Anna's On Display

Taking the day off to work on projects around the house. Here is an image from last week of an Anna's Hummingbird displaying it's gorget to try and get the other hummingbirds from using the feeder down below it. God's blessings upon your day, chris Image created with a canon 7D and a tamron 150-600mm lens. #TeamCanon

Got My Eye on You

This morning I had to drop Jay off at work while my pick up is being repaired. On the return trip I thought I would look for some deer. Once again I found some fawns but they were too quick for me as they bounded off into the forest. I did find one Blacktail doe and she kept her eyes on my the whole timeI photographed her from the car window. She was really curious about what in the world I was doing. I left her to her thoughts. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 375mm. AV mode, ISO 400, F 7.1 at 1/1250th of a sec.

Oh Deery Me!

My number one son reported to me this week that my pick up wasn't shifting well and that it had stalled out a couple of times at stop signs. So yesterday morning we had to drop it off at Cal's Garage for repairs. On the trip home I thought it would be a great idea to look for some deer as I haven't photographed any for some time now. I found one deer running down the middle of the road. Nope that one didn't work out. Later on I spotted a doe and two fawns. The fawns were so darn cute. But they took off up into the forest as soon as I got close. Around the next turn as luck would have it there was a doe resting on the side of the road. She didn't even hardly blink when I drove by. I went up to the next side road and turned around and drove back and parked across the road from her. I focused the camera on her face and waited for her to turn and look at the camera. After numerous tries I had my image! Just after I pulled away I saw her in my rear view mirror get up and walk into the forest. I guess she was tired of being bugged. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600 mm lens at 309mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 5.6 at 1/100th of a sec.

Morning at the Waterhole

I have spent the last couple of mornings in the backyard photographing the Band-tailed Pigeons and Steller's Jays along with the occasional squirrel when they came to drink at the large water feature I put up next to my photoblind. It's so cool to see them so close and at eye level. I just love the intimate feel of the images. Enjoy the images and have a great day. May God bless and protect you, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens and two Canon 540 EZ flashes. If you are interested in creating your own water feature please check out Chapter Nine of my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography" on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Blog #2 Framed

While walking down our road yesterday with our dog Badger I noticed this cool dried and cracked mud in one of the puddles. This morning after photographing birds I went back and photographed it. I returned home and photographed the door of an old curio cabinet. Later sitting down at the computer I began layering up the image I had in mind.I started with the cracked mud.Then added the flower and the frame. I had intended on using a red flower I photographed yesterday but changed my mind when I realized that an Iris image that I photographed last month would fit the door fame much better. I finished it al off with a textured overlay. I'm quite happy with the final image. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Descent into Chaos

I love to watch birds when they bath. They are extremely vulnerable when they bath so they typically approach bathing with some trepidation. When they arrive at my water feature they will hop all around it before settling in to get a drink. Then they will pause and look around again before taking another drink. This will happen several times before they finally step tentatively into the water. Once again they will stop, pause and look carefully in all directions. Next they will lower their head and shoulders experimentally down into the water and then pop up and look around. Sensing no intruders they will do this a couple of times in a row. If nothing happens they will launch into bathing with abandon literally rolling and practically throwing themselves into the water. They become a blur of water drops and flying feathers. Simply amazing! Here is a sequence of a Steller's Jay bathing from yesterday morning in the backyard. All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens with two Canon 540 EZ flashes. God's love and blessings to all, chris #TeamCanon, #canonbringit, Please check out my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography" on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Hummingbird Dream

Yesterday evening I spent close to an hour photographing hummingbirds. I find hummingbird photography to be quite addictive. They are like little flying jewels! The bright colors that refract off of their feathers are just amazing. I had so many hummingbirds coming into the feeder that they were fighting for position to feed. I chose a bright background and used some petunias which hummingbirds just love. I created a lot of images and I chose one Anna's Hummingbird as my favorite for today's photoblog. This has been the best year for hummingbirds that we have ever had. We have been going through roughly a gallon of nectar every two days. That's a lot of sugar! May you have a blessed day, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens at 190mm with four Canon 540 EZ flashes set to 1/16th power. Camera settings used were Manual mode,ISO 100, F 14.0 at 1/160th of a sec. If you are interested in learning more about hummingbird photography please take a look at chapter six of my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography". The book is available in both hardbound and as an ebook at most online book sellers. Check out the great reviews on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Sneaky Snake

One of my spring and summer sights are visits from my local Garter Snakes. They try and sneak into the backyard to try and feed on the Goldfish in my small backyard pond. Here is a series of images from a couple of weeks ago. I put down my daughters yoga pad and placed my camera flat on the ground so that I could get as close to water level as possible. In order to close focus I placed an extension tube between my telephoto lens and the camera body. Enjoy the images. God bless, chrisAll images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens with an extension tube. AV mode, ISO 400, F 5.6,Shutter speeds varied.#TeamCanon, #canonbringit

What to do on a Hot Summers Day!

