Waiting for the Birds

This morning I was waiting for the birds to fly into the frame to add some interest to the foggy redwood composition I was creating. When I checked my Facebook account this morning I was reminded in my memories that I was photographing the same exact subject two years ago. Either I'm still being creative or I'm stuck in a rut. Time to go on a trip! God's precious love to all, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F8.0 at 1/500th of a sec.#TeamCanon, #withmytamron

Shield Bug Silhouette

I captured a shield bug/beetle off of the screen of a window in our front yard. I thought it would look cool in silhouette on a leaf. Tonight I set it up with a leaf and a lamp in the studio before I set it free out in the front yard. God's precious light and love to all, chrisThis fun image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S-60mm macro usm lens on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod.The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, f 20. at1/100th of a sec.#TeamCanon

Graffiti

One of the most beautiful countries we visited this last summer in Europe was Poland. The city of Gdansk with its beaches, architecture, parks and forests were amazing. Even within that beauty there lurked some ugliness. While sitting at the beach I noticed this old seawall marked up with graffiti. Which by the way I saw very little of in the areas we visited. There was this odd juxtaposition on the seawall of the shadows of two children playing next to a Nazi swastika. The final image seems to have a sinister quality to it. May God bless you richly, chrisThis image was created with my handheld Canon 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 18-200mm lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 16.0 at 1/640th of a sec. #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

Local Landmark Sign

I have photographed this sign before. I have watched it slowly age and decay over the years. Today as I was leaving the gym it caught my eye in the afternoon light and I thought i would give it another try. God's light and love to all, chris Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400L IS USM lens at 100mm.#TeamCanon

Badger the Wonder Dog Patience

Yesterday I was out looking for new perches for use in the backyard for bird photography. I had Badger the Wonder Dog as my copilot. He had to wait in the car because I was near a neighbors house that has a rather large but nice dog. The dog is really friendly but Badger is not and that is why he had to wait patiently in the car. He loves people but really hates this other dog. Coming back to the car I thought he looked rather photogenic patiently waiting for me. Have a great day. God's love and blessings to all, chris Handheld Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM V.1 lens. Fill flash with a Canon 550 EX flash at -1 2/3 stops. ISO 800, f 8.0 at 1/800th of a sec.#TeamCanon

Girl Squirrel and a Chickadee

I popped up an old knothole feeder this morning in the backyard. Within minutes the Chestnut Backed Chickadees were all over it. I grabbed my tripod, camera and a telephoto lens and went out and photographed them for about half an hour or so. Here are my two favorite images. Have a great day and God bless, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400 IS L USM V. 1 lens on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB Tripod. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set to -1and 2/3rds stops.#TeamCanon

Still Orange

This morning I'm still sticking with the orange color theme or maybe red orange depending upon your perception of the color palette. Last night I put up a new perch and got everything set up for this morning. So not long after dawn this morning I was out in the photoblind. I was very happy to see a few Dark Eyed Juncos come to the feeder. This last year they have been in short supply. A few years back they were the most dominant bird in my backyard. I guess things go in cycles. After photographing birds for awhile the blasted cat showed up. I yelled at her and I was very surprised to actually see her leave. Normally I have to climb out of the blind and deposit her in the house. Soon after the Western Gray Squirrels showed up and I made no attempts to scare them off as I wanted to capture a nice image of one. I got quite a few nice ones but below is my favorite. God's blessings upon your week, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM V.1 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set to -1-2/3rds stops. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800,F 8.0 at 1/125th of a sec. for the squirrel and 1/30th of a sec for the Junco.#TeamCanon

Gorgeous Sunrise

While lazing about in bed this morning I noticed the wall opposite our bed was awash in a soft pink light. I roused myself to get up and look out the window. My eyes were met with a glorious sunrise. Thank you Lord for such a beautiful way to start the day. Image created with a handheld Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 17-85mm EF-S- F 1:4-5.6 lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 11.0 at 1/60th of a sec.#TeamCanon

The Chickadee is on the Pumpkin

Nope no frost this morning. It looks to be an inside kind of day with the rainstorm clearing up today. Here are a couple of Chestnut Backed Chickadees. One on a pumpkin as suggested by Lenore (continuing with that orange theme) and one on a knothole feeder from last week showing off its trademark chestnut back. Have a great weekend and God bless, chris Both images were created with a canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM V.1 lens. #TeamCanon

Scarfing it Up!

