Angel's Breath

This morning when I awoke the sun was shining bright and sunny on the foggy valley below. A few minutes later the fog flowed in from the coast slowly covering the trees in the forest around our house. I grabbed my camera and ran out the front door. I headed for my favorite tree just off the end of our driveway. It's a gnarled old Tan Oak tree with one wide branch coming off the side fairly close to the ground. It's covered in lichen and moss and makes a great subject to photograph. I composed a variety of images of it from a couple of different spots. After I went back into the house and processed the images this one stood out as my favorite. God's blessings upon your week, chris This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S17-85mm lens at 17mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F16.0 at 1/13th of a sec.#TeamCanon

Day Late and a Dollar short

Apparently yesterday was the "International Day of Trees and Forests". Obviously I missed it. So in honor of that I am posting an image of the Tan Oak trees and forest next to our house. We live in a mixed coniferous forest with Redwoods, Douglas Fir, Madrones and Tan Oaks. This area was logged in the 1960s and the Tan Oaks being a dominant tree grow much faster than Redwoods or Firs when there is light. So when it was logged it opened up the area to light and there are a lot of Tan Oak trees.The Firs and Redwoods are currently at an age where they slowly seem to be trying to take back over. God's light and love to all, chris This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS v.1 lens at 100mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 1600, F 11.0 at 1/125th of a sec.#TeamCanon

Time Marches Slowly Onward

If you are lucky enough to live where the seasons change you get to observe nature at its best as you watch one season gradually roll into the next. Fall is one of my favorite seasons for getting to see the leaves change in beautiful hues of yellow, oranges and reds as they slowly shift into brown. Early in the morning while taking the dog for its morning constitutional I spotted this one particular Tan Oak leaf that had holes in it. They were probably from an insect chewing into it and I found it interesting. I grabbed my camera, macro lens and a tripod and made a variety of images of it. After editing them this one was my favorite. It truly captures the passage of time. For this leaf is slowly turning back into the earth from which it had sprung. God's light and love to all, chris This image was created with a Canon 7DmkII and a 100mm macro lens on a Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 Heavy duty ballhead. The camera settings used were, AV mode, ISO 800, F 16.0 at 1.6 seconds.

Still Life

Today ended up being a crazy day. This evening I had a some time to create a still life with a Steller's Jay feather and some Tan Oak leaves from the yard. I love the serene feel of this image after a long day. God gives us little gifts of joy if we take the time to listen and look for them. God bless, chris Image created with a Canon 7D mkII on a tripod with a 100mm macro lens. AV mode,ISO 400, F 11.0 at 1/4sec

An Inside Kind of Day

I woke up to the sounds of the wind and rain. I snuggled down further into the warm blankets of my bed to escape the chill. It didn't take much convincing that this was going to be an inside kind of day editing images etc. Later while looking out the kitchen window I spotted this Tan Oak tree in the front yard with the moss fanned out to capture the moisture of the rain. I opened the window and created several images of it. This one was my favorite. May you have a blessed day, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens at 120mm, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV mode, ISO 400,F stop F16.0,Shutter speed 8/10ths of a sec.

Plenty of Deer to Go Around

Yesterday morning I went out looking for Blacktail Deer. I found quite a few near to where I live. I discovered one fawn that was starting to explore the world by getting further and further away from its mom. I also found a pretty nice buck, a five by three. Five antler tines on one side and three on the other. He was regally standing in the forest bending down to feed on acorns under the Tan Oak trees. There was also a small two by spike lying off in the forest taking it easy. Lying down and resting seemed to be popular activity for a number of deer I spotted. I photographed one doe in a group of three spending her morning that way. What a great way to start the day spending a few hours searching for deer and photographing them. Thank you Lord for a beautiful day. chris

Tan Oak Leaf

I'm sticking with the simple theme today. I visualized a single leaf and nothing more with no distractions. First I thought of a leaf on dark black ground but realized that seemed too cold. I wanted something a bit warmer in feeling. Here is what I came up with.

God's precious love to all,

chris

Can't See the Forest for the Trees

It's an old saying but it's true. Living in the forest I sometimes forget about the trees as a subject. They are all around me and just become part of my existence. It's pretty cool to look at each one of them individually once in awhile. They are all the same yet they have a unique bark color,twisted branches or even lightning scars. Here today is a simple common Tan Oak. As you are driving down my road it blends with all the rest of the Tan Oaks. This one has a mossy base and a bit of a lean to one side. There is a gnarly root coming from it. It looks a lot like the rest of them but its different.

God's precious light and love to all you individuals out there,

chris

From the Tiniest of Acorns Grow..

One thing there isn't a shortage of around my house is trees. Douglas Fir, Madrones, Redwoods, Tan and Valley Oaks. Every fall the oaks produce a lot of acorns. I have to be careful where I park my car if I don't want a lot of little dimple marks put into the paint job. Most of these acorns that drop never make it to the growing stage. A good percentage them get eaten by the Wild Turkeys,Bandtail Pigeons,wild pigs and the Blacktail Deer. A small percentage of them that survive and manage to land in decent soil get a chance to grow. Many of the rest just rot away.

This morning I decide to photograph a couple of acorns. I found a nice mossy patch to do that. I like the result.

God's blessings to all,

chris

Cabin Fever

My cold/sore throat has gotten worse. This morning when I got up I began to feel trapped after spending most of yesterday basically sick in bed. I went for a short walk just to escape the confines of the house. I took along my camera just in case something caught my eye. I took off into the woods with no particular destination in mind. I looked for mushrooms for a while and I found one that was way past its prime and rotting. Finally noticing that I was sweating I headed back uphill towards home. The lighting at this point was really contrasty and blown out. I noticed however that the tan oak trunks deep in the forest looked really interesting all lit up by the sun that was bathing their trunks. I tried several compositions but ended up only liking one of the many images I tried to create.It is a very minimalist . Let me know your thoughts on it by leaving me a comment below.

God's blessings to all,

chris

Playing in the Yard or Bracken Ferns and Leaves

Late this morning I puttered around the front yard looking to see if any fungi have popped up after the recent rains. Instead of fungi I found some Bracken Ferns and some Tan Oak leaves on the ground that looked interesting.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris