Smile of Nature in Melbourne

The smile of nature is evident in Australia's garden city, Melbourne despite the water usage concerns. Royal Botanic Garden of Melbourne is one of the attractive places in Melbourne for nature lovers with a vast variety of plants, lush green lawns, water habitats and birds.

See also Birds of Melbourne.

PS: For foreigners arriving from tropical countries, this garden may give little bit of disappointment. Due to the harsh climate and water conservation requirements, the garden has got comparatively lesser number of green plants and flowers, when compared with well known botanical gardens of some tropical countries.

Birds of Melbourne

With about 800 species of birds including many endemic species, Australia is a blessed land for bird watchers. One interesting fact I noticed is that the birds I saw in Melbourne are used to the presence of human, and can be approached quite closely. The following are my first few shots of birds in Melbourne. More to come.

Eastern Rosella

Red-rumped Parrot

Red-rumped Parrot

Rainbow Lorikeet

Red wattle bird

Red wattle bird (landing)

Crested Pigeon

Spotted doves

Starling

Raven

Australian Magpie

Magpie-lark (Pee-wee)

Willie Wagtail

Pacific Gull

Silver Gull / Seagull

Common Black Bird

See also

• Bird photography,
• Birding at Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and
  
• Smile of nature in Melbourne.

Golden Birdwing Butterflies

Golden Birdwing (Troides aeacus) is a large beautiful butterfly, with a wingspan of 120mm to 190 mm, occasionally seen in the nature reserves of Thailand. For long time it was one of our most sought target and we had many failed attempts to click this butterfly as it was seen flying at very high altitudes (beyond our lens' reach) every time we encountered. Our continuous effort finally rewarded with this shot when my friend Prem located this pair from a moving vehicle and promptly asked the driver to stop, during one of our nature tours in Thailand.

Mysore Maharajah's Palace, Karnataka, India

Mysore Palace is a magnificent three storied Indo-Saracenic architecture, beautifully blending many different styles such as Hindu, Muslim, Rajput and Gothic together. The fortified area includes a garden and a Hindu temple as well.

The palace was built with many big and small chambers decorated with luxurious art works of early 20th century. There is a tight security measure which prohibits cameras inside the palace.

King Sangiliyan's Palace, Jaffna

சங்கிலியன் (8 ஆம் செகராசசேகரன்) மன்னனின் அரண்மனை, யாழ்ப்பாணம்

Entrance of King Sangiliyan's Palace, Nalloor, Jaffna

King Sangiliyan of Aryachakravarti line of Kings, a.k.a Segarasasekaran VIII, was the last king of Jaffna Kingdom, which cherished for nearly 300 years, before destroyed by the invading Portuguese Colonists in 1619.

King Sangiliyan's Minister's House, Nalloor, Jaffna

See also my blogs of Jaffna:

• Islands off Jaffna peninsula
  
• Naagapooshani amman kovil, Nainatheevu
  
• Vallipura alvar kovil, Point Pedro
• Iconic "Thaddi-Van"s of Point Pedro - Kodikaamam route

Butterfly Photography

Nature has got a lot to entertain the people who love to admire it. A good news for nature photographers who would like to spend whole days clicking on the nature's beauties is that while birds and animals are more active during the morning and evening hours, butterflies are there to fill the hotter mid-day hours for keeping the cameras engaged throughout the day.

In addition, butterflies can also be photographed in the early morning or in the evening times at their resting places such as grass, underneath of leaves or flowers if you are ready to put little effort (as it is a bit difficult to locate those places) and it would be certainly rewarding.

Essential technical tips:

1. Use burst mode. In DSLRs, shooting in JPEG mode helps to increase the burst rate.
2. Use faster shutter speeds (on or above 1/250) by inceasing the ISO, widely opening the aperture (keeping 'f' number low) and/or by using a fill flash (better through a diffuser if shooting at close distances).
3. Since butterflies are small in size, move swiftly and can not be approached, fast telephoto lenses are required for better results.
4. Careful usage of shallow depth of field (DOF) would result in excellent shots.
5. Use appropriate lens hood to prevent glare and lens flare.
6. Move around to get a natural background. Having artificial objects such as buildings would ruin the beauty of butterfly photographs.

Butterfly behavioral tips:

1. Some flowers with high amount of nectar attract the butterflies. Identify such flowering plants and where they are found in your environment.
2. Butterflies are sensitive to movements specifically when some one is trying to approach them. It is always rewarding to wait patiently near a bunch of fresh flowers without casting any shadow on them.
3. Mud puddling is another behavior of butterflies, where flocks of butterflies gather at some points near water resources to obtain nutrients such as salts and amino acids. In some nature parks / forest reserves of tropical countries, hundreds or even thousands of butterflies gather at a single place for mud puddling in the post-monsoon season. So, look for mud puddling points near streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, etc.

Mud Puddling Butterflies @ Khao Kaeng Krachan, Thailand.

See also Bird Photography.