Digital Return to Florida

My time of late has been taken up with other endeavors. It's been raining for the past couple of days so I've been going through my images from Florida in November. Here are a few highlights.God's love and blessings upon your day, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS camera. #teamcanonusa

Fine Fall Day

Such a beautiful day. The sky was an emerald blue just before the sun rose this morning. Not a cloud in the sky and the air had a crisp,chilly feel to it. After a quick breakfast I headed out and climbed into the photoblind. I waited for what seemed an eternity until I heard the skittering of a squirrel climbing up onto the bird feeder. I photographed it for quite awhile until I moved my lens a little too fast. It panicked and bounded off and up the nearest tree. This was my favorite image from all the ones I took this morning. I really like the direct eye contact. This image was created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 lens at 226mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/640th of a sec. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX speedlight set to minus 1-1/3 stops. God's blessings upon your week, chris #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

Squirrels

Love 'em or hate'em? Most of the time I like squirrels especially when I want to photograph them. When I want to photograph birds it's a whole different story. The image below is a good example of what they can do! God's love and blessings upon your day, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM V.1 Lens.

Blacktail Buck

Sunday afternoon I drove down to pick up the newspaper for Lenore. I grabbed my camera and a telephoto lens as I was heading out the door. The weather was beautiful and I thought I might spot some deer along the way. I didn't see a single deer on the way down. On the return tip however I spotted a nice three point Blacktail buck bedded down under some Redwood trees. I pulled over to the edge of the road in three different spots trying to get some different angles of the deer.It's always good to work a subject if you get a chance. In this case I could. The buck was bedded down and comfortable. He was alert but he wasn't so nervous that he was getting up ready to run. I got some pretty nice images of him. Enjoy and have a great week. God's love and blessings to all, chris All three images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM V.1 Lens. Photographed hand held from my pick up window. The camera setting used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 shutter speeds varied. #TeamCanon

Still Orange

This morning I'm still sticking with the orange color theme or maybe red orange depending upon your perception of the color palette. Last night I put up a new perch and got everything set up for this morning. So not long after dawn this morning I was out in the photoblind. I was very happy to see a few Dark Eyed Juncos come to the feeder. This last year they have been in short supply. A few years back they were the most dominant bird in my backyard. I guess things go in cycles. After photographing birds for awhile the blasted cat showed up. I yelled at her and I was very surprised to actually see her leave. Normally I have to climb out of the blind and deposit her in the house. Soon after the Western Gray Squirrels showed up and I made no attempts to scare them off as I wanted to capture a nice image of one. I got quite a few nice ones but below is my favorite. God's blessings upon your week, chris Both 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 flash set to -1-2/3rds stops. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800,F 8.0 at 1/125th of a sec. for the squirrel and 1/30th of a sec for the Junco.#TeamCanon

I've Got My Eye On You!

Douglas Tree Squirrel peering out from inside one of my knothole bird feeders on Saturday afternoon. It could barely squeeze itself in. It stayed inside there for close to half an hour gorging itself on black sunflower seeds. Climbing back out it got stuck and was grunting and squeaking before it finally extricated itself. God's blessings and comfort to all, chris Image created with a canon 7d MkII and a Canon 100-400L IS USM V.1 lens at 400mm.

Patience Required

Wildlife photography requires a lot of patience in waiting for the right moment. Yesterday afternoon it was really hot outside when I set up my photoblind and camera next to the small water feature in the backyard. Almost immediately after I had settled in a Douglas Tree Squirrel showed up at the same time as Papaya the Blasted Cat! I had to climb out of the blind and capture the cat which quickly begun stalking the squirrel. After depositing the cat indoors I sat and waited for the squirrel to return from its chirping in the trees above the blind. It didn't take too long and it came down and resumed feeding on the black sunflower seed I had placed in a small feeder off to the side of pond. I knew that eventually it was going to get thirsty. I focused and composed my camera on the most likely spot that it was going to come for a drink and waited. Birds came and went as I waited. I waited and waited. Another squirrel arrived and was warned off with guttural chatter by the little squirrel I was watching. I waited and waited some more. Then it turned and climbed up over the rocks right where I had been focused for a cool refreshing drink. After recomposing slightly I made several images. It was well worth the wait. God's blessing upon your week, chris Canoon 7D MkII camera and a Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di G2 Vc Usd Lens. #TeamCanon, #withmytamron

Stopping in for a Drink

This morning I was up at sunrise. I went out into the backyard and set up a small pond feature on some saw horses. It was at eye level next to the bird feeder. With a bit of fussing around I got things looking pretty nice before I settled into the photoblind. After a long, long wait a Western Gray Squirrel came up to the pond for a drink. I managed to make three images of it drinking but this one was my favorite. God's blessings and protection to all those being affected by the earthquake and the hurricanes. chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 lens at 213mm. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 055 XPROB pro tripod with a Bogen 3055 Heavy duty ballhead.The camera settings used were AVmode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/100th of a sec.#TeamCanon, #withmytamron