Yesterday I came up with the idea of creating an orange background to really emphasize the fall colors. I searched through my backgrounds and low and behold I didn't have a single orange one. During dinner I asked Lenore if she had anything orange that I could use as a background. She thought for a moment and replied that she had just bought an orange and green scarf. I looked at the scarf after dinner sure enough one side of the scarf was a solid dark orange. This morning I placed the scarf behind some fall covered leaves and it was just perfect! I set up a very slender manzanita branch for a perch next to the bird feeder. Then I climbed into the photoblind and waited. It took awhile to get the image that I was looking for. I had a lot of missed images and quite a few with either chopped off tails or missing beaks. I really, really like the final image. God's tender love and blessings upon your day, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and Canon 100-400L IS USM V.1 lens. Lighting was provided by four Canon 540 EZ flashes set to 1/128th power. The camera settings used were Manual mode, ISO 400, F 5.6 at 1/200th of a sec. The camera and lens were supported by a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen Heavy duty ballhead. It was heavily overcast and starting to mist. Thank you Lord for the coming rain.#TeamCanon

I'm Lichen It!!

Last night I created a quick set up using a lichen covered branch for a perch. this morning I was up at sunrise photographing the Chestnut Backed Chickadees. I used four Canon 540EZ flashes set to 1/128th power for lighting. Two were focused on the perch and two were focused on the fall colored background. I really like the end result. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris As you can see I reversed one image in processing to face the other way. Action for western viewers tends to look better going from left to right. These images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM V.1 lens supported by a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod. #TeamCanon

More Images for the Thrifty Fifty Challenge

Yesterday morning I decided to challenge myself and create some more images for the Thrifty Fifty Challenge. Many of my followers already know that the challenge is to create an uncropped image of a sparrow sized bird or smaller with a 50mm lens. Also no undue image processing of the image is allowed. I had a really fun time photographing the chickadees as they came and went. I got some really great images. My set up was a knothole feeder filled with black sunflower seeds. I used my Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens all set on a Manfrotto Tripod with a Bogen ballhead.. The camera settings used were Manual mode, ISO 800, F 10.0 at 1/200th of a sec. Lighting was provided by three Canon 540 EZ flashes set to 1/128th power.God's love and blessings upon your day, chris #TeamCanon

I've Got My Eye On You!

Douglas Tree Squirrel peering out from inside one of my knothole bird feeders on Saturday afternoon. It could barely squeeze itself in. It stayed inside there for close to half an hour gorging itself on black sunflower seeds. Climbing back out it got stuck and was grunting and squeaking before it finally extricated itself. God's blessings and comfort to all, chris Image created with a canon 7d MkII and a Canon 100-400L IS USM V.1 lens at 400mm.

Sad Reminder

The smoke remains as sad evidence of the fiery disaster that struck Northern California and is still not over yet. In the late hours of Sunday night and early hours of Monday morning devastating fires swept through many areas of Northern California and the wine country. Where I live in Willits the fire came to within about eight miles from where I live. We voluntarily evacuated as we could see the flames on the ridge tops to the east of us. We spent four days voluntarily evacuated to the small town of Laytonville to the north of us. It feels great to be back home though our cars are still packed and ready to go should the winds whip up the fire in our direction. Please pray for the victims of these fires. Those who have lost family members, friends,houses and pets in this horrific event. God blessings and comfort to all those affected by these fires, chris

