河國榮, An Aussie in Hong Kong

Sometimes you get lucky…

The week before last, just as I was leaving home to go to TVB, I noticed a butterfly in the Christmas trees. The colours struck me immediately and I raced back inside to get my camera. Opportunities like these come once in a lifetime.

The result was a wonderful photograph which looks even better when enlarged.

A while ago, I discovered a wild bee hive near our home and managed to get a few photographs. As long as I didn't get too close to their hive in the base of a tree, they wouldn't feel threatened and I wouldn't be a target. The photos were ok; not great; but ok.

A few days ago, I was in the same bush area trying to get photos of a bird I could hear but not see. As I passed the hive, I thought I'd take a look and see how they were going. I was intriqued by what looked like a hornet, flying just above the entrance to the hive, occasionally getting side-swiped by a passing bee. It was very curious to watch because every time a bee came by, the hornet; or wasp, I'm not sure at this point; would outstretch all of its legs downward. It was intriguing and almost funny. Needless to say, I took a few photos and some of them turned out surprisingly well.

If there's an advantage to having a polluted sky, it's that sometimes the sunlight filtered by the pollution can be quite extraordinary; bright and warm without being harsh. Such was the case yesterday afternoon, so I decided to hide out for a few minutes behind a bush hoping that the local Sunbirds would visit. While waiting, I suddenly became aware of another life, totally unexpected, and as I watched him, he suddenly noticed me and looked straight back at me; a praying mantis. Here is one of the photos I was able to take in that short fortuitous time.