Badger the Wonder Dog

Yesterday I took my Mom for an eye doctors appointment in Santa Rosa. While I was waiting for her I noticed that the lighting was really nice in the shade and that the medical building would be a nice backdrop for some portraits. I took Badger the Wonder Dog from the car and we walked around the building stopping to pose him at a variety of spots. I ended up with some really nice images and Badger got plenty of pets from people along the way. God's blessings upon your weekend, chris All images were created with a Canon Powershot G3-X. #teamcanonusa

Portrait of Badger the Wonder Dog

I always love to see Badger the Wonder Dog when he is looking longingly through the front gate. Yesterday morning I grabbed some treats and went outside the gate. I set and my tripod and waited. Badger immediately came to the gate. He wanted those treats really bad! He was rewarded with some treats after I photographed him. I love the look he was giving me! These images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM V.1 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX. The fill flash was set to -1 stop.

Stuck in Squirrel Gear

It rained and poured all day and the wind was blowing something fierce. Not exactly the best day for photography. But pretty good for some squirrel portraits in the rain. I set up a perch next to the bird feeder and a few chickadees stopped by but it was mostly used by the Western Gray Squirrels. They were all rain soaked but didn't seem to have a care in the world as long as they got their free sunflower seeds. I really enjoyed going through editing them down to just one image even though I had many favorites. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600 G2 lens at 375mm. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 190 PROXB Tripod with a Manfrotto 3055 ballhead. Camera settings used AV mode,ISO 800,F 8.5 for 1/60th of a sec. #TeamCanon,#tamron

I Seem to be in Portrait Mode!

Yesterday morning I made another attempt at photographing small birds on my little mossy stump. Needless to say I was "stumped" and didn't manage to create any bird images that were worth sharing. I did however create one Douglas Tree Squirrel portrait that was very, very nice so here it is. God's love and blessings to all, chris This portrait was created in morning light using a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 600mm. Camera settings used were ISO 1600, F 8.0 at 1/320th of a sec. The camera was supported by a Mamnfrotto 055XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 Heavy duty ballhead. #TeamCanon

My Humble Offering of a Squirrel

This morning was a wool gloves, hat and winter coat kind of day. It was clear and cold. The clear conditions not the best for photography. I checked the temperature before heading outside and it was hovering just below 24 degrees Fahrenheit. I stepped or rather slid out onto our deck and it was covered in a sheet of ice. Welcome to Northern California! I proceeded to the backyard and I set up the new knothole feeder and moved the bird bath breaking up the ice only to have it seemingly start to refreeze before my eyes. I settled into the ice covered blind and waited. Immediately the Dark Eyed Juncos showed up along with a small group of immature Spotted Towhees. No one seemed to like my feeder or if they did they hopped on and off of it so fast my reaction time to trip the shutter was too slow. The blind started to thaw in the sun and I was treated to the drip, drip of water from off the inside of the blind. It was tempting to give it a good shake but that would scare everything off. Eventually a nervous Douglas Tree Squirrel showed up but it was too afraid to use the feeder. The light was going fast so I zoomed in and settled for a close up portrait of the squirrel. May you have a blessed week, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 600mm on a Manfrotto tripod. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/60th of a sec. #TeamCanon

National Dog Day

Apparently it is "National Dog Day" I'm not even sure for what country is celebrating national dog day. In celebration of it I grabbed a piece of brown craft paper and threw it over a chair on our kitchen table to use as a background. Then I placed a rather reluctant Badger the Wonder Dog on it and photographed him. He really wanted to bail but the dog biscuit in my pocket kept his interest up. God bless, chris Image created with a handheld Canon 7D and a Canon 28-105 lens at 43mm. Settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 4.0 at 1/800th of a sec.

Herding Cats

I'm sure you may have heard the term "Herding Cats". It basically means trying to perform an almost impossible task. Photographing them by yourself isn't easy either. This morning as I was walking past the kitchen I noticed that the blasted cat was sitting in some really nice light. Quickly I grabbed my camera, threw on a short lens and grabbed a piece of black foam core. When I came back into the kitchen the blasted cat was just getting up to leave. I petted her so she would hold still and slowly slid the foam core behind her. She would have none of that piece of foam core and she tried to bolt. I pressed my hand on her back and she settled down a bit when I started petting her. She rolled onto her side and to my slight horror she knocked over the foam core. She immediately bolted from the kitchen out into the living room. I walked over and picked her up and brought her back to the kitchen and put a bowl of food where I wanted her to go. She seemed to accept this and he ate for awhile with her head down and then she walked off. I put her back and then she seemed to think it was OK and then she took off upstairs. After a short search I found her. I carried her down the stairs petting her the whole way. When I put her in front of the foam core this time she settled down and let me photograph her. The blasted cat isn't so bad after all. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 17-85mm lens at 66mm. AV mode, ISO 800,F 5.6 at 1/125th of a sec. Camera was supported on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB Tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead. #TeamCanon,#Bringit

Perfect for Portraits

The past four days have been really foggy in the morning which makes them perfect for doing portrait photography. Both people and birds photograph really well in this type of light. It's like having a giant light diffuser for the sun. Here are some portraits I made of of a Eurasian Collared Dove, Western Scrub Jay and a California Valley Quail. The quail was made when the fog was almost burned off and you can tell that by the harsher look of the light on its' plumage. All images were created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens on a tripod. Camera settings used were AV mode,ISO 800, F 8.0 at a variety of shutter speeds. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Portraits of Papaya

It's been frustrating waiting for the birds to start using the bird feeder at my photoblind out in the Little Lake Valley. Lately at my house which is typical for winter I have been limited to photographing Steller's Jays and chickadees. It will be great to start photographing some new species. Sunday afternoon Papaya Annika's cat was sitting in the living room so I decided she would be fun to photograph. I made a lot of images and boiled them down to an even dozen. Enjoy the many faces of Papaya the cat. God bless, chris Images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 85mm lens.Camera was set to AV mode, ISO 400, Shutter speed and F stop varied. Natural light hand held.

Going to the Dogs

It's pretty gray outside this morning with some much needed rain. Last night it poured and poured. On rainy days whenever I can't figure out what to photograph there is always the dogs. It's also a great day to clean the office. It's a never ending job because I'm not a particularly neat person. Earlier I got started on cleaning the office but then I got side tracked with an idea to photograph Badger the Wonder Dog with the same out of focus red Christmas lights that I used for photographing the ornaments last night. Here is the result. He looks pretty curious and happy because he knows he is going to get a treat.Have a warm and happy day, chris Image created with a Canon 7D set on manual mode and a Canon 85mm f 1.8 lens.Camera settings used were ISO 100, F2.0 at 1/160th of a sec. Black background with red Christmas lights. Lighting was provided by two Alien Bee 1600 Studio lights with l

arge soft boxes.

Surprise!

I must say I was rather shocked when my daughter Annika stepped out of the hallway to go to school. I didn't know that she was dressing up in school spirit so I was a bit surprised when I saw her. Two thoughts immediately came to my mind. What are you dressed as and I think you would be great to photograph. I found out that she was dressed as "Pop Art". Next we went over by an open window in the living room. I grabbed a couple of quick images. Then it was the mad dash out the door and off to school! God's light and love to all, chris