Adapting to City Life

After coming out of the Rockies down to the plains below I had to adapt to driving in city traffic. The traffic in Denver is really bad! For my good friend Dan's wedding I stayed at one of the major Hotels right off the 470 freeway. It was in Centennial one of the suburbs of Denver on the far south side. Coming out of the hotel one morning I looked up at the flags flying in the early morning breeze. Wow! That looks cool. Then I had an immediate flashback of coloring a Colorado flag when I was probably in third or fourth grade. You know the time when kids all over the United states learn about the state they are growing up in. I stood there lost in thought when my mind popped back to reality when I realized that there were two birds of prey flying around above me in the updraft of the breeze hitting the front of the hotel. One was a young Redtailed Hawk and the other was an immature male Kestrel. It was great they were using the building to hunt the grass along the shoulder of the freeway. The Kestrel wasn't too happy about the Redtail getting too close and he made a few dives at it. The Redtail circled a few times and then went into a stoop towards something in the grass but came up empty handed. By then it was too far away to be photographed but I was really happy to watch it unfold. God's love and blessings upon your weekend, chris All of these images were created with a Canon 7DmkII and a damaged handheld Tamron 150-600mm lens. Exposures varied.

Perfect Day for Pikas

When I awoke on the eighth of September it was still dark outside. Looking out my bedroom window I could see by the stars that it was clear up top of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. Quietly I gathered my gear and made my way out of the house. I made sure to grab my hat and gloves as I headed out the door. There was very little traffic as I made my way into Estes and then on through the unmanned North entrance into the park.I drove slowly up past Hidden Valley, Many Parks Curve and Rainbow Curve. The sun was just starting to hit the horizon by the time I drove past Lava Cliffs. I wound my way downward towards Poudre Lake and the Kawuneeche Valley I was hoping to see some Moose but I didn't have any luck. I tuned around and went back up the pass to an area near Rock Cut. I parked the car and checked the thermometer on the car. It was 39 degrees F and there was a light wind blowing but the sun was out. There was a little bit of cloud cover moving in to make the lighting just perfect. I definitely needed the hat and gloves! I found a spot on a rock just off the road and sat down and waited. I could hear the warning calls of the Pika from the tundra all around me. I have always found patience to be the number one tool in a photographer's arsenal to getting good images of Pikas. Just find a spot, sit down and wait. Don't make sudden move and they will soon figure out that you aren't a threat. After about ten minutes I had one run right past my left foot and stop and look at me from less than three feet away. Which of course was far to close for me to photograph with my big telephoto lens! I watched and watched until I got a much better idea of their travel routes and then I moved about fifteen feet away to where I could see the haystack one of the Pikas was building. As I was sitting there I watched and waved to my brother who drove past on a photography tour. Later on he told me that he made fun of my hat and gloves to his clients. He said, "Only a Californian would need to have them!". After they had passed I spent over two hours photographing Pikas until the light started getting too harsh for photography. Of course I stopped and photographed the old codgerly Marmot sentry on the way out. I had a really wonderful time especially since this was my last day in RMNP and I got to spend time photographing one of my favorite animals. God's light and love to all, chrisAll images were created with my Canon 7DmkII and my injured Tamron 150-600mm lens.I must say it did a fantastic job for a broken lens don't you think?

Back to the Pikas and Throwing in a Dog as Well

One day with the Pikas was not enough. My broher Eric and I headed up to rocky Mountain Park the following morning as well. It was a beautiful day with soft morning light. We both came home with some nice Pika images. Later that morning we took his Labrador, Sadie, to the Estes Park dog park. Wow, can Sadie run. Eric only managed to hit me twice with the ball when he was throwing the ball for his dog! I think he did it on purpose. God's blessings upon your day, chrisAll the Pika images were taken with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 150-600 with a broken front lens element anda loose mount from dropping it on the concrete. The dog park images were done with a Canon 7D mkII and a 8mm Rokinon manual lens.

Claws

One for fun. I couldn't resist posting this one. From out of the mists of the deep, dark forest comes claws! I thought the close up the paw of a Western Gray Squirrel looked pretty cool. Canon 7DmkII and a Tamron 150-600 at 600mm. I hope that you are having a great week. God bless, chris It is a great stock image for a biology book showing how well a squirrels paws are set up for climbing trees.

Sol's March South

One of the ways of marking the passage of time is in observing where the sun rises and sets each day. At the end of winter you can watch the slow travel of the sunrise from the south to the north. At the end of spring it begins to work it's way back to the south again. Of course the sun really isn't moving it is just the tilt of the earth as it travels through the seasons. This past week the sun is now rising where I can see it again coming up over the Mendocino Range. I watched it rising this morning and ran back inside to grab my camera. Enjoy the day and God bless, chris Image created with a handheld Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. AV mode, ISO 800, F 6.3 at 1/8,000th of a sec.#TeamCanon

Quick Trip to the Lake

This morning I took a quick trip to one of my favorite places to photograph from my kayak. I loaded up my Ultimate Kayak yesterday afternoon onto my pick up so that I could get an early start to Clearlake well before sunrise. I was on the water by six thirty and had finished up photographing well before eight thirty. By then it was already getting too warm and the light was starting to go pretty fast as there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Still I managed to capture some great images of Western Grebes nesting and an Osprey that settled into a tree right next to the take out. As I was loading my kayak up I heard some Canadian Geese flying in. I ended up clicking the shutter right as they passed near the sun. The image ended up being way over exposed but I still like the graphic feel to it. May you have a blessed afternoon, chris #TeamCanon All images were created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. The camera was supported with a custom designed and fabricated camera support I made to fit my Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5 Kayak.

Portraits of Notches

This morning as I was setting up I had visions of creating some great images of Mountain Quail. I made sure to include a ramp up to the feeder for the quail to use. I waited and waited for about fifteen minutes and nothing came. Eventually a couple of Dark eyed Juncos showed up. They danced around the feeder but wouldn't come up to the perch. Next came a coupe of Chestnut Backed Chickadees. I made one decent image not worth sharing. A chipmunk circled the feeder and then left. Following that "Notches" showed up. Notches is a grizzled old Western Gray Squirrel that I have been seeing off and on for the past few years. It got it's name from the notches that look to be bitten from its ears. Ouch! I let the squirrel stay and feed and made a few close up portraits of it. I never heard or even caught a glimpse of a Mountain Quail today. At least you get to see some close ups of "Notches". God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0, shutter speeds varied. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto tripod and a Bogen ballhead. #TeamCanon

Eurasian Collared Dove for the Old Garden Gate Series

Saturday morning found me in my garden blind out in the Little Lake Valley of Northern California. The finches kept me busy photographing them all morning long. As I was photographing I kept hearing Eurasian Collared Doves calling from the nearby trees. A couple of times they even buzzed the feeder but didn't land. I now see more Collared Doves than Mourning Doves. Collared doves are an introduced species.I was just starting to clean and pack up when a pair of Collared Doves came in to feed. I quickly restarted and recomposed my camera and got quite a series of images of one of them. This one was my favorite. One that I'm adding to my "Old Garden Gate Series." May you have a blessed week, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 250mm. Camera settings used were AV mode for more control of the depth of field. ISO 800 because it is fairly low light where I photograph. F 8.0 at 1/500th of a sec. The camera was on my workhorse 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead for support.

Toms

This morning my brother Eric and I did some bird photography out in the little Lake Valley. The House Finches were coming into the bird feeders like crazy. Afterwards we decided to go look for some wild turkeys on the way home. We spotted two young toms on one of the roads in Brooktrails. When they trotted down one of the side streets and we decided to follow them. At the edge of a clearing we stepped out of the pick up to photograph them. Suddenly they stopped in their tracks. Off to our left a group of eight large toms came rushing off a hillside at a full run towards them. They surrounded the young turkeys and began kicking and battering them with their wings and bodies. It all happened very quickly. Eventually the young tom broke away with the large group of toms in pursuit. They chased them downhill away from the clearing. When they were satisfied that they had chased the young interlopers from their territory the big toms came back up the hill. By then I had regained my senses and got in a good position myself to photograph a couple of them as they came by me. What an exciting event! May you have a blessed day, chris all images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. #TeamCanon

Birds, Blooms and Buzzing

This morning I drove out to the Burris Ranch in the Little Lake Valley to do some bird photography. It was such a beautiful morning. When I pulled into the ranch I noticed that the apple tree above my photoblind was blooming. After parking I walked up to my blind and I could smell the sweet scent of the blossoms on the breeze. I set about refilling the bird feeders. When I went to get the furthest feeder I heard a humming buzzing sound down close to my feet. I instantly froze and thought, "This can't be good." I looked all around my feet for movement as the sound continued and my eyes zoomed in onto where the sound was coming from. At first I freaked out because I thought I was standing on top of a ground wasps nest. But soon I figured out that I was right next to a Bumble Bees nest and there were about a dozen of them buzzing about. I made a happy, slow, safe retreat. I rarely find Bumble Bee nests so this is a pretty cool find. Bumble Bees are communal like Honey Bees but honey bees are far greater in both numbers and the amount of honey they store up. Bumble Bees live in a small community of roughly a dozen or so and up to 300 and they only keep a couple of small wax cups of honey that are often the size of a small tablespoon. I once got a sampling of their honey when I was much younger and it was the lightest most delicious honey I have ever tasted. After my discovery I settled into the photoblind and photographed House Finches. here is my favorite image from the morning. God's love and blessings upon your weekend, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 450mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/1,600th of a sec. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead.

Blasted Cat!

This morning just after I let Papaya (The Blasted Cat) out I saw her sitting like a queen on one of the benches in our front yard. She was looking out over her domain to see if anything was amiss so she could command that it be corrected to meet her royal needs. I quickly walked back into the house and grabbed my camera and a telepphoto lens. I was prayed that she would stay there for awhile looking out over her kingdom. Luckily she was still there when I returned. I braced the camera against the door sill and made several images of her. This one was my favorite. Blessings upon your weekend, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD at 250mm, AV mode,ISO 1600, F 8.0 at 1/500th of a sec.

Rainy Day Squirrel

The rain and hail have been pounding down interspersed with rays of sunshine breaking through the gray leaden skies. During one of those breaks I moved my bird feeder and a mossy perch to a spot outside of one of our bedroom windows. From there I was able to capture some images of a Douglas Tree Squirrel taking advantage of the free bird seed. I'm not so sure the squirrel likes the rain but I sure do. God's love and blessings to all, chris Both images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. AV mode, ISO 800 F 8.0 shutter speeds were 1/125th and 1/100th of a sec. Camera was supported with a ground pod and a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead on our bedroom window sill.

Early Morning Squirrel

I was surprised to see the squirrels were up and about even before the sun arose this morning. I grabbed my camera, gloves and a warm hat and quietly made my way out to the photoblind in the back yard. Immediately I discovered a big problem. All of the blind zippers were frozen shut. I ended up making quite a racket trying to get them working again. Naturally the squirrels left in a hurry. I settled into the blind for a bit of a wait. When one of squirrels returned the lighting was just perfect and I was able to create some really nice images of it. Here are my three favorites. Merry Christmas, chris Douglas tree Squirrels photographed with a canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600 mm lens. AV mode, ISO 800 Exposures varied.

My Humble Offering of a Squirrel

This morning was a wool gloves, hat and winter coat kind of day. It was clear and cold. The clear conditions not the best for photography. I checked the temperature before heading outside and it was hovering just below 24 degrees Fahrenheit. I stepped or rather slid out onto our deck and it was covered in a sheet of ice. Welcome to Northern California! I proceeded to the backyard and I set up the new knothole feeder and moved the bird bath breaking up the ice only to have it seemingly start to refreeze before my eyes. I settled into the ice covered blind and waited. Immediately the Dark Eyed Juncos showed up along with a small group of immature Spotted Towhees. No one seemed to like my feeder or if they did they hopped on and off of it so fast my reaction time to trip the shutter was too slow. The blind started to thaw in the sun and I was treated to the drip, drip of water from off the inside of the blind. It was tempting to give it a good shake but that would scare everything off. Eventually a nervous Douglas Tree Squirrel showed up but it was too afraid to use the feeder. The light was going fast so I zoomed in and settled for a close up portrait of the squirrel. May you have a blessed week, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 600mm on a Manfrotto tripod. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/60th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Woodstove Weather

Supposedly it is spring but you wouldn't know it by the thermometer outside my back door. It was twenty eight degrees out side when I woke up this morning. The first thing I did this morning was to stir up the coals and stoke the wood stove. It's a perfect day to sit insde by the fire and read a book. The skies are clouded and gray and there are 1-3 inches of snow in the forecast. Though it seems really unlikley to snow with the sun breaking through once in awhile to break up an otherwise gray day. With the drought upon us we welcome any bit of moisture the good Lord sends our way. Here is a view of the Little Lake Valley this morning. I love that view. God's light and love to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600 mm lens at 309mm. Camera settings used. AV mode, ISO 200. F 7.1 at 1/ 200th of a sec.

Have the Woodpeckers Won?

This morning it felt a lot more like winter than it did spring. Cold and foggy with a spatter of rain. I headed out to the Burris Ranch for a little bit of photography from my blind. I haven't been out there for a few days so I had to restock the bird feeders before settling into the photoblind. After a short wait I could hear waaka, waaka, waaka the call of the Acorn Woodpeckers coming from the trees down below the pasture. Sook they could be heard above the garden where my photoblind is. After that it was one woodpecker after another coming in to feed until a Red Shouldered Hawk swooped through scared them away for awhile. It made for some great images of Acorn Woodpeckers. It looks like I'm going to have to treat them like squirrels and set them up there own feeder away from the photoblind. That way I'll have a better chance of photographing some other subjects other than woodpeckers for awhile. God's love and blessings to all, chris Please take some time to check out my new book on Amazon, Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559