A Steadying Influence

August 17, 2025 | paulamyes

One of the great developments in camera design over the last few years has been in the area of image stabilisation.

For me personally Synch IS (what Olympus/OM Systems call their combination of IS technologies) has meant that I seldom us a tripod anymore and that has been truly liberating. For video it is a different story. For short focal lengths I can just about handhold without inducing motion sickness in my viewers, but for long telephoto work just forget it, which is unfortunate as I do like filming wildlife. So I have taken to using a video tripod – a Sirui CT-3204 with Sirui VH-10X fluid head. The biggest problem is that it is heavy (3.56Kg) which is fine if I don’t want to walk far, but a real burden if I do. The other strike against it is that is awkward to use in the bush. So what has been happening is I make a decision – stills or video as a priority and more often than not it is stills and the tripod gets left behind in the car.

Too Heavy!! My Sirui CT-3204 with Sirui VH-10X fluid head. While a great video tripod it is heavy (3.56Kg).

A little while ago I started thinking about monopods for video. I am no stranger to monopods I used to use them a lot for sports and events photography and I can’t remember a time when I’ve not had one. The one I have had for the last 25 years or so is the Manfrotto 679B with the stock Manfrotto 234RC head. A fantastic bit of kit but totally unsuited to video work. So as video was becoming more important (it was part of a unit I was teaching) I bought a Manfrotto 560b-1 monopod which featured a set of 3 feet at the bottom attached to the body of the monopod via ball joint with fluid cartridge. This means that horizontal pans are nice and smooth. The stock 234RC head meant that smooth vertical pans were impossible. Shortly after Manfrotto started making sets up with a better version of the monopod with a 500HLV video head so being a thrifty kind of person (my father would say I had deep pockets and short arms) I decided to get a second hand fluid head and found a cheap Manfrotto 700RC. For lighter set ups with short focal lengths it worked very well, but with the heavier longer focal lengths required for wildlife it just wasn’t up to snuff. So it was back to the tripod – or so I thought.

WimberleyMH-100Gimbal Head1 — Exactly what I’m after. Shame about the price.

LefotoMPG-01 — Looks like a direct copy of the Wimberley above. The price is more wallet friendly, but still a little on the steep side for me.

Fast forward a few months and I watched a video review on monopod heads and the reviewer talked very favourably about gimbal heads for monopods. In particular he raved about the Wimberley MH-100 Mono Gimbal Head. Now I’d never heard of it before and I quickly jumped online to find out more. It seemed to offer what I wanted in every way except price. $455 AUD, which was a bit much to take a punt on. So on looking around I found that Leofoto have their catchily named MPG-01 Mini Monopod Gimbal which was cheaper at $231 AUD but still too much to pay for an experiment. Further research turned up the Neewer GM39 Side Saddle Monopod Tilt Ball Head and that was a more reasonable $70 AUD. Now Neewer are one of the many Chinese photo accessory manufacturers that have sprung up in the last decade or so. Their products are generally what I would call cheap and cheerful. There are plenty of reviews out there that say the products are crap, but there also just as many that say they are good. I have used quite a few of their products and my experience has been largely positive. I like their LED video lights and replacement camera batteries. I’ve tried some of their filters and found them be not that great. So I decided to keep an open mind and try the monopod head.

Neewer GM39 Side Saddle Monopod Tilt Ball Head

I ordered the GM39 head off of the Neewer website and it arrived very promptly. The head was supplied in an eco friendly cardboard package with an Allen key, an Arca Swiss plate and a set of instructions in umpteen languages.

20250707-NeewerGM39gimbal-0227-Edit — The Neewer GM39 in all its glory.

First impressions were very good. The head appears on the surface as nicely finished in black anodised aluminium with the knurled knobs finished in grey. Quite smart. In the hand everything feels nice, solid and well put together. It has a compact low profile and weighs in at svelte 259g (without plate) and has a maximum load capacity of 4Kg. There are three knobs; one for tightening or loosening the Arca Swiss compatible clamp, one for adjusting the ball head, and one for the panning control. The base has a diameter of 40mm with a 3/8” thread to allow mounting to a monopod or tripod. An interesting touch is that the base is cut so it will slide into an Arca Swiss quick release clamp. You can use the head with the clamp vertical as a traditional ball head, or you can rotate the clamp through 90º and use it as gimbal head.

