What did you do over the summer?

What did you do this past summer? If it's summer in the northern hemisphere, our family almost always heads south for several weeks down under for winter.

This year we went a little further south than usual, and had a great family road trip on the Great Ocean Road. We saw many amazing sites, the highlight of course was the Twelve Apostles near Port Campbell in Victoria.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f5.6, ISO 200, 1/250 sec.

Been Away But Will Post More Frequently...

I returned from my summer vacation in July, but have been using Instagram and Tumblr instead of Blogger.  Although I have enjoyed the immediacy of posting on those apps, Blogger still has it's place, so don't go anywhere.

Anyway, in July the family made our annual summer pilgramage to enjoy a mild winter down under. This year, in addition to Australia's Gold Coast, we visited friends in rural Victoria, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. Anyway, the photos here are of the lifeguard stand 19 on Burleigh Beach and an amazing stripped sunrise that greeted us on a fabulous morning.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 27 mm, f8, ISO 110, 1/30 sec.

How do you sneak up on a Kookaburra?

I put some of my old glass to the test along with my balance, and sacrificed a little scrapped skin off my knee to get this shot of a handsome kookaburra in Alma Bay on Magnetic Island. This specimen was perched on a rock on the north side of the beach. I really didn't think that I would be able to approach and get a good shot. It required scampering up and over several boulders to get close enough with my trusty old (and focal length challenged) Nikkor 24-mm AI . Anyway I was able to get about 6 to 8-ft away and take quite a few shoots before this beautiful bird decided that he (or she) was uncomfortable and had enough of my antics.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f8, ISO 100, 1/60 sec.

More Critters From Down Under

The when the tide is low and the tidal flats uncovered, you'll find shallow pools full of all sorts of critters. One of the first things we found while poking around the exposed coral heads was this crab.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/200 sec.

At the Arcardia Guest House there were several wild rainbow lorikeets that come down from the trees every morning to visit and get a quick treat.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 100, 1/125 sec.

At Bremner Point on the east end of Geoffrey Bay on Magnetic Island is a colony of allied rock wallabies. They are quite tame and come up to you to be hand fed. This mother had a curious joey poking out of her pouch.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec.

Been Down Under Enjoying Winter

Not sure how many people visit my blog regularly. I get a visits regularly but not so many comments, so I'm not sure if new posts are missed while I am on vacation.

Anyway, I've been down under in Australia enjoying the mild winter in Queensland. Spent some time on a small island off off Townsville called Magnetic Island. It's quite an amazing getaway and will probably result in a few more off Tokyo posts.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

More from Green Island

Down under in July, the family took a speedy 1-hour Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruise. At Green Island, I had hoped to go snorkeling with the children (we have a 7 and 9-year old).

My little girl, like many others, couldn't hold down her breakfast on the bumpy ride to the Great Barrier Reef. The morning attempt to snorkel from shore did not go well and we made our way back to the beach with children in tow as a storm rolled in. We turned in our gear expecting the rain to but an early end to our day. During the shower, we had a beautiful fish and chips lunch. Of course, the conditions the rain stopped, and the conditions improved. The visibility and ride in the glass bottom boat were exceptional, and we got to see some other braver souls snorkeling near the boat pier and launch.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 35 mm, f8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Although I am one that believes that cropping should be done in camera whenever possible, here is the same shop cropped tighter for effect.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 35 mm, f8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Patience

I've been down under with the family for the last week getting refreshed in the glorious Australian winter sun. The first few days we spent enjoying the sites in tropical Cairns. One of our stops was at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef. There highlight of Marineland was crocodile feeding time. The saltwater crocs were patient and suprisingly quick when food was presented.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4, ISO 200, 1/400 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4, ISO 160, 1/400 sec.

Thinking of the Beach

It's been busy at the office and I have been neglecting my blog and will probably be neglecting it a little more. Don't worry, it will only be a temporary situation. The family will be heading down under for our annual escape summer down under vacation.

I've got a couple busy days office sandwiched between a busy family weekend and then we are off. I need to focus to make it through, but my thoughts keep drifting off to beach...

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8, ISO 200, 1/400 sec.

Been down under the last few weeks...

Sorry for the lack of posts this month. I was crazy busy at work earlier and then was with the family in Australia for our annual summer / winter Down Under break. I took plenty of photos while on vacation, and will post a few of the interesting shots before getting back to my usual Lost Tokyo vibe.

This photo of a fast swimming Gentoo Penguin was taken at Sea World Australia's Penguin Encounter. It's a great exhibit and features the three largest penguin species, Emperor, King and Gentoo Penguins. The exhibit won a Exhibit Award in the Large Institution Category from the Zoo and Aquarium Association in 2010.

Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lensf4, ISO 3200, 1/320 sec

Back in Tokyo, after Summer Break in Australia

I finished a break down under and just returned to Tokyo two-weeks ago, only to be swamped at work. Now I have a backlog of photos from Australia and Tokyo to share....

So give me some time and hopefully, I will catch up before summer is over.  I had a long layover (over 6-hours) in Cairns.  It was only a 10-minute ride into the CBD so I went into town.  Here's a few of the things that I spotted while in Cairns.

My flight landed before sunrise, and I made it into the CBD at sunrise.

Walking around the CBD, I hear a strange hissing noise and spotted these Bush Stone Curlews. They did a sort of dance trying to escape from me.

There wasn't much to see in Cairns after breakfast. So I went to the Cairns Wildlife Dome to check out their birds and got a close up look at more Curlews.

They had lots many native parrots, Frogmouths, and Kookaburras.

I also spotted this beautiful white flower. I think it's a White Daffodil but I haven't confirmed it.

Thinking about a break from Tokyo...

I have been posting a lot lately, and although I have been posting some older photos with the new, one would think that I must have lots of free time.  However, that's not how it seems to work.

Seems that stress and work make me more productive and creative.  I take more pictures, try to do more on the computer, exercise more, work more, etc.  It seems counter intuitive.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the annual family trip to Australia for a cool winter break over the summer holidays in Japan.  I posted some photos of the trip previously, but there are many more...  I've picked out a couple more that I like from the Sydney portion.  The light that time of year in Sydney was absolutely fantastic.