Lanceflare Photoblog

Lanceflare Photoblog Wildlife & Nature photography A media professional with over 25 years experience in the industry, with a passion for wildlife, nature and travel photography!

Good morning!A welcome sight at the Reserve, one of our, once seasonal but now resident, Asian Open-billed storks flying...
10/08/2026

Good morning!

A welcome sight at the Reserve, one of our, once seasonal but now resident, Asian Open-billed storks flying straight towards me in rising sun... Its feathers looked wet and dirty, though, maybe from sifting through the mudflats earlier on?

SONY a1II + FE600mm
ISO 2500, 1/4000s, f/6.3: handheld

Close fly-by!Change of tide at the old bridge, right place, right time, and a couple of Painted storks flew in to positi...
09/08/2026

Close fly-by!

Change of tide at the old bridge, right place, right time, and a couple of Painted storks flew in to position themselves early at the best foraging spots!

This one flew past me so close that it did not fit the frame, while giving me a really good focus on some of the head and feather details :-)

SONY a1II + FE600mm
ISO 2500, 1/3200s, f/4.5: handheld

Challenge accepted: part 3/3As I was following the Brahminy kite circling lower and Lower towards the choppy waters of E...
08/08/2026

Challenge accepted: part 3/3

As I was following the Brahminy kite circling lower and Lower towards the choppy waters of Eagle Point, I had a sinking feeling it was going to dive, and, given how close I was and the x2.0 TC, there was no way I would be able to capture the action.

Nevertheless, I rushed to the edge of the walkboard, just as the bird of prey dived, letting its talons kiss the surface and instantly regained altitude!

I missed the key shot, but followed the Brahminy kite as it flew away with its precious catch in the late afternoon, golden hour, rich colours...

SONY a1II + FE600mm + x2.0 TC
ISO 3200, 1/2000s, f/8, 1200mm: tripod

Challenge accepted: part 2/3One of the two Brahminy kites being active near Eagle Point decided to make a long detour, f...
06/08/2026

Challenge accepted: part 2/3

One of the two Brahminy kites being active near Eagle Point decided to make a long detour, following the shoreline, and take a break from the constant flying, pausing in the lone, bare branches of a tree right at the edge of the water.

CLICK!

Thank you for the nice portrait :-)

SONY a1II + FE600mm + x2.0TC
ISO 3200, 1/2000s, f/8, 1200mm: tripod

While the forecast had been for some light rain, it thankfully stayed far away on the other side of the Strait, falling ...
04/08/2026

While the forecast had been for some light rain, it thankfully stayed far away on the other side of the Strait, falling gently in concentrated sheets or columns, giving me some nice iPhone photography shots :-)

Challenge accepted: part 1/3I only really used the x2 TC either when the light and skies are exceptionally clear, which ...
04/08/2026

Challenge accepted: part 1/3

I only really used the x2 TC either when the light and skies are exceptionally clear, which is seldom here, or when travelling abroad to Africa or Japan. At home, I can generally get decent results with the x1.4TC. But I looked at some local photographers' shots with the x2 TC and decided to experiment and try to get similar results.

WHile the weather was not particularly great, here came out the x2 TC and as if to challenge me, or reward me, for my efforts, a Brahminy kite pair came quite close to where I was standing, circling lower and lower, until one of them caught a fish: which of course I totally missed as I was so close to it in terms of focal length... but still managed to get a few shots filling up the frame.

Here are some of the first shots as it was circling down and angling down back towards me...

SONY a1II + FE600mm + x2.0 TC
ISO 3200, 1/2000s, f/8, 1200mm: tripod

So, so far away...And while the weather was still very undecided, with sheets of rain cutting through the city's horizon...
03/08/2026

So, so far away...

And while the weather was still very undecided, with sheets of rain cutting through the city's horizon across the Strait, it proved to be an auspicious moment to catch the Osprey fishing.

And sure enough, appearing out of the darkening skies, with a pair of White-bellied sea eagles in pursuit, one was in desperate evasive mode, trying to protect a nice catch!

The chase was fast and short-lived, with the Osprey managing to elude the larger bird of prey, but visibly exhausted, as it disappeared back over the faraway mangroves of the Reserve, leaving the eagles to fend for themselves...

Amazing moment captured, but oh, so, so far away: even with the x2 TC!

SONY a1II + FE600mm + x2.0 TC
ISO 1600, 1/2500s, f/8, 1200mm: tripod

Bonus catch!With barely a few minutes left before the sun would go down the treeline, and plunge the little platform I w...
03/08/2026

Bonus catch!

With barely a few minutes left before the sun would go down the treeline, and plunge the little platform I was standing on into a much darker and more challenging environment, this small Ashy Tailorbird suddenly landed on the handrail.

Being quite close and unable to focus, I very quietly grabbed the tripod and took two steps back, then very slowly focused and snapped a few shots before it flew into a tree and into the dark forest.

Time to pack...

SONY a1II + FE600mm
ISO 3200, 1/1250s, f/5: tripod

Detour!It's been a while since my last posts, with many things happening back home. But when an opportunity finally pres...
02/08/2026

Detour!

It's been a while since my last posts, with many things happening back home. But when an opportunity finally presented itself for me to go out again, I grabbed the big lens and decided to go check the Reserve for birds of prey. The sun was playing hide and seek with clouds, hesitating between being grey or a darker shade of grey, but the forecast was for dry weather and a sunny evening: my mind was set.

On my way there, I suddenly spotted a lone White-bellied sea eagle at the famed crossroads tree and quickly changed lanes and parked behind a stationary truck already blocking my approach.

I walked slowly, under the cover of the small trees, and snapped a few quick shots before, eventually, very sharp eyes spotted me: busted!

SONY a1II + FE600mm
ISO 5000, 1/4000s, f/7.1" handheld

Freezing the moment (part 3/3)I kept waiting for the Collared kingfisher to dive and fetch a fish from the water, but in...
07/07/2026

Freezing the moment (part 3/3)

I kept waiting for the Collared kingfisher to dive and fetch a fish from the water, but instead, it dropped down to the muddy floor, kept digging at something in the small crevices, and suddenly, plucked out a small fish (maybe it had gotten stranded there by the receding tide)!

Well done :-)

SONY a1II + FE600mm
ISO 4000, 1/4000s, f/6.3: handheld

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