Squirrel on the Gnarly Perch

Today was most definitely an inside day. The wind was howling and the rains came down. There was one bright spot sometime during the middle of the day when the sun shone through the clouds for a brief bit but it was very short lived. The clouds closed in and the rains came down again. During the break I put out some seed on the bird feeder and the Western Gray Squirrels immediately found it and came for a snack.I grabbed my camera with a short telephoto zoom on it and I took some images handheld from our back bedroom by bracing the camera against the window sill. Enjoy your weekend and God bless, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200 mm lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, f 8.0 at 1/250th of a sec.#tamron

Pineapple Express

This morning I got a touch of cabin fever and I went downtown to go work out at the gym. I took the long way driving around taking in the watery sights along the way. There were little waterfalls running off of practically every mountainside I passed by. The creeks were running really high almost up to the bottom of the bridges and there was evidence that they must have topped their banks last night from all of the scattered debris. Downtown in the low areas there was plenty of flooded roadways in the usual spots. Please use caution and drive very slowly through flooded neighborhoods as the wave your vehicle is throwing up could be just enough to push flood water into someones home. Stay dry and safe out there. God's love and protection to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200 mm lens. #TeamCanon

Break in the Storm

Yesterday evening close to sunset there was a break in the storm. Lenore suggested we walk down our road to the gate and back. The lighting along the way was fantastic with pinks and soft oranges illuminating the clouds. After our walk I went back into the house and grabbed my camera and caught just the very end of the soft light. It was really cool to see the contrast between the snow covered trees above the snowline and the dark green trees in the lower elevations below. What a beautiful way to end the day. Right now it's raining out and the snow is melting away. God's blessings upon you, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 18-200mm lens handheld or sometimes braced against a tree. #TeamCanon

It's an Inside Kind of Day

I awoke this morning to the steady drum of rain on the roof. I was going to create a special hummingbird image today but I can see that's not going to be possible. It's a good time to reclaim my office from a back up of paperwork and mess then work on editing some images. Here is a view of the Madrone tree in our backyard this morning. May you have a beautiful and blessed day, chris This image was photographed with my go to camera set up. I was using a Canon 7D mkII and a Canon 100-400IS v.1 lens. The camera settings used were AV mode,ISO 800, F 16.0 at 1/13th of a sec. The camera was handheld and braced against a a wall.

One More for the On the Fence Series

It's been pouring rain off and on all morning. There has been one Western Gay Squirrel doing acrobatics off of the bird feeder support pole to get at the black sunflower seeds. It swings upside down and then it reaches out to pull the feeder to its mouth. About half the time it gets a few seeds, the other half it loses its balance and drops sliding down the pole. I captured an image of it resting on the fence between tries. I hope you are having a great weekend. God bless, chris Image created with a handheld Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. AV mode, ISO 800, F5.6 at 1/800th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Rainy Day Squirrel

The rain and hail have been pounding down interspersed with rays of sunshine breaking through the gray leaden skies. During one of those breaks I moved my bird feeder and a mossy perch to a spot outside of one of our bedroom windows. From there I was able to capture some images of a Douglas Tree Squirrel taking advantage of the free bird seed. I'm not so sure the squirrel likes the rain but I sure do. God's love and blessings to all, chris Both images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. AV mode, ISO 800 F 8.0 shutter speeds were 1/125th and 1/100th of a sec. Camera was supported with a ground pod and a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead on our bedroom window sill.

Simple Rainy Day

We really need the rain and the good Lord has been sending it. There has been one storm front after another coming roughly one every twenty four hours. This morning was no different as we awoke to the sound of the rain drumming on the roof. The perfect day to sit by the woodstove and read a book. The need for food eventually drove me out of the house. I haven't been grocery shopping for quite awhile and we needed food. I grabbed my camera as I headed out the door thinking that there must be something to photograph along the way. Sure enough on my drive down I spotted a pair of Red Shouldered Hawks near the Brooktrails Lodge. They were on a wire and I could only photograph one at a time. So here is one of them. Once in town I noticed a guy with a red umbrella. I couldn't miss out on the the iconic image of a guy with a red umbrella could I? After shopping for groceries I stopped to buy gas. As I was filling up two Ravens began to raid the garbage can right behind the gas pump I was using. I slowly grabbed my camera out of the car. One of the Ravens wasn't having any of that and it took off. The other one stayed behind long enough for me to get some nice portraits. Once I arrived home I worked on putting a window blind up in the back bedroom of our house. From the bedroom I managed to get one Chestnut Backed Chickadee image from the backyard while staying warm and dry as the rains came pouring down. God's light and love to all, chris #TeamCanon

Inside Day

The leading edge of a four day storm hit last night. The rain is falling heavily on the roof so it looks to be an inside day. The wood stove is going, the tree is up(still needs a few more decorations) and I'm looking forward to wrapping presents and mailing out the last of the Christmas cards. Here is the progress on the tree so far. Merry Christmas, chris Canon 7D with a Canon EF-s 17-85mm lens at 33mm. ISO 100 F 13.0 for four seconds.On a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod,

