Tawny Frogmouth Owls

November 15, 2012 by edwinkwan | Comments Off

Tawny Frogmouth Owls (click on the image to see a larger size)

Learnt about them from a neighbor (Robyn) when she pointed 4 of them out to me when I got home after work.

There’s three of them in this photo if you look really closely. The owl on the far left has its back facing the camera.

The owl on the right is the parent and the other two are just babies. The other parent is on a branch on the tree above them. (I reckon that would have to be the dad).

I like the owl in the middle as it has it has really bright round eyes and is looking directly at the camera!

That little piece of meat in front of the owl is actually tuna sashimi. Another neighbor, Frank (who part owns a sushi store), figured they must be hungry and left it there. However Tawny Frogmouths are exclusively insectivorous, so it is a shame to see sashimi go to waste.

These owls have excellent camouflage and they stay very still too. I wouldn’t have noticed them if Robyn didn’t point them out to me. Good to learn about another type if owl this evening.

[Video] My Graduate Experience

July 11, 2012 by edwinkwan | Comments Off

Two months ago the University of Wollongong Alumni office contacted me wanting to do a video of my graduate experience.

The idea was for the video to be shown at the 2012 December graduation ceremonies. Previously they used to show videos of Graduating students, talking about their university experience, but this year they decided to do a video of a few select UOW Alumni instead; the video was to have 6 Alumni members in there and it was to cover where we all are now, what we are currently doing and how our experience at UOW had helped us get there.

The video was shot at my work place and the interview was done just outside of the building (where we had good natural light). They shot the video handheld, using a DSLR, Canon 5D Mk II and because of the occasional traffic noise, we had to constantly re-shoot some of the interview questions.

In the end, they decided to create a few videos instead just one; and determined that three of the Alumni members (myself inclusive) had enough content to have their own video.

Below is the video of My UOW Graduate Experience

It was a great opportunity to help give back to the University and also quite a fun experience shooting the video.

Road Trip Around New Zealand’s North Island

June 22, 2012 by edwinkwan | Comments Off

Last week I did a road trip around New Zealand’s North Island. Few in to Auckland, spent 3 nights in the city, visiting nearby attractions like Mount Zion, Cathedral Cove and Hot Water beach at Coromandel. Then drove to Russel, Bay of Islands, spent a night there, then visited Ahipara to do a Sand Safari along the 90 mile beach, spent a night at the Tree House Lodge in Hokianga before heading to Aukland; but not before stopping by at the Labyrinth, Funky Fish and Waiwera Pools. Below are some of the photos taken on the trip.

Video of Giant Cuttlefish

June 2, 2012 by edwinkwan | Comments Off

A week ago, I scuba dived at the Gravel Loader to photograph some Giant Cuttlefish. The photos are available here.

I felt that photos itself would not do the cuttlefish justice as the way they move underwater is quite spectacular. So I took some video footage too and it’s now available on YouTube.

Giant Cuttlefish Photography – Scuba Diving at Gravel Loader

May 21, 2012 by edwinkwan | Comments Off

The water was flat and the weather was great so it was a great opportunity to get some photographs of the Giant Cuttlefish at The Gravel Loader @ Bass Point.

The Gravel loader is one of my favorite dive site as it is an easy dive and you can usually spot a few giant cuttlefish here, and this dive was no exception.

There are two entry points for this dive, one of either side of the loader. Once in the water, take a compass bearing to the loader and start swimming to it underwater. When at the loader, swim beneath the pylons until you get to the end. The pylons on the main part of the loader is different from those at the end, they are shaped like an inverted V (take a look at the picture). so it’s easy to tell when you are at the end. There’s not much to see until you get to the end and it’s quite shallow, with the end being at around 10m deep.

[Video] 2012 MS 24hr Mega Swim in Wollongong

March 5, 2012 by edwinkwan | 2 Comments

The Video is now out for the 2012 MS 24hr Mega Swim in Wollongong.

You can find the photos here.

2012 MS 24hr Mega Swim in Wollongong

March 4, 2012 by edwinkwan | 1 Comment

The 2012 MS 24hr Mega Swim in Wollongong took place on the weekend of 03 – 04 March 2012.

It was a highly successful event with funds raised exceeding last years event!

It rained for most of the event but that didn’t stop the 18 teams from completing their 24hr swim!

Teams for 2012 were:

Swimming n Pyjamas
Dream Team
The Drifters
West Illawarra Pianhas
Next After Next
Lettuce Swim
MS Vikings
KickStart Pros
UOW Recreation and Aquatic Centre
AIIM Higher
SHS Sharkbait
The Need for Speed
Proust at Figtree
MS Thrashers
24hr x power
Liquid Assets
team ITC
McKeons Swim School

Well done to everyone!

Photos for the event are below.

Also I had a go at making a video of the event, check it out 🙂

Photos from last years event are available here

Mick and Rachel get Hitched

January 31, 2012 by edwinkwan | Comments Off

Finally got around to putting some of the photos taken at Mick and Rachel’s wedding on Nov 4th 2011. Ceremony was at Sandon Point, Hindu Blessing at Temple at Helensburg and Reception at Bulli.

Serpent Pteraeolidia

January 15, 2012 by edwinkwan | Comments Off

Not something you see often while scuba diving. This Serpent Pteraeolidia was sighted while diving off Bushrangers Bay in Bass Point, NSW.

Underwater Fashion Photography With Mishka

November 14, 2011 by edwinkwan | Comments Off

Here are some photos from an underwater fashion photography shoot with Mishka. It was taken in her swimming pool and it was shot in the evening as we were trying to take advantage of the Blue lights in her pool. Hope you enjoy them.