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Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

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  • Bar-tailed Godwit (Image ID 43123)

    Bar-tailed Godwit.   Photographer: Richard Smart

  • Australian Ringneck (Image ID 37528)

    Australian Ringneck.   Photographer: Emmy Silvius

  • Eastern Rosella (Image ID 37405)

    Eastern Rosella.   Photographer: Emmy Silvius

  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Image ID 24182)

    Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.   Photographer: Sandy Castle

  • Silver Gull (Image ID 18903)

    Silver Gull.   Photographer: Glenn Pure

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The next BirdLife Photography Biennial Conference will be held in Hahndorf, SA, at the Adelaide Hills Convention Centre, on 23rd & 24th March 2024.

Visit the dedicated BirdLife Photography Biennial Conference website for details.  Ticket sales are now open.

The final cut-off dates for conference attendance and conference dinner bookings are Saturday 9th of March for the dinner and Saturday 16th of March for the conference itself. No bookings can be accepted after the cut-off dates

BirdLife Photography would like to acknowledge Adelaide Optical Centre and Twin City Cameras for their generous sponsorship of our conference.

This Search facility will search all website content, uploaded documents, and images.  Some content on this site is restricted to BLP members; visitors may not be able to access all the items found.  The search options button on the All Photos page (on the Photo Gallery drop-down menu), and on individual gallery pages, provides more options for searching images only.

Latest Images

Welcome Swallow (Image ID 62201)
Welcome Swallow
Glenn Pure
Viewed: 39
Australasian Grebe (Image ID 62200)
Australasian Grebe
Glenn Pure
Viewed: 33
Welcome Swallow (Image ID 62199)
Welcome Swallow
Rob Solic
Viewed: 24
Grey Butcherbird, Noisy Miner (Image ID 62198)
Grey Butcherbird, Noisy Miner
Angela Farnsworth
Viewed: 15
Grey Butcherbird, Noisy Miner (Image ID 62197)
Grey Butcherbird, Noisy Miner
Angela Farnsworth
Viewed: 12
Far Eastern Curlew (Image ID 62196)
Far Eastern Curlew
Tony Willis
Viewed: 18
Australian Brush-turkey (Image ID 62195)
Australian Brush-turkey
Angela Farnsworth
Viewed: 13
Striated Heron (Image ID 62194)
Striated Heron
Angela Farnsworth
Viewed: 17
Crested Pigeon (Image ID 62193)
Crested Pigeon
Diana Womersley
Viewed: 31
White-winged Chough (Image ID 62192)
White-winged Chough
Diana Womersley
Viewed: 26
Black Swan (Image ID 62191)
Black Swan
Ian Wilson
Viewed: 30
Grey Plover (Image ID 62190)
Grey Plover
Glenda Gore
Viewed: 18
Masked Lapwing (Image ID 62189)
Masked Lapwing
Glenda Gore
Viewed: 12
Fairy Tern (Image ID 62188)
Fairy Tern
Glenda Gore
Viewed: 16
Western Spinebill (Image ID 62187)
Western Spinebill
Glenda Gore
Viewed: 17
Pacific Black Duck (Image ID 62145)
Pacific Black Duck
John Gitsham
Viewed: 16

They say that photographing odd numbers is more visually appealing than even pairs.  However, this is not always the case, and here it is evident that we have many appealing images.  I think there are a number of ways to achieve this.  Showing some interaction between the two is one way.  On the other hand, showing a clear disconnect can work.  Another way is using juxtaposition, where the subjects are placed close together with a contrasting effect.

For me, there were five images that stood out from the pack, so identifying those worthy of an award was easy.  However, ranking them in order was far more difficult.  Here are my final choices.

Winner:  Leaden Flycatcher, by Mary Wheeler  (Image ID 36849)

What an intriguing image!  Talk about being out on a limb.  How do they maintain their balance with so much going on?  The positioning of the birds works very well.  What is going on between these two?  Are they having a domestic or just a vigorous conversation.  Or do their open beaks indicate something else?  The image quality is outstanding.  The birds and the branch are all very sharp with great detail.  The lighting is very effective.  The soft muted and out-of-focus background is perfect.  Congratulations on an outstanding achievement.

Leaden Flycatcher

Highly Commended:  Galah, by Lorraine Gordon  (Image ID 36961 - image no longer available)

A worthy runner up.  What on earth did she say to him?  It certainly seems to hit its mark by the way he is reeling back as if to get as far back as he can.  Their expressions are priceless.  Domestic bliss? I don’t think so.  Love birds they are not.  The image quality is excellent.  The mottled stump on which they are perched adds an extra element.  I think a slight cropping to eliminate the white smudge on the left edge and to bring the birds even closer to us would make an even stronger image.

 

Commended: Zebra Finch, by Mary Wheeler  (Image ID 36823)

Smooching birds.  How good is that?  I love it.  Captured at the decisive moment.  The strong colours of the beaks bring our attention immediately to where is should be.  The closed eyes work well and adds to the story.  The feather detail is excellent.  The background is well out of focus. However, some of the bright highlights, particularly the diagonal branch, are a little distracting.

Zebra Finch

Commended: Welcome Swallow, by Jacob Dedman  (Image ID 37075 - image no longer available)

This is a good effort to come up with something different.  The use of a shallow depth of field is different and effective.  The birds are not in competition with each other, which is often the danger in photographing pairs.  The lead bird is very sharp with excellent detail.  I like the way the second bird is angled across the first.  The fact that the second bird is out of focus provides an interesting juxtaposition.  The rail on which the birds are perched provides an effective lead in.

 

Commended: Galah, by Helen Leonard (Image ID 36919 - image no longer available)

Whilst not quite as strong as the other Galah image, it is very cute and has a lot of appeal.  It captures a very tender moment with one Galah nestling into the other.  Apart from the fact there are no highlights in the eyes, technically the image is very strong.  We can’t always have everything, I guess.  Nevertheless, a very appealing image.

 

Recent Picks

Grey-backed Storm-Petrel (Image ID 62071)
Grey-backed Storm-Petrel
Chris Young
Viewed: 110
Pink Robin (Image ID 61955)
Pink Robin
Rob Solic
Viewed: 107
Australasian Gannet (Image ID 61793)
Australasian Gannet
Valerie Misa
Viewed: 103
Superb Fairy-wren (Image ID 61802)
Superb Fairy-wren
Shane Little
Viewed: 88
Galah (Image ID 61731)
Galah
Rob Solic
Viewed: 115
Australasian Darter (Image ID 61648)
Australasian Darter
Stephen Garth
Viewed: 119
Plumed Whistling-Duck (Image ID 61612)
Plumed Whistling-Duck
Shane Little
Viewed: 153
Pied Stilt (Image ID 61516)
Pied Stilt
Patrick Kavanagh
Viewed: 139
Australasian Gannet (Image ID 61497)
Australasian Gannet
Stephen Garth
Viewed: 212
Australian White Ibis (Image ID 61471)
Australian White Ibis
Angela Farnsworth
Viewed: 165

CONTACT US

The easiest way to contact us is by emailing us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Our People page, in the About Us section, contains email links to each of the committee members.