Working

This image mirrors my day. Linemen hard at work. That was my day. Though I must say that their line of work is much more dangerous than me working on my computer. They were replacing downed power lines from a car taking out a power pole. This image is from the files though I did do some photography of set ups and photoblinds this morning. There was one sad point in my day. Lance our old Labrador fell into the pond and couldn't get out. I had to drag him out by the scruff of the neck. Poor old guy. Getting old isn't easy. Love to all and may God bless your days, chris

Crazy Bananna Slugs

Yesterday I was in the backyard setting up for some bird photography and I spotted a Banana Slug by the back steps. I continued working knowing it wouldn't get far. When I was done about a half hour later I went back and found it about a foot from where I first saw it. I moved it onto some moss and photographed it; then I took it to the forest edge and let it go. Not that they go very fast. Banana Slugs are pretty amazing. They are a member of the mollusk family which includes oysters, abalone and octopus. Not living in the ocean and not having a shell they keep their body moist with slime! When you pick one up you get slime all over your fingers. The secret to picking one up is to use a bent leaf between your finger and thumb to keep the slime off. Their eyes are very cool as they are on optical tentacles that can expand and retract. They live in the forests along the coast from Southern Alaska to Central California. They are detritivores eating everything from rotting leaves and plants to animal droppings. One of their favorite things to eat is fungi. One day I found five of them eating a large Bolete Mushroom next to a forest trail. If you look at the image below you will see a hole in the slugs side. That’s the slugs nose! The hole is called the pneumostone and it leads to a primitive lung inside a hump just above it. Inside the hole is another smaller hole where the slugs anus is. Can you imagine having your anus inside your nose? Just in front of the hole and above it is the mantle which covers a hole where the slugs genitals are. Banana slugs have a wild sex life. They are hermaphrodites with each slug having both sexes. They each have a huge penis which is almost as long as the body. They move side by side to have sex that can last more than an hour. They both exchange eggs and sperm with one another. It can take longer than fifteen minutes to disengage. Sometimes one of the penises will get stuck. In that situation the slugs take turns chewing it off. Oh my!! It’s not known if the penis grows back and the slug remains a female. Well there you go. More facts about Banana slugs than you probably ever needed to know. Delight in God’s creatures, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM at 390mm. Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. , Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,F11.0, Shutter speed 1/80th of a sec.

Selfie

I'm not the usually the type of person to take a selfie. Last night I went out to get some stuff from my pick up and I noticed that there was a lot of moisture in the beam shining from my flashlight. I immediately thought to myself, "That would make such a cool photograph!" Knowing that no one from my family would probably want to pose with a flashlight in the misty rain I didn't even bother to ask them. I went back inside and set up my camera on a tripod and wrapped it with a plastic bag. Then I went back out and took some images with it of myself shining a flashlight into the sky. The end result looks pretty cool. Thank you Lord for the rain, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 28-105 lens at 28 mm. Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- Manual Mode,ISO 400,F3.5, Shutter speed 30 seconds.

Those Cute Little Juncos!

I spent some time yesterday morning working on some set up images of birds in the backyard yesterday. The most prevalent bird coming to the feeders were the cute little Dark Eyed Juncos. They are so curious and alert. I had a really enjoyable time watching them and photographing them. I used a completely man made set up just for fun. Look closely and you will be able to see! I made a lot of great images but this one was my favorite. God's precious love to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM at 400 mm. Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. , Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 800,F5.6, Shutter speed 1/1,250th of a sec.

Fiery Sunrise

Incredible sunrise over the Mendocino Mountain Range this morning. It was made up of moody, fiery reds and dark shadows. Like most sunrises and things in life it didn't last long before it muted into paler pinks, then yellows and finally a washed out blue gray of the clouds of daytime. May you have a blessed day, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM , Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,F16.0, Shutter speed varied.

Fog Rolling In

One of the incredible things about the Redwood Coast is watching the fog rolling in with its life giving waters. Fog drip from the trees provides a substantial amount of the moisture required for the forest. Tonight I watched it roll in over a few ridge tops and stop. God's blessings to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM , Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,F5.6, Shutter speed 1/400th of a sec.

One From the Files

I was editing images today and I ran across this sparrow. I love the eye contact and intimate feel of this image. I really enjoy going back through my image files as there are sometimes images that I passed over that I end up really liking. God bless, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 50D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM , Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,F5.6, Shutter speed 1/60 th of a sec.

Simple Things

As a photographer I'm really drawn to patterns. This evening when I was filling up the dog's water bowl I looked down at the pattern of bubbles and thought, "Oh, those silver bubbles look pretty cool!". I grabbed a macro lens and started photographing them. I didn't use a flash so the steadiness is a bit questionable. Sometimes it's fun to just shoot hand held and not get all tied up in the tripod, shutter releases etc. It's nice to take a little pleasure in the simple things that God sends our way. chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, 100 mm Macro Lens. Camera Setting- ISO 400, AV Mode,Exposure F 5.6 at 1/60th of a sec.

Steaming

On my way to town I often pass by this Redwood stump. It's an old stump from a tree that was probably logged in the 1930's or 40's by the look of it. When I drove past it earlier this week I noticed that it was steaming as the frost melted off of it from the warmth of the sun. Yesterday I drove back by it at around the same time and sure enough it was steaming away into the mid morning light. I took a whole series of images of it but this is the one I liked best. Oh the stories that stump could tell of what it has seen! God's love and blessings to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM , Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV mode,ISO 400, F 11.0, Shutter speed of 1/40 th of a sec.

In Flight

This afternoon I took a short break from the computer and worked on capturing a chickadee in flight. I was trying to capture them just before they landed on the bird feeder. I had a lot of near misses and some really not quite but close images. The close ones included chopped off tails, wings and beaks. No dead birds were involved in the creation of this image. A lot of photographer frustration but no blood. It is amazing to see all of the gyrations and contorted positions that birds can get themselves into before landing. I had a fun time and the birds did too consuming seed to their hearts desires. God's light and precious love to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM , Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- Manual Mode,ISO 3,200, F 5.6, Shutter speed of 1/4,000th of a sec.

Are You Tired of Jays Yet?

I spent a couple hours in the backyard photoblind this morning. The Steller's Jays pretty much took over with very few chances to photograph any other birds. As much as I like Steller's Jays I'd like to photograph some other birds! I think it has reached that time of the year to mix it up with a few Jay proof feeders. May you have a blessed day, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM , Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,F5.6, Shutter speed varied

This is What They Looked Like

Last week we decided to clean out the Christmas storage area in our house. Amidst the sorting, disposing and giving away I found this lone red Christmas bulb from long, long ago. Yes, this is what Christmas bulbs used to look like before the invention of L.E.D lights. I'm not sure if it was a spare bub or one that was part of a string. I'll never know. It is just a bit of history, a distant memory of Christmas past. God's light and love to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 50D, 100 mm Macro Lens, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Setting- ISO 400, AV Mode,Exposure F16.0 for 6 seconds

Day Off

I took the day off. I hope that you had a wonderful day. God bless, chris

Little Dip in the Pond

Yesterday after I finished photographing Chickadees I heard the sounds of splashing from out garden pond. I knew it could be only one thing. Birds having a bath! Very, very slowly I changed viewing ports in the blind with my camera and faced the pond. There were two Steller's Jays just having a ball splishing and a splashing. While I was focusing one of them noticed the movement of the lens and took off. The other stayed and I photographed it until it was done bathing and flew off. What a wonderful morning. God's light and love to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM , Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 800,F5.6, Shutter speed varied

Perfect Perch

I'm always one for finding things and then putting them to use. This one isn't a great stretch of intelligence but it does give a slight insight of how my mind works. Yesterday while walking through the dining room I noticed that the flowers I got Lenore were starting to get droopy. The Chrysanthemum still looked pretty decent. "Why it would make a marvelous perch", I thought to myself. This morning with a Chrysanthemum in hand I went out to the backyard photoblind and created an image of a Chestnut backed Chickadee on a Chrysanthemum as a perch. God gives us simple gifts every day. We just have to be on the look out for them as they are all around us. chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM at 400 mm, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400, F5.6 at 1/200th of a sec. E.V. -1

Sweet Little Chickadee

I have been working on my book so I managed to squeeze in a little bird photography this morning. Here is a little Chestnut Backed Chickadee on a Sorghum seed head. When I was a kid in Colorado this was grown as a feed crop for livestock on the plains. Then it was called Milo. Some must have been in some spilled bird seed because it grew in my backyard this summer.I didn't mind because it can be used for some great bird photography! God's blessings and precious love to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM at 400 mm, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 800, F5.6 at 1/1,000 of a sec. E.V. -1

Checking Things Out

I spent a short time photographing in the backyard this morning. My favorite image was this one of a chipmunk standing up on the flagstones checking things out. God's light and love to all, chris

Squirrel and a Jay

Yesterday morning I went out into the backyard photoblind to create a few set up images. First thing I noticed was that the feeder was empty. I quickly refilled it with black sunflower seeds and settled into the blind.I didn't have to wait very long before a few chipmunks arrived started chomping away on the seeds. I made a few images but none of them were that promising. Next came the Steller's Jays in force! Sometimes there were five or more of them trying to get to the feeder at the same time. Later on a Western Gray Squirrel arrived and everything cleared out as they can really dominate the feeder.By then the lighting was pretty much gone and i was done for the morning. Great way to start the day. God's precious love to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM at 285 mm, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 800, Exposure varied.

How Delightful

This morning I went out into the backyard to photograph some bird set ups but the rain drove me back inside. Thank you Lord for a little rain. This afternoon I went back out to try again. I wasn't very successful with the birds but I photographed a Chipmunk and a Douglas Tree Squirrel that were both positively delightful. The lighting was perfect as every single detail of there whiskers and fur stood out. What a wonderful afternoon. It's best to look at them full size. God's love and blessings to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM at 285 mm, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 800, F 5.6 at 1/60th of a sec.

Sticking with the Jays

Spent a short time in the backyard today. Photographing set ups and Steller's Jays. They are an overlooked and really beautiful bird. Now back to the salt mines. God's blessings to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM at 235 mm, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400, F 5.0 at 1/2,000th of a sec.

Touch of Rain

Where I live in Northern California we are in a drought. The little community I live in has between sixty and eighty days of water left in its reservoirs. Last night we got a small bit of rain which hopefully knocked down the fire danger a little bit. Over the past month there were a few small forest fires here in Mendocino County and some larger ones in Humboldt County to the north so any rain is welcome. This afternoon I went for a short walk to get away from the computer. I noticed that the mosses on the trees had spread out. They were sucking in as much moisture as they could get. When it is dry the mosses are plastered flat against the tree trunk. When they sense moisture they branch outward from the tree trunk to capture it. I also photographed a long dead Bracken Fern on a carpet of moss on the ground. After more rain new shoots will be pushing up from the ground from spores dropped before the rain. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, 100 mm Macro Lens, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Setting- ISO 400, AV Mode, Exposure varied

Gray Day

We awoke to cloudy gray skies and a light fog coming in from the coast this morning. I went out and watched the fog flow through the Little Lake Valley in, around and over Little Darby Peak on the eastern edge of the valley. It's amazing how fast it can change over the course of ten or fifteen minutes. Right now at a little past eleven in the morning the sun is making a brave attempt to try and break through. We shall see by this afternoon who shall have the upper hand. God's loving embrace to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 IS, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,+1 E.V., F16.0, Shutter speed varied

Whatever Comes My Way

This morning I was up early enough to catch the sunrise. It was overcast and it made for a gorgeous mix of colors on the horizon. Our family is back to its school schedule so I was up early helping make breakfast and lunches. Afterwards I went out to my photblind in the backyard and did some set up images to fill some gaps that were missing in my "Backyard Bird Photography" book. Nice lighting due to the high clouds.I was willing to photograph whatever came my way. The Steller's Jays naturally obliged as did a great little Chipmunk. One young Western Gray squirrel hung out in the background eating seed heads on the edge of the yard. He came close to the feeders but then he chickened out and scampered back into the forest. There were a few Dark Eyed Juncos that stopped by as well and a Red Breasted Nuthatch but none of the images I created of those were of a quality fit for viewing. May you have a blessed day, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 IS, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400, F 5.6, Shutter speed varied

Awesome Bee

This morning when I went out to get something from the car I was shocked to see a Bumblebee feeding on one of our bushes that is in flower next to our gate. I was shocked because I very rarely see bees where I live in wintertime. It flew off from me being nearby but on my return trip I spotted a Honey Bee feeding there as well. I went inside and returned with my camera, macro lens and a flash. I spent about ten minutes chasing that bee around the bush. I came away with an amazing image. God bless you through out this new year, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 540EZ Flash, 100mm Macro Lens. Camera and Flash Settings- Manual, ISO 400, F18.0 at 1/200th of a second, Flash set to 1/16th power on manual.

Star Trails

Last night it was clear, cold and dark. Just perfect for doing some star trail photography. After midnight I went out into the backyard and set up my camera so that it would be facing Polaris the North Star. I took a couple of test images to create a nice composition. Then I started up the camera and went to bed. This morning I got up before sunrise and collected my camera.I went into the office and processed the images using an image processing program called Star Stax I'm quite happy with the final result. I was really surprised that there weren't any meteors in it. Have a beautiful day, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D and a Canon 10-22 at 10mm, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera settings- Manual Mode, ISO 5,000, F4.5 at 30 seconds.

Window to the World

This morning I was up early watching the Quadrantids Meteor Shower. I just saw a couple as it was nearly dawn. Afterwards I came back into the office and worked on editing images from Pt. Reyes on New Years day. There was only one image that really caught my eye. At McClure's Beach there was this great narrow passageway through the rocks that led between sections of the beach. I really liked it because walking through it was like opening a window to the view the world. May you have a blessed day, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D and a Canon 28-135 IS lens at 50 mm. Camera settings Used- Auto,1/200th of a second. F stop not recorded.

Seashore Silhouette

I spent part of this morning editing the images from yesterday at Pt. Reyes National Seashore. I love silhouettes so I have to share this one of a couple rock fishing off of the rocks at McClure Beach. I really liked the dramatic light from the fog. God's light and love to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D and a Canon 28-135 at 135mm. Camera Settings- AV mode, ISO 400,F 22.0 at 1/1,600th of a sec., E.V -2 stops

Image to Start Off the New Year

Today we met the cousins on a spur of the moment trip to Pt. Reyes National Seashore. We ventured out on the short trail to McClure's Beach. The lighting was beautiful with sun and fog mixed. This was one of my favorite landscape images from the day. Happy New Year and God's blessings to all, chris

Camera Used- Canon 7D and a 8mm Ultra wide angle lens Camera Setting- AV mode,ISO 400 F. 22.0 at 1/125th of a second.