Poppeye the slipper orchid!

This is a Slipper Orchid. We recently purchased this variety from a orchid grower in Dingley (Plantworld Nursery).

Two Heads Are Better Than One

A doubble headder Nodding Greenhead (Pterostylus nutans) is a rare find, so naturally i jumped at this photo opportunity.

Lepoard Orchid

Wine Lip Spider Orchid

Goulds Forest Bat.

Twisted

Any Regular visitors to my site would have worked out i have a fascination with mutated leaves!

Magie

The Australian Magpie is known to most not for its beauty or its gargaling call, but its tendancy to swoop unsuspecting people who walk to close to its young!

James Blake Junior

The Brown Snake is widely recognised as the second most venomous snake in the world. Juvenile Browns like this one are commonly mistaken for the relatively harmless little whip snake.

Inspiration

My apologies to everyone still checking my site regurarly and not finding any new posts!
I always find this time of year difficult for my style of photography, as most of the critters I enjoy pointing a lens at are not around.

I find it is this time of year when i struggle for inspiration! - Any subject suggestions would be appreciated!!!!

Thankyou so much for your recent comments and encouragements, it has been those that have inspired me to keep this site going.

Cheers

Jeremy Tscharke

Ice Ice Rusty

I managed to get myself out of bed early enough to encounter Jack Frost last week, and managed to get some happy snaps of his work.

This is a single barb on a rusty old barb wire fence.

Musk Lorikeet

Glossopsitta concinna or the Musk Lorikeet Commonly inhabits open forests and woodlands where it follows the different species of Eucalyptus (Gum trees) as they burst into bloom. The Lorikeet family of Parrots can be distinguished from other parrot families by its bushy tongue that has been specially designed for the retrieval of nectar from gum blossoms.

ANSWER

Thankyou everyone for your comments and guesses. Yes it is a Thorny Devil, a ant eating specialist from the sandy centre of Australia.

Rose thorn

Well I think its time for another guess the subject post. Its a easy one! Ill reveal the correct answer next post.

Primate killer!

The Sydney Funnel web spider (Atrax robustus) is one fine photography subject! Males are about 5 times more venemous than females! Males venom is tailored for killing primates - a interesting fact considering there are no native primates in Australia!

For more information check out

http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/spidersparlour/spider14.htm

Anostostoma australasiae (Giant King Cricket)

I cannot find a lot of information on the web about this not so little dude. But i can tell you that its nippers are the size of my thumb nail and it loves to jump!!! They reach a maximum body length of 7cm... not including legs! I know it does not sound all that big, but get a ruler out, find the 7cm mark and then imagine a cricket with a body length of that!

Walking Stick

Acrophylla wuelfingi (Walking Stick) - Yet another of Australia's amazing stick insects. This one reaches a amazing body length of 22cm (female excluding legs).

As with the spiny leaf insect, the eggs resemble seed pods and are dropped into the leaf litter below. Check out http://www.phasmidsincyberspace.com/AcrophyllaWuelfingi.html for more information.

Spiny Leaf Insect

This is another image of the insect pictured below. I guess i just like the way she is peering out between her legs.

Extatosoma tiaratum

Thanks heaps to my mate Geoff Heard who kindly granted me access to his workplace where I was able to photograph some of Australia's most amazing invert species! Stay posted .. there are more to come! This is the Spiny Leaf Insect of Queensland. When eggs are laid they resemble seed pods which ants mistakingly carry into their nests. When they hatch they imitate the same ant species. They then emerge from the ant nest and assume there place amoungst the eucalyptus vegetation. Check out http://www.microcosmos.org.uk/Extatosoma%20tiaratum.htm to see documented life stages.

Best of friends.

I wonder who the Cattle Egrets associated with before European Settlement?

Chestnut & Grey

Chestnut Teal like this pair, although relatively common, are one of my favourite duck species, only trailing the Mountain Duck and Pink Eared Duck.

Acianthus exsertus

Mosquito and Gnatt Orchids are one of Australia's tiny orchid species, with flowers only reaching around 1cm in length.

Sacred Kingfisher

I found this little dude on the roadside near reedesdale a little while back now.

Emma would remember this one!

SUTA SUTA

The Curl Snake (Suta Suta) is a inhabitant of the Northern Grasslands. It is so named after its intense curl like flicking motion that it does when threatened. Its venom has just been upgraded from not known to cause harm, to dangerously venemous (same classification as the brown and tiger snakes).

Pogona

Bearded Dragons love old fencing posts like this where they can be found basking in the sunlight. When approached they usually adopt this defensive pose (which is all bluff) in attempt to scare off predators or nosy photographers.

Plains Wandering

The female Plains Wanderer above and Male below are endangered birds of the Northern Grasslands of Victoria and New South Wales. I feel privelaged to have had the opportunity to photograph them.

Eriochilus cucullatus

This little beauty is one of the first orchids I have seen this Autumn. Otherwise known as Parsons Bands. It stands at under 10cm tall and the flower its self is the size of your thumb nail. The object in question in my last post is a Chinton, a sea shell found on the inter tidal zone of rocky shore line. Thanks for your guesses!

Grandpa's Gums

Any guesses on what this is? I'll reveal the answer next post!

Bug Hair!

I dont know the species of catapiller, but it was feeding upon Golden Wattle exclusively in the nursery at work.

Varanus

Lace Monitors are the garbage disposal units of the bush. There keen sense of smell will find them a decomposing meal from many hundreds of metres away!

Its Whats inside that matters!

Look closely at most gum tree leaves and you will find these galls. They are formed from the laying of wasp eggs into the leaves.

Flame Trees

I was looking for a painting sort of effect when taking this sunset pic on the Murray River, near Mildura. The sky remained like this for about 5 min's before darkness set in.

Leave me alone!

This tiger snake was very co-operative whilst photographing! I was however not able to get it away from that bit of grass that covered its nose!

No Racing Stripes

The Striped Legless Lizard (Delma impar) is one of Victoria's Endangered reptile species. I found this one while undertaking a survey for them around the Bendigo area. Strangely all that I found lacked their trademark stripes.

Lycosa

Lycosa is the Genus name of the group of spiders more commonly known as Wolf Spiders. They live underground in small holes and venture out at night to hunt. There eye shine can be seen for hundreds of metres under spotlight.

Spiders by the Bunch

Benita brought this plant home from work the other day (florist) and i just had to photograph the flowers!

Nikon D50 Tamron 1:1 Macro 90mm. Flash Nikon R1C1 TTL

Baby Brown

This Baby Eastern Brown Snake was under a pile of rubbish when i disturbed it. It kindly let me take some macro shots of it before it went on its way.

Nikon D50 Tamron 90mm Macro 1:1 Flash not fired.

Come to the Light!

This little guy was found near Swifts Creek, While working the bushfires.

He was amoungst a million other wonderful bugs that were attracted to the massive staging lights around the staging area.

Nikon D50 Tamron 1:1 90mm Macro.

A River Somewhere

The Edwards River near Pretty Pine just after sunset.

Nikon D50 18mm f5.6 3 mins. Flash fired.

R.I.P Kosmo

Ok, Todays post is not inline with the theme of this site, however I wanted to post this anyway.

Kosmo our 8 month old whippet was hit and killed by a motorcycle the night before last.

She will be missed by her playmate Billco, Benita and myself. R.I.P Kosmo.

Growling Grass Frog

Growling Grass Frogs like this are now a rare find in Victoria.

Mutation

This often occurs when insects of certain species lay their eggs inside gum leaves.

Nikon D50, Tamron 90mm Macro 32mm Extension Tube. Flash: Nikon R1C1 TTL.

Golden Flickers

Its amazing how much detail a common butterfly has in its face when you look hard enough.

Nikon D50, Apeture Priority, F36, Tamron 90mm Macro + 36mm extension. Flash: Nikon R1C1 TTL x2

The Ants Go Marching One By One

This Bulldog ant had only one thing on its mind when it came from its nest.. .. to attack my camera lens!

Nikon D50 Tamron 90mm Macro. Flash Nikon R1C1 1cm from subject.

Emerald Arachnid

Nikon D50 Tamron 90mm Macro 36mm Extension + Nikon R1C1 Flash TTL.

Hanging Around

I was having trouble deciding which weevil photo to post, i like them both for different reasons. Which do you prefer?

Weevil

One of many species of weevil found in the Greater Melbourne area. This one is feeding on Indigophera seeds.

Nikon D50, 90mm F32, Flash Nikon R1C1 TTL