Close Encounter

Out in the grasslands, I have been faithfully following two mobs of kangaroos for a couple of months now. I have never really managed to do THE "Money Shot", so to speak. But as I was saying previously, every day brings a different gift. Today I was able for the first time to get some close dynamic shots with only a 200mm telephoto lens.

Did I mention that after seeing the lens that Steve Parish had on display at his Floriade appearance, I was ready to throw the towel in?

Well, today was worth going out there and for the first time ever, I managed to get in 5 minutes more shots than I have gathered all these months.

Signs

Sometimes, when I feel down,  it looks like everything conspires to prove me the opposite and show me that - for a second- I might have forgotten the beauty of our world. I was out in the grasslands, following a mob of kangaroos, when this monk came out of nowhere, smiling. In Australia, this is a rare sight - especially in the grasslands, so I took it as a good sign.

The next set of pictures show a typical morning in the grasslands. Kangaroos seem to love the warm sunlight and I felt very privileged to be allowed "in". They didn't run away; they didn't accept me either. As long as I was still enough, they allowed me to take pictures. 

 

Baby Joey

This was a very special event that I have witnessed for the first time.

I have actually seen a joey coming out of his mother's pouch. It was truly special and I wish I had a better zoom to catch it closer. I didn't dare to move; by all means, I stood still instead of going closer, as I was sure they will run away.

It is the smallest kangaroo that I have ever seen to date. I think the mother is preparing to get another baby and get this one ready to take on life.

I felt very privileged to be part of it, seeing how Joey was discovering the world, inspecting and exploring, his confidence was growing, yet kept going back to his mother for reassurance.

Fun fact about kangaroos: females can be virtually always pregnant, as they have the ability of "freezing" the development of an embryo until the joey leaves her pouch.


Joey jumped out of the pouch when I least expected it and I nearly missed it.
 

Hesitantly, he started looking around and his curiosity is stimulated by the many things to smell and see.













 He loves playing games with his mother; it almost looks like he is caressing her and giving her hugs.














Joey still needs his mother's reassurance; he keeps returning for a quick suck.














And he is playing games, while the rest of the mob are resting in the sun.














He inspects the pouch again, but he is not keen to go inside, now that he is up and going!













And he is giving lots of embraces and cuddles to his very patient mother, who is quietly supervising him. 















Then he returns to inspecting every flower, every tree, every grass blade, keeping close to her.





























With each steps, he gains more confidence in himself.


















But he keeps returning to her, for more hugs and cuddles.
































And then they are up to exploring some more, together this time!

 

We live in Fairyland!

 

Something that my daughter said to me a while ago keeps resonating with me; looking at the misty landscape one morning, she exclaimed: "we live in fairyland"!

And indeed we do - if we take the time to look at the beauty out there.

 

 

Golden hour at sunset

Golden Hour in the Grasslands

This is the golden hour in the morning. A special time for reflection, before the day begins with its routines and trials. This is my regular mob of kangaroos that I am following daily around the grasslands; I found them under a big tree - they looked like worshipers, grouped together as in giving the Sun a big salute. I  loved how the backlight is outlining their silhouette and their warm breath was visible in the crisp air of our Canberran morning.