Little Green Mossy Monster

I know that "Little green Mossy Monster is a bit misleading for a photoblog title. My reasoning is that the past couple of days I have been photographing birds and squirrels perched on the "Little Green Mossy Monster. It's a perch of which only a small green mossy knob is evident in the images. The knob is part of a thick five foot long section of a tree branch that is covered in moss like beautiful green fur. I picked it up off the side of our road. After I'm done using it for photos I'll put it back. Here are a few select images of a Douglas Tree Squirrel, Chestnut Backed Chickadees and a Steller's Jay. What a marvelous and beautiful world God has created for us. I hope that you are having a great week, chris The techniques used in creating these images were from the book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography,"All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600 mm G2 lens with a Canon 550EX for fill flash. Camera settings varied. The camera was supported on a ground pod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. #teamcanon, #tamron

Waiting for Spring

No gardening until spring! Last night we had a a dusting of snow. When I was photographing birds this morning I kept passing by these garden clogs on the deck rail and they really caught my eye. I finally gave into them and went back inside and grabbed shorter lens that would be more appropriate to photograph them with. Underneath that layer of snow and ice they hold the promise and warmth of the coming spring. God's precious light and love to all, chris This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D MkII and aCanon EFs- 17-85mm lens at 61mm. The camer settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/60th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Angry Bird

I set up a mossy perch next to the bird feeder yesterday afternoon. This morning quite early the birds were already feeding away and using it as a perching spot. This little Chestnut Backed Chickadee reminded me of one of the "Angry Bird" characters. May you have a blessed weekend, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens at 552mm using a Canon 550EX fill flash set to -2 stops exposure. The camera was supported on a ground pod with a Bogen 3055 Heavy duty ballhead. The camera settings used were, AV mode, ISO 800, F8.0 at 1/60th of a sec.#TeamCanon, #tamron

Simple Chickadee

Bird photography where I live in wintertime is extremely limited. The habitat where I am situated is mixed coniferous forest. Simply put this means means that in winter there aren't too many species to photograph. Today was no exception as the only species that dropped by the bird feeder were Chestnut Backed Chickadees. It would appear that I have switched from gray squirrels to chickadees! Here is a chickadee on a branch that I placed next to the bird feeder. I hope that all of you have a great weekend. Thank you, God for such marvelous creatures to photograph, chris Image created with a canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens using a Canon 550EX fill flash set to -2 stops exposure.The camera was supported on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB Tripod with a Bogen 3055 Heavy duty ballhead. The camera settings used were High Speed flash sync., AV mode, ISO 800, F8.0 at 1/400th of a sec.#TeamCanon, #tamron

Patience Required

Yesterday the weather couldn't decide what it wanted to do. It kept shifting from sunshine to rain, snow and hail. During the breaks in the weather I set up a lichen covered twig next to the bird feeder. I should say I set it up several times because the squirrels kept breaking it off whenever I wasn't around. After each set up I watched where the birds were landing and prefocused on that spot. The chickadees are so fast there is little to no time to recompose an image. They land and then are off to the bird feeder in a flash. I sat there waiting with my finger on the shutter release. Whenever I spotted a chickadee coming in I would click the shutter as soon as it landed. This resulted in a lot of almost images but it also resulted in some really beautiful images as well. After some editing this afternoon I narrowed it down to two images. One image in a vertical composition and one in a horizontal.The horizontal image was created when it was sunny and the vertical one was done when it was cloudy. I was very happy with the results. Both images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600 G2 lens at 329mm. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 190 XPROB Tripod with a Manfrotto 3055 ballhead. Camera settings used AV mode,ISO 800,F 8.0 for 1/800th of a sec.for the vertical image and 1/1,000th of a sec for the horizontal one at the same settings. #TeamCanon,#tamron

What is this Blue Stuff?

