Double Play

This morning it was a double play on Steller's Jays and Chestnut Backed chickadees. I struck out on the Dark Eyed Juncos. As usual they stayed on the ground. You have to ramp them up to the feeder to get images of them. Have a great day and God bless, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400 IS v.1 lens.#TeamCanon

Bright and Early

Last night I went out into the dark and rearranged my mossy branch next to the bird feeder so it faced to the side. This morning I was up early with the sun photographing the birds and critters that came for breakfast. Here are a couple of my favorites from my time spent with them. God bless and have a great week, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400IS v. 1 lens. The camera settings were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 shutter speeds varied.The camera was supported on a ground pod. #teamcanon

S.O.A.S.

S.O.A.S. (Squirrel on a Stick). Yesterday afternoon I went out searching for a mossy branch to put up next to the bird feeder. All of these storms have knocked down plenty of branches for me to use. I found a mossy one after a short search and using some wood screws I put it up next to the bird feeder. This morning I set up my camera on the back window sill on a ground pod. It didn't take too long for one of the Western Gray Squirrels to come for breakfast. I created fifty images and I came away with some very nice keepers. The mossy lichens really add a richness to the image. I hope that you are having a great weekend. God bless, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM Autofocus Image Stabilized Telephoto Zoom Lens. AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 shutter speeds varied but they were pretty slow! #TeamCanon

One Last Bird From the Branch

Yesterday I spent a little time capturing Chestnut Backed Chickadees from the branch I propped up next to the bird feeder. This one was my favorite. I'm looking forward to spring with more of a variety of birds! God's light and love to all, chris This image wascreated with a canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400 IS v.1 lens.

Steller's Day or Editing Down

I spent about forty five minutes photographing Steller's Jays in the backyard this morning using the perch had I set up earlier in the week. When I was finished I had thirty seven images of Jays to upload and edit on my computer. As the images upload one at a time I edit them by marking the ones that look promising. After they had all uploaded I had marked a dozen of them that looked pretty decent. Next I went through and checked them for good eye contact and correct exposure. That narrowed the dozen images down to nine. Following that I processed the RAW files by checking and adjusting exposure, clarity and saturation and sometimes shadow detail. Along with some use of the correction brush for some finer details. The last step was to reduce the noise and sharpen them. I ended up with nine images which I narrowed down to my one favorite. My favorite was number seven though I cropped it to improve the composition a bit. Which one would you choose? God's love and blessings to all of you, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400 IS lens v. 1 #teamcanon

Snow on the Mountains

The last few storms have covered the higher mountains east of where I live in Northern California in a deep blanket of snow. So late yesterday before going to the movies I dashed down to a small hill that overlooks Willits and made a panorama of the Mendocino Mountain Range. Just as I was finishing up I had the feeling that something was watching me. I looked down the road to see a big black rottweiler slowly walking my way. Its tail wasn't doing the fast wag, wag ,wag but the slow determined I'm not happy you are here wag with a very angry face. Luckily I was closer to my pick up than it was to me and I wade a slow exit to my truck. Hopefully its owners don't leave it loose all the time because that was one big scary dog.This morning I photographed Snow Mountain off in the distance. If these snows keep up we are going to have some awesome spring wildflowers. God's precious love and blessings to all, chris All the images are from my Canon 7D mkII and a Canon 100-400 IS v. 1 lens. The panorama is eleven images stitched together. #teamcanon

Simple Jay

The past few storms have left our yard littered with broken off branches from the trees. Yesterday I grabbed a lichen and moss covered one off of our driveway and propped it up next to the bird feeder. Right away the birds started using it as a perch to get to the bird feeder. This morning I set up my camera on the window sill of our back bedroom with a ground pod and photographed them as they were getting ready to feed. After editing them there were three really nice images but ultimately this one was my favorite. I always love that over the shoulder look. God's light and love to all, chris

This image was created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens v.1 at 200mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/60th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Ever Changing View

It started snowing yesterday afternoon and slowly built up over the night. We awoke to about four inches of snow. It was just enough snow to make the view out our bedroom window quite delightful. It also made it a necessary to have to use 4WD to get down our driveway to the road. Right now as I am typing this I can hear the snow bombs coming off the trees as the snow is melting. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 18-200 mm lens.

Three Views of Three Chop Ridge

We have a very narrow view of the sunset over the ocean from where I live in Mendocino County in Northern California. Many years ago I had a fantastic view of sunsets over the ocean but the trees have grown up and have now left us with a little slice. Last night I could tell that it was going to be a pretty good sunset. I walked down our road and made a number if images of slightly different views from the same location. It's always good to work a subject with both portrait and landscape views as well as a variety of compositions. These three images ended up being my favorites of the sunset over Three Chop Ridge with the last one being the one that I liked best. Enjoy the views and God bless, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MKII and a Tamron 18-200mm lens.

Bicycle, Bicycles and More Bicycles

The first thing I noticed after walking around a bit in Copenhagen, Denmark is that the are an awful lot of bicycles. There are bicycles everywhere. Apparently there are more bicycles than citizens in the city. Thirty-six percent of the population commute to work or school every day by bicycle! There are close to 400 kilometers of bicycle lanes and paths through out the city. I noticed many places where there were three lanes. One for auto traffic. One for bicycles and the last lane for pedestrians.You had to really watch where you walked to be careful and not get run over by a bike by walking in a bike lane. Though I only had one close call. People really seem to honor the lane system and the traffic laws.The terrain is flat and really well suited for travel by bike.God's love and blessings upon you, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D mkII.

Playing Tourist at Amalienborg Palace

While in Copenhagen it is fun to watch the changing of the guard at the Amalienborg Palace. Amalienborg is the home of the Danish royal family. It is made up of of four identical classical palace façades set around an octagonal courtyard. There are different types of ceremony of the changing of the guards depending upon which of the royal family is in residence at the royal palace in Copenhagen. The Royal Guard and the mounted Kongelige Livgarde (Kings Life Guard)are on duty for 24 hours. Notice that the guards are armed with modern weapons! The types of ceremonies are as follows Kongevagt (King's Watch) when the Monarch is in residence the Guards are accompanied by the Royal Guards music band. Løjtnantsvagt (Lieutenant Watch) when Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik or Prince Joachim are residing at Amalienborg in the capacity of regents the Guards are accompanied by flutes and drums. Palævagt (Manor Watch) when the Crown Prince or Prince Joachim are in residence but not in the capacity of regents or the Palace is uninhabited the Guards march through Copenhagen without musical accompaniment. We got to watch the Løjtnantsvagt (Lieutenant Watch) when Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik or Prince Joachim is in residence. We followed the mounted Kongelige Livgarde (Kings Life Guard) down the city streets to the Kastellet. The Kastellet or Citidel in English is a fortress where the horses are stabled and trained. The fortress is rather unique because it is star shaped when looked at from above. It has a large moat inside of which there is a tall dirt parapet. On the inside of that there are barracks, a windmill and a church. I felt really sorry for the soldiers that were assigned the KP duty of cleaning up the horse droppings from the flagstone. The day was rather dreary but we really enjoyed watching the pomp and circumstance. God bless, chris All images were created with a handheld Canon 7D mkII