More Bird Photography

This afternoon when I got home from running errands from downtown I created a quick set up. I used a fall colored background and a beautiful bright red sunflower. I placed the sunflower next to the bird feeder for the birds to land on. The birds coming into the bird feeder went from zero to sixty as soon as I climbed into the photoblind. There were Steller's Jays mixed with Red Breasted Nuthatches and Chestnut Backed Chickadees. There were a few Dark Eyed Juncos hanging around but they were't coming to the feeder. It was pretty dark in the shade which made for some difficult lighting. I ended up using an ISO of 3200 which is pretty high to bring up the shutter speeds to something fast enough to stop the action. Even so I was still down to some pretty slow shutter speeds. To help with that I set up a fill flash with a Canon 550 EX speedlight at minus 1 1/3rd stops. After uploading the images I found a dozen of them that I really liked. There were two that ended up being my favorites. One of a Red Breasted Nuthatch and one of a Chestnut Backed Chickadee. Not bad for a short afternoon in challenging light.God's love and blessings to all, chris Both of the images were created with a Canon 7D MKII camera and a Canon 100-400 IS V. 1 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550EX Speedlight. #teamcanon, #teamcanonusa

Back to the "Chickadee Challenge"!

This afternoon just after lunch I sat in the photoblind for about an hour and a half. Earlier in the day I created a set up with a perch and a small feeder behind which I put up a fall covered background. Luckily for me the day was overcast with soft filtered light. There weren't a lot of birds coming in at that time of day but there were enough to keep me on my toes. I would get drowsy and then a bird would show up and bring me back to being alert. You probably know what it's like to sit down in a cozy chair after lunch right. Around one thirty or so the wind started kicking up from the incoming storm and I called it quits. After uploading the images to my computer I spotted four images that I really liked. After processing them this little Chestnut Backed Chickadee was my favorite. It was the perfect example of what you can accomplish without using a giant telephoto lens to photograph small birds which is what the Chickadee Challenge is all about. The challenge has its origins from when some years ago an art buyer stated that the reason why I took so many great pictures of birds was because of the big lens I had. While I will admit having a large telephoto helps it's akin to telling a painter the reason they have such beautiful paintings is because the brushes they use. To make a point and to challenge myself I grabbed an old 50mm lens and an older still Canon Rebel DSLR and photographed a chickadee in my backyard. So the "Chickadee Challenge" was born. Create an image of a small sparrow sized bird and post an uncropped image of it. Today I repeated the challenge in my front yard with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens. The camera settings use were AV mode, ISO 800,F 8.0 at 1/160th of a sec. A Canon 550EX set to - 1 1/3rd stops was used for fill flash. #teamcanonusa, #teamcanonGod's love and blessings to all, chris

Knothole Feeders

I built two new knothole bird feeders this last week and I have been trying them out in the yard. I just have to remember to take them in each time I use them or the Gray Squirrels will tear them apart to get to the seed. On Friday the birds were using them non stop. They love that black sunflower seed. Here are a few sample images from the feeders. All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400IS V.1 lens.The camera settings varied. #teamcanonusa, #teamcanon God's love and blessings to all, chris

Fall Migration or Goodbye to the Hummingbirds

We are definitely moving into fall because over the last weekend most of my hummingbirds moved on. Some probably headed over to the coast and others likely moved further south. Migration is on especially for the hummingbirds. This afternoon when I went out into the backyard to do some hummingbird photography there were only three hummingbirds left. As usual Papaya the blasted cat showed up to scare them away. I didn't mind too much because the hummingbirds aren't that afraid of the cat unless she is right next to the feeder. As soon as she had passed by they were right back. I created almost sixty images and after uploading them to the computer I had about eight images that I really liked. Overall this image was my favorite. It symbolizes fall really well. God's blessings upon your weekend, chris This image of an Ann's Hummingbird was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400 IS V.1 lens at 220mm with a 12mm extension tube added to it for close focusing. Lighting was provided by four Canon 540EZ Speedlights set to 1/64th power. The camera settings used were M mode, ISO 400, F 11.0 at 1/160th of a sec. If you want more details of how to photograph hummingbirds please check out chapter six of my book, Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography at your local library or on Amazon. It isavailable both in hardbound and a s an Ebook. #teamcanonusa, #teamcanon, #secretsofbackyardbirdphotography

