Poppin' Out All Over

There has been a wonderful California Poppy bloom this spring. I went out a couple of times to photograph them this last week. Both in Ukiah and Willits. As beautiful as they are it takes some work to get a beautiful image of them. Part of the reason for that the grasses have grown up faster than the poppies pretty much burying them in the grass. You have to look for poppies that stand out or are isolated from the grasses in some way. I created a lot of images but here are three of my favorites. All of these images were created with a Canon T1i camera and a variety of different lenses. #TeamCanon

Wee One From the Woodpile

Spring is the perfect time for me to find salamanders in the woodpile. I'm usually getting down to the bottom of the pile and salamanders are getting active because it is still moist and getting warm. Yesterday I uncovered this slender salamander under one of the last logs in the pile. At first glance I thought it was a worm until I noticed the tiny little legs sprouting out from the body. I carefully placed it in a glass container. This morning I photographed it before setting it free. Compare the salamander to some of the fir needles in the images and you can get an idea of how small they are. God's blessings upon your week, chris All of these images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S 60mm USM macro lens on a tripod. #TeamCanon

Sally

Earlier this week while getting some wood from the woodpile I discovered this cool little salamander between the layers of the tarp covering the pile. It was awesome in appearance being black with gold flecking. Size wise it was very small only being about two inches long. It was also difficult to capture because it was really fast and active for a salamander. This afternoon I photographed it before releasing it back into the woodpile where I had captured it. I'm sure it has some pretty wild stories to tell to its buddies. God's blessings upon your weekend, chris Both of these images were created with a Canon T1i camera and a Canon EF-S 60mm macro USM lens. #TeamCanon

Night of the Newt

The other night we made a late night grocery run. It was pouring rain on the drive downtown and very, very foggy on the return trip home. When we were unloading the car we had made several trips back and forth carrying in groceries when Lenore noticed something slowly crawling across our walkway. She called me over and pointed it out for me to see. I bent down and picked up an orange and black Rough Skinned Newt. We were really lucky that we hadn't stepped on it while going back and forth to the house. I brought it inside and popped it into a jar. This morning I grabbed a mossy limb from a knocked down oak tree and I used it to photograph the newt before setting it free outside. Here are three of my favorite images.God's love and blessings upon your week, chris All of these images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S60mm F/2.8 macro USM lens. #TeamCanon