Category: Animals

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A pride of lions just chilling out under the warm African sun. This photo was taken in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

As far as I can remember, I’ve always loved the trunk of an elephant. This picture was taken in Zimbabwe at the Hwange National Park. Click on the image to see it in full resolution.

Here are 5 fun facts about Elephant trunks.

• With an estimated muscle count between 40,000 and 150,000, the trunk of an elephant is capable of killing a lion–or caressing a frightened elephant calf.
• An elephant actually has somewhat opposable fingers at the tip of its trunk, so it can use it like a hand (African elephants have 2 of these “fingers”, but Asian elephants just have 1).
• An elephant’s trunk is a fundamental part of the animal’s olfactory system. Elephants point their trunk in different directions to sample the air for scents.
• To drink, elephants suck water up into their trunk but do not drink through the trunk. They place the end of its trunk in their mouth and releases the water. African elephants also use their trunks to take dust baths that help to repel insects and guard against harmful rays of the sun.
• When swimming they hold their trunk out of the water much like a snorkel so they can breath.

The most fascinating fact is that elephants are not born with this trunk-talent either. Baby elephants have to learn this kind of precision; they’re clumsy with their trunks when they are born. Goes to show that beauty and grace CAN be taught.

Which is your favourite animal and care to share any fun facts?

Click on the image for larger sizes

Today’s post is titled ‘Lazy weekend inspiration’. After a busy week, I am going to take a cue out of this hippo’s book. Sleep in, read a book, and stay offline. Sounds like a pretty good day, doesn’t it. What have you got planned for the weekend?

Exposure: 1/320 sec at f/8.0 and ISO 320. Focal length 200mm taken with the Canon550D

What’s the Pecking Order

This picture of baby chicks feeding was taken at a ranch in Humani, Zimbabwe. The intentional blur creates a sense of confusion which was exactly the scenario when the chicks were feeding. Fun Fact: Did you know that Baby chicks can breathe before they hatch. An eggshell may seem solid, but it actually contains about 8,000 pores large enough for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Exposure: 1/1250 sec at f/5.0 and ISO100. Focal length 135mm taken with the Canon550D and EF70-200lens.

2012 has been the busiest year for me. It’s been go-go-go since January 1. And we are leaving the beautiful city of Sydney to usher in new beginnings in Singapore. The last 4 years in Sydney has been INCREDIBLE. I am going miss the city immensely. But a new and exciting city, new travel destinations and a new lifestyle awaits. But not before my TRIP-OF-A-LIFETIME  and some quality downtime. We will be spending 15 days in South Africa and Zimbabwe on our first African Safari.

Once you’ve gotten over your jealousy and if you are planning your own safari, here is our iterinary. The trip is being arranged by Animals Works and we could not be more happier with the pre-trip arrangements. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING has been checked and we feel we’re just going to chill and have a great time with friends.  If you have any questions, I’d be glad to answer any questions after I am back.

29 May

- Land in Jo’burg South Africa

- 4.5 hour drive to Kruger Park

30-31 May

- Staying at two campsites at Kruger national park.

31 May

- Leave Jo’burg for Harare (2 hour flight)

-  Stay at the heritage ‘Meikles Hotel‘ ( I can’t wait)

1 June- 4 June

- Drive to the Turgwe River Camp in Humani where we stay with the locals doing voluntary charity work and spending a lot of time photographing the local wildlife.

5June – 8June

- From there, we go to Hwange National Park which is near Victoria Falls. It’s renowned for it’s large herds of elephants. Here, the plan is to go daily game drives or walks and just absorb being in nature at its finest.

9June

- From there, we spend a day at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge for our last night in Zimbabwe and we have our farewell dinner at the spectacular Boma Restaurant in Victoria Falls and hopefully my first taste of game meat (all your vegetarians reading this, stop glaring).

10June

- Fly back from Harare to Jo’burg

- Overnight stay at the City Hotel at the Jo’burg airport

11June

- Fly to Singapore and arrive, hopefully, rejuvenated.

12 June

- Oogle at the amazing photos.

This being a photography blog and all that, I wanted to quickly show you some pics of my travel gear to Africa. This is the Lowerpro Pro Trekker 400AW and inside the bag are two Canon550D bodies, an EFS 15-85mm and EFS 70-200, a EFS 10-22mm and 55-250mm and a 50mm prime lens with a lot of chargers, lens cleaners and a sturdy Velbon tripod.

Pro Trekker 400AW Photography Backpack

Photography Gear for Safari Trip

I will see you after a trip from the wild side. Take care!

A random Saturday morning encounter at Eveleigh markets, with two dogs, who I affectionately call Cudeldoo and Cudeldum. This is their story.

Welcome to the Sydney Fish Market photoset, the second series of photosets on Sidpicky.

The Sydney Fish Market (SFM) is the second largest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere after the Tokyo market. This is also the third most popular tourist destination in Sydney It  was established by the NSW Government in 1945. In 1994, Sydney Fish Market became a privately owned company (50% by the Catchers Trust and 50% by Sydney Fish Market Tenants and Merchants Pty Ltd) and in 1999, the marketing or selling of seafood was deregulated, meaning seafood no longer had to be sold through the Market in Sydney.

The tagline for the SFM is ‘Get hooked on fresh fish’ and true to its mission the SFM sources product both nationally and internationally and trades over 14,500 tonnes of seafood annually – with up to a hundred species traded every day. That’s a lot of business!

One of the most unique aspects about the SFM is the auction system that takes place at dawn every working day. Held from 5.30am every weekday, the Dutch clock auction is a silent auction which begins at the highest price and drops until a bid is made. The starting price is usually set about $3 above what the product is expected to receive. The clock then winds down at a rate of $1 per revolution and the price drops until a buyer stops the clock by pressing a button. It is a test of buyer’s knowledge of current market prices and a sense of how much your competition is willing to pay for it.  The successful buyer then selects a number of crates from the ‘lot’. Two clocks auction seafood simultaneously to ensure product is sold quickly.

Under the Dutch clock auction around 1000 crates are sold every hour. On average each crate weighs 23 kilograms. SFM sells around 2700 crates at every auction, or 65 tonnes of fresh seafood every day.

Here are shots of some Mud Crabs. Generally cooked with their shells on, when they moult their shells, they can be served as a seafood delicacy, one of many types of soft shell crab. Some consider them to be among the tastiest of crab species and they have a huge demand in South Asian countries and Australia. In the northern states of Australia and especially Queensland, mud crabs are relatively common and generally prized above other seafood within the general public.

These are snaps of some snappers (see what I did there) which, is actually a bream and has pinkish skin with pale blue spots and a distinctive forehead hump. The ‘snapper’ is one of Australia’s most widely known fish and has gone by this name for over 100 years.

Disturbing at first glance, these are pictures of some sharks at SFM with their heads cut off to balance the weight to meat ratio. I was assured that shark fishing is highly regulated in Australia and fishermen are forced to follow the most strict regulations when it comes to Shark Fishing.

This is Julie, one of the best Oyster shuckers in the SFM. Watching her work was delightful. She first washes the whole oyster under a steady stream of water and then uses the specialized knife to craft out the oyster with skill and dexterity every single time. Julie can shuck between 2500-3000 oysters a day.

The Sydney Fish Market is open through the year  from 7am every day (except Christmas Day) and often for extended trading hours during public holidays. It is one of the most sustainability conscious fish markets in the world.

If you are a Sydneysider or a tourist visiting this beautiful city, I would definitely recommend waking up early and going on the ‘Behind the Scenes’ tour at the Sydney Fish Market. Its a great place for families especially young kids to understand where their fish is coming from.

DON’T FORGET TO TAKE A CHANGE OF CLOTHES THOUGH, THE SMELL IS SURPRISINGLY STICKY….

Look at this photo, what do you see, just some rocks by the ocean. Look again! Today’s photo is titled ‘The real marine seals’
The Bruny island in Tasmania is known for its gigantic population of seals and spotting them in the wild was one of the highlights for this photo hog. Every single seal in this photo was a male ( you could tell, they smelled funny and were really loud). The camouflage for the seals is essential for survival from land predators. Bruny island is also the gateway to the last land mass before Antartica in the southern hemisphere. So I literally travelled to the end of the world for this shot. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

Today’s post is titled ‘Why doesn’t anybody want to play with me’ and this was one of the cutest photos, I’ve had the pleasure of taking. This was taken at the Taronga Zoo and the expressions on offer here are just priceless. The sulk, the posture, the bits of hay stuck to its body, there is nothing more you would want in a shot. Do you like this picture? Sound me out in the comments.

Exposure: 1/250 sec at f/5.6 and ISO 800. Taken with a Canon 550D and lens EFS 55-250