User:JJ Harrison/Sarah

I'm 21 years of age and a third year university student studying science, specifically physics and applied mathematics. I live in Hobart, Tasmania and have done so for all of my life. I’ve travelled to places Europe, The United States, India, Singapore, Malaysia and the east coast states of Australia.

I’ve been contributing to Wikipedia anonymously since late 2003 with my first registered edits in 2006. I’ve written a number of DYKs and substantially expanded a few articles. I’ve done a little of editing work on Maths articles from time to time too. Otherwise, my article edits are usually relatively minor and spread across many topics. Many of my edits involve adding images to articles. I also spend time at Featured Picture Candidates.

Overall I am most active uploading my photographs to Wikimedia Commons. I’ve uploaded approximately 900 at the time of writing. I take pictures of anything and everything but have a focus on nature photography. I submit my images to commons in the hope that they will be utilized across the Wikimedia projects and for broader educational purposes. I have received notification about all sorts of interesting uses, such as a Malaysian school textbook or a gold prospecting magazine. Below is some background behind a few photos.

Scarlet Robins are not too difficult to spot if you look in the right places. It is another matter to get within a few meters of a wild bird for a high quality photograph. In this instance I’d spotted this bird previously in the Meehan Range. I knew the species was sedentary and territorial so I was able to return to the same location a few times until I got a photo I was happy with. I waited patiently near a perch where I had seen it before with the sun to my back. When it arrived I took a few photos before it left again. I believe the camera was hand-held. I used fill flash with a home made version of the better beamer to even out the shadows created by the sun.

Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang), Male, Meehan Range, Tasmania, Australia

I took this photo of Mt Anne in the Southwest National Park. I walked perhaps 4-5 hours to this spot the previous day and scouted this location ready for the next morning. I got up before sunrise since the time of nicest light isn’t really predicable. Some low level cloud formed in the morning but it was otherwise relatively clear. The shot demonstrates some of Tasmania's unique alpine flora as well as the surrounding habitat. A fairly wide angle was used to make the foreground larger in comparison to the background. I only carried my camera and a cheap, light tripod since I needed to carry all of the other equipment for camping. The walk there included maybe 1100-1200m of elevation gain and boulder hopping. My pack was 22kg with everything required.

Mt Anne from High Shelf Camp at dawn

The Macleay’s Swallowtail photo was one of the few where I had specifically set out to photograph a particular species. I asked Dr Elizabeth Daley, the author of a book on Tasmanian insects for advice on where to look. She directed me to the intersection of the Franklin River and Lyell highway. A few hours there and I had success. Technically it consisted of a handheld macro lens at f11, and a flash on a homemade flash bracket using a homemade soft box. The ISO was selected to put the sun at about two stops below the flash.

Macleay's Swallowtail (Graphium macleayanus), Franklin - Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Tasmania, Australia

There are bound to be flora, fauna, places and things local to you of which Wikimedia Commons does not have good pictures. Even if there are already photos, many species are often divided into subspecies that have differences in appearance, and pictures of juveniles or sexual dimorphism are useful too. Throwing a camera in your pocket and taking a picture when they come up is a really great way to contribute and learn about your local area in greater detail.