Spread your wings and come experience Rottnest Island! All the locals won't stop flapping on about it! Image: @jamesacollins . . . #Pelican #Rottnestlocal #Rottnest #RottnestIsland #WA #SeeAustralia #Travel #Australia #WestisBest #ThisisWA #JustanotherdayinWA #YourPerth

A photo posted by Rottnest Island (@rottnestislandwa) on Nov 28, 2016 at 7:06pm PST

I’ve visited Rottnest Island twice this year, and both times I’ve taken my camera with me.

There’s so many beautiful beaches and signs to see, and there always seems to be plenty of Pelicans there too.

The Pelican pictured below was perched on the jetty pole, so I waited there patiently until he finally flew off into the distance. The image was captured back in July.

The original uncropped image can be seen here on Flickr (click on the image to view all of the details on Flickr):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/james-collins/28536568233/

The post My Pelican Image Featured on the Rottnest Island Instagram Page appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

I think this shot demonstrates how common it is for an Italian city to be right on the coastline, with the wilderness right next door.

f/8 | 1/90 sec | ISO 125
Canon 24-105mm F4 with Metabones Adapter at 24 mm
Sony A7RII

This is one of the first panoramas I’ve taken using my new Sony A7RII. The resulting file is a whopping 13,319 x 6042 pixels (343MB). It’s 7 individual photos stitched together in Photoshop.

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The post Naples From Above appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

These two pelicans were hoping for a free feed, but unfortunately the fish weren’t coming to the party!

f/2.8 | 1/640 sec | ISO 320
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L @35mm
Canon 5D Mk III

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The post Fishing at Woodman Point Jetty appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

f/2.8 | 1/1600 sec | ISO 500
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM at 200mm
Canon 5D Mk III

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The post On the Lookout appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

For this shot I thought I’d try a different composition – too many of landscape my shots are in landscape orientation!

f/14 | 1/30 sec | ISO 320
16-35mm f/2.8L II @16mm
Canon 5D Mk III

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The post Ripples | Geographe Bay appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

f/2.8 | 1/30 sec | ISO 125
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L @16mm
Canon 5D Mk III

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The post Woodman Point Jetty Sunset appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

f/5 | 1/200 sec | ISO 1250
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @200mm
Canon 5D Mk III

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The post Brolga (Australian Crane) appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

f/14 | 13 sec | ISO 50
16-35mm f/2.8L @16mm
Canon 5D Mk III

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The post Motion | Swan River Sunset appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

f/18 | 30 sec | ISO 100
16-35mm f/2.8L @16mm
Canon 5D Mk III
Lee Big Stopper 10 stop ND filter

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The post Coode St Jetty at Sunset appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

f/7.1 | 121 sec | ISO 100
16-35mm f/2.8L @21mm
Canon 5D Mk III
Lee Big Stopper 10 stop ND filter

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The post Falls | John Oldham Park appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

The fantastic show was put on by the CircusWA trainers and students.

The (lack of) lighting was challenging, however my Canon 5D mk III and 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II lens coped really well overall!

Location: CircusWA, Fremantle, Western Australia

View Album on Flickr

The post CircusWA Christmas Show 2014 appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

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The Australian Pelican is a fascinating bird, which claims to have the longest bill of any living bird.

Commonly having a wingspan of 2.3-2.6 metres, these birds glide through the air almost effortlessly.

Location: Swan River, Perth, Western Australia

The post Australian Pelican in Flight on the Swan River appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

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The post Council House, Perth appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

From this viewpoint, you can see down Market St towards Fremantle Harbour and the unmistakeable cranes in Fremantle Port.

The large red building in the centre is the Newport Hotel.

The green illuminated building to the top left is the Fremantle GPO (post office).

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The post Fremantle Skyline at Night appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

I’ve been relying on the versatile 24-105mm too much, so this week I decided to challenge myself and use my simplest and cheapest lens, the Canon 50mm f/1.8 (aka the nifty fifty).

I was pleasantly surprised with the results – I’m definitely going to be using the nifty fifty more often!

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The post Fremantle’s Fishermen’s Co-op building at night appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

The post Geographe Bay Sunset appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

Swan River Sunrise

A quick snap taken (using my Nexus 5) on my morning commute last week.

Taken from the jetty in front of the Old Swan Brewery in Perth, Western Australia.