20250707-NeewerGM39gimbal-0229-2-Edit — The base has a diameter of 40mm with a 3/8” thread and it is also milled to be compatible with Arca Swiss type clamps.

20250707-NeewerGM39gimbal-0226-2-Edit — The standard of finish appears very good.

In Use

20250707-NeewerGM39gimbal-0228-Edit — The Neewer GM39’s Arca Swiss Type clamp.

On their website Neewer says that clamp on the GM39 is compatible with “most Arca Type QR plates” . That is my first bugbear. I’ve got numerous Arca plates knocking around and beside the one it came with it wasn’t compatible with those from Sirui, Smallrig or Sunwayfoto. Also the safety notches cut into the clamp to engage with the screw heads on the base to the quick release plate don’t stop the plates from sliding out if clamp isn’t done up tight enough.

I decided to test the GM39 with the following four combinations:-

Canon EOS 6d with battery grip and Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary weighing in at 3.88Kg
Sony A6500 with Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary weighing in at 2.99Kg
Olympus EM1x with OM System 100-400mm weighing 2.47Kg
Panasonic G85 with battery grip and Panasonic Leica 100-400mm weighing 1.88Kg

20250716-NeewerGM39gimble-0224-Edit — Canon EOS 6d with battery grip and Sigma 150-600mm

20250716-NeewerGM39gimble-0228-Edit — Panasonic G85 with battery grip and Panasonic Leica 100-400mm

All of the combinations came in at under the 4Kg maximum load and yet it was impossible to cinch down the ball head to prevent movement, but more importantly there is no friction control. What I mean by friction control is that there is no way to control how the head moves – whether slowly or quickly which means that the camera and lens can flop about in an uncontrolled manner. Now I’m no engineer but looking at the ball it has a diameter of 20mm which is pretty small and that makes it hard to resist the torsional forces exerted by the heavy lenses. For example my Sunwayfoto FB-44II ball head has a 44mm diameter ball and that is hard pushed to lock down my Canon 6d and 150-600. With the included quick release plate it is possible to balance the G85 and EM1x combinations, with larger lenses you’ll need to buy a longer plate taking into consideration it is not compatible with all brands of Arca Swiss compatible QR plates.

The diameter of the base of the head is 40mm. This is something to be aware of. My Manfrotto 560B-1 has a head diameter of 34mm and everything is fine. My Manfrotto 679B has a head diameter 60mm and you have be careful when using the head in the gimbal mode that the release knob for the clamp is upper most or it will foul on the monopod and restrict your movement.

I tried using the GM39 on a tripod where I used its already installed ball head as a levelling base and and attaching it using the Arca Swiss rails that milled into it. It’s quite an interesting function and for the most part it does very well the only down side is that my head, a Sunwayfoto FB-44II is quite tall and having the GM39 on top of that makes it quite top heavy and unbalanced when using a long lens. This would be more suited to an inverted or low profile ball head.

20250716-NeewerGM39gimble-0232-Edit — The Neewer GM39 clamped onto a ball head on a tripod. This lets the ball head become a levelling head.

20250716-NeewerGM39gimble-0235-Edit — The problem being that it becomes a little top heavy and the weight of the camera and lens is not over the tripod’s axis so it all feels a little unbalanced.

Out in the field I used the GM39 primarily on my Manfrotto 560B-1 which has a fluid base that allows for smooth horizontal pans. So I had the gimbal set up just to do the vertical pans. Despite some of the short comings mentioned above I found that it worked quite well. I particularly like the combined weight of 890g. This means I’m more inclined to take it with me. For photography I didn’t really use it much, but where I did use it a lot was with video. No it’s not a match for a proper video tripod and head but it is 2.6 Kg lighter than my Sirui CT-3204 with Sirui VH-10X fluid head. When using a combination of the GM39 on my monopod, Synch IS image stabilisation and correcting for camera movement in my video editing software I can get good results and that is all I wanted.

