During those rainy months and the Typhoon season I spend a lot of time going through some old but rare scanned images.
These slides had been scanned very rough but in high resolution some years ago to protect them from further deterioration, accumulation of fungus and color shift. Photoshop used to be the only way to restore these images…but since the arrival of Aperture 2 in most cases I can now bypass Photoshop. This is particular useful since I can re- catalogue them at the same time or leave them in their current location on my external hard drives.
In the past I neglected like many of us the proper caption…metadata? But then what was this Metadata and IPTC stuff in those days.

© Gunther Deichmann - Galloping Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Crocodylus johnsoni)
For more restored and unique images you can visit my PhotoShelter
Archive click on the image above or here.

The images…these must have been the very first image taken of Freshwater Crocodiles showing a true Gallop…yes Crocs do Gallop just like a horse, I bet you didn’t know that, well me neither until I went out with Dr. Graham Webb and his research team some 25 years ago. They studied Crocodiles in various parts of the Northern Territory in Australia…catching and tagging these amazing “prehistoric” animals for a major research project...it was during this research that they discoverd the gallop of the Crocodiles.
I spend month’s with the research team in remote parts of the NT and managed to get these shots with my old X700 Minolta, yes long before my Nikon days.
Recently I came across these images again, but they needed some restoration work, big color shifts (heavy magenta cast) and some fungus had taken its toll over the years.
Not only did I managed to bring them back to life again in Aperture 2.1 but I thought I share a rare moment of the past with you.
Read below some scientific facts about the Australian freshwater crocodile
GD

© Gunther Deichmann - Galloping Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Crocodylus johnsoni)
For more restored and unique images you can visit my PhotoShelter
Archive click on the image above or here.

Genus & Species: Crocodylus johnstoni (Crocodylus johnsoni)

The Australian freshwater crocodile is a small cousin of the Australian saltwater crocodile. Although there are no subspecies, smaller, darker- coloured populations can be found farther upstream, perhaps due to food availability. They reach lengths of 5 ft (1.5 m). Australian freshwater crocodiles grow very slowly, and may not reach full lengths for 20 years.

Australian freshwater crocodiles have strong legs with clawed, webbed feet. The tail is very powerful. The skin is light brown in colour, with dark bands on the body and tail and sometimes on the snout. The scales are large, with wide plates on the back and ventral osteoderms (bony plates) on the belly. The flanks and outside of the legs are covered in pebbly scales.

Australian freshwater crocodiles are one of the few species that can gallop on land, reaching speeds of 18 km/h. They have a life span of 50 years.

HABITAT
Australian freshwater crocodiles are found only in the provinces of Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia in Australia. They are found predominately in freshwater lakes, billabongs, swamps, rivers, creeks, and wetlands, although not by choice. The Australian saltwater crocodile keeps them out of more saline (salty) areas by outcompeting them. However, when this species was near extinction Australian freshwater crocodiles could be found in saltwater. Today, they are found mainly in freshwater and brackish areas. They are not fussy over water, and will live in muddy, clear, fast, still, deep, or shallow water. After the rainy season they move to more permanent areas of water that will not dry up in the dry season, and will rarely eat and hardly grow until they return at the start of the next rainy season.

Tags: Wildlife Photography, Crocodiles