Hitting the Parks

Day three of my photo adventure to Colorado found me visiting my good friend Dan in Centennial, Colorado. We both love hiking and have had many adventures together over the years. I was looking forward to photographing some Wood Ducks. We headed over to Sterne Park which is pretty close to where he lives. Usually this is a fantastic place to photograph Wood Ducks. All we found were a lot of immature birds and they were all on shore in the grass. Instead of ducks I photographed a bridge! Oh well. Next stop was Ketring Park which is nearby. There I found a very cooperative hen Mallard sleeping on a rock. She was sleeping until I plopped down on the shore nearby. Then she opened her eyes to keep a close watch on me to make sure I wasn't up to something evil. We also ended up rescuing another Mallard that was tangled up in fishing line. C'mon people clean up your excess line when you are fishing. After Ketring we drove over to Chatfield State Park where we spotted a canine beast running through a field beside the road. Then we went for a long enjoyable walk along the Platte River. What a great morning. God bless, chris all images were created with my Canon 7D mkII and my Tamron 150-600mm lens. Pretty impressive for having a cracked front lens element and a loose mount!

Starting Off the Week

I was up at sunrise photographing the squirrels in my backyard. Some people don't like to photograph squirrels. But I find them to be a lot of fun to photograph. That is unless I'm trying to photograph birds then they can be a bit of an annoyance. This last winter a bear made off with one of my knot hole feeders. Recently I found it on the edge of the forest. It had a few bite marks in it but otherwise it was in pretty good shape. I really like this feeder because the opening is big enough to allow small squirrels and birds into it but it is too small for the big Western Gray Squirrels to use. Below is an image of a Douglas Tree Squirrel that was enjoying some black sunflower seeds for breakfast this morning. I really like the intimate feel of this image. This image was created with a Canon 7D mkII and Tamron 150-600mm lens at 600mm. Camera settings used were AVmode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/30th of a sec. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod and Bogen heavy duty ballhead. #TeamCanon

Break in the Rain

We were supposed to go camping this weekend but we were deterred by the rain. I'd much rather camp in the snow than the rain. Today it has rained off and on all day. During one of the breaks I grabbed my camera and photographed both hummingbirds and Lenore's world famous roses in the backyard. The ross were just gorgeous covered in rain drops and soft beautiful light. May you have a wonderful weekend. God bless, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. Fill flash was provided with a Canon 550 EX flash.

Blood Moon or Lunar Eclipse

Yes I'll admit it. I was one of the crazies up at five a.m. this morning to watch the Lunar Eclipse. I always find these events to be fascinating. Huge celestial objects moving through space blocking off the light of the sun. Here I am this little speck riding on the planet earth watching it slowly happen. Given the privilege to see mighty hands at work. chris

Topping the Teisel!

I set up a perch of teisel beside the bird feeder out at the Burris Ranch in the Little Lake Valley. I prefocused my camera on the top most portion of the teisel and waited. Then I waited and waited some more. Soon the House Finches started using the feeder but none of them landed on the teisel. Patience was the main ingredient needed here and eventually one female alighted on the teisel. She left and then came back. I was able to create some really nice images of her. This one was my favorite. God's love and blessings to all, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens at 400mm. ISO 800,F 5.6 at 1/500th of a sec.

Gorgeous Steller's Jay

On Saturday the birds were slowly started coming into the bird feeders very slowly at first and then they gradually they picked up the pace. The lighting was superb for bird photography as it was overcast with a a layer of clouds. I was getting a lot of images of Wood Peckers, House Finches and a few Dark Eyed Juncos. But because the lighting was so nice I really wanted to get an image of a Steller's Jay. I prefocused on the perch that they were using before going to the bird feeder but they were always too fast. Eventually one stopped long enough for me to take several images of it before it dove off of the perch onto the bird feeder. This was my favorite image. I just love the rich, blue plumage. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di Vc Usd Lens at 256 mm. Camera settings used were AV mode,ISO 800,F 5.6 at 1/800th of a sec. The camera was supported by a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 Bogen ballhead.

Snack Time

we awoke to a gorgeous lavender and pink sunrise. A light cloud cover perfect for some photography. After a series of minor delays I was in the photblind by eight. My first visitor was a Dark Eyed Junco.Then nothing. Where was the blasted cat? I looked for her when I came out but I couldn't find her. My question was answered when about five minutes later she popped into the blind wanting to be petted. Eventually she fell asleep on my lap. I carried her into the house and settled into the blind again. Shortly thereafter a western Gray Squirrel came for a snack. He didn't stay long because my cell phone rang interrupting us. Duty calls. May you have a blessed weekend, chris Images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens supported by a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 305 ballhead. Camera settings varied.

Back to Juncos and Jays

I was waiting for a phone call this morning so I had to stick close to the house. I decided to do some bird photography in the yard with some orchids for a perch. As I was setting up I could hear the squirrels down the ridge from our house giving an alarm call. This was a premonition of things to come. There was some kind of predator in the area and they were letting everyone know. Sure enough once I was set up in the photoblind it was quiet except for the squirrels giving out their staccato warnings. I sat and sat. Eventually a Steller's Jay made its way down to the feeder only to fly off screeching as a hawk swooped in to try and grab it. It was way too fast for me to follow but the Jay escaped. That was pretty cool! After that it stayed slow and and I waited patiently with Badger asleep at my feet. Suddenly the bottom of the blind shook and there was Papaya the blasted cat wanting to be petted. Now it was quite cozy in the blind with the dog at my feet and the cat in my lap! After a little bit more of a wait I managed to photograph a Steller's Jay and a Dark Eyed Junco. It was a great morning to be out. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600 lens. Camera was supported with a Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod and a Bogen 3055 ballhead. Camera settings used AV mode, ISO 800 shutter speeds and F stops varied.

Redwood Sunset Silhouette

Today was not a photography day. I was much too busy to pick up my camera until it was almost sunset. Then I grabbed my camera and tripod and walked down the ridge looking for something interesting to put in front of my lens. After a short walk I could see that there weren't enough clouds to make a grand sunset with clouds I was going to have to try something different. It was then that I noticed two Redwood Trees growing side by side. "Hmmmnnnn..." I thought. That would make for a nice composition. I worked the Redwoods over pretty good trying different angles and focal lengths. This image ended up being my favorite. I should have titled today's photoblog sisters. For some reason the redwoods reminded me of two sisters growing up side by side through thick and thin always there for each other. God's love and blessings upon you, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600 at 200mm set on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a 3055 Bogen Ballhead. Camera settings used were ISO 100, F 13.0 at 1/30th of a sec.

Delightful Morning

We awoke this morning to the sound of light rain. It was music to my ears! Not only were we getting some much needed rain but a light rain makes for pretty nice lighting conditions for doing bird photography. I headed out to the Burris Ranch in the Little Lake valley near Willits, Ca. where my photoblind is in the ranches garden. Pretty soon I'm going to have to move it to a new spot to make way for next summer's garden. After I restocked the bird feeders the birds started coming in at a pretty constant rate. There were Dark Eyed Juncos, House finches, Acorn Woodpeckers, Oak Titmice and Steller's Jays. Top dog of the feeder were the Acorn Woodpeckers. Pretty much everyone moved out of their way when they came to feed. The Steller's Jays were probably next down on the rung followed by the House Finches and then the Juncos. The Oak Titmice were just plain bold. They would sneak in and grab seed no matter who was at the feeder. Of course everyone scattered when the resident Red Shouldered Hawk would fly by! I created a lot of really beautiful images. Here are a selection of them for you to enjoy. God bless and have a great weekend, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens. AV mode, ISO 800, F stops and shutter speeds varied. Camera was on a Manfrotto 190 PROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead.

Beautiful Collection of Birds

Whenever I spend a lot of time in the photoblind there is quite a bit of editing to do. I was up late last night and part of this morning going through images from the past couple of days. The results show that I had a very successful time. I came away with some really good bird images. Enjoy the images and have a blessed day, chrisAll images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens. Camera was in AV mode, ISO 800 exposures varied. Camera was on a Manfrotto 190 PROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead.

Wool Sock Weather

This morning I was up and around by six fifteen. When I looked to the east there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I could tell it was going to be one of those mornings where the photography was going to be over rather quickly due to the bright, harsh lighting from the sun. After a short shower and breakfast I got ready pretty quickly and headed out the door. One look down into the valley convinced me that I made the right choice in grabbing my heavy jacket as I could see that the valley floor was covered in frost. When I got into my pickup the thermostat showed a comfortable thirty eight degrees. As I descended down into the valley the temperature steadily dropped until it remained a constant twenty four degrees on the valley floor. Arriving at the ranch the thermometer jumped up one degree as I pulled into the driveway. Badger the wonder dog was reluctant to go into the frost covered blind but eventually rolled up into a nice warm ball and fell asleep. I had grabbed my heavy jacket but had forgotten gloves and wool socks. I kept my hands warm by putting them in my pockets and behind my knees. My feet however were getting colder and colder. In the end they were the deciding factor that caused me to leave the blind and head for the warmth of the heater of the pick up. The photography was great. There were a lot of birds and I made a lot of images. In editing them when I got home there was one image of a House Finch that stood out above all of the rest. Please enjoy this beautiful male House Finch. Image created with a canon 7D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens at 300mm on a Manfrotto 190 PROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 Ballhead. Camera settings used were ISO 800,F 8.0 at 1/100th of a sec.

An Early Sign of Spring

One of the earliest signs of spring in the Little lake valley is when the Quince start blooming. Right now as you look across the valley there are little splashes of red here and there where the Quince are in peoples yards. This morning I headed out to the Burris Ranch and I created a set up using a Quince branch for a perch. The birds were delighted with it and so was I. This image was my favorites from the series a male House Finch. The image was made with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 450mm. The camera was set to AV mode, ISO 400, F 6.3 at 1/3,200th of a sec. The camera was supported by a Manfrotto 190 PROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 Ballhead. Please enjoy this little bird. God bless, chris

Third Times a Charm

Yesterday morning I tried out a new telephoto lens. A Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di Vc Usd Lens. It's a pretty big deal for me because I don't purchase new camera equipment that often. After my appointment with the tax man I headed out to the ranch in the Little Lake Valley for some bird photography. I had a nice mossy section of a tree trunk set up near my photoblind. I put out some black sunflower seed and after about a twenty minute wait the birds started coming in to feed. The first image was of the moss on the tree trunk as I attempted to get a prefocus of the spot where I wanted to catch a bird coming into feed. I pressed the shutter too hard and click. An image of moss on a tree trunk. Whoops! The second image was of an Acorn Woodpecker with it's head turned way down and its eye was barely visible. Poor timing on my part and another mess up. My third image with the new lens was a keeper. A beautiful close up. After that I just had fun getting used to what the lens could do. The lens performed flawlessly. My biggest problem was operator error. I kept forgetting which way to turn the lens to zoom it in or out. I was using spot focusing and locating the sensor onto the birds eye and it was working really well. Next I tried grid focusing and it worked OK. I really liked the spot focusing better. It was spot on. Forgive the pun! On the trip home I found a Blacktail Deer doe resting in the shade. I used the Vibration Compensator VC for the first time and it was really cool to see the image snap into place. So far I'm really happy with this lens. All images created with a Canon 7D in AV mode, ISO 400 with a Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di Vc Usd Lens on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 Ballhead.