And Then It Was . . . . Gone - a photo on Flickriver

And Then It Was . . . . Gone

            I was standing on an elevated deck near the Brisbane Art Gallery looking over the river, when I heard a rustle near me.

This water dragon was checking me out. These guys are confidant near humans and will normally tolerate you getting to about 4-5m away before they can unleash like a coiled spring and disappear rapidly when they decide you are inside the comfort zone.

This one was quite close, perhaps 1.5m away, so I leaned over and got the deck level shot below.

Seeing no reaction I started taking closeups while gently moving closer and closer to see how near I could get, knowing that I had a couple of good ones if he was going to launch.

The EXIF focal distance for this one (the closest) is 0.8m (about 2.5ft) which surprised me. It could be that he was getting fed by people at the nearby cafes.

As I picked up my camera bag and walked past him, the coil was unleashed and he was gone.

This image is SOOC, not cropped.

Courtesy of a Queensland Museum brochure:-
Australia is home to more than 70 species of dragons. They feed mainly on insects and other small vertebrates, though adults of the larger species of dragons include significant amounts of vegetation in their diets.

Two species, the Eastern Water Dragon and the Eastern Bearded Dragon are particularly prominent in Brisbane, and are found in many parks.

Very few developed western cities can boast huge colonies of lizards, more than half a metre long, gracing the myriad of creeks, ornamental duck ponds and even thriving in the Central Business District of the city.

And Then It Was Challenge
Members Choice Theme

Taken on: December 28, 2011

Tags:

Brisbane

Dragon

Reptile

Head

Scale

Animal

GOMA

Flickr Golf Club

ODC1

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7 Days of Shooting

Week #25 - Members Choice

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Sets appears in: • Animals

Groups appears in: • Flickr Golf Club • 7 Days of Shooting more » • Our Daily Challenge • @Macromavens.... close-up, everyday... « less

Stats: 1,243 views / 28 comments

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