Back to the "Chickadee Challenge"!

This afternoon just after lunch I sat in the photoblind for about an hour and a half. Earlier in the day I created a set up with a perch and a small feeder behind which I put up a fall covered background. Luckily for me the day was overcast with soft filtered light. There weren't a lot of birds coming in at that time of day but there were enough to keep me on my toes. I would get drowsy and then a bird would show up and bring me back to being alert. You probably know what it's like to sit down in a cozy chair after lunch right. Around one thirty or so the wind started kicking up from the incoming storm and I called it quits. After uploading the images to my computer I spotted four images that I really liked. After processing them this little Chestnut Backed Chickadee was my favorite. It was the perfect example of what you can accomplish without using a giant telephoto lens to photograph small birds which is what the Chickadee Challenge is all about. The challenge has its origins from when some years ago an art buyer stated that the reason why I took so many great pictures of birds was because of the big lens I had. While I will admit having a large telephoto helps it's akin to telling a painter the reason they have such beautiful paintings is because the brushes they use. To make a point and to challenge myself I grabbed an old 50mm lens and an older still Canon Rebel DSLR and photographed a chickadee in my backyard. So the "Chickadee Challenge" was born. Create an image of a small sparrow sized bird and post an uncropped image of it. Today I repeated the challenge in my front yard with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens. The camera settings use were AV mode, ISO 800,F 8.0 at 1/160th of a sec. A Canon 550EX set to - 1 1/3rd stops was used for fill flash. #teamcanonusa, #teamcanonGod'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.