Less Is More

April 27, 2025April 27, 2025 | paulamyes

I’m feeling really deficient in the focal length department. After my trip to the Baigup Wetlands I’ve realised that if I want a picture of a Crake I’m going to need a longer lens. At the moment I’m capped at 600mm on full frame, 800mm full frame equivalent on Micro Four Thirds, and 960mm full frame equivalent on APSC sized sensors. Unfortunately I’m handicapped by the fact that I don’t have a spare $35,000 AUD lying around or camera to put the lens on or I’d get the Canon RF 1200mm f/8L IS USM. More affordable at $4000 is the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f5.0-6.3, but even that is currently beyond my budget.

Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG OS HSM lens Contemporary — The mighty Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary lens.

Teleconverter Test — The Canon Extender EF 2x ii is a matched teleconverter and is designed to only fit certain Canon L lenses. Note how the lens elements stand proud of the lens mount.

So my solution was to use my Sigma 150-600mm lens with a Canon x2 teleconverter on my Canon 80d which would give me the full frame equivalent of 1920mm. That is serious reach in anybodies book, but will it work? The first thing to consider is whether the Canon teleconverter will actually fit on the Sigma lens. If you look at the photo you can see that the lenses of the teleconverter protrude beyond the lens mount and into the lens. Would there be enough room in the Sigma 150-600 to accommodate this. The answer was a resounding “YES!”. The next question was would it autofocus. The problem is that on DSLRs the autofocus mechanism uses a sensor in the bottom of the mirror box that requires a sub mirror behind the main mirror to reflect some light onto it. If light levels are too low then the system just doesn’t work and the camera can’t autofocus. So that means a lens with a minimum aperture of f8 won’t autofocus. Having said that if we use ‘live view’ the mirror is moved out of the way and on Canon cameras Canon uses ‘dual pixel autofocus’ where every pixel on the sensor can function as an AF point. So in theory it should autofocus. That is good because the minimum aperture of the Sigma 150-600mm at 600mm is f6.3, slap a 2x teleconverter on and that becomes f12.6. So I set up a target in the back garden to try it out. Lo and behold the camera failed to autofocus when using the viewfinder, so OK I knew that was going to happen, but using live view it did.

The next thing to consider was image quality. When using a teleconverter image, and especially 2x teleconverters, image quality takes a serious hit – the image becomes notably softer. The answer to this is to stop down. After a bit of experimentation stopping down to f16 improved sharpness slightly, but it means using incredibly high ISOs which has impact upon the image quality. I figured that I’d run the images through Topaz DeNoise AI and hope that I’d get something decent.

20250405-Sigma150_600-0239 — A suitable test target. After experimentation an aperture of f16 was found to produce the best results.

Now I just needed to test this out on a live subject. Luckily our back garden is frequented by lots of birds, so I set the camera on a sturdy tripod and just waited. The results were that using live view and dual pixel autofocus the camera would definitely focus, it’s just it does it very, VERY slowly. I managed to get some photos, but the bird had to sit in one place for quite a while and this was with good light levels in the middle of the day. It wouldn’t be practical for a subject in the shade at dawn. I tried to manually focus but I couldn’t move the focus ring in small enough increments to achieve fine focus. The best results were achieved with birds that were about 5m away. I tried on Ring-necked Parrots that were further away and there was huge hit to image quality, the picture were just not critically sharp.

20250404-York-0226-Edit — This Willy Wagtail was obliging enough to sit around for a few seconds. It is mandatory that every Australian garden should have at least one Willy Wagtail.

20250404-York-0230-Edit — A leucistic zebra finch happily riding the rotary washing line.

20250404-York-0252-Edit — This distant shot of Ring-necked Parrots shows a pronounced hit on image quality. Viewing the image at 100% shows the feather detail has gone to mush.

Ahh well back to the drawing board.

Karrak – the Red-Tailed Cockatoo

March 14, 2025 | paulamyes

Karak or Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii subs samueli) feeding on Cape Lilac AKA WhiteCedar (Melia azedarch). York, Western Australia.

The last couple of weeks I’ve been thrilled to see Red-Tailed Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksii), called Karrak by the Nyoongar, feeding in the Cape Lilac trees of our neighbours.

There are four subspecies found in Western Australia – Cb. Naso (referred to as the Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo), Cb. Samueli (the Inland Red-tailed Black Cockatoo), Cb. macrorhynchus (sometimes referred to as the Great-billed Cockatoo, Banksian Black-Cockatoo, or Banks’ Black-Cockatoo), and the recently discovered Cb. Escondidusa. Now which species the ones in our neighbourhood are I couldn’t tell you – probably Inland or Forest Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos. All I know that is according to the experts we shouldn’t have any, but here they are.

