Amarajothy

Project 366 2024 

1/366

One of the nice things about living in the hills and near a small pond full of catfish is that we have quite a few White Bellied Sea Eagles in the neighbourhood. They’ve even nested in a tree about 200 metres away, in clear sight through my apartment windows and we used to hear their distinctive call quite often.

I did once see an Eagle take a large catfish. He had been circling overhead for some time, and had made a few attempts, each time coming close to and almost rippling the surface before pulling up and away again. Finally though, he swooped down, slashed his talons through the surface, grabbed his prey then effortlessly pulled up, a large fish gripped tightly beneath him.

The Eagle may well have been satisfied with his catch of the day but the pictures I caught did less for me and I’ve been meaning to address that.

My schedule at the workshop has meant I have not often been around during the day which is when the Eagles come out to fish. The year-end holidays changed my schedule, however, and as we were on the way out to lunch together today, Mei and I spotted one fella circling low above the pond. Our hungry stomachs had priority though so we just drove out. Returning, we spotted the Eagle still circling so I rushed upstairs, grabbed a couple of cameras and scurried down to the pond.

Only to see an ever-diminishing speck in the sky. I sat under a tree for half an hour, my cameras in my lap, hoping he would come back. But he didn’t.

So no pictures of Eagles today.

But sitting there, in the shade of a palm tree and watching the few human anglers scattered along the circumference of the pond, I spied another set of predators. A species that has the highest success rate among all predators. These chaps chomp over 90% of the prey they seek. Nothing in the animal kingdom comes close… So I sat there and took a few pictures of a smaller fella: dragonflies. 

As with the Eagles I could not get too close but I did have an enjoyable time watching them flit from twig to leaf doing the things dragonflies do. 

In the last few weeks since Suet Fun’s latest book came out, complete with an essay by me, the idea of writing more has burbled away in my mind. Writing is one of those things I’ve done with varying frequency over the last 15 - 20 years. It has filled me with pleasure and satisfaction and on a few occasions people who’ve read my words have told me how it had impacted them.

Suet Fun’s endorsement and her encouragement have also  lit the fire beneath the pot and taking pictures of these dragonflies today served up an idea. In 2020, desiring to be more disciplined in my approach to My Photography, I embarked upon my second attempt at a picture-a-day routine. My first one in 2015 sank without being completed. Five years later though, I managed to post 366 pictures, and I felt pretty good about it.

So, just as I had come for Eagles and walked away with Dragonflies, maybe I should adapt my Project 366 and make words instead of making images. Short paragraphs, long rants, incoherent mumblings… it doesn’t matter.

So let’s do this.

This is number 1/366.

Wish me luck.