Kakadu Wetlands Sunset Boat Cruise

[PhotoByTrace]

Hi all,
Thought I'd share some photos from a recent trip to Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, Australia. These photos are all from a Sunset Boat Cruise of the Yellow Water Wetlands; by boat or by air are really about the only ways to access this area for photography.

I was using a lens that was completely new to me. I'd had just one day shooting with it prior to this boat ride. It was the Tamron 28-300mm. Certainly not the ideal lens for the wonderful bird life that abounds in this area, but it turned out to be a good all-round light weight travel lens that enabled me to capture a bit of everything to a satisfactory level. It struggles with CA and isn't as sharp as my Nikkor 70-200 f/4 on the long end, but gave me more range, and overall it is a very convenient lens on a full-frame camera for trips when you really don't know what to expect or what you'll encounter.

I also did the sunrise tour the next day and will post up a few more bird pics from that in another thread, though I'm quite sure I didn't do the wonderful birds the justice they deserved.

Yellow Water Creek in Afternoon Light ƒ/8.0 95mm 1/640s ISO100



White Bellied Sea Eagles ƒ/6.3 300mm 1/400s ISO100



Yellow Water Billabong Sunset over the Lotus flowers ƒ/8.0 28mm 1/200s ISO400



A Top End Sunset over the wetlands ƒ/8.0 300mm 1/800sec ISO400



4.5m Saltwater Crocodile ƒ/8.0 300mm 1/160 ISO100



Evening Twilight ƒ/8.0 28mm 1/50s ISO400



End of Sunset Cruise ƒ/8.0 28.0 mm 1/20 400

[Otavio]

Hello, Trace. A very nice set. The place looks really awesome and pretty much reminds me of Pantanal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantanal).

You are dealing very well with your new lens. Regards,

[bnnrcn]

Beautiful shots Trace I love the light on the eagles. Did you use a GND filter for the sunset shots or did you take bracketed shots and merge them in PP ?

[John 2]

Beautiful set Trace. The shot of the croc was clearly taken on the run.

[Shadowman]

Nice series, you've got some special captures in this grouping.

[FootLoose]

Good set, Trace. Kakadu is a place you never forget.

[terrib]

Beautiful group of photos. Most are so serene and make me feel at peace. Must have been a wonderful trip for you.

[PhotoByTrace]

Thanks all for the kind words on my photos .
And yes Greg, Kakadu isn't a place I'll forget. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to return for some slow tourism at some point in the future.

Beautiful set Trace. The shot of the croc was clearly taken on the run.

Yes, John, even at 300mm through the lens, he was uncomfortably close. I had an even closer encounter in the morning though that, while I was safely on board a stable and security screened boat, was still somewhat unsettling. I have a renewed appreciation of their sheer power, speed and maneuverability that will make me even more cautious with my summer beach shots here at home.

Beautiful shots Trace I love the light on the eagles. Did you use a GND filter for the sunset shots or did you take bracketed shots and merge them in PP ?

Thank you Binnur The eagles together in the treetop is my favourite photo despite their eyes not being as sharp as I'd like. But the light was gorgeous and they were so majestic together.

I did not use a GND at all. I had both a 2-stop soft and a 2-stop reverse with me, but once underway I realised the unpredictability of my surrounds and subjects while in the creeks would make them frustrating to use. Certainly for sunset out on the wetlands they may have been useful, especially the Reverse with a fairly level horizon. However we didn't get into a viewing position until most of the sun was below the horizon, so by that point I could control it within one exposure. We were also positioned up against the wetlands to more clearly watch the birds taking off into the sunset; whereas having some water between the boat and the wetlands to take advantage of the reflected colours of the sky would have been my preference. However when on a group tour of 30ish passengers, compromise is always the recipe: modus vivendi

I did bracket all my landscape and bird shots (and some of the crocs too when I forgot to turn the bracketing off ). However, as it turned out, for this particular set on the sunset tour I didn't end up blending any of the bracketed photos. With shadow and highlight recovery I was able to keep it within one exposure without too much noise and acceptable (to me) histograms. I'm guilty of not having put a lot of time into the post-processing (for various reasons), mostly just adjustments within Lightroom. Though playing with the dehaze slider for the first time, I was initially very enamoured, but I've now noticed it has made my skies somewhat mottled with strong blue saturation, so I think I'll be more selective with that tool in the future.

I also did sunrise and sunset boat tours of Nitmiluk Gorge and I certainly needed to use the bracketing for those, and am still processing them as a result. Framing with those was a challenge. I framed loosely knowing I'd lose some with the hand-held bracketing, but in many instances I've lost more through boat motion across the bracketed shots than I'd anticipated. That is the location I'd most like to spend more quality time at. I'd love to kayak the gorge system with some overnight camping and take my time enjoying and capturing the beauty. My bucket list continues to lengthen

[PhotoByTrace]

Hello, Trace. A very nice set. The place looks really awesome and pretty much reminds me of Pantanal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantanal).

You are dealing very well with your new lens. Regards,

Thanks Otavio I haven't had the good fortune of visiting South America at all... I certainly hope to one day. John Grisham was the first introduction to the Pantanal I had; albeit fiction. I can't remember which title it was now, but do remember the rich imagery he painted.

[just me]

Trace....out of this world beautiful images......stirred up memory's for me........

Griddi......

[IzzieK]

And me...I love Kakadu. I've only been there twice and so will always remember the sights, the sounds, the crocs too included . Whatever place on earth doesn't have the dreaded croc anyway...I like #1 very much. The light, the reflections are superb. The eagles are good too -- been unlucky with capturing a shot of them earlier in the year so I am not too keen on it. Still feel the failure that the only thing I can remember of that trip was my beautiful pair of leather boots was soaked in mud. ha! Truth to be said, I am envious of those that can successful shoot eagles this year. Anyway, moving on, I like the last one too with the hint of the clouds in the water.

BTW...been browsing your website...lots of nice shots there too...

[Wavelength]

Excellent set of images ... and that croco....

[Ziggy]

Very enjoyable series.