These are a few images from my photoblind this morning in Mendocino County, Northern California. It is officially summer and it is starting to heat up. These Steller's Jays thought my water feature was the perfect place to cool off this morning. Images created with a canon 7d anda canon 100-400 IS. AV mode, ISO 800, F5.6 shutter speeds varied. #TeamCanon, #canonbringit

On Guard and On Diplay

With little help you can get some great hummingbird images by putting up a perch for them to land on. Because hummingbirds are very territorial if you place an open perch above a feeder often times one of them will use it to defend the feeder. That is what I did this afternoon. I placed a small branch from a Madrone tree right above and behind the feeder when looking at it from my photoblind. That way the hummingbird would be looking towards the feeder and my blind as well in the process of defending the feeder. I had many opportunities to photograph this male Anna's Hummingbird as time and again it landed on the Madrone branch and put on a display for all to see that this was his feeder. For the second image I moved my photoblind as close as I could to the perch. The hummingbirds were a bit confused for a few minutes as I moved the blind while I was still in it. They were probably wondering what in the world was going on. May you have a blessed day tomorrow, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. Exposures varied. if you are interested in getting started with hummingbird photography please check out chapter six of my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography". It is available from most online book sellers.http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Bandies and Jays

I spent a good chunk of time last night and this morning editing images from my photoshoot yesterday morning in the backyard photoblind. I usually do a quick edit and pick out my favorite images and then do a more thorough edit the second time through. These were my favorites images of the Steller's Jays and Band-tailed Pigeons. The last Band-tailed image is one of the best Band-tailed images I have made in quite awhile. I hope that you have an enjoyable weekend. God'sblessings, chris all images were created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. AV mode, ISO 800, Exposures varied. #TeamCanon, #Bringit Please check out my book, "Secrets of Backyard bBird Photography" on Amazon. It is available in both hardbound and as an Ebook http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

"Focused"

I spent about two hours in the photoblind this morning. I was out there early before the sun was even up to try and catch the great soft light of early morning. It was quite surprising that not a single squirrel showed up to interrupt my bird photography this morning. No blasted cat either as I was careful not to let the beast escape and I put notes on the doors so no one would let her out. Bird wise there were many Steller's Jays mixed with Band-tailed Pigeons. Not another type of bird made any kind of a showing. I heard some Mourning Doves fly by but that was about it. I ended up with a lot of great images images. In editing them this is the one that really stood out to me. This Steller's Jay is really focused on something. I just love that fantastic look of intent. God's precious love to all, chris This image was taken in Mendocino County, Northern California in my backyard. It was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens at 180mm. AV mode,ISO 800, F 5.0 at 1/15th of a sec. If you are interested in learning about photographing backyard birds please check out my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography". It is available at most online book sellers in hardbound and as an ebook. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559 #TeamCanon,#Bringit

Back to the Hummingbirds

I spent the majority of the day attempting to reclaim the house from the clutches of the painting demons. When you paint you have to get all the artwork off of the walls and get everything out of the way and into the center of the room. This makes for a huge mess. It looked like someone went through our house and made giant junk heaps in the middle of each room! I worked for quite a while on my office. It's going to be a long haul but worth it in the end. We are sorting and getting rid of a lot of stuff to go the thrift store. This evening I was really ready for a break. I had a quick shoot with the hummingbirds in the backyard. This will be the last time for this set up with the fuschia flowers. It has proven itself to be a winner. Fuschias and hummingbirds just seem to go so well together. I hope that you have a wonderful day tomorrow. God's blessings be upon you, chris This image was created in Mendocino County, Northern California. Photographed with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. Manual mode, ISO 100, F 11.0 at 1/160th of a sec. (4) Canon 540EZ flashes set to 1/16th power were used to light the scene. Please check out chapter six of my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography" if you want to learn more about photographing hummingbirds. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559 #TeamCanon ,#Bringit,