Fall Portrait

This morning I went out to the photoblind to create some more images for the, "Off the Hook", series of images I'm working on. I set up a separate feeder for the squirrels off to the side of the pond so they wouldn't bother me when I was photographing birds. After sitting in the blind for about fifteen minutes the birds started pouring in. At first there were a lot of Steller's Jays. No other birds would show up when they were around! Later the chickadees and some nuthatches stopped by. The lighting started to get too bright around ten and I was thinking about packing it up when a Western Gray Squirrel showed up. I sat watching the squirrel when it hit me that with the bright fall background this would make a great fall portrait. I zoomed in tight on the squirrel waiting for it to lift its head to look around and take a break from feeding. After a couple of tries I got it. Fall is almost upon us and this is a great image that shows off the fall colors. God's light and love to all, chris This image was created with a Canon EOS 7D MKII camera and a Canon 100-400IS v.1 lens at 400mm. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX Speedlight set to -1 2/3rds stops. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 8.0 at 1/2,500th of a sec. #teamcanonusa, #teamcanon

Sometimes It Pays to Chimp

It's always good to look back and learn from your failures. Not to dwell on them but use them as a tool to improve in the future. Today was one of those days. I should have chimped more. A lot more! Chimping is what some photographers do after taking a picture with a digital camera and look at the image on the back of the camera to see the result. It got its name from the sounds they make when looking at the image. "Ooo-oo-oo!", like a Chimpanzee. Chimping has the positive benefit of checking to see that your images are working out. That the composition and exposure are correct. It can be detrimental if you do it too much and basically miss out on photographing anything else and miss a lot of images. This morning I was photographing birds coming into my little waterhole. The lighting was perfect and I thought I was getting a lot of nice images.I should have chimped a few more of them to make sure they were properly composed. All of the images I had created had the tails of the birds cut off. It can pay to chimp. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris Canon EOS 7D MKII camera and a Canon 100-400IS v.1 lens. Fill light from a Canon 550 EX Speedlight. #teamcanon

Bee Happy

This morning I grabbed my little Canon T1i to take with me on a quick trip to the big city of Ukiah. I threw on a macro lens and then I checked the SD card and discovered that there were twenty-nine images that I hadn't downloaded yet. "Hmmnnn ... I thought to myself". So I uploaded them to my computer and there were some pretty nice images there. My favorite though was one of a bee covered in pollen. It was happily going about its work gathering nectar from a sunflower. It even had pollen in its eyes. I hope that you can be happy in your life's work as well. God's love and blessings to all, chris This image wascreated with a Canon EOS T1i camera and a Canon EF-S60mm F 2.8 Macro USM lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/250th of a sec. #teamcanon

Quick Set Up

This morning I was up and at'em even before the sun climbed up over the Mendocino Range to the east of us. I grabbed four speed light flashes and a single red Zinnia flower and created a quick hummingbird photography set up in the backyard in about fifteen minutes. I didn't even bother with a photoblind as the hummingbirds are pretty used to humans in the backyard so long as you don't make too many fast movements. There were a lot of hummingbirds! My best guess was that there were roughly around thirty of them. They were mostly Anna's with a few Allen's/ Rufous thrown in. At one point one of the young males tried to take over the feeder. That lasted only about three or four minutes before he gave up. There were just too many opponents to try and fend off. I had a really good time both watching and photographing them. It's been awhile since I did much photography. I've been working on a lot of deferred maintenance around the house. God's precious love and blessings to all, chris This image was created with a Canon EOS 7D MKII camera and a Canon 100-400 IS USM v.1 lens with a 12mm extension tube added for close focusing. Lighting was provided by four Canon 540EZ speedlights set to 1/64th power. The camera settings used were M mode, ISO 400, F 11.0 at 1/160th of a sec. #teamcanon

Birds and Bugs

When I awoke this morning and looked outside I realized it was the perfect day for photography. There were high clouds almost covering the sky. They were blocking out all the harsh light that can make photographing during summer difficult. I went out into the backyard and taped off all the feeder ports except one on one of our hummingbird feeders. Then I set up my camera on a tripod about two feet away from the feeder port with a macro lens and a flash. I plopped down in a chair behind it and I tried not to move. It didn't take long for the hummingbirds to discover that there only one spot to feed. I remained as motionless as possible taking an image now and then when everything looked perfect. There were tons of Anna's Hummingbirds coming to the feeder one after the other.After about half and hour I called it quits for the hummingbirds.Next I journeyed to the garden and stalked bugs with my macro lens. I had a great time. It was nice to be out and about with my camera on such a beautful day. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MKII camera and a Tamron SP Di 180mm macro lens. #teamcanon,#withmytamron

Virga Over the Valley

This morning when I awoke and looked to the east I was surprised to see in the morning's sunrise clouds with virga. I quickly grabbed my trusty camera and photographed a wide variety of compositions of the virga. Virga is basically clouds releasing raindrops that dry before even making it to the ground. In fancy pants meteorological terms virga is an observable column or shaft of precipitation dropping from a formation of a cloud that evaporates or sublimates before reaching the ground. This is due to dry air and a higher condensation point below the cloud formation. There is your meteorology lesson for the week. God's blessings upon your weekend. Go out and have some fun, chris All images were created with my Canon EOS 7D MKII camera and a Canon EF 28-200mm lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 11.0 at a variety of shutter speeds.#teamcanon

Band, Cast, Party and Scold

There was a scold of Steller's Jays at the bird feeder in the back yard this morning. Who makes up these odd names for groups of birds anyway? A cast of Steller's Jays. Sounds more like casting a spell. Shaking of fists and pointed finger. "I cast a Steller's Jay on you!" There were only Jays coming to the bird feeder so I made the best of it and made quite a few images of them. I even got a few over the shoulder looks. One of my favorite bird poses as it really shows off their plumage. They are quite the fun and vocal group of birds to watch. I hope your week is going well. God bless, chris #teamcanon All of these images were created with a Canon EOS 7DMKII camera and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM v.1 lens. The camera settings used were, AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at a variety of shutter speeds. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX speedlight set to minus 1-2/3rds stops. #teamcanon

Hoot Owl by My Window

We just got back yesterday from a trip up to Washington and Idaho. I was visiting relatives so I got to watch not one but two parades and I was lucky enough to watch two fireworks displays as well. The weather was great we only had one rain shower. We didn't see much wildlife. Most everything I spotted was from a distance. We spotted one Marmot, four Osprey, one Bald Eagle and some Whitetail Deer with fawns. They were pretty cute. The usual baby ducks at the marina were nice The best sighting of all were two newly fledged Great Horned Owls behind my brothers house. They were little whiners constantly calling out to Momma for food. I never spotted her but my brother said that she had fed them a Marmot the day before we had arrived. I must say they were a pretty cool sight to see. The last image was of Mount Shasta as we were flying home. It still has a lot of snow! God's blessings upon your upcoming weekend, chris All images were created with two Canon EOS cameras and lenses. #TeamCanon

Summer Vacation

Since late spring and early summer I've been really busy and I've been neglecting my photoblog. I went to my niece's wedding in Toronto which was unbelievable! Many thanks to the Sheerazi family for your incredible hospitality and a beautiful wedding. This morning I created a quick B.O.A.S. (Bird On A Stick) set up next to a new bird feeder made from a water bottle in the back yard. There were a lot of Black Headed Grosbeaks and a few Steller's Jays that immediately came to the feeder and started feeding. Here are a few of my favorite images. God's blessings to one and all, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MKII camera and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM v.1 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon Speedlite 550 EX. Shutter speeds varied but my camera was set to AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0. #teamcanon

