Just Perfect!

Yesterday after battling the squirrels I knew I had to do something about it. I fell back on an old trick of giving the squirrels what they wanted. I set up two feeders away from the one I was using and like magic the squirrels left me alone. The squirrels were thinking, "What can be better than free food!" The squirrels were happy and I was happy. I had a great morning of photographing Chestnut Backed Chickadees in my backyard. In the afternoon I edited the images and then photographed them some more. After a final edit I narrowed them down six images that I really like. Of those six the one below is my absolute favorite. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris

This image was created using techniques from the book, Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography. It was photographed using a Canon 7D mkII with a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. The camera was supported on a ground pod set on a window sill. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 1600, F 8.0 at 1/80th of a sec.

Oh the Little Juncos!

Today the wind is blowing and the rain is coming down.It sounds like music to my ears on the roof! I think we will be staying put by the wood stove today. Plus my pick ups engine warning light came on yesterday on my drive home. Not a good sign. It looks like a visit to Cal's Garage is in the line up of activities for tomorrow. I pray it is something simple. This winter the most common species of bird has been remarkably absent from the feeders around my house. Dark Eyed Juncos have always been a familiar sight out in my yard but not this year. Last week when I was photographing Acorn Woodpeckers in my photoblind out at the ranch they were one of the more dominant species coming into the feeder. It was so good to see them again. Here are some images I grabbed off my desktop from then. They are such cute little guys! Enjoy and may God bless your Sunday, chris All of the junco images were created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. Manfrotto 190 XPROb Tripod with a Bogen 3055 Ballhead. Camera settings used- AV mode, ISO 400,f 8.0 or 5.6. Shutter speed varied . #TeamCanon #Bringit

Delightful Find

I spent two mornings on Thursday and Friday of last week photographing at my photoblind out in the Little Lake Valley. There were a lot of birds coming into the feeders resulting in a lot of images that needed to be processed. As a result of that I spent much of yesterday and all of this morning working at sorting, judging, labeling and tossing images. There were some great ones I'm looking forward to sharing. It was so nice to see something other than Chestnut Backed Chickadeees for awhile. I was delighted to find a really nice image of a male House Finch. They are just starting to progress towards their breeding colors. They will be magnificent this spring. I'm looking forward to it. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens at 400mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400,F5.6 at 1/250th of a sec. The camera was supported by a Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead. Please check out my bird photography book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography" on Amazon and other fine book sellers. It is available in both hardbound and as an Ebook. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Back to the Steller's Jays

This morning I put up a new feeder for photographing the birds. I'm constantly changing feeders and perches to give some variety to my bird photography. After settling into the photoblind I only waited for a short time before the Steller's Jays figured out where the seed was. They are pretty smart birds. They also figured out where the cat was and promptly disappeared! Once again my daughter's evil cat Papaya interrupted my bird photography. She was a devil to catch.Not surprisingly only one other bird showed up after that. One lone Chestnut backed Chickadee came by for a very brief visit. I guess it was the only smart one of his species able to figure out where the new feeder was. Gods' light and love to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 IS, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400, F 5.6, Shutter speed varied

Simplicity

Today was spent cleaning up the front and back yards in preparation for the coming rain. As of late there have been a lot of fir needles falling and they were starting to cover the patio and the front driveway. Once they get wet they are really hard to remove. After all of the clean up I was ready to do some bird photography in the backyard photoblind. Once I got settled in the blind the birds were practically attacking the bird feeders. They were getting ready for the rain as well. Photography was a little tough because it was pretty cloudy leading to some really slow shutter speeds. This evening when I sat down to edit my images I really loved this simple image of a Chestnut Backed Chickadee. Enjoy and God bless, chris Equipment Used- Canon 50D, Canon 100-400 L IS at 400mm, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod and a 3055 Ballhead. Camera settings- AV Mode, ISO 400,F 5.6,shutter speed of 1/80th of a sec.

