King Island - Moreton Bay

in #teamaustralia6 years ago (edited)

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King Island is labeled in this 3D aerial view , with the tip of the mainland just visible at the bottom. When this image was made it must have been close to high tide as the sand bar joining the island to the mainland is mostly submerged. Imagery ©2018 Google, Data SIO, NOAA, US Navy, NGA, GEBCO, Landsat/Copernicus, Map Data ©2018 Google

Having lived in the Redlands region of Brisbane, Australia, for more years than I care to admit and I have been guilty of not visiting some of the interesting sights the Redlands has to offer. One of those sights is King Island, an small island in Moreton Bay that you can walk to when the tide is low. A couple of days ago my daughters and I ventured out to the island on foot, courtesy of the sandbar that joins the island to the mainland. The surrounding mudflats plays host to a great variety of marine life.

Here is a photo montage of our walk out to King Island.

First up is the view near the start of the sandbar looking towards the island. This was taken with an 8mm fisheye lens and the Oly OMD EM1mk2, but "de-fished" to show a slightly more natural view.

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Along the western edge of the sandbar are mudflats which are home to countless crabs and mollusks. I thought the image straight out of the fisheye lens made for an interesting effect. However, most of the crabs had retreated to their burrows because of my presence.

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To get the crabs to return to the surface I had to stand my distance, and use a telephoto. Here are some images made at 300mm focal length (600mm full frame equivalent).

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More crab shennagins.

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On the eastern flank of the sandbar there also mud flats but with entirely different character. Of most interest are the many coral skeletons and shells that have been washed ashore. Here is the skeleton of what I believe to be blastomussa wellsi coral. I kind of like the effect of the fisheye lens which also allows you to frame the entire surrounding environment while still getting close to the subject.

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The next view shows the sandbar itself with walkers. In the distant background is the Port of Brisbane with it's port handling facilities.

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Here is the island itself looking back to the mainland. According to the information board located on the island a family once lived here in the 1930's, with the father commuting to work each day across the sandbar!

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I know this was not my usual astronomy content, but I hope you all enjoyed this travel/photo post regardless :)

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Thank you for sharing, great pictures. How is the weather there now? Here in Austria it has been snowing for 2 days straight.

Hot and humid here now!

Amazing shots Terry :-)
It almost looks like paradise to me. Beach, sun, breathtaking wide.
Maybe, one day, I will travel to Australia :-)

It is a great place to live. Come and visit if you decide to travel this way.

What I have seen and heard about it, it definitely is. :-)
Sure, but I think it's gonna be a while before I do. But then we go for a beer or a coffee :-)
But also, if you ever come to Germany. Don't miss the Allgäuer Alps. ;-)

Nice. Any update on Comet Wirtanen? I don't think the weather will cooperate with me this week for the comet or the meteor shower. I assume the tidal flats have cleaned up a fair but since the Brisbane river was cleaned up when dredging stopped some time ago.

Comet Wirtanen is pretty easy to see (in binoculars) and photograph. Here is a single 15second shot of the comet on December 10 with an 8mm lens (I've cropped down somewhat) to give you an idea. Click on image for full size version.

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If there is a break in the clouds I will try my luck. Would you sugges a 100mm f2.8 or a 400mm f 5.4 ? I don’t have a tracking mount

Definitely 100mm f2.8. But to be honest I would go even wider without a tracking mount - maybe 24mm (full frame equivalent).

A tight crop from a 10 stack at 100mm. I really need a sky mount lol newtest22.jpg

That is great for a 100mm without guiding!

The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!Hello @terrylovejoy, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine.

All photos you are taken are Superb

Posted using Partiko Android

All photos you are taken are Superb

Posted using Partiko Android