Mellow Yellow With a Splash of Blue

Bird feeders full? Check. Separate feeder for the squirrels set up? Check. Perches all set up and in place? Check. Is the "Blasted Cat" locked away in the house? Check. That was the start to a great morning of photographing the Steller's Jays today. I photographed them until the sun got too bright. Yes, that's right. We have a beautiful day full of sunshine today! Thank you Lord! I hope that everyone is having a nice weekend. God bless, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 and f 5.6 at 1/200th of a sec. A Canon 550 EX fill flash was used set to -1 and 2/3rds stops.The camera was supported with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead on aground pod. #teamcanon, #withmytamron

Badger the Wonder Dog

In celebration of getting our office space cleared I had a little photo shoot with Badger the Wonder Dog this morning. He was quite happy to model for a few pieces of a dog biscuit. It was really nice to have space to set up my studio lights and have some breathing room to work. I hope that you all have a great weekend. God bless, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200mm lens. Lighting was provided by two Alien Bee studio flashes fitted with 2' x 4' soft boxes. A white paper sweep was used for a background. Camera settings used were manual mode, ISO 100, F13.0 at 1/200th of a sec.#TeamCanon, #withmytamron

Forest Still Life

Like many people I'm often attracted to patterns. Every time I take a walk in the forest I'm drawn especially to the repeating patterns in nature. This morning my eyes were drawn to the Douglas Fir cones. They almost look like Trilobites with there scaly appearance. Close up they look really cool. What an amazing world God has created for us to look at! Here is a still life from early afternoon when I got around to photographing some of them. God's blessings upon your day, chris This image was created with a handheld and braced Canon 7D MkII anda Tamron 18-200 mm lens at 100mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800,(I tried 100 ISO but I was too shaky) F 8.0 at 1/50th of a sec.#TeamCanon, #takenwithmytamron

Three Birds and a Squirrel

Yesterday afternoon I had a great time photographing birds in the backyard. After restocking the feeders and adjusting the bird perch I settled into our back bedroom to wait behind my widow blind. The window blind basically consists of a window sized masonite board cut to cover the window. There is a hole cut into it for my camera lens. The edges of the board are trimmed in 1"x 2"s and wrapped in old carpet strips to keep the window ledges and the window frame from being scratched up. It isn't very heavy and it is rather easy to take in and out. It is also nice and flat and easily fits behind the bedroom door or under the bed when not in use. Almost immediately the first bird landed just after I sat down. It was a Black Headed Grosbeak. Every year for the past couple of summers a a pair of them have nested somewhere in the backyard. Next came a Steller's Jay and last came the nervous, jumpy Band-tailed Pigeons. Following that the squirrels came and tried to take over because I didn't set up their own special feeder.A good time was had by all. God's love and blessings to everyone! chris #TeamCanon All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L is Usm Lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set to -1 2/3rds stops. The camera was set into AV mode , ISO 100, F stops and shutter speeds varied. If you want to learn more about photographing birds in your backyard and haven't yet checked out my book. Please check it out at your local bookstore or most any of the online book sellers. "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography" by Rocky Nook Publishing. It is available in hardbound and as an E book. https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Perfect for Poppies

Today is overcast and looking like it really wants to rain. It's perfect diffuse lighting for photographing poppies. I had a medical appointment at the local hospital this morning and it was a quick visit.(Good job Melissa!) Afterwards I went out and photographed poppies in the field by the hospital. I was really happy to find one with a spider on it and a group of four that looked like they were ascending to the heavens. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris All of the poppy images were created with a handheld Canon 7D MkIIwith a Tamron 18-200mm lens. #TeamCanon, #tamron

The Current Theme Seems to Be Rain!

Once again we awoke to the sound of steady rain on the roof top. This should be keeping kayakers from all over Northern California happy. The rivers will be flowing well into the summer. After a run downtown to pick up some milk and a prescription I'm content to sit at the computer and work on some images from over the weekend. Here are a couple of totally unrelated images created on the way home. God's tender love and blessings to all, chris Both images were created with a hand held Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200. The street scene was AV mode, F 18.0, ISO 100, F 18.0 at 1/8th of a sec. The blurry propane truck was taken from when I was stopped behind it through the rainy wind shield. F 8.0 at 1/80th of a sec.#teamcanon, #tamron