Herding Cats

I'm sure you may have heard the term "Herding Cats". It basically means trying to perform an almost impossible task. Photographing them by yourself isn't easy either. This morning as I was walking past the kitchen I noticed that the blasted cat was sitting in some really nice light. Quickly I grabbed my camera, threw on a short lens and grabbed a piece of black foam core. When I came back into the kitchen the blasted cat was just getting up to leave. I petted her so she would hold still and slowly slid the foam core behind her. She would have none of that piece of foam core and she tried to bolt. I pressed my hand on her back and she settled down a bit when I started petting her. She rolled onto her side and to my slight horror she knocked over the foam core. She immediately bolted from the kitchen out into the living room. I walked over and picked her up and brought her back to the kitchen and put a bowl of food where I wanted her to go. She seemed to accept this and he ate for awhile with her head down and then she walked off. I put her back and then she seemed to think it was OK and then she took off upstairs. After a short search I found her. I carried her down the stairs petting her the whole way. When I put her in front of the foam core this time she settled down and let me photograph her. The blasted cat isn't so bad after all. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 17-85mm lens at 66mm. AV mode, ISO 800,F 5.6 at 1/125th of a sec. Camera was supported on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB Tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead. #TeamCanon,#Bringit

The Feisty One and the Thief

I spent most of the day rearranging, cleaning and putting things away. We just had the inside of our house painted and I think it is going to take a couple of months to get reorganized and find everything. This evening I set aside some time for some hummingbird photography in the backyard. The same male Anna's Hummingbird as on Saturday dominated the flowers and the feeder. He is a feisty little thing taking on all comers very successfully. The only one able to feed from the Fuschia flowers was the young female Anna's. She had a knack for outwitting him to get to the flowers when he was otherwise occupied chasing some other hummingbird away. She would swoop right in feed for a second or two and be gone as he was coming back. I enjoyed myself and I'm sure that they did too. God's love and blessings to all, chris Mendocino County, Northern California. Photographed with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. Manual mode, ISO 100, F 11.0 at 1/160th of a sec. (4) Canon 540EZ flashes set to 1/16th power were used to light the scene. Please check out chapter six of my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography" if you want to learn more about photographing hummingbirds. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559 #TeamCanon ,#Bringit,

Morning Reflection

This morning I made sure I was up and out to the photoblind before the sun was even up to beat the heat. Even the mosquitoes weren't too bad this morning. After filling the feeders and settling in I sat back to wait. Being in the blind always gives me lots of time to think ponder and pray. This morning was no exception and the Lord and I had some good conversations. There are many things in my life I need to change and there are plenty of others where I need to keep on doing what I am doing and stay the course. Photography this morning was a lot of fun once the birds started coming in to feed. I was working hard to get a good clean reflection in the water set up I had created. I have a lot of ones with chopped off feet, tails,beaks and even heads. This one of the Band-tailed Pigeon was one of my favorites of the ones I really liked. Note there are no chopped off parts on this one! God's precious love to all, chris Please check out my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography" to see how this water feature and image were created. https://www.rockynook.com/shop/photography/secrets-of-backyard-bird-photography/ This image was created with a Canon 7D and a A Canon 100-400 IS lens. AV mode,ISO 800,F 5.6 at 1/800th of a sec.

Those Thirsty Squirrels

The first order of business after getting out of the photoblind this morning was to get a drink of water and cool off. By nine-thirty this morning the inside of my photoblind was like a sauna. Warm weather has arrived and I'm going to have to start taking water with me into the blind. The critters were thirsty this morning too as was evidenced by the number of squirrels that stopped by for a drink this morning. Here are a few of my favorites. How the heck do squirrels drink upside down anyway? May you have a great weekend. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens supported by a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead. Camera settings used AV mode,ISO 800, F 5.6 shutter speeds varied. #TeamCanon, #Bringit,

Catch the Look

There are good images and there are great images. They may have the same subject and both have excellent composition but one of them really appeals to the viewer. Sometimes the difference between the two is as simple as the turn of the head and a catchlight. Good eye contact is extremely important when photographing wildlife. The turn of the head or "head angle" as it is often referred to is having the subjects head turned so that it is looking towards the camera. This helps make a connection between the viewer with the subject. It can help create an intimate moment. A head turn of just few degrees towards the camera can make an impressive difference. In addition to the head angle the other important thing is to make sure that you capture the catchlight in the eye. The catchlight is a reflection of a light source that causes a specular highlight in a the eye of your subject. It shows up as a bright spot in the eye. Look carefully as you are photographing your subject and focus on the eyes. Look for the catchlight and be ready to depress the shutter when you see it. Below are two images taken within less than a minute apart from each other. In editing it was quite easy to see appeal of the second image over the first one. The second image has a really great head angle and eye contact with a nice catchlight. It just draws you in. May you have a blessed day, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens at 250mm. Camera settings for both images were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/100th of a sec. The camera was supported on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB Tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead. To see more examples like this please check out my book on the "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography". It is available in both hardbound and Ebook editions at most online book sellers. Cut and paste this address into your browser http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Wait For It