That's Better!! — That’s Better!! The Manfrotto 560b-1 monopod with Neewer GM39 is 0.89 Kg which is much easier to carry while walking through the bush.

Conclusion

On line I’ve read and watched reviews from people who have either really liked the Neewer GM39 Side Saddle Monopod Tilt Ball Head or hated it with a passion. It seems to be quite polarising. What do I feel about it? Well I think it’s important to understand it’s strengths and weaknesses.

You can’t expect Wimberley MH-100 Mono Gimbal Head performance from a product that costs a sixth of the price. Both Wimberley and the Leofoto use a different mechanism that involves bearings mounted round a spindle and there is only up or down movement which would mean that it is easier to lock down the head when needed. This mechanism is then contained within the structure and not subjected to the ingress of dirt or water meaning better longevity.The GM39 has a freely rotating ball head that give 360º motion in any plane. The locking mechanism is cruder and the mechanism is open to the elements which means grit could enter it and cause malfunction.

Below I’ve listed the pros and cons as I see them:

Pros:

Cheap
Lightweight
Arca Swiss compatible

Cons:

It’s not possible to lock the head out or control the movement in the head
The camera and lens aren’t mounted over the axis of the monopod so can feel unbalanced in certain circumstances
The ball head could become easily fouled by ingress of dirt and water
The clamp is not completely Arca Swiss compatible which could make finding replacement plates or longer plates difficult.
Not the best choice for heavy camera and lens combinations

On using the GM 39 for a while I realised that there is nothing to stop you using an existing ball in this manner and so you don’t need to buy anything.

20250707-NeewerGM39gimbal-0231-Edit — As long as the ball head has a notch to one side to allow 90º positioning any ball head could be used as monopod gimbal.

From the above it would seem that I didn’t like the Neewer GM39 Side Saddle Monopod Tilt Ball Head and that is not correct. What I appreciate about it is that it is cheap, light and does the job well enough. It works very well with my M4/3s setup. Whether it is right for you that I can’t answer, but what I can say is that the Neewer GM39 is cheap enough to take a punt on.

Happy Christmas

December 24, 2023 | paulamyes

Well I’d like to say that Christmas crept up on me unawares, but the reality was that mince pies Christmas pud were in the shops back in September. I still find it hard to celebrate what is essentially a Northern Hemisphere winter festival in the middle of a baking Southern Hemisphere summer. But I like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.

Christmas decorations in the Wheatbelt Metropolis of Northam.

Mighty M4/3

October 28, 2023 | paulamyes

Birds On A Budget – part 4

For wildlife photographers on a budget I happen to believe that micro four thirds (M4/3) has a lot to offer and represents incredible value. The micro in micro four thirds is a reference to the size and weight savings the system brings, it has no impact on the features and performance on offer.

Available Lenses

20231012-Panasonic100_400-0227-Edit — The Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f4-6.3 and the Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II lens are just two of the long lenses available for Micro Four Thirds wildlife enthusiasts.

The M4/3 system is now at the time of writing 15 years old and is, therefore, fully fleshed out. This means that there is plenty available on the second hand market. But, before we consider camera bodies let’s look at lenses first. Both Olympus (now OM Systems) and Panasonic provide a range of long lenses suitable for photographing wildlife. At the budget end there’s the Olympus 75-300mm II f4.8-6.7 and the Panasonic 100-300mm f4-5.6 which represent excellent value. On a M4/3 camera these two lenses have the same angle of view as a 150-600mm and 200-600mm lens respectively when used on a camera with a 35mm full frame sensor at a fraction of the weight and cost. The Olympus 75-300 can be found for around $500 AUD second hand (or $600 new) and the Panasonic 100-300 can be picked up for about $550 2nd hand ($1000 new). This means it is very feasible to put a good kit together for under $1000 AUD which is about $650 USD.

