Big City Wildlife

As many of you already know I'm a sucker for Pikas, squirrels and Marmots. The first night of my trip to Colorado I stayed at a cheap motel in Denver, Colorado. When I pulled into the motel parking lot and was unloading my photo gear a squirrel bounded across the parking lot. It climbed up a small tree beside my car. I was surprised to find that the tree was an apple tree of all things. The squirrel grabbed an apple and climbed a ways up the tree. I grabbed my camera and tried to find an angle I could photograph the squirrel from. I ended up being so close that my camera wouldn't focus that close so I had to back up.I made several images but this one was my favorite. After taking a few images I plucked an apple and I have to agree with the squirrels choice of dinner. The apple was sweet and delicious. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris

On a Mission

This morning I was up and around before seven. I was on a mission to get my computer repaired in the big city. Living in the country has on big disadvantage. It's hard to buy certain things or get them repaired. In this case I had to journey down to the Santa Rosa area to get my Mac dropped off for repairs. The bad news is that it is going to most likely cost more to get my computer repaired than it would cost me to build a brand new PC from scratch! Are you listening Apple? I ended up going shopping afterwards and didn't get home until late in the afternoon. Here is a Yellow Spotted Centipede I picked up from the front driveway. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Camera Equipment and settings- Canon 7D and a 100 mm Macro lens. AV mode ISO 400, F5.6 Shutter speed 1/200th of a sec.. Scorpion Two Alien Bee 1600 studio flashes with 30 x 60 inch softboxes. Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a Bogen 3055 Ballhead

Going for Gold and Other Things

Actually should have put "Going for Goldfinches".Today I planned on doing some bird photography out at the ranch. I really wanted to photograph some Goldfinches on Thistle flowers. I grabbed my leather gloves and some clippers as I headed out the door.When I got to the ranch I cut down a thistle plant and carried it up the hill. Did you know those things those things have thorns that can go through leather gloves? Ouch! Ouch! On the way up the hill to the photoblind I stopped and photographed a couple of deer near an apple tree in the lower pasture. I really liked how they looked in the fog.


When I arrived at the blind I tied up the thistle to a stand next to the bird feeders. I sat back and waited and waited. It helps to keep the feeders stocked to keep the birds coming and I haven't restocked them for awhile. Finally a male Goldfinch came by and I took his portrait

After the Goldfinch came the bird photography slowed down even further.I decided to photograph the jeep that shares the ranch junkyard with my photoblind. I often think while I'm photographing of all the stories that jeep could tell if it could talk. All the places it has been and the things it has experienced.I daydream of what it would be like to resurrect it. But then my mind jumps back to reality because I'm really lousy at working on cars and it's not my jeep.

After photographing the jeep I was climbing out of the blind when a fawn jumped up in the pasture behind my blind and I photographed it as headed away from me towards the forest.Fawns are always so darn cute!

I started down the hill when suddenly I remembered that I wanted to photograph the ridge where I live because a few people have asked where I live. A picture is worth a thousand words. Here is the view of where I live from the ranch. My house in on a ridgetop about four miles northwest of the town of Willits, CA.

The last image I created was of some ripe apples in tree on my way out by the pasture gate. It's the apple on the right. I walked the rest of the way to my pickup crunching away on it's sweet flavor. Delicious!

God's love and blessings to you all,

chris

Playing with Pears

Playing with some pears and maybe an apple too. Just trying out some different rainy day ideas.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

The Snow is on the Apple

Happy New Year! Today I awoke to the crest of a new fallen snow. Hardly any at all actually. I think it may have snowed about a quarter of an inch or so. My mind immediately turned to my list of things to photograph. I remembered the lone surviving apple was hanging on the apple tree in the backyard. I'm not sure how we missed it this fall with our meager harvest of five apples. Somehow it must have stayed hidden the leaves not wanting to be eaten. I grabbed my tripod and camera with a short telephoto and wandered down to the garden. I took several images from many different angles.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris