1 Attachment(s)
Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo Female plus Juvenile
Attachment 158659
Posted more for rarity and interests sake than for technical quality.
Australia has two types of Tree Kangaroos, Lumholtz and Bennets.
Both are found only in the north east of the country, from the base of Cape York Peninsula northwards.
Though reasonably common within their restricted territory they are seldom seen.
One afternoon whilst driving home from work I noticed a group of people standing beneath a rainforest tree staring into the canopy.
At that time I wasn't in the habit of carrying a camera with me at all times.
I knew this wasn't an opportunity to be missed so returned with the camera.
Sure enough two Tree Kangaroos were grazing in the canopy.
Not much in the way of photographic opportunities at that time.
The other observers eventually got bored and drifted away.
This is where it pays to know your subject.
Tree Kangaroos rarely jump from tree to tree.
When they want to move to another tree they climb down until they are about 2 meters above ground level.
Then they launch themselves backwards, turn around midair , land and scamper off.
So it was just a matter of waiting till they descended.
TKs have very long tails which they use for ballancing not gripping.
This makes it hard to get a detailed photo of the animal with all the tail included.
Kind of like cutting off a bird's tail in photo I guess.
The photo represents my introduction to digital photography after years of film photography.
A rather humble beginning using a refurbished Panasonic Lumix FZ3. All of 3 megapixels.
I remember thinking at the time that the camera did a better job than my film cameras considering the conditions.
No data recorded and the original image was a JPEG. Cropped slightly left side and top. No processing.
I'm always on the lookout for these amazing creatures.
A friend runs a bed and breakfast where one will wander in and sit on guests shoulders.
How is that for a unique experience.
Paul.
