as some shots from a garden in Sydney. I hope that you like the photographs below.