Olympus 75-300mm Lens — The Olympus 75-300mm lens delivers amazing performance for its price.

In the midrange category both companies offer 100-400mm zooms. The Olympus 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 IS sells for around $1500 2nd hand or $2200 new and the Panasonic Leica Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f4-6.3 sells for around thee $1200 mark second hand or $2200 new. This is for the original version. It has just been updated to make it compatible with tele-converters and will likely retail for around $2600 AUD.These two lenses give an angle of view equal to that of 200-800mm on a 35mm sensor in a very compact package.

Panasonic Leica 100-400mm Lens — Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f4-6.3 is a premium lens that be picked up on the secong hand market for a fraction of the price of full frame equivalents.

At the top end of town there are two lenses. The Olympus 300mm f4 IS which apparently is a gem of a lens and can be had for approx $2800 on the used market or $4000 new. Then we reach the stratosphere with the Olympus 150-400mm f4.5 IS PRO which retails for an eye watering price of $11500 new. Good luck in finding one new at a dealer as they are in short supply. I have seen a used one on a Japanese dealers website going for $7500 and it was gone within a day.

190430-PanaLeica100-400-0224-Edit — The Panasonic G85 with the Panasonic 100-400mm lens compared to a Canon 6d with Sigma 150-600mm lens. The Panasonic combo is a fraction of the weight and has more reach.

So out of all these lenses I own the Olympus 75-300 and the Panasonic 100-400. Both of them have been very good, but with some caveats. The major criticism of the Olympus 75-300 is that it is soft at the long end. First I’d like to say get real! This is a budget lens. But, seriously this is a common complaint about zoom lenses especially at the budget end of the market. In my opinion, and based upon the example that I own, it is not as bad as people make out wide open and it improves if you stop down a bit. The pluses are it is amazingly small and light. I did intend to sell it when I got the Panasonic 100-400 but I kept it for those moments when I don’t want to carry the larger Panasonic ie when I’m out walking the dog. The Panasonic 100-400 is an amazing lens and I really enjoy using it. When it was first introduced there were complaints about it having an overly stiff zoom ring and it couldn’t be repaired. I’ve not experienced any problems and have used the lens extensively in all sorts of weather since I got in 2018. My only criticism of the 100-400 is that the lens based image stabilisation isn’t compatible with that of my Olympus cameras’s IBIS.

Olympus 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 lens — Click on the image to see full size

Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f4-6.3 — Click on the image to see it full size.

Camera Bodies

Once you’ve decided upon your lens then you can consider camera bodies. As things are at the time of writing I’ll be looking at the following camera which can be picked up easily second hand. The Olympus EM 1 mk I (approx $400 AUD), the Olympus EM1 mk ii, and the Panasonic G85. I own all three and think they all offer tremendous value for the wildlife photographer on restricted budget.

The Olympus EM1 is a very capable wildlife camera for those on a restricted budget.

