


Red Kangaroos Drinking
Red Kangaroos typify the hardy adaptability of marsupials to the arid continent. If drought persists in the Centre, the females fail to go into oestrus and pouch young die. These strategies prevent females from carrying the load of large, suckling young. However, unlike some marsupials which can survive without water at all—like the koala—Red Kangaroos still need to drink. And they get that, thanks to the many dams sunk by graziers throughout the Outback.
This shot would never be in a printed portfolio, only a web-based one. It isn’t sharp enough to make a good, large print, although it can be published if kept to a small size. The reason for the less-than-perfect shooting is that it was a ten second exposure, taken long after sunset. It’s surprising what the meter of a good camera (in this case the Nikon F4) can do. It can evaluate the correct exposure for a scene that is too dark for even the human eye to discern. I dote on multi-matrix metering.

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