Little More Rain

Just before I shut my eyes last night I looked outside and marveled at the bright clear stars shining back at me through our bedroom window. I was excited at the prospect of a sunny day this morning. I awoke instead to the the sound of rainwater dripping through the downspouts and the patter of rain upon the rooftop. The weather report shows a 20 percent chance of rain with clearing and sunny by he afternoon. I guess I'll have to wait for the sun. Yesterday afternoon I photographed birds in the backyard and the first bird that came to the bird feeders was one lone Band-tailed Pigeon. Being jumpy nervous characters this one flew off after only creating three images. This one was the best of the three so enjoy one of our wild pigeons from Mendocino County in Northern California. God's blessings upon your weekend, chris This image was created using a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens at 256mm. My camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/320th of a sec. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set to -2 stops. #TeamCanon, #tamron

Portrait of a Squirrel

While photographing the Steller's Jays I had some really great opportunities after the Jays left to photograph the Western Gray Squirrels and get some nice close up portraits. I created about thirty images but this one was my favorite. Up close squirrels have very expressive faces. This squirrel portrait was no exception to that. Have a wonderful weekend and God bless, chris This image was created with my Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens at 600mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/100th of a sec. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set at -2 stops.#teamcanon, #tamron

Whittling Down the Images

I spent two sessions photographing the Steller's Jays in my backyard over the past few days using a mossy and lichen covered log for a perch. This resulted in hundreds of images to edit. After the first pre edits I narrowed that down to around a 120 images. From there I attempted to narrow it down to my one and only favorite. That task proved impossible and in the end I chose two. Here are my two favorites. God's love and blessings to all of you, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set at -2 stops. General camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/25th and 1/50th of a sec. The camera was supported on a ground pod on our bedroom window ledge. #TeamCanon, #tamron

Nice Morning

We awoke to a subtle pastel pinkish, orangeish sunrise this morning. The valley was full of its usual blanket of fog that resembles a lake. I crawled out of bed and went out into the backyard and set up two feeders on the ground for the squirrels to use. Then I rearranged a new mossy perch I had set up yesterday afternoon. Afterwards I went back inside and grabbed a bird feeder and set it up close by the perch. We have been having a bear problem so we have to bring the feeders inside at night to keep them from being hauled away by the bear. We made some breakfast and before we were even finished the birds started coming into the feeder. Not long thereafter the squiirels gobbled up all of the food I had set out for them and they came up onto the perch as well. I had a really nice morning. God's light and love to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII in AV mode, ISO 100. shutter speeds and F stops varied. #TeamCanon

Spring Has Sprung

This morning I had an appointment in Ukiah. On the return trip I decided to swing through the Little Lake Valley and check out the wildflowers. This year looks to be a tough one as the grasses are up and are really tall. This makes it much harder to spot the low lying wildflowers. As I drove along I could see beautiful patches of one of the first harbingers of spring the California Poppies. They are so bold and bright. I pulled off into a gate access on the side of the road and walked back to a patch of them. I got down low and framed a scene of the valley with the flowers as a foreground anchor. I was quite pleased with how the image looked when I uploaded it to my computer when I got home. I'd say it's a keeper. God's blessings upon your week, chris This image was created with a hand held Canon 7D and an EF-S17-85mm lens at 26mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 100, F 16.0 at 1/100th of a sec. #teamcanon

Marvelous Munchies

With the advent of spring we are getting some warmer days tossed in with some pretty chilly ones. On the warmer evenings the moths are starting to show up at our porch light. Moths are an extremely significant food source in spring for bats, owls and many, many birds. The bats, owls and birds feed upon the adult moths and in later spring the caterpillars from the moths make a up a major portion of many a baby birds diet. What many people think of as a pest is a very important link in our environment. Here is one I found just outside our front door this morning. It was very easy to photograph as it was pretty chilly out and it wasn't wanting to fly anywhere. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris Image created with a Canon 7D MkII and a 100mm macro lens. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 16.0 at 1/40th of a sec.#TeamCanon

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!