	Panasonic G85	Olympus EM1	Olympus EM1 mk ii
Year of Introduction	2016	2013	2016
Resolution	16 Mp	16 Mp	20 Mp
ISO range	200-25600	200-25600	200
Boosted ISO	100	100	64 and 100
IBIS	5 axis	5 axis	5 axis
File Formats	RAW and jpg for stills AVCHD and MP4 for video	RAW and jpg for stills H.264 and Motion jpg for video	RAW and jpg for stills H.264 and Motion jpg for video
Auto Focus	Contrast only (DFD) Multi area Centre zone Selective single point Single AF Continuous AF Tracking AF Face detection AF Touch screen AF	Contrast and phase detect hybrid system. Multi area Centre zone Selective single point AF Single AF Continuous AF Tracking AF Face detection Touch screen AF	Contrast and phase detect hybrid system. Multi area Centre zone Selective single point AF Single AF Continuous AF Tracking AF Face detection Touch screen AF
Manual Focus Aides	Focus peaking	Focus peaking	Focus peaking
Focus Points	49	81	121
Maximum Shutter Speed	1/4000 mechanical 1/16000 electronic	1/8000 mechanical 1/32000 electronic	1/8000 mechanical 1/32000 electronic
Exposure Modes	Program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual. 22 Creative Control modes.	iAuto, Program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual. 22 scene modes and 12 Art filters.	iAuto, Program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual. 22 scene modes and 14 Art filters
Built In Flash	Yes	No	No
Dive Modes	Single frame 9 frames per second with the mechanical shutter and continuous AF. Up to 40 fps with the electronic shutter and the autofocus set to single point.	Single frame 6.5 fps with mechanical shutter and continuous AF. 11 fps with single AF and electronic shutter.	Single frame Up to 18 fps with mechanical shutter and continuous AF. 60 fps with single AF and electronic shutter
Buffer	300 large jpgs, 45 RAW and RAW plus jpgs	50 large jpgs, 34 RAW	117 large jpgs, 84 RAW
Metering Modes	Multi zone, centre weighted and spot metering.	Multi zone, centre weighted, and spot metering.	Multi zone, centre weighted, and spot metering.
Video	4K up to 30 fps HD up to 60 fps	HD up to 30 fps	Cinema 4k 24fps IPB 4K up to 30 fps HD up to 60 fps
Storage media	1 x SD card slot UHS-II compatible	1 x SD card slot UHS-I compatible	2 x SD card slot with only 1 UHS-II compatible
Environmentally Sealed	Yes	Yes	Yes
Anti Aliasing Filter	No	No	No
Weight	505g with battery and card	497g with battery and card	574g with battery and cards
Battery CIPA Rating	330 shots	350 shots	440 shots

The Olympus EM1 mk ii is an extremely well specified camera that can be found for less than $1000 AUD on the used market making it somewhat of a bargin.

All three cameras feel good in the hand. The G85 has the easiest to navigate menu system. The Olympus menus cop a load of flack for being labyrinthine but they do allow a phenomenal amount of customisation and once these are set, your custom modes set up, and you use the Super Control Panel (SCP) you shouldn’t have to deep dive them often.

Which one should you get? Well that depends upon your budget and what you intend to do with the camera. If cash strapped the the EM1 is the one to go for. It’s a beautifully built camera that turns out a great performance. The only place is where it is lacking is video. If you shoot primarily stationary targets and some video capability is important I think the G85 is a great buy. It is only let down by its auto focus the DFD technology Panasonic uses just wasn’t as good for action as phase detection autofocus. Having said that I have used the camera to shoot some wildlife videos – you’ve just got to be patient and pick situations that the camera can cope with. If you’ve got the budget then the EM1 mk ii is the one to get. Not as accomplished in the video department as the G85 but it does produce a solid result and the AF for video and stills works quite well. You’d have to spend quite a bit more money to get better performance.

Tootling Around Tomato Lake

August 13, 2023 | paulamyes

Horsing Around

November 27, 2022 | paulamyes

Well walking around Horse Swamp at Whiteman Park would be correct but it is too long for a title. I’ve written before about walking round the swamp. It’s a great walk and it always seems to offer up something new.

Djoobi-djoolbang or Inland Thornbill (Acanthiza apicalis). Horse Swamp, Whiteman Park, Western Australia.

As we started to walk round we were greeted with an inland thornbill singing its heart out in welcome. It was a good start to what was primarily a bird spotting trip. We went to the hide and while we could see birds out on the water there was nothing close enough to photograph. So we set off to see if we could get closer to them. This is the beauty of this walk as there are heaps of opportunities to get close to the wildlife as you can use the bushes to conceal your approach.

Djandjarak or White-headed Stilts, (Himantopus himantopus subsp. leucocephalus) two juveniles and an adult. Horse Swamp, Whiteman Park, Western Australia.

Djandjarak or White-headed Stilt, (Himantopus himantopus subsp. leucocephalus). Horse Swamp, Whiteman Park, Western Australia.

About halfway round there is an observation platform looking out over the water. It’s not very suited to photography, but it does afford a good view allowing you to observe the comings and goings. Helen took advantage of the platform while I chose to lie down at water level to get some photos.