One of the Locals

It has taken me many years to develop a relationship with some of the birds and squirrels where I live. When I first started putting up my bird feeders I could rarely get close to any of the critters in my backyard. Just opening the back door was cause for them to flee. With time I have been able to move much closer to many of them. Many of the smaller birds like Juncos and Chickadees are relatively unafraid when I'm in the yard. The ravens and Bandtail Pigeons are still all but impossible. I thought I had a break through last year when I had a chance with a first year Raven that was in pretty poor shape. He at least I think it's a he lets me at least be on the patio in the yard without flying away.But that's as close as I can get. The most approachable are the Douglas Tree Squirrels. I have reached the point with at least a few of them to where I can walk up to within about six or seven feet or so as long as I don't move too quickly or make any noise. Even with this familiarity I still use a photoblind when I am photographing them. They are more relaxed and not as tense when I am hidden from view.Here are a few images of a local Douglas Tree Squirrel from my photoblind yesterday morning. They are just the cutest little guys. For some reason they remind me of little teddy bears God's love and blessings to all, chris

I Can’t Do a Thing With This Hair

Yesterday afternoon I went out to my photoblind.. I wanted to see if I could get a Mountain Quail image. I have been noticing that they have been coming around to the feeders around three o’clock each day. I was a little late in getting out to the photoblind and I ended up spooking about eight quail away. After it happened I figured if I waited them out they would come around again. I was in for a long cold wait. I was just about to call it quits when I could hear quail feeding calls coming from down our patio behind me. They slowly walked past me. I watched and waited until one of them went up onto the mossy perch I had placed next to one of my feeders. Its’ plumage was a little wild looking(bad hair day) but I didn’t care because I had my Mountain Quail image. Mountain Quail are on my list of one the most difficult birds to photograph around my house. The only one that is more difficult is Ravens because they are sooo smart. God’s love and blessings to all, chris

Late Summer

Late summer is one of the most difficult times to try and photograph hummingbirds at my house. The bees are stocking up on nectar for the upcoming winter. In the process they absolutely overwhelm my hummingbird feeders. This morning it was impossible for the hummingbirds to try and feed. In moving the feeders around I was surrounded by bees and a constant buzz. It felt like a beekeeper at the hives. I finally gave up and came back indoors.


I went up to my office and started looking through old files and I came across one of my favorite images.When we were in Bora Bora my kids began catching Hermit Crabs along the beach. They kept them for a little while and then let them go. The kids as well as myself found them to be fascinating creatures. I love this image it for its simplicity and the beautiful color combination. What a cool little creature!



God's precious love to all,

chris

Note: The bee image has only about half of the bees that were on it. When I lowered it down to photograph it about half of the bees fell off or took off before I photographed them.

Wild Bandtails

This morning I went out into the front yard and sat in the photoblind just to see what I might see. A few Stellars Jays came by followed by a young Raven. Neither of these offered to have their portraits taken. I guess they just weren't in the mood. Later on a Douglas Tree Squirrel crawled around under the feeder avoiding my camera as well.
A Western Gray Squirrel did the same. I wasn't having much luck until a small group of wild Bandtail Pigeons came in. They climbed all over the perches giving me plenty of opportunities to photograph them. Bandtails are a gorgeous bird with their striking bills and feet.They are also exceptionally skittish. I made sure to keep all my movements with my lens to a bare minimum. I had a great time photographing them.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

More Grain Sir?

One of the negative side effects of having bird feeders is that it draws in deer. Deer are notorious for knocking down my bird feeders to get at the grain. Besides having to repair my feeders the deer also can draw in predators like Mountain Lions that want to eat the deer.Today I was attempting to get some Bandtail Pigeon pictures when this doe showed up trying to get to the grain. I shoeed her away several times but she kept coming back. She kept looking at the photoblind trying to figure out what was going on. She had this Oliver Twist look that seemed to be pleading. "More grain, sir?" After

awhile she finally left and the Bandtails started to come down. That's when one of Annika's friends drove up and all pigeons flew away. Such is the morning of a wildlife photographer. God's tender mercies to all, chris

Prospective Tenant

I just got back on Friday from a five day fishing and photography trip to Pyramid Lake in Nevada. I have been buried in images to process so that is why there hasn't been any postings on the Photoblog recently. Yesterday I took a break from the computer and went out to the Burris Ranch to restock the bird feeders and set up the photo blind. I'm glad I did because one feeder was empty and the other one was half full. When I was done I sat on the tail gate of my truck and just watched the birds coming and going. I happened to look down hill at one of the bird houses I erected and lo and behold there was a male Western Bluebird checking out the prospective lodgings. Hopefully he and his wife will move in and have a family for me to photograph coming and going.

God is good all the time,
chris