Red and Yellow

Someone should have told me not to go photographing birds yesterday morning.It was cold and the wind was blowing. The blind would shake in the wind and the birds would fly away. I sat in the blind for about three hours and I took eleven images and I photographed three species of birds. There were House Finches, Oak Titmice and White Breasted Nuthatches. One American Goldfinch came in but I wasn't able to capture any images of it. After coming home and editing the images there were only two that had merit. Here they are. Though the conditions weren't great it was better than any morning working in an office! God's love and blessings upon your weekend. Both images were created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM. AV mode, ISO 800 f 8.0 1/500th of a sec. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash at -2 stops.

Pinks, Purples and Pastels

Lenore's Lilac is starting to bloom in the backyard. Yesterday afternoon and this morning I put it to use for some bird photography. It's a beautiful bush with a range of colors in the blossoms from pink to purple. I wanted to capture an image of a Chestnut Backed Chickadee but they were uncooperative so I settled for the Steller's Jays, Dark Eyed Juncos and a Red Breasted Nuthatch instead. There were very few clouds in the sky this morning so my time for photography was very limited before it got too bright. I hope that you had a blessed Easter, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM. The camera was on our bedroom window sill supported with a ground pod and a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 . Shutter speeds varied.

Love That Over the Shoulder Look

Last night I grabbed a flashlight and went out into the back yard to set up a new perch for photographing Steller's Jays. This morning I went out just before dawn and climbed into the photoblind and waited. As usual the first customers to arrive were the Dark Eyed Juncos. They were soon followed by a Douglas Tree Squirrel girl. She was there for awhile until a group of Jays surrounded her and she looked rather unhappy and she left. That totally surprised me because usually squirrels will hold the feeder against the Jays. Several Jays took turns feeding. I really wanted to photograph one with that over the shoulder look. It's my favorite pose to catch birds in because it shows off their plumage really well and it creates an intimate connection with the viewer. After numerous tries I captured a few images that looked pretty good. Later on in editing my image this one had the best head angle and composition and I really like it. May you have a blessed day, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens at 285mm. Supported on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 Havy duty ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 5.6 at 1/160th of a sec.

Inside Day

I awoke this morning to the sound of rain. In drought stricken northern California it is sweet music to our ears. Perhaps I'll sneak in some photography during some breaks in the rain today? Otherwise I've got some doors I'm still working on refinishing. They have been sanded and stained out of doors and now all they need is some varnish. What a great inDOOR project! Such a great play on words. To all of my viewers you will have to make due with a Douglas Tree Squirrel from yesterday. Here it is peering out from the knothole feeder claiming the feeder as its own.May you have a blessed day, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM at 400mm. AV mode,ISO 800, F 5.6 at 1/30th of a sec. Supported on my old venerable Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a heavy duty Bogen ballhead.