Today is the most important celebration for all of the world. For three days over two centuries ago Christ was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind. But death had no hold on Him! He suffered and conquered the fires of hell and on the third day he rose again from the grave alive and well. He paid for and took away all of our sins. He walked on the earth for forty days after arising from the dead teaching the apostles about how we should live. He then rose into heaven to return again some day. He taught us that to have eternal life with him it is simple. Place your faith in Jesus and confess your sins. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16. God bless you, chris

Simple Image for a Spinning Mind

Even before getting out of bed this morning my mind was already spinning with ideas on how to make the final push to clean up our cluttered office space. As many of you know when we put in new flooring in our house the office became the storage space for most anything that was in the way. Adding that to all of the odds and ends of my photography gear made quite the mess. So with my mind going at 100 miles per hour I came downstairs this morning to make myself a cup of PG Tips Tea to start the day. As soon as the water started boiling in the tea kettle I spotted a shaft of light shining through the steam and I thought that it looked pretty cool. I grabbed my camera propped my self on my elbows and made a variety of images of it. This one ended up being my favorite. I tightened up the composition and focused on the most important thing that caught my eye in the first place. Just the simple steam. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris Canon 7D MkII and a handheld Canon EF-S17-85mm f 4-5.6 IS USM lens. AV mode, ISO 800, F 5.6 at 1/6th of a sec.#TeamCanon

Found Photo

Cleaning our office has been an on again and off again project. Today we really dug in and got quite a few boxes sorted and cleared out. We made good progress. In sorting a box of photographs Lenore came across this thank you card for a wedding. Found photos can be so much fun. What ever became of Lorraine and Al in the photo? Age wise they are probably in their late seventies or early eighties. They most likely live in the Brooklyn, Maspeth or one of the other boroughs of NYC. It looks like the photograph is possibly from the fifties sometime. Who knows someone out their may even know them. God's blessings upon them wherever they may be, chris

Mystical Mountain Morning

Sunday morning the fog rolled in over the ridge top where we live creating some soft beautiful light. I quickly grabbed my camera and ran out to the end of our driveway and made a few images of the forest before we dashed off to church. This image was my favorite. God's love and blessings to all, chris #teamcanon This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Rokinon 8mm manual lens. The camera settings used were avmode, ISO 800, F 11.0 at 1/200th of a sec. the camera was supported by a ground pod with a Bogen 3055 Heavy Duty ballhead placed on the ground.

Snowy Saturday

"Welcome to Easter Vacation!", We awoke to heavy wet snow coming down in the Coast Range on Saturday morning. Our backyard turned rapidly into a winter wonder land. The first day of spring break. Really? I went out and put up a bird feeder. The Gray Squirels made an immediate appearance. Here are a selection of tree images and Western Gray Squirrels photographed in our backyard with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400 IS v.1 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Cann 550 EX. The camera was supported on a ground pod on our bedroom window sill. Mendocino County, Northern California.#TeamCanon God's love and blessings upon your week, chris

Shakshuka It's What's for Breakfast

Yesterday morning when I woke up I had the desire to have Shakshuka for breakfast. It's a spicy Easter Mediterranean dish made up of spicy vegetables mixed up in a diced tomato sauce with fresh sunny side up eggs served on top. I decided if I was going to go through all the steps and labor of cooking it I might as well photograph it as well. Now I have a nice image of Shakshuka in my stock files to sell. God's precious love to all, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a canon EF-s 17-85mm lens. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800,F 5.6, 1/640th of a sec. BTW it was delicious.

Looking Back

Yesterday morning was the perfect indoor day for some office work. It looks like today will be more of the same if the weather forecast holds. The rain is just hammering down. I spent part of the morning looking for some images for a client. While searching I ran across many really nice images of birds from six years ago. I narrowed it down to one image that really fits the season of spring. Here is a Pine Siskin from 2011. Enjoy your weekend and God's love and blessings to all, chris

The Wind is Howling on the Ridge Top or Squirrel Portraits

Today is definitely an indoor day. The wind is really blowing. One Tan Oak Tree blew over just outside the fence in the backyard last night. Here are a few Western Gray Squirrel images from yesterday. They love to pose for bird seed. Enjoy your day and God bless, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. AV mode, ISO 800, exposures varied. #TeamCanon, #tamron

Jays and Squirrels

Here are a few more Steller's jays and Western Gray Squirrels form my backyard in Mendocino County, Northern California. They love to pose for the free seed! You can see that there is a lot less moss on the perch once the squirrels got into it. Their sharp claws just peel off the moss and lichens from the perch. We all had a great time. All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600 G2 lens. Camera was set in AV mode, ISO 800 at F 8.0 shutter speeds varied. I was using a ground pod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead to support the camera on our back bedroom window sill. #teamcanon, #tamron