This morning was rather unsettling. While still lying in bed I opened my eyes and looked up out the window and saw bright blue skies. After days and days of not seeing the sun it was rather disconcerting. Well actually I did briefly see the sun for about a minute yesterday through the clouds while I was on my way to the big city of Ukiah. I guess there is no real need to worry because as soon as I started to type this at quarter past eleven this morning it started to sleet. This quickly turned to snow and now it is hailing graupel or corn snow. The clouds have moved back in and there isn't a scrap of blue sky to be seen anywhere. Thank you Lord for the sunshine, chrisPhotographed with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens.

Prefocus and Patience

This morning I had to take my pick up to the big city of Ukiah for the airbag to be replaced. After a quick repair I returned home and grabbed a lichen covered twig off of the deck. I placed it right beside the bird feeder. Once back inside I composed and prefocused my camera on the twig. Chickadees are really fast when they feed at my house to avoid being eaten by hawks. Because of this there is little to no time to react. You have to be ready and waiting to make the image. After about a fifteen minute wait and ten tries I had three decent images and one that I was really quite happy with. If the weather holds I may try again this afternoon. I hope that you are having a great day. God's tender love and blessings to all, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600 G2 lens at 329mm. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 190 PROXB Tripod with a Manfrotto 3055 ballhead. Camera settings used AV mode,ISO 800,F 8.0 for 1/250th of a sec. #TeamCanon,#tamron

Stuck in Squirrel Gear

It rained and poured all day and the wind was blowing something fierce. Not exactly the best day for photography. But pretty good for some squirrel portraits in the rain. I set up a perch next to the bird feeder and a few chickadees stopped by but it was mostly used by the Western Gray Squirrels. They were all rain soaked but didn't seem to have a care in the world as long as they got their free sunflower seeds. I really enjoyed going through editing them down to just one image even though I had many favorites. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600 G2 lens at 375mm. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 190 PROXB Tripod with a Manfrotto 3055 ballhead. Camera settings used AV mode,ISO 800,F 8.5 for 1/60th of a sec. #TeamCanon,#tamron

It Never Fails

Looking back over the years it seems like that whenever I get to try out a new lens that it rains. Today was the first good chance to get to try out my new TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 lens. (Boy is that a mouthful to say). Sure enough it rained. I guess that it gave me a good opportunity to try the lens out in adverse conditions. I must say that it performed admirably on the Western Gray Squirrels and Chestnut Backed Chickadees. I was very pleased with the results. They were tack sharp and the focus responded instantly. My old TAMRON | SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD is up for sale after just being completely factory refurbished by Tamron USA. If it doesn't sell I plan on using it as a back up and for teaching lessons to beginning photographers. Give me a holler if you are interested in purchasing it or have questions about it. God's love and blessings to all, chrisAll of the squirrel and chickadee images were created with a canon 7D MkII and a TAMRON | SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 on a Manfrotto Tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead.

Squirrel on the Gnarly Perch

Today was most definitely an inside day. The wind was howling and the rains came down. There was one bright spot sometime during the middle of the day when the sun shone through the clouds for a brief bit but it was very short lived. The clouds closed in and the rains came down again. During the break I put out some seed on the bird feeder and the Western Gray Squirrels immediately found it and came for a snack.I grabbed my camera with a short telephoto zoom on it and I took some images handheld from our back bedroom by bracing the camera against the window sill. Enjoy your weekend and God bless, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200 mm lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, f 8.0 at 1/250th of a sec.#tamron

Editing is Part of the Creative Process

I love to create images. It brings me satisfaction to conceive of an idea for an image and take it through to fruition. Some images can be pretty complex with a lot of planning required and others can be simple and spur of the moment. I have one image in the works that is going to take me a couple of months to complete. Not the actual click of the shutter but in the design and layout of it. After the creation comes all of the editing. Today's image of a Steller's Jay was a pretty straight forward image. I set up a mossy branch next to the feeder and waited for the Jays to come. After about twenty minutes of photographing I had just over a hundred images that needed to be edited. Step one is to upload them to my computer. It's during this time that I eliminate the images that are way out of focus are extremely blurry or have only half of a bird. Believe me it happens! I write down the file numbers that look promising. Next I go through and process the promising files and look for files that I may have missed if I was distracted. The last step is too look at the files that made the cut side by side and choose the ones that I really like. On a big outing or trip this can be a very lengthy process. Enjoy the images from today's rainy day shoot.Which image would you choose? My favorite is the second on from the bottom followed by the one i cropped to a vertical. God bless, chris All of these images were created with a Canon 7D MkIII and a Canon 100-400 IS v. lens. AV mode, ISO 800 Exposures varied. The camera was supported by a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead on a ground pod on our window sill. #TeamCanon