As many of you may have noticed and probably already know photographing wildlife takes a lot of patience. It also takes learning to watch and wait for the moment. Last Sunday I went to one of my favorite places to photograph Harbor Seals on the coast north of Ft. Bragg. I sat, watched and photographed them for a couple of hours while they slept on the rocks. After a while the incoming tide and the larger waves started washing them off of their haul out spot. They would get washed off and then have to climb back up onto the rocks and find a new spot to slumber. This is where anticipating the moment came into play. I prefocused my camera on one of the seals. After a wait of about five minutes a larger wave rolled in and I was able to capture an image of the seal trying to stay on the rock amidst the wave.It made for a great image. Anticipating the action works for smaller animals as well. This morning while photographing birds a Western Gray Squirrel stopped by for a snack of bird seed. I noticed that periodically it would stop feeding and put its paw up onto the mossy part of the stump and look my way. I prefocused my camera on this spot and I was ready when the squirrel looked my way again. A bit of observation and the patience to wait can go a long way towards creating some beautiful images of wildlife. God's tender love and mercies to all, chris #TeamCanon, #Bringit, #hqspanimals

Rewarded for Your Patience

As many of you have noticed I love photographing wildlife. Animals by nature don't typically trust human beings for a good reason. They don't want to become lunch! Because of this they establish a bubble or safe zone around themselves that varies depending upon the situation. Any predator that comes inside that zone causes them to go on alert or possibly to flee. But it is situational and with a bit of patience on your part you can alter that by changing your behavior so that you don't appear to be as dangerous a predator. Most animals don't like things that stand erect, move too fast or head directly towards them. So don't do those things! First observe the birds or animals from a distance. Then get as close as you can without disturbing them. Now sit and wait keeping all your movements to a minimum. When you go to take a picture you must move very, very slowly and cautiously. The following images were done this way. I love the sight and sound of Black Oystercatchers. I went to a rocky place that they frequent and then I sat down and waited. After about a half hour wait they worked there way feeding among the rocks to less than thirty feet from me. Sitting quietly with very little movement has its rewards. Both images were created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens on a Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a Bogen ballhead.Camaera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400,F9.0 at 1/500th of a sec. God's love and blessings to all, chris #TeamCanon, #Bringit

Extra Blog for Today- It's a Matter of Perspective

On Saturday I bought myself a used 1941 Plymouth pick up for three bucks. Today while I was having my pick up repaired I set out to photograph my new Plymouth for fun even though the lighting was terrible and I thought it might be kind of fun to see what worked best and what didn't. It was all a matter of perspective as you can see from the last image. All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 17-85mm lens. God's love and blessings to all, chris #TeamCanon, #Bringit

Isolate Your Subject

Sunday I went over to the coast and had some lunch and a great time with friends. Afterwards I went to one of my favorite spots north of Fort Bragg. I spent several hours photographing a wide variety of subjects which I'll cover over the next few days with a short lesson in each one. The first lesson is on isolating your subject. One of the great things about using a telephoto lens is how they can be used to isolate your subject. Using a telephoto lens you can make the background out of focus it can really make your main subject pop and stand out in the image. The key is in getting close as possible to your subject and making sure that your subject is higher in relation to the objects around it. In both of the images below I looked for subjects that were raised up above the surrounding foliage with no distracting elements around them. I used a wide F stop the background would go out of focus in the image. I Usually F 8.0 or wider will work just fine so long as your subject is close to you and the background is farther away. I had some luck with the sparrow. When I first spotted the sparrow it was on a tall plant much further back. Then it flew towards me and landed on a sprig of plant that was even closer! The second image of the thistle was a gift. When I was walking up a trail from the rocks down by the ocean the bright color of the thistle caught my eye. First I got as close to the flower as I possible could focus. Then I maneuvered my camera so that the sloping hillside behind it made a beautiful green back drop behind the flower. Following that I checked to see that I was in AV mode and that my F stop was at F 8.0. I chose F 8.0 because I needed some depth of field to keep the flower full in focus but I wanted the background to blur out as much as possible. So grab a telephoto lens and head out there and have some fun. God's love and blessings to all, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 552mm. ISO 400, AV mode F 8.0 at 1/125th of a sec and 1/400ths of a sec. Both were on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead.