Squirrels and books, two of my favorite things in the world 😍. Happy World Book Day!
Favorite Photos: March 2024
When you and your mate have a disagreement and need to settle it like true Aussies 🇦🇺🥊😂. I always wanted to photograph boxing kangaroos, and one February evening, I was finally lucky enough to find a pair of joeys sparring playfully while the sun was going down. (And the light disappeared quickly; I had to bump up the ISO to 12.800 to freeze the action in low light).
Another joey, grooming itself, same magical evening. So cute!
White-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) photographed at the wildlife sanctuary created by Ecopia Retreat on Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
A wild bottlenose dolphin emerges from the sea to breathe, expelling stale air through the blowhole on top of its head before inhaling fresh air.
This is the first time I’ve photographed dolphins, and it took me a while to figure out the best way to do it. Unfortunately, they disappeared before I could perfect my newfound technique. Nevertheless, I’m grateful for this fantastic experience!
Photographed off the North Coast of Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
I was fortunate enough to come across this rare eastern osprey (Pandion haliaetus cristatus), also known as the fish hawk, on Hanson Bay beach in Kangaroo Island (South Australia) in February 2024.
Unfortunately, they are a rare sight nowadays. They are listed as vulnerable in South Australia, and only 50 breeding pairs are estimated to be left in the region.
Sadly, human activities such as coastal development and competition for food with fishing production negatively impact their nesting sites and breeding.
I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.
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My First Photo Contest (and the Result)
I’m thrilled to announce that my photo of this adorable Kangaroo Island kangaroo and her joey was a finalist in the 2023 Pangolin Wildlife Photography Challenge‘s “Animal Behaviour” category.
I captured this photo while on a trip to Kangaroo Island, a beautiful and unique place in South Australia. It is my absolute favorite photo of the year, and it’s an honor to have it recognized among so many beautiful entries.
Watching the mother take care of her little one was amazing; they had such a special bond! Witnessing moments like these is what makes wildlife photography so special to me.
The kangaroos in the photo are Kangaroo Island kangaroos, a subspecies of the Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus). Because of their long period of isolation from mainland Australia, the KI kangaroos are pretty different from the Western Grey kangaroos. They’re shorter, darker, and much cuter if you ask me!
This was my first time entering a photo contest, and I’m thrilled to have made it among the finalists. So many talented photographers and beautiful photos were submitted, and I’m honored to be included among them. Thanks to everyone who supported me!
I hope this photo helps remind people of how important it is to protect and preserve our wildlife and helps to raise awareness and appreciation for these amazing animals. Every animal has a unique story and deserves to be appreciated and respected.
Here are all the finalists; my photo is at 5:31 minutes in the video. And on the video cover 😉.
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Favorite Photos: February 2024
Two young Kangaroo Island kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) practicing their boxing skills.
Wait, what? Kangaroos? Does it mean that I’ve been to Australia again?
Indeed I was, and too short a time it was! Three weeks on Kangaroo Island flew by in the blink of an eye, and now I’m back home, sorting through thousands of photos. I’ve just started, so it’ll take some time until I’m done and can begin processing the best photos.
I love this photo because it was the first time I’d seen boxing kangaroos, and managed to take a few pictures in that golden light.
We were on our way to Seal Bay for a 7am appointment with the research team when we came across these sheep grazing peacefully as the sun rose. Everything was bathed in gold; it was breathtaking.
Unfortunately, we were in a hurry and couldn’t afford to stop for too long. I literally jumped out of the car and quickly took a few photos, hoping some would be good enough 😅.
This may not be a masterpiece, but I love it. It has so many things I love: the golden light, the kangaroos, the grass tree to the left, and the flowering eucalyptus to the right.
The composition could be better, and I did move around a lot, trying to get a better angle, but the roos were skittish, and this is the best I could do.
I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.
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Protecting Our Planet’s Precious Wildlife: Celebrating Wildlife Day
Today, March 3rd, marks World Wildlife Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of protecting our precious wildlife. It was Steve Irwin who once said, “If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.”
Now, this is my mission, too. Share beautiful photographs of the amazing creatures we share our planet with, share my wildlife, and touch people’s hearts. Because humans want to save things they love.
March 3rd is World Wildlife Day, but every day should be wildlife day. We share this Earth with other living beings, and the topic of animal rights isn’t just about animals; it’s also about us. Let’s build a world where both animals and humans can thrive. Animals also have a right to live free lives unharmed and unexploited.
As Emmanuel Kant famously said, “He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” This is a powerful message that reminds us that the way we treat animals reflects who we are as a society.
So, on this World Wildlife Day, let us celebrate the beauty of our planet’s wildlife and remember that it is our responsibility to protect it. Let us work towards building a world where both animals and humans can coexist in harmony.
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Favorite Photos: January 2024
Another year, another month, other photos. I took this photo of a calla back in July when there was plenty of natural light. I usually take a lot of shots during spring and summer, which I can later edit during the long, dark winter days.
For this particular photo, I decided to give it a cool edit to complement the winter season.
Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), winter edition. I love how the few remaining leaves poke through the snow and add a splash of color to the wintery scene.
Wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea) striking a pose. Nuthatches have such a graceful way of landing and taking off, pausing for a few seconds while posing like a model on the catwalk!
I photographed this common redpoll female (Acanthis flammea) back in 2022 but only got around to processing it now. When I looked through my photo library for an image to edit, I realized I hadn’t seen many redpoles last year. I’m not sure why. I do hope they’ll return that year; they’re so beautiful and always fun to photograph, especially the males; they have pink breasts!
Blackbird female (T. merula). I shot this in the darkest December last year at ISO 12.800. It was 11am, and the brightest light you could get was some kind of grayish twilight. You wait and wait for the daylight to appear, and then, suddenly, the sun starts to set, and it gets dark again.
As mentioned above, I rarely shoot in November/December because it’s too dark. As you can see, you can still get beautiful photos, but I find it’s too much work; it’s not worth it. I ran the image through Topaz Photo AI to reduce the noise and then Nik Color Effex to retrieve some feather details.
To get away shooting in low light with a high ISO, you do need to shoot to the right (of the histogram), as noise hides in the darker areas. It helps if you have a lens with a large aperture (f/2.8 or F/4) to let in more light, but unfortunately, I don’t. My Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens’ largest aperture is f/7.1 at 500mm.
On the other hand, problems are good; they force you to get creative and work around them. As I always say, creativity thrives on constraints. Look past the issues and see the opportunities!
As an avid birdwatcher and photographer, I always try to capture the beauty and grace of these magnificent creatures. Birds are fascinating creatures that come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and taking their photos can be a challenging yet rewarding experience.
Overall, these photos are just a tiny glimpse into the incredible beauty of the natural world. By taking pictures like these and sharing them with others, I hope to inspire a love and appreciation for nature that will hopefully last for generations.
I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.
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Favorite Photos: December 2023
Scaly-breasted lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus). I love parrots, and this one was so much fun to photograph! It didn’t sit still for a moment, jumping nosily around as these parrots do, but it did take a break for a few seconds, and I was ready with the camera!
I photographed this Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) on my January 2023 trip to Kangaroo Island but haven’t edited it until now. Many believe they’re a feral species introduced to Australia, similar to foxes or hares. But these ibises are, in fact, native Australian birds.
A cute tiny blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) stopped by and posed so nicely for me. A blue tit weighs around 11-12 grams. A lot of attitude in such a tiny package, wouldn’t you say?
And a couple of squirrels, of course! A good ending to the year.
I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.
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Favorite Photos: November 2023
Baltic Sea reflections. I hoped to photograph some beautiful swans that day, but they were nowhere to be found.
Instead, I stumbled upon the most breathtaking reflection of pine trees and birches in the sea, which looked like a Monet painting. I tried to do justice to that feeling in the editing.
A macro shot I haven’t gotten to process until now, a tiny snail peering down over the edge of a coneflower. I usually take lots of photos during spring and summer, when the light is good in Sweden, and then process many of them during late autumn and winter when there’s hardly any light. It’s a way of reducing my frustration during that dark time and enjoying spring and summer again.
This is another shot from the archives that I just processed. I had almost deleted it. It wasn’t a bad photo, but there wasn’t anything special about it. Something about it made me give it a three-star rating and keep it to try processing it on a rainy day. Now I’m glad I did; I love it!
Another photo from the archives, a European honey bee feeding on an allium flower.
This November has been one of the darkest I can remember, and the snow came first at the end of the month. I use only natural light, so taking photos this time of the year is a challenge. The sun goes up around 8am, and it starts getting dark at 2pm already this time of the year. Unless it’s sunny or snow, there’s no real light in between, just some kind of grey curtain hanging over the world. On heavy overcast days (and we had many of these this month), you wait and wait for the daylight until you realize it’s getting dark again!
I’m glad I still have many photos left to process. Other people may be stressed by having many unprocessed photos, but I don’t. I know November will come, you see.
What a difference some snow makes! It acts like a giant reflector, hides messy backgrounds and dampens colors.
I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.
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Favorite Photos: October 2023
Autumn has never looked more stunning than at Millesgården. The vibrant colors of the garden are simply breathtaking, and that Lensbaby Velvet 85 lens creates the most delicious blur and bokeh. Can you believe this is a real place?
I usually use my Canon RF50mm F1.2 L USM lens at Millesgården or the Canon RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM one, but this time, I wanted to test my new toy, the Velvet 85. I bought it for flowers and still-life photos, but I was curious about other images.
All Lensbaby lenses use only manual focus, so it’s best to take lots of photos to make sure you nail the focus – especially when shooting at large apertures, as I do. I love to shoot for the blur, and I usually love F/1.8 to F/2.8, but I noticed that F/2.8 to f/4 works best for me when using a Lensbaby – for flowers.
It turned out that F/2.8 is the only aperture I love for this type of photo. F/1.8 is wonderful; the blur is insanely soft, but it only suits some photos, and getting the focus is really tricky. F/4 and up is fine; it’s pretty easy to focus, but as more of the background comes into focus, some of the magic disappears. Hence, F/2.8.
Another shot from Millesgården. It is such a magical place in the autumn! This is the statue of St. Martin on the lower terrace.
Millesgården was the home of Swedish sculptor Carl Milles (1875 – 1955); he designed and built it, and it is now a museum with Milles’ antique collection, sculpture garden, and art gallery. The garden is inspired by Italy’s Mediterranean gardens, and it’s a work of art in itself. Carl Milles and his Austrian wife Olga, an artist herself, spent the winters in Italy that both loved.
Squirrels! As soon as there are fewer squirrel photos on my Instagram or Facebook accounts, someone will wonder where the squirrels are. Somehow, I became the squirrel whisperer. Not a bad thing when it comes to social media.
This is a photo from last year that I hadn’t processed. I thought it would make a nice Halloween card and processed it accordingly. You can see the card here.
Just squirrel-ing around and finding its inner peace, ha, ha!
I had a few pumpkins out in the garden to get some photos for a squirrel Halloween card, but I wasn’t pleased with the images. They were fine, like this one, but didn’t work for a card, so I gave up in the end and used that photo from last year.
I love photographing wood nuthatches (Sitta europaea); they usually strike a pose when landing and again before taking off, checking their surroundings. I can always count on them to sit still long enough for me to get a decent photo.
Did you know that nuthatches can forage when descending trees head first? Inveterate hoarders, they store the food in the bark of the trees, then conceal it with moss or small pieces of bark.
I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.
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Happy World Kangaroo Day!
Happy World Kangaroo Day! 🦘🦘These adorable creatures are truly one of a kind. I feel so lucky to have watched them in the wild on Kangaroo Island. It was amazing to see how the mother took care of her little one. Such a special bond between them! 😍
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