Are You Tired of Jays Yet?

I spent a couple hours in the backyard photoblind this morning. The Steller's Jays pretty much took over with very few chances to photograph any other birds. As much as I like Steller's Jays I'd like to photograph some other birds! I think it has reached that time of the year to mix it up with a few Jay proof feeders. May you have a blessed day, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM , Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,F5.6, Shutter speed varied

Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose

This past week has seen the thermometer dipping down below twenty degree Fahrenheit which is pretty cold for the Little Lake Valley in Northern California. This has resulted in some good opportunities to photograph the frost that has been forming on everything in the early morning. Tuesday morning after I dropped off Annika at school I looped through the valley stopping at several points to photograph the scenery and the frost. What a glorious morning the Lord had made! Enjoy the sights and God's blessings to you, chris

Equipment used- Canon 7D, Canon 10-22 EF-S Lens, Camera settings- AV Mode, ISO 400, F stop varied

Morning Stars

This morning when I woke up the stars were still shining brightly and there was a faint light on the horizon from the upcoming rising sun. I went into my office and grabbed my camera. I attached a wide angle lens and went back to our bedroom and photographed the mornings stars rising to the east of us over the Mendocino Mountain Range. That's the Little Lake Valley in the lower right corner of the image. You can see a few lights from some of the ranches there. I made quite a few images but this is the one that I liked the best. God reveals some of his majesty to us through the heavens and all his creation. Wishing you a blessed day, chris

Equipment used- Canon 7D, Canon 10-22 wide angle lens. Camera Settings- Manual mode, ISO 4,000,F4.5,30 second exposure

Backyard Birds

I was out and about photographing the birds from the backyard photoblind the past few mornings. Nothing unusual appeared. Just the normal cast of characters. Mostly Juncos, Nuthatches and Chickadees.They are always beautiful. Well all of them except the last one anyway. Looks like it didn't preen this morning. Have a beautiful weekend, chris

Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 L IS, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Setting- ISO 400, AV Mode, F5.6

Perfect Perch

Early yesterday morning before church I went out into the backyard and set up a new perch by the bird feeder. I climbed into the photoblind and waited. Before too long I had birds coming and going to the bird feeder. I really like how several images of a Steller's Jay and a Red Breasted Nuthatch worked out. The lighting was really nice due to being muted by a thin layer of fog that slowly burned off. Just lovely. God's blessings to all, chris

Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 L IS, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Setting- ISO 400, AV Mode, F5.6

Country Roads

Yesterday morning I had to drive out into the Little Lake Valley. I was headed to the vets to pick up some medication for our old labrador Lance. I love driving out there along the little two lane country roads. It was foggy which adds to the wonder of it all. I stopped on one of the corners and took an image of where I had been. I just love that morning foggy light. God bless, chris

Ever Changing Valley Down Below

One of the first things that I do most every morning is look out our back window to check out the valley down below. It is ever changing with shifting shadows, fog and light. Many mornings the fog is so thick it looks like a large white lake. It can change from minute to minute as the fog flows from changes in heat from the rising sun. Some days the fog can linger all morning and on others burn off in less than half an hour. Over the years I have taken thousands of images of the valley down below. Thank you Lord for giving me such a beautiful example of your creation to wake up to each day. chris

Rise of the Morning Light

We rolled out of bed early to watch the ISS (Internationl Space Station) pass by on its orbit around the earth. We missed it due to the trees blocking its trajectory across the morning sky. Later on we watched morning light start to fill the sky.Fog filled the valley below and I was drawn to the redwoods poking their spires out of the fog. As usual I was drawn to Sherwood Castle. A large flat topped redwood on the St. Francis Ranch that has always reminded me of a castle rising up out of the fog.I have photographed it in many variations over the years.A great start to the day. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Sticking With the Rose Theme for Today

We awoke to a dusting of snow this morning. With that in mind I couldn't wait to see what Lenore's roses looked like. I quickly grabbed my tripod and camera. Then I went out and spent a good time photographing them. Here are some of my favorite images of them. God's light and love, chris

Julie's Clogs

I spent a very busy weekend in Sacramento California watching Jay and the Willits High School Academic Decathalon team compete at the state finals. There were sixty five teams competing and the competition was intense. I'm guessing that we finished somewhere in the the lower middle of the pack which is pretty good for a small school. What do you know about the "Age of Imperialism"?

We stayed at our friend's house in their backyard studio. In the morning I spotted Julie's clogs on the door mat and I really like how they looked in the early morning light.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Laundry Line

I took a few days off and went to my cousins house in San Mateo. It was for her Dad's birthday. She knows how to throw a party.
A few days back before leaving I was coming around the corner of the deck and I noticed how beautiful the laundry was hanging there drying in the warm mornings sun. I really liked the mood and feel of it. So here it is.

God's precious light and love to all,

chris

Monochrome Morning

This morning it was foggy down in the valley. The sun was barely pushing through leaving the light very flat with little shadows. The sun itself was a white disk in the sky. I was trying to think of ways to use that to my advantage as I pulled in to the hardware store parking lot when it came to me. Trees! Silhouette the sun behind the trees for a simple composition. So I drove around looking for interesting tree branches to put up in front of the sun. While I was poking about I saw this crow up in a tree by an old abandoned industrial site.” That’s it!” I said to myself. I spun the truck around and parked across the street from it and just started creating some interesting compositions of the crow with the sun behind it. I really liked the simple, stark lighting.

God’s love and blessings to all,

chris

Soft Early Morning Light

This morning when I brought Jay down the hill into Willits I could tell it was going to be a great morning for a drive around Little Lake Valley. The fog was sitting in patches all around the valley just inviting me to photograph it. So before I went and worked out I took a valley tour and with the exception of a few cars and cows it seemed like I had the valley to myself. What a beautiful morning. Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment or two.

God's blessings to all,

chris

On the Run

Is it spring yet? For some of you it may be but for others we are still in a holding pattern. Well, the weather forecasters were right and we did get a little snow last night. Not much mind you , just a little less than maybe a inch. So this morning I was on the run trying to fit in a few snowy images before it all melted away. I was doing that while trying to make breakfast and get the car windows scraped off and the cars warmed up to drive the kids to school.

I managed to find some pretty cool images of the fog and the snow covered trees before I had to dash back to the house and haul poor Annika away. Her first word as we drove down the driveway was, "Beautiful". I think that pretty well sums up the morning.

God's light and love to all,

chris