I am constantly surprised by the beauty I see while riding my bike along the Swan River through South Perth and Kings Park!

The post Swan River Sunrise appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

The 3 words that describe my Easter long weekend at Rottnest Island!

All photos were taken using my Nexus 5 mobile phone. I decided to leave my DSLR at home given the amount of rough water, salt and sand at the island.

The post Rottnest Island Easter appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

On a recent drive across Australia, I stopped at the Blue Lake, in Mount Gambier, South Australia.

This fascinating landmark is located inside an inactive volcano.

Each year, the lake completely changes colour to a fantastic turquoise blue.

Amazingly, this lake serves as the main water supply for the town of Mount Gambier.

This images is two separate photos merged into a single panorama.

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The post Blue Lake, Mt Gambier appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

Busselton beach (Geographe Bay) during a gloomy evening in March.

A Big Stopper 10 stop ND filter (and tripod) was used to achieve a 57 second exposure.

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The post Geographe Bay Gloom appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

Last month the world-renound RMS Queen Mary 2 luxury cruise ship visited Fremantle Harbour.

This modern engineering feat is a massive 354m long, 72m tall, and weighs almost 150,000 Tonnes.

After staying for several days, the ship departed, with a crowd of several thousand people wishing it a safe journey.

This photo was taken from the rocks of Fremantle Harbour’s north mole.

I’ll never forget the loud sound of the ship’s fog horn!

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The post Queen Mary 2 appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

The sun sets over Southbank in Melbourne.

I took this shot using my nifty fifty during Trey Ratcliff’s Melbourne Photowalk back in January.

The walk had over 200 people attend, which made it quite easy to put a few people in the frame for this shot.

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The post Golden Shine appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

I had a great time meeting new people and experimenting with my camera’s manual mode.

Below are my favourite shots:

Thanks very much to Claire for showing us the sights of Williamstown!

Update 28/6/2013: The official photos from this walk have just been posted on the DJB Photography Blog, so be sure to check them out too!

The post Williamstown Photowalk with DJB Photography appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

I snapped this Sulphur-crested Cockatoo’s morning flight over Lake Mulwala in Yarrawonga on the weekend.

This shot was taken just after sunrise, when there were literally hundreds of cockatoos flying around and making lots of noise!

My lens was at full zoom (400mm) for this shot, and I also had to crop the photo a little.

Location: Lake Mulwala, Victoria, Australia

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The post A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo’s Morning Flight appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

Last weekend I visited Yarrawonga, staying in a house that overlooked Lake Mulwala.

Throughout the weekend I experimented with my new Big Stopper filter, which allowed a 26 second exposure time to capture this shot during a morning sunrise.

Overall I’m very happy with the Big Stopper, which is a 10 stop ND filter.

Location: Lake Mulwala, Victoria, Australia

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The post Sunrise at Lake Mulwala, Victoria appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

Here’s my step dad (Kevin) after a busy day of gardening. I managed to snap this shot before he had a chance to clean the dirt off his face!

Location: East Fremantle, Western Australia

The post Kevin appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

Last month I visited Busselton in Western Australia with my family. We stayed at a house that was only metres from Geographe Bay.

I did plenty of relaxing, whild dad and my brother threw in a line while the sun set in the evening.

Location: Geographe Bay, Busselton, Western Australia

The post Gone Fishing appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

While in Perth last month, I also saw these Red Wattlebird Honeyeaters who weren’t as energetic as the Rainbow Lorikeets!

For these shots, my camera was mounted on a tripod using my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens and Canon EF Extender III 2x for a total focal length of 400mm.

Location: East Fremantle, Western Australia

The post Red Wattlebird Honeyeaters appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

I spotted these Rainbow Lorikeets in a large gum tree on my recent trip to Perth, and was amazed at how energetic they were!

For these shots, my camera was mounted on a tripod using my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens and Canon EF Extender III 2x for a total focal length of 400mm.

Location: East Fremantle, Western Australia

The post Parroting Around appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.

Last weekend we visited a family member’s sheep farm in Pyalong, Victoria.

It was a fun day full of food, children, sheep and photos. Here’s some of my favourites.

As always, any feedback (positive or negative) is welcome!

The post Farm Life in Pyalong, Victoria appeared first on James Collins: Exploring Photography.