The Nyoongar creation story for the Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo.

Ngoolyak or Carnaby’s Black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris). Yanchep National Park, Western Australia.

Djidi-djidi or Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys). Avon Walk Trail, York, Western Australia.

Kwilom or purple swamp hen (Porphyrio porphyrio subsp bellus) picking over vegetation on shore of the lake. Lake Leschenaultia, Western Australia.

One day Ngoolyak the white-tailed black cockatoo saw a fight between Dwert the Dingo and Djidi-djidi the Willie Wagtail. Ngoolyak sided with Dwert and joined the fight. Kwilom the Purple Swamp Hen saw the commotion and tried to break them up. He picked some sedge and started beating Ngoolyak across his back to get him to back off. Ngoolyak started screaming and tried to fend off the blows by raising his tail. The sedge oozes red sap when it is cut and it left great red marks where it struck. As he screamed Ngoolyak’s voice became hoarse and he could no longer make his normal call of “wola” and the screeching sounded more like “Karrak!” instead, and that is how Ngoolyak the White-tailed Cockatoo became Karrak the Red-tailed Cockatoo.

Walks With Emus

July 23, 2023 | paulamyes

Thursday was my first trip into the Perth Metro in ages – I’d gone to get the car serviced and so had a day to kill. The weather was horrid, lots of rain and not very warm so killing time was not a thrilling prospect. Usually I walk over the Causeway Bridge, around Heirisson Island and then into the Perth CBD. With the rain falling and nearby construction work making a racket I didn’t expect to see much so imagine my surprise when I literally bumped into an Emu. Now people living overseas expect that we have kangaroos running down the high streets koalas hanging out of every tree and sharks and crocodiles waiting to eat people in every small pool of water. Well it’s just not like that, and seeing an emu wandering round the metro area is pretty unusual occurrence. Poor thing didn’t look very well – it had a very large open wound on its left side. Emus can be a little bit intimidating as they’re not adverse to walking right up to you and looking you in the eye and some of the ones I’ve met do this by looking down at me. Well this one played pretty cool and just walked with me for about 500m and every time I stopped to take a picture it stopped and waited. We met up with a couple of kangaroos who were very wary of the emu. They kept a very close eye on it – didn’t pay me any attention at all. Once we got past the lake it decided it had had enough and walked back up the track making that odd sound of theirs which sound like someone has turned a plastic bucket upside down and is banging on it like drum.

Wetj by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — My companion for a walk on Heirisson Island.

Yongka by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — The girls are too impressed with their new neighbour and were content to remain at a distance and watch.

Djidi-djidi by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A willie wagtail hunkered down against the rain.

As I walked back to the Causeway I was joined by a young female kangaroo. She was very curious and wanted to know if I had anything to eat. She did did this by pawing at my hand – obviously other visitor have been feeding them so they can get selfies. She didn’t seemed fussed when no food appeared and she was content to follow me round to the gate and watch me leave.

It’s Hot! Dam Hot!

February 27, 2022February 27, 2022 | paulamyes

It’s safe to say this summer has been hotter than a very hot thing that is feeling hot. The knock on effect of all that heat is that motivation evaporates – literally. It is very hard to get out and about when temperatures are above 40ºC (104ºF). The UV index is so high that if you’ve been outside for longer than 5 minutes you need to see a dermatologist to have skin cancers removed.

Frida trying to trying to escape the summer heat in what’s left of the Avon River

So summer days are spent dreaming up ways to keep cool. You can go for the psychological approach like my Beloved Significant Other (BSO) – she is reading Scandi noir books set in chilly sub Arctic nordic climes hoping that she can convince her body that it is cold. I’ve tried watching a few films along those lines but my body is not easily fooled. Next is the physical approach. The BSO has also taken to spending as much time as possible at the swimming pool. I don’t go as when I get into the pool the water gets out. More seriously the pool isn’t heated in any way and the cold water has me shrieking like a teenage girl at a Beatles concert. So I’ve given up on that idea. I’ve taken to hanging around the freezer cabinet in the local super market along with the rest of the town. The competition for the best spots can be brutal. The little old ladies are the worst – they’ve got sharp pointy elbows that they use to great effect to secure prime position and maximum coolness. The best place to go is the bottle shop’s (liquor store or off-licence for non Aussies) coolroom. Absolutely blissful. Unfortunately I was banned after I tried to smuggle in a chair and a TV. The best strategy is to get up early and try and do everything before it gets too hot. Then you retreat back to the sanctity of home and crank up the air con. This is why I’ve been printing photos lately.