Nidoolyorong or Black-fronted Dotterel, (Elseyornis melanops).Horse Swamp, Whiteman Park, Western Australia.

Wimbin or pink-eared duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus). Horse Swamp, Whiteman Park, Western Australia.

As we headed back to the car we spotted a long necked turtle sunning itself on the roots of a melaleuca tree. Usually you don’t see them but rather hear them as they drop into the water to make their escape, but on this occasion I was lucky enough to grab a couple of photos.

Choonya is the Nyoongar name for the Long-necked turtle, aka the oblong turtle (Chelodina oblonga). Horse Swamp, Whiteman Park, Western Australia.

The last thing we saw was a real mystery. On the flower stalks of some grass trees there were these huge insects – about 8cm long – feeding on the flower. They look like someone has stuck the back end of an earwig onto a wasp. Freaky looking things dunno what they are despite trying to find out by looking on Google when we got home. So if anyone out there would like enlighten please contact me.

Freaky looking bug on a grass tree flower spike. Horse Swamp, Whiteman Park, Western Australia.

So there you have it a great morning at a great location.

A Beautiful Day

October 16, 2022October 16, 2022 | paulamyes

We’ve had some really gorgeous weather lately – so good it made us want to go out and have a BBQ picnic. Thanks to the media there is the impression that the average Australian is born wearing an apron and holding a pair of BBQ tongs in one hand and a can of beer in the other. Well it’s not quite true. For us a migrants we don’t have a natural proclivity to burn every piece of meat we eat over a fire. But when the weather is as good as it has been lately the notion of throwing a sausage on the barbie in a nice location is quite overwhelming. We set off to Lake Leschenaultia which is smallish man made lake in the Perth Hills surrounded by woodland.

Now this was not a designated photographic expedition I did take a camera and while the Beloved Significant Other was having a swim I snuck off to see what was about. The light was bright, it was midday after all, and there were quite a few people about so I didn’t have high expectations. But half an hour of looking I managed to find some mating dragonflies, see some very cheeky splendid fairy wrens and be delighted by a mother musk duck feeding her duckling.

Tau emerald dragonflies (Hemicordulia tau) mating. Lake Leschenaultia, Western Australia.

Djer-djer aka splendid fairy wren. Lake Leschenaultia, Western Australia.

A female musk duck (Biziura lobata) feeding her duckling. Lake Leschenaultia, Western Australia.

They’re not the best photos I’ve taken, more snapshots really, but they added to what was a perfect day.

Is Bigger Better?

November 20, 2021November 20, 2021 | paulamyes

A visual representation of the differences in sensor size.

Since 2011 I have been primarily a micro four thirds (m43) shooter supplemented by occasional full frame usage. Until about 18 months ago I was very happy with my choice. I accepted that the benefit of a lighter more portable camera system would come at the cost of reduced megapixel count, reduced dynamic range, and high ISO performance that was less than stellar. But now I have this desire to return as it were to the full frame fold. The reason why is that I sell prints and I felt that if I had a camera with better dynamic range and more megapixels then I would generate more sales. This belief was what was really behind my recent dalliance with the 42Mp Sony A7r ii.

Canon EOS 550D with EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. Exposure: 1/100, f8 at ISO 400.

Olympus EM 1 mk ii with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm lens.

Sony A7r with Olympus OM Zuiko 135mm f2.8 lens. Exposure: 1/1000 sec, f4, at ISO 200.

Canon EOS 6d with Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens. Exposure: 1/100 s at f/11.0 at ISO 1600.