Windy Day Jay

Late this morning I went out into the back yard and grabbed a gnarly chunk of wood covered with old withered turkey tail fungi. I put it up next to the bird feeder for the birds to land on. Then I went back inside and waited for the birds to come. I was hoping for some Chestnut Backed Chickadees to stop by but not a single one showed up. All I got were the Steller's Jays which have such a beautiful blue colors in their plumage. This one ended up being my favorite. God'e love and blessings to all, chris This image was photographed with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400IS lens v.1. The camera was on our bedroom window sill and it was supported with a ground pod and an old Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. The camera setting used was AV mode, ISO 800, F 5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/500th of a sec.#TeamCanon

Mossy Branch

Yesterday afternoon I scrounged around and found a mossy branch to use for a perch to put up next to the bird feeder. I like to use what's at hand because it fits and suits the environment. I imagine if I lived in the eastern plains of Wyoming I'd find a nice dead juniper branch or a piece of sage. This morning the only visitors I had to the perch were a Western Gray Squirrel and a Steller's Jay. I was excited when a pair of Band-tailed Pigeons landed close by but the squirrels scared them off. Here are my two best images from the morning. I pray that your week is going well. God bless, chris Both images were photographed with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400IS lens v.1. The camera was on our bedroom window sill and it was supported with a ground pod and an old Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/60th of a sec for the Jay and 1/800th of a sec for the squirrel as they were photographed hours apart from one another.#TeamCanon

B+W or Color?

I'm not a street photographer but every once in awhile I'll capture and image that would fall into the category of street photography. While photographing last weekend I created this image on the spur of the moment. I loved the juxtaposition of the man hurrying across the street against the gaze of the mannequins in the window display. It's almost as if he is fleeing from them. Which image do you like better color or B+W? God's blessings upon your weekend, chris This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 18-200mm lens. #TeamCanon

Pineapple Express

This morning I got a touch of cabin fever and I went downtown to go work out at the gym. I took the long way driving around taking in the watery sights along the way. There were little waterfalls running off of practically every mountainside I passed by. The creeks were running really high almost up to the bottom of the bridges and there was evidence that they must have topped their banks last night from all of the scattered debris. Downtown in the low areas there was plenty of flooded roadways in the usual spots. Please use caution and drive very slowly through flooded neighborhoods as the wave your vehicle is throwing up could be just enough to push flood water into someones home. Stay dry and safe out there. God's love and protection to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200 mm lens. #TeamCanon

An Umbrella Kind of Day in the City

Monday morning in the city of San Francisco was definitely a day for umbrellas. The old rock song with the lyrics .. it never rains in California ... was way, way off at times as it was really pouring. This morning as I type it is pouring down rain here on the ridgetop in Mendocino County as well. May you have a blessed day, chris All images were created with a handheld Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200 mm lens at a variety of shutter speeds and F stops. #TeamCanon

Dreamland

We just got back from spending three days in San Francisco. We went there to celebrate Lenore's birthday and just hang out. We had a marvelous time. One of the iconic symbols of San Francisco is its cable cars. I have photographed them off and on over the years and I was looking to create a really nice image of one. It rained off and on most of the time we were there except for Saturday when it was actually quite sunny. As for me I was relishing the rain for photographing the cable cars. I was trying all sorts of slow shutter speeds and pans. My best moment came this morning when I photographed the California Street cable car coming uphill near Hyde through the rain soaked windshield of the car. As soon as I clicked the shutter I could instantly tell that this was the image I was looking for. Lenore loved it when she saw it and stated that she wants to paint it. It was a success! God's love and blessings upon your week, chris This image was created with a handheld and braced Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200 mm lens at 38mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 200, F 8.0 at 1/20th of a sec. #TeamCanon