Nidoolyorong or Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops). York, Western Australia.

Yellow billed Spoonbill, Platalea flavipes. York, Western Australia.

A Willie Wagtail wondering if the Rainbow Bee Eater is going to share its dragon fly.

The impact of all this hot weather on the local wildlife has been considerable. The numbers of birds around is quite low. Lack of food and water. Even along the river, which now no longer resembles a river but a series of small fetid murky pools, there seems to be less activity. It has been a bumper year for dragon flies. I guess they must like it a little on the warm side. Once a week I’ve been going out to a large freshwater lake about 50Km from here to work on a new project. There’s been a bit more activity there but not much. Early in the mornings there is no vehicular access so you have to walk in through the bush and a couple of times I’ve come across a mob of kangaroos sparked out in the shade under the trees. They’re so hot and lethargic they can’t summon up the energy to move and they just lazily watch as I walk past. The only real activity at the lake has come in the form of a randy male musk duck desperately swimming up and down looking for a victim – err I mean prospective breeding partner. That duck can certainly move fast. Funnily enough I’ve not yet spotted a female musk duck – I guess they must be too hot and bothered and are avoiding him by hiding in the reed beds.

Musk Duck by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A male musk duck – not the randy one mentioned above.

Thankfully it is the end of February. That means we’ve only got to survive March and the the weather will start to cool in April. Can’t wait!!

Backyard Birds

April 19, 2020April 19, 2020 | paulamyes

Well it seems that the COVID-19 restrictions have been in place for an age. Here in Western Australia the social distancing requirements aren’t as strict as some places, but we still aren’t able to go where we want and do what we want. It makes me more appreciative of what my parents went through growing up in the Great Depression and then after that the Second World War. But anyway to keep myself from going totally mad I’ve been working on a few projects. This one is to document all the birds that come into our backyard. I’ve not got them all by any means. Some are very elusive and just don’t want their photos taken for some reason. Can’t imagine why. Here is a selection form the last couple of weeks.

Backyard Birds by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Willie Wagtail on the back fence. York, Western Australia. Canon EOS 6d with Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 Contemporary lens. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f7.1 at ISO 1600.

White-cheeked Honeyeater by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — White-cheeked Honeyeater, W, in my back garden. York, Western Australia. Canon EOS550d with Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary lens. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f7.1 at ISO 500.

Brown Honeyeater by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Brown Honeyeater, Brown, in my back garden. York, Western Australia. Canon EOS 550d with Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f6.3 at ISO 320.

Well that’s it for this week. Stay safe, keep positive and try and keep busy.

Bibra Lake Bird Walk

June 23, 2019 | paulamyes

South of the Swan River is a string of lakes known as the Beeliar Wetlands which are a chain of twenty six lakes stretching from Manning Lake in Hamilton Hill to Madura Swamp near Mandurah Wetlands. Nineteen of those lakes and associated wetlands have been incorporated into the Beeliar Regional Park. This extensive belt of wetlands that has been widely acknowledged as a biodiversity hot-spot having a greater number of endemic species than most other regions in Australia. Within this the Nyoongar with their hunter-gatherer life-style managed the land with their fire-stick farming and survived by hunting and trapping a variety of game, including kangaroos, possums and wallabies; by fishing using spears and fish traps; as well as by gathering an extensive range of edible wild plants, including wattle seeds. Since colonisation three-quarters of these wetlands have been drained for urban development. What remains has suffered untold damage through the introduction of feral animals and plants. Thankfully Australia is a signatory of the Ramsar Convention and several key wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain have been set aside for conservation. Bibra Lake is the fourth lake (heading southwards) in that chain of lakes that makes up Beeliar Regional Park. Whitefellas believe that they discovered the lake in 1842 and named it after the bloke who bought the land in 1843, one Benedict von Bibra. The Nyoongar say they have known about the lake since time began and to them it known as Walubup.

I first went to Bibra Lake about thirty years ago and thought it was a bit boring and hadn’t been back until the other week. I was called upon for driving duties for the Beloved Significant Other (BSO) and I was left with a morning to kill. So I looked in my copy of Birding Sites around Perth by Ron Van Delft (sadly out of print and unavailable now) and saw that Bibra Lakes was nearby and rated as a good location for birding. The down side to this was that we were experiencing the first major cold front of winter and that meant it was bucketing down and blowing a gale. So suitably swathed in Gore-Tex and equipped with a suitably weather resistant camera I headed off to walk around the lake not expecting to see much.