Thank You Lord for the Showers

The past week has been somewhat crazy and I have had very little time for doing any photography. We are having the inside of our house painted So I have been moving boxes, cleaning closets, spackling and sanding holes. Between chores today I watched the clouds move in at an astonishing speed and this afternoon we had some well needed rain showers. Here are a few views from the day. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Touch of Cabin Fever

After having a string of summer like days in January it's hard to go back into the rains of February. Thank you Lord for the rain! He provides and I need not complain for we truly need it. Last night the wind howled, the heavens opened and rain came down in sheets. This morning it was still coming down when I headed into town to do the recycling and go for a short work out at the gym. Even though I was in a car it felt good to be out and about. Rather than going home I did a quick tour around the Little Lake Valley. The oaks look so strong and substantial standing tall in the rain. Here are a few views of the valley.If you look closely at the first two images you can see the rain coming down. Enjoy and stay dry, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 28-105 lens. Camera was set to AV mode, ISO 400. Exposures varied.

Muddy Waters

The storm dropped a lot of rain and luckily the powerful winds forecast never occurred. The fact that the house never was shaken by any wild gusts of wind was fine by me! It was pretty much just a strong winter storm similar to many of the ones that we have weathered over the years. Sadly there still was some flooding of low lying areas of the Little Lake Valley. I took Badger on a short hike up the upper reaches of Willits Creek. It was running pretty high but it wasn't running over its banks anywhere. Here are a few images from our hike. God bless and be safe and dry, chrisImage created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EFS 10-22mm lens on a Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. Exposure varied.

Roll Out the Photos

Yesterday we awoke to a very gray day. I had a lot of work outside to do in preparation for the incoming storm. I put away my photography blind so that it wouldn't get destroyed by the wind like one of my last ones. I tucked away my backdrops so they wouldn't blow away as well. Then I put away the light patio furniture and some other stuff so we wouldn't lose it. When I was done I was ready for some photography. I keep a notebook of image ideas. Every once in awhile I'll dig the book out and add another idea to it or I'll work on bringing one of the creations to life. Today it was one of the latter. It's also one I promised I'd roll out for everyone to see once I finished it. After cleaning up outside I gathered up my photography gear and went to work. I had a blast working on getting the lighting right. I am really happy with the result. I see some room for improvement and I'll put that idea to work if I try it again in the future. Enjoy and God bless, chris PS It is raining cats and dogs right now as I am typing this. It rained hard all night long. Luckily the winds have been mild. Image greated with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens with an extension tube added for close focusing. Lighting was provided by four Canon 540EZ flashes set to 1/64th power. I wrapped the flashes in plastic bags to keep them dry. Camera settings used were manual mode, ISO 400,F8.0 at 1/160th of a sec. Camera was supported with a Manfrotto 055PROBX tripod and a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead.

Little Bit of Lightning

Tonight we had one of our rare thunderstorms come through Mendocino County on the North Coast of California. Pray that there was enough rain to knock back the fire potential from this storm.I drove out into the Little Lake Valley and found a small rise on the side of the road to photograph from. I stayed there for quite awhile until it seemed the storm was getting too close for comfort. I had one image that I really liked from the many that I attempted. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Last of the Fall Color Blue Jays

Tonight the wind is beating against the house and a storm is pouring in off of the Pacific. It looks like we are going to be in for rain for the next three or four days. I'm looking forward to seeing the salmon spawning in the local creeks. In talking to some of my friends they are already going up many of the creeks. The rains will allow many more of them to push further up into some of the smaller waterways. This morning the storm forced me out of the photoblind and into the house. In reviewing my images from this morning I did manage to capture another Steller's Jay image to add to my collection. This will be the last Steller's with fall colors as I have far too many of them already. Today I changed all of my feeders and perches around so the fall colors won't be included in the background anymore until next year. Now if some different birds would come in! God's precious love to all, chris

I Opened Up My Little Eye

This morning when I popped out of bed this is the sight that greeted me from our bedroom window. We have been experiencing our first winters storm over the past few days and here was a short break in the storm. The view is to the east of where I live over the Mendocino Mountain Range.I love all the layers and banks of puffy clouds. God's light and love to all, chris

Puddle

The wind is howling and the rain is coming down in sheets here on the ridge top this morning.It's a dark and cloudy day. I created one image of the rain coming down in a puddle as I left the gym after my workout. I'm going to stay inside and work on my book today and later out to lunch with Lenore.

God's light and love to all,

chris

An Inside Day

Last night the wind howled and the rain pounded against the house. Right now the wind is still blowing strongly and the clouds are scudding across the sky with scattered rain showers. It's scary to think what havoc this storm is going to wreak in a few days once it crosses the Rockies and meets up with that warm air coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. Pray for those people in tornado alley and across the south.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

First Rains

This weekend was the first rainstorm of the season. Captured here is the rain falling on the Redwood grove behind my ridgetop home.

God's blessings to all,

chris