Logo

Film Diary, Other / 02.06.2019

I photographed two new moth species on the second day of Winter, at the garage. I had to go back and fetch my camera because I don’t expect to see moths at this time of year, let alone ones I have never previously encountered.

Logo

Film Diary / 15.05.2019

The entry refers to a moth, Maxates centrophylla, I photographed this morning. I thought that It is the first full-on new green moth I have encountered in years, but I had forgotten about one I photographed at the same location at the end of October 2018, Clytophylla artia. It was a richer green, shaped more like a plant hopper than a moth and was very small. Today’s moth is pale green, with spread wings. Its shape and markings looked subtly different, which prompted me to photograph it. Going through my Moths album, I counted 28 green or predominantly green moths. I haven’t filmed anything since the end of February, being otherwise engaged.

Logo

Other / 08.05.2019

Today, I completed the settings on the latest videos Steve and I have put together, bringing the total to 550, a figure we reached 9 ½ months after posting the 500th. The 550th. video is of lichens on the trunk of a palm tree emitting light in an ultra violet beam. The tree had fallen across a rainforest path. I have shot-selected another 7 videos without reaching the end of the latest footage.

 

Logo

Other / 27.04.2019

There was a good attendance at the Progress Association’s monthly afternoon event at the Zamia Theatre for a double bill of my presentation of night footage and a video and talk by a local wildlife carer who looks after distressed bats. I began with a general introduction about my project and night filming and introduced 10 of the 14 videos. The audience was particularly responsive during the showing of a video of the world’s most deadly spider, the northern tree funnel web. The presentation was enthusiastically received and plenty of questions were asked, which was most pleasing. The carer had brought some young bats to exhibit. We felt that they seemed to respond to the sound of water in one of my videos. The bats I had filmed on the mountain are regarded as vulnerable, although they may camp in their thousands. Apart from twice drying up, I greatly enjoyed the occasion.

Logo

Other / 18.04.2019

Today I renewed  ‘Biodiversity Images’, my business name, for three more years. While not as vital to my project as the domain name, it is still a valuable asset.

Logo

Other / 13.04.2019

Steve and I started compiling Stills 24 with the latest 167 video frame captures, on 9 April. I have already sent several email requests for species IDs and received answers to all but one. To date I have added 19 images to the Night Life Album, two to Fungi and four to Rainforest Flora.

Logo

My Travels / 31.03.2019

Have just got back from my annual visit to Longreach, staying with Simon and Nicole who are flourishing. For the entire flight, the ground was obliterated by clouds. Light rain was falling when I arrived. I have never experienced wet weather in 32 years of travelling to the town. The next day Nicole recorded 28 mm of rain and we heard two claps of thunder. We were all thrilled. I started the day going to the cattle sale, the second in a week after years of inactivity at the yard. We slopped through mire generated by hundreds of bovine hooves and had to beat a hasty retreat, ahead of a mob of steers on their way to being weighed, before we could get anywhere near the action. I counted myself lucky that my shoes hadn’t stuck fast in the mud.  

Poor Pepper, Simon and Nicole’s adorable cattle dog, had a dewclaw removed on the day of my arrival and stayed in the house overnight, while I was there. Yesterday the rain had gone elsewhere to be replaced by a dust storm blown in from New South Wales. The bird feeder in the back yard attracted numerous crested… Read Complete Text

Logo

Other / 20.03.2019

I met John St Clair the projectionist, at the venue this morning. On 14 March I picked up an external hard drive from Steve, with compressed and uncompressed versions of ‘The Rainforest at Night’. The previous week John was unable to transfer the videos from a USB stick Steve had given me. This time the transfer of the uncompressed videos to the folder he had created on the venue’s lap top last week, was completed in a trice. We checked sound and vision. All was well. John also copied the running order for the projectionist who will be in charge on the day.

Logo

Other / 05.03.2019

The presentation I shall be giving on April 27 is titled ‘The Rainforest at Night’. Steve and I assembled the 14 videos this evening. We programmed a 3 second gap between each one, which will allow the projectionist to pause when I wish to introduce a given video. Apart from setting the scene, I plan to introduce 10 of the videos.

Logo

Other / 17.02.2019

After many hours over many days, I completed the Excels of my species videos update for the National Film & Sound Archive. In all we are submitting 124 videos, comprising a few from 2016 through to nine from 2019, once Steve has assembled the data files. One video needs to be added to the list and I need Steve to clarify the references on four files.