Time Spent in Brisbane June 15 - 19, 2013

Story Bridge from the street behind our apartment

Underside of Story Bridge while still on land

Story Bridge Hotel...100 metres away from our apartment:  lots of meeting spots, bars, food, bottle shop (ie. liquor store)

Story Bridge Hotel

City of Brisbane 

Mount Coot-tha's view & 25 hectare Botanic Gardens

June 15, 2013

View from Mount Coot-tha lookout: the city centre in the distance

Japanese Garden in Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Centre (a place to meditate)

children's park in Mt.Coot-tha Botanic Centre: I see the only Maple Tree I had found!

Mt. Coot-tha cafe (the longest wait for food yet! Aussie's don't rush serving you!!)

A laughing Kookaburra (from the Kingfisher family)

I've seen these spiders everywhere!  Walked into a web in May but she didn't bite me!!

Don joined me at the QUT pool: Queensland University of Technology 

(notice the width of each of the 8 lengths + 50 metres long + heated water!!)

I'm still trying to get the stroke right!  

Mary's photo samples from her first photography class June 19th

using D40 Nikon SLR

(taken in Brisbane 5K away from Kangaroo Point where we live, near the Brisbane Ferris Wheel)

My photography instructor, Andrew

One of my first shots of the day! A baby "Pied Cormorant".  Soon he will be diving and swimming for fish in the Brisbane River!

The Australian White Ibis....found EVERYWHERE in the city!  I offered one some cornmeal crumbs the other day and was near attacked!   Not a good idea!!  Generally they are considered a nuisance by Aussies!

I found a lizard at the pond..it was cloudy & sunset & he was hiding behind reeds...couldn't get enough light

Increased the ISO to 1600 and I got him...still not the best shot but I'm learning!!

 PLAYING WITH SETTINGS AT DUSK TO CAPTURE THIS TREE:

Which leaf do you think makes the best shot???!!!! 

Another photography student...great shot of river and the city centre over on the North side of the river, plus the red "City Hopper" ferry passing (the red ferries are FREE & run all day)

The tail end of sunset in the West

All of these photos were taken at the base of the giant Brisbane Ferris Wheel....a lesson in capturing water using Shutter speed:

I love these two photos!  Now I'm getting the lesson!!!

 The City Scape at night: testing use of shutter speed to capture light on the water:

Byron Bay, Gold Coast

Weekend June 8-10, 2013

We left Friday night:   a 2 1/2 hour drive South of Brisbane....a typical long weekend traffic jam on a 2 lane highway.  Mary went snorkeling and Don scuba diving on Saturday;  2 KM offshore to Julian Rocks.  We went through a company called SunDive Byron Bay....very professional and well organized.  No divers left behind like in the movie Open Water!!!!!!   No photography to share from this experience....cameras don't do well in zodiacs on choppy water!!     It was an overcast rainy day but had no impact on a magnificent display of sea life.  Not the best coral, but incredible fish....Mary saw a HUGE Black Spotted Stingray right below her!!  I thought of that huge black nettle on his tail and poor Steve Irwin.   We also saw lots of Wobbegong sharks (slow & sleepy), blue Groupers, sea cucumbers, and an entire Green Moray Eel came out of his hiding spot!  Very cool!

The photos below are from Sunday when we visited Cape Byron Lighthouse and stood at the most easterly point of land in Australia!  From this lookout, you can see Julian Rocks where we snorkeled/dove.  The path around the Lighthouse took us to a prime example of Coastal Rainforest and Mary began her education with a Nikon D40....fascinated by photos of plants & flowers....birds photography will be next!   It was also  a beautiful sunny day for a walk on the beach.  On Monday we headed North toward Brisbane and visited Australia's Las Vegas town called Surfer's Paradise; and then on to Sea World....those photos to follow!!  

A wonderful weekend!!

Snorkel/scuba dive @ Julian Rock 2 KM from shoreline

Cape Byron Light house

Paragliding over the Lighthouse

Humpback whales in the distance

Beautiful surf

Byron Bay Watego's Beach

Main Beach Cape Byron is a good place to learn to surf.....

Surfer's Paradise up the coast way more dangerous

Wild goat at the Cape:  they tried to remove her but she refuses to leave!!  They don't want her eating all the vegetation.  Cape Byron residents are on her side!!

Banksia Aemula (flowers that grow on a small tree that grows in sand)

Snake Vine  or "Climbing Guinea Flower" (I focused on the red berries and didn't get the true bright yellow of the flower!)

Forest floor ferns otherwise known as: Calochlaena dubis Mountain Bracken

A view into a coastal rainforest...sand forest floor

I couldn't find this tiny purple flower in my book:  a baby pansy?

Spider web...I chose not to get too close!!

Cape Byron Main Beach - seagulls eating fish

 

Off leash dog beach!  Yeah!!!

Beach Party!  Guitar music & soccer!