The other day I started going through my statement for print sales for this year and surprisingly I’d had a very good year which buoyed me up considerably. When I started looking closely at what images had sold and what they were taken with I made a startling discovery. Full frame made up 26%, APSC came in at 26% and m43 took 48%. In terms of Megapixels:

36 Mp + 6.66%
20 Mp 33.33%
18 Mp 26.66%
16 Mp 6.66%
12 Mp 13.33%

Intrigued I decided to look at print sales going back to 2004 when I went digital and the results were as follows:-

Full frame 34%
APSC 14%
m43 37.5 %
Compact cameras 5.5%
Mobile phone 1.5%
Scanned film 7.5%

My two best selling prints of all time were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FX-01 which was introduced all the way back in 2004 had a sensor that measured 6.4mm x 4.8mm and had a whopping 6.4 Mp of resolution. It also suffered badly from noise at anything beyond 100 ISO and had a very limited dynamic range.

Dropped from use. The Panasonic FX-01 was a 6Mp camera introduced in 2004.

Moving beyond prints sales to look at PR and editorial work I’ve never once had a complaint about image quality or size. So do all these buyers of my images know something that I don’t? Well I think that they’re not looking at the images as photographers, they are looking at the subject and how it makes them feel. When photographers look at images they see all the technical deficiencies and then think they need better cameras and lenses. When we look at new gear we always see the promise of more resolution, more frames per second, more dynamic range. The manufacturers know that we’re easily seduced by bigger numbers and they play to our insecurities.

So in the light of this do I need a bigger and better camera? Need – no. Want – yes. But needs and wants are two different things. What I’ve got is perfectly adequate and so perhaps the answer to generating more sales is, therefore, taking more pictures with appealing content.

It’s Been A While

July 9, 2021 | paulamyes

It seems ages since I last posted. Things have been a bit quiet because of the cold wet weather and I’ve missed a few opportunities which have all contributed to making me feel a bit blah.

Red-eared Firetail by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — We went to Bickley looking for these Red-eared Firetaisl (Stagonopleura oculata).

We went to the New Victoria Dam at Bickley in search of Red-eared Firetails but all we found were lots of butterflies. It’s amazing that a lot of Western Australia’s butterfly species can be found all year round. Even on a freezing winters day.

Bickley Brook by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — What we found were Australian painted lady butterflies, Vanessa kershawi. New Victoria Dam, Bickley, Western Australia.

On the home front we had a new visitor to the garden in the form of an Australian Hobby. It also looks like a pair of Nankeen Kestrels have nested in a tall tree on the land opposite us. They can be regularly seen hunting over the fields and gardens and they use our TV aerial as an observation platform. Hopefully, if I can swing it with the landowner, I’ll get some photos of them rearing chicks over the next few months.

Australian hobby(Falco longipennis) perched on our TV aerial.

Nankeen kestra (Falco cenchroides cenchroides), York, Western Australia.

Tomato Lake

May 2, 2021 | paulamyes

Tomato Lake is situated in the Perth suburb of Kewdale and has like many places in Western Australia been known by an assortment of names. On settlement it was called Smith’s Swamp because it was owned by a Mr Smith. Come the early 1900’s it became known as Craig’s Swamp because it was owned by a Mr Stephen Craig and it continued this way until the 1960’s when it became known by its current name Tomato Lake. No it isn’t owned by Mr Tomato! It got the name Tomato Lake because Mr Craig grew tomatoes there. Urban clearing around the lake meant it eventually dried up and became no good for market gardening and the whole place got really neglected and riddled with duckweed, an imported feral species, which choked the remaining water killing off native flora and fauna. By the mid 1970’s a local action group formed to rehabilitate the lake and now it is an important nature reserve as well as being a very popular recreational facility.

So what’s there? Well the lake is in the middle of a large reserve and it is bisected by a broad walk with pergola. There is an island in the lake which provides a breeding area for the waterbirds. The lake is circumnavigated by a 1.6 Km paved path. There are also some unpaved trails through different parts of the reserve which I added to the walk to make a 2.5Km loop. At the top of the park on the corner of Oats Street and Scenic Drive there is a cafe, BBQs and playground. The southern end of the lake is where you’ll see the bushbirds while the waterfowl can be seen over the entire lake. According to EBird Australia 83 different species of bird have been sighted there which is quite a number for such a small area. As it can be very busy at weekends, especially in wedding season, it would be best to visit midweek early in the morning or an hour before sundown.