Acorn Still Life

This morning I gathered some acorns and created a still life in our studio. It shows a small sampling of the many types of acorns that grow in our area to provide a multitude of species of wildlife with food for fall and winter. Also I ask of you to please pray for the safety of the fire fighters and people affected by the fires raging across Northern California right now. God bless, chris Image made with a canon 7D mkII and a Canon EF-S-60mm macro lens on a Manfrotto tripod.#TeamCanon

Waiting for the Sunrise Silhouette

One more installment on the sunrise silhouette series. So far I have a fly, scorpion and today a bark beetle. I wonder what I can think of next? We have been working on stacking wood for the winter so you never know what we might find that I can use. Maybe a tiny salamander? Who knows? So many questions! God bless and have a great weekend, chrisThis image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens on a Manfrotto tripod. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 100, F 4.5 at 1/13th of a sec. No beetles were harmed in the making of this image though it was probably terribly irritated before being released in the forest near my house.#TeamCanon

Mellow Yellow

Off and on over the last week I have been photographing birds with a yellow color theme. I created a several different set ups using yellow flowers in my backyard. I had a lot of Chestnut Backed Chickadees and Red Breasted Nuthatches come in to feed. This time of the year I'm pretty limited on the number of species that I can photograph in our yard. Here are my favorites from the week. God's love and blessings to all, chris All of the following images were created using a Canon 7D MkII camera with a Canon 100-400 L IS USM lens. They were supported with a Manfrotto 055 XPROB Pro tripod with a Bogen heavy duty ballhead. Camera settings varied. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash. #TeamCanon Please follow me on Instagram. My user name is Christhephotog .

Moonrise!

I was totally unprepared for last night's moonrise. We had just finished dinner when Lenore looked out the window and exclaimed,"Is that the moon?" I glanced up from clearing my plate. "Oh my gosh I thought!" I sprinted up the stairs and grabbed my camera. I ran to our bedroom window and threw it open with a crash. I fiddled with the settings until I got the exposure right. It was simply beautiful. Moon rise over the Little Lake Valley. Thank you Lord for all your creation. I hope everyone has a great day, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM lens V.1 at 400mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 7.1 at 1/200th of a sec. This was handheld and braced on our bedroom window sill. #TeamCanon

Pretty In Pink

Monday afternoon I created a set up using a stick erected next to the bird feeder along with some pink flowers. The birds loved it. They were coming into the bird feeder one after another for a free snack. I worked for about an hour at getting the bast angle to capture them from. Monday night after editing I picked out four of my favorites to share. Here are two images each of Chestnut Backed Chickadees and Red Breasted Nuthatches. God's love and blessings to all, chris All of these images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. It was supported on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB Pro tripod. Fill flash was provided with a Canon 550 EX flash.The camera settings were AV mode, F8.0, The ISO varied and a shutter speed of 1/60th of a sec. was used.#TeamCanon

On the Hunt

I love to create silhouettes. Among my favorites are trees against sunrises or sunsets. On a much, much smaller scale I love to do little creatures as well. Sunday morning I got the idea to do a scorpion. First stop was to the woodpile to find a scorpion which didn't take too long. Next I grabbed a nice rock from the backyard and got to work using a macro lens on a tripod. I took quite a few images to get one that I felt looked right. This was fun image to create! We are off to a good start for the week. God's love and blessings to all, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 60mm EF-S Macro lens supported by a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen heavy duty ballhead. The camera settings used were AV mode,ISO 200, F 8.0 at 1/200th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Squirrel on a Stick

Saturday afternoon I created a very simple set up of a stick placed next to the bird feeder. I had intended to use it for birds but a lone Douglas Tree Squirrel arrived before the birds did. I made no attempts to shoo it off. I figured I could just get some close up portraits of a squirrel instead of the birds. Here is my S. O. S. Squirrel On Stick. God's tender blessings upon your week, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera anda Canon 100-400 L IS USM V.1 lens. Supported on a Manfrotto 055 XROB Pro tripod with a Bogen heavy duty ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 200, F 18.0 at 1/200thof a sec. Lighting was provided by four canon 540 EZ flashes set to 1/32nd power. #TeamCanon