Floral Friday

I was down in the community garden photographing flowers this morning. On the return trip home I brought some columbines with me for Lenore. Before putting them in a vase I photographed three of the blossoms. First on a white and then a on black background. Which image do you prefer? I'm leaning towards the one photographed on the black for some reason. Maybe I did a better job of lighting it for that particular image. Have a great weekend. God bless, chris Both images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MKII camera and an EF-S 60mm macro lens. #teamcanon

Floral Day

I live about sixteen miles from the Pacific Ocean as the crow flies. But due to the mountainous terrain it takes about forty five minutes to an hour to drive there. On Saturday Lenore and I made a leisurely drive over to the coast and had lunch at Sea Pal down in the harbor. They have some of the best fish and chips on the coast as well as harbor side seating to watch the seals and the fishing boats going in and out. Following lunch we headed down to the village of Mendocino. Lenore hit some of her favorite spots as we wandered around town. With the foggy weather it was perfect for photographing flowers so I took out my camera and macro lens and focused on the abundant flowers to be found. The coastal climate allows for a wide variety of flowers to be grown. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris All of these images were created with a Canon EOS 7D camera and a Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens. #teamcanon

B + W Well Sort of

This morning when I arose the sun was shining brightly over the fog filled valley below. I was really looking forward to a bright sunny day. Then the clouds thickened and blotted out the sun. Minutes later the fog rolled in from the coast. It quickly tuned into an inside kind of day. We even had to fire up the woodstove which is incredibly rare for us to do at the end of May. Looking for something to photograph I grabbed a single Nasturtium blossom from Lenore's pot outside on the deck. I brought it inside and photographed it with a white and then a black background. Which one do you like better? God's blessings upon your week, chris #teamcanon, #withmytamron Both images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 180mm lens.

Baby It's Cold Outside

The rains have returned with gusto or so it seems. There are rains in our Northern California forecast for the next week or so. It's pretty much an inside kind of day. What to do on a rainy day? This morning I finished two days of editing for a book project I have been working on. Then I refilled the bird feeders with black sunflower seed and hung up the meal worm feeder. A big golf umbrella really helps! I was at a bit of a loss of what to do when I passed by a floral arrangement from the garden in our dining room. All of the flowers were looking pretty dismal except for one Iris bloom. I tossed out all of the flowers but kept the Iris. Next I grabbed my camera, tripod, macro lens, three backdrops, gold reflector and a flashlight. I set the iris up in a vase next to a window with the backdrops layered up behind it. The reflector I placed leaning up against a chair reflecting light from the window onto the blossom.With the macro lens on a tripod it was a pretty nice set up. I think I might go try it out with a fe wmore backdrops of different colors. God's blessings upon your weekend, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 180mm macro lens. #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

What Can You Do in Twenty Minutes? or Crawling Around in the Dirt

This afternoon I needed to pick up a new prescription. When I arrived at the pharmacy they told me it wouldn't be ready for fifteen to twenty minutes. They asked me if I had any shopping or something else that I could do while waiting. I ran out to my pick up and grabbed my camera. I usually carry my trusty little Canon EOS T1i with me in the truck. Luckily I had a Canon macro lens mounted on it. I headed to a field south of the parking lot. Here there were quite a few wildflowers just waiting to be photographed. There were California Poppies, Owls Clover, Tidy Tips and a couple of other species I couldn't identify. I spent the next twenty minutes crawling around on the ground photographing wildflowers. I'm sure drivers going by on the main road were wondering what that guy was doing lying down out there in the field? It's amazing what you can accomplish in twenty minutes. Have a great weekend and God bless, chris #TeamCanon All images were created with a handheld Canon EOS T1I camera and a Canon EF-S60mm Macro USM lens.