Live Here by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A comforting warning painted on the cycle path that runs around Lake Bibra. It was cold and wet in winter so not much chance of a snakey encounter.

Initially I thought that with it raining I had more chance of photographing ducks as it was the perfect weather for them. There were quite a number of different species on the shore and the water. I was quite taken by the Shovelers and the Pink Eared Ducks. The Shovelers are quite a string looking duck with colouring and almost disproportionately large bills. They can often be seen foraging in shallow water where they filter water through their bills insects looking for insects, crustaceans and a variety of plants. Such a specialised mode of feeding means that they are limited to certain types of habitat such as freshwater swamps and lakes with large reed beds. Shovelers also tend to hang out with pink-eared ducks which are so called because of the patch of pink feathers on the sides of the drakes head. Like the Shovelers they too are filter feeders. As the walk moved through areas of paperbark and sheoak trees then smaller insect eating birds were seen such as Willie Wagtails, Grey Fantails, Silvereyes, and various types of wrens. Over all as I did the 8.5 Km walk I saw 18 different species of bird which I felt was a pretty good haul considering the weather conditions. So I’ve revised my opinion of Bibra Lakes and will not wait another 30 years before my next visit.

Australasian Shoevelers by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Australasian Shoevelers, Spatula rhynchotis. Bibra Lake, Western Australia. Panasonic Lumix G85 with Panasonic LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/400 sec, f6.3 at ISO 250.

A pink-eared duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus) keeping a low profile while amongst Eurasian coots (Fulica atra). Bibra Lake, Western Australia. Panasonic Lumix G85 with Panasonic LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f6.3 at ISO 3200.

Varigated Fairy-wren by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Varigated Fairy-wren, Malurus lamberti. Bibra Lake, western Australia. Panasonic Lumix G85 with Panasonic LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f6.3, ISO 320.

Willie Wagtail by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Willie Wagtail, Rhipidura leucophrys leucophrys, Bibra Lake. Panasonic Lumix G85 with Panasonic LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f6.3 at ISO 1600.

Mistletoebird by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A female mistletoebird, Dicaeum hirundinaceum, at Bibra Lake in Western Australia. Panasonic Lumix G85 with Panasonic LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f6.3 at ISO 2000.

Bibra Lake by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Bibra Lake is part of the Beeliar Wetlands which is an internationally recognised birding hotspot. This is one of two bird hides that have been buit at Bibra Lake.

Feed A Bird? by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Don’t feed the birds sign at Bibra Lake complete with Willie Wagtail, Rhipidura leucophrys leucophrys. Panasonic Lumix G85 with Panasonic LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/500, f4, ISO 250.

If you are interested in the birds that can be seen at Bibra Lakes, and indeed throughout the Beeliar Wetlands Birding WA has a useful webpage that gives info on the species that can be seen and where. Birdlife Australia put out a couple of useful brochures which can be got from regional visitors centres or downloaded as PDFs from their website. The brochures are:

White-headed Stilt. by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — White-headed Stilt, Himantopus himantopus subsp. leucocephalus. Bibra Lake, Western Australia. Panasonic Lumix G85 with Panasonic LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f6.3 at ISO 1600.

Breakfast Interrupted

October 8, 2017March 12, 2019 | paulamyes

The other morning just as I was about to have my shower I heard a commotion on my front veranda. Quickly putting on my dressing gown (I don’t want to scare the neighbours) I went and looked out to see what was going on. To my delight a collared sparrowhawk had perched on the rail to eat its prey. I quickly ran to my office and grabbed a camera and long lens and started shooting.

Breakfast Interupted by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A perching collared sparrowhawk (Accipiter cirrhocehalua) preparing to eat its freshly caught prey. York, Western Australia. Olympus OMD EM1 with OLYMPUS M.40-150mm F2.8 lens. Exposure: 1/320 th sec, f4 at ISO 200.

The commotion was caused by the resident Willie Wagtails (Rhipidura leucophrys leucophrys). For the non Aussies among us the Willie Wagtail is a tiny insect-eating bird whose bossiness and boldness knows no bounds and they will often attempt to chase off larger animals from their territory. That was what happening here hence all the noise.

The Willie Wagtails made several sorties to no avail. Although the collared sparrowhawk’s feathers became a little ruffled at the constant harassment of the tiny feathered furies it did not move on and eventually the small birds gave up and left.

The raptor only left when I tried to move closer to get a better photo.

To Twitch…

February 5, 2017February 5, 2017 | paulamyes

… or not to twitch. That is the question. I fear I could be on the brink of another obsessive hobby – photographing birds. It is a worry. Oh well at least it’s not train spotting! Now where did I put my parka and thermos?