Elusive Mountain Quail

The most elusive, challenging and difficult bird to photograph in my backyard is the Mountain Quail. There is a very small covey nearby and they occasionally come into my backyard. When I'm in the photoblind I can hear them coming by their soft feeding calls. Yesterday morning was a textbook case. I could hear them coming up the ridge. Because I was photographing small birds I knew I would have to back off my zoom lens before they arrived or they wouldn't fit in the frame of the image. I slowly pulled back the zoom and waited quietly. Mountain Quail are extremely skittish and will flush at the merest sight or sound of motion. I waited and waited for about five minutes. One quail made an appearance and hopped up onto the perch I had set up. Ever so slowly I inched the camera over to focus on it. I realized I hadn't pulled the zoom back far enough and I was too tight. I made one image. Then I attempted to try and slowly back the lens off a little bit more. Instantaneously the quail jumped off the perch and ran into the forest! As I stated before they are very skittish. Better luck to me next time. God's blessings upon your weekend, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MII and a Canon 100-400IS v.1 lens with a Canon 550 EX for fill flash.

Tiesel Toppers

Yesterday morning after I finished up with the rock perch images I switched over to using a dried Tiesel heads as a perches. Both the seed head and the stalks are full of prickly spikes. I'm always amazed to see birds using them as perches. They must have really tough feet! Here are a few more House Finch images. I hope that all of you are having a great week. God bless, chris All of the images above were created with a Canon 7D MkII DSLR camera with a Canon 100-400IS v.1 lens. The camera was supported on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen Heavy duty ballhead. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set to -2 stops. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 shutter speeds varied.#TeamCanon

Portrait of a Squirrel

While photographing the Steller's Jays I had some really great opportunities after the Jays left to photograph the Western Gray Squirrels and get some nice close up portraits. I created about thirty images but this one was my favorite. Up close squirrels have very expressive faces. This squirrel portrait was no exception to that. Have a wonderful weekend and God bless, chris This image was created with my Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens at 600mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/100th of a sec. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set at -2 stops.#teamcanon, #tamron

Whittling Down the Images

I spent two sessions photographing the Steller's Jays in my backyard over the past few days using a mossy and lichen covered log for a perch. This resulted in hundreds of images to edit. After the first pre edits I narrowed that down to around a 120 images. From there I attempted to narrow it down to my one and only favorite. That task proved impossible and in the end I chose two. Here are my two favorites. God's love and blessings to all of you, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set at -2 stops. General camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/25th and 1/50th of a sec. The camera was supported on a ground pod on our bedroom window ledge. #TeamCanon, #tamron

Nice Morning

We awoke to a subtle pastel pinkish, orangeish sunrise this morning. The valley was full of its usual blanket of fog that resembles a lake. I crawled out of bed and went out into the backyard and set up two feeders on the ground for the squirrels to use. Then I rearranged a new mossy perch I had set up yesterday afternoon. Afterwards I went back inside and grabbed a bird feeder and set it up close by the perch. We have been having a bear problem so we have to bring the feeders inside at night to keep them from being hauled away by the bear. We made some breakfast and before we were even finished the birds started coming into the feeder. Not long thereafter the squiirels gobbled up all of the food I had set out for them and they came up onto the perch as well. I had a really nice morning. God's light and love to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII in AV mode, ISO 100. shutter speeds and F stops varied. #TeamCanon

Blacktail Deer

On WednesdayI went downtown to meet Lenore for lunch. We had a great lunch and on the return trip home I decided to look for some deer to photograph. Blacktail deer are fairly territorial so I knew the most likely places that I could find them. There weren't any at the first two spots but at the third I found four of them. I'm really out of practice at photographing deer! I kept getting the eyes in focus and then I would chop off the tips of their ears in the frame. After a little bit of effort I came away with some decent images that show off their black trademark tail. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a handheld Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600 mm G2 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set to -2 stops. AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0, shutter speeds varied. #TeamCanon, #tamron

Slender Salamander

Oh, the things I find at the bottom of the woodpile. Last time Jay and I were working on the woodpile we found a Coastal Giant Salamander. Yesterday afternoon while looking for some dry wood (we have had a bit of rain you know) I found a Slender Salamander. With their dark coloring they really blend into the forest floor. This one was buried in the damp forest duff under a piece of wood and I would have probably missed it had it not just barely moved its tail. This was probably meant as a distraction as their tails can easily detach and they can escape and then grow a new one. These guys are really small with very large adults being about five inches long. The is one pictured here was only about two inches long.God's blessings upon your weekend, chris Image created with a Canon 7D MkII and a 100mm macro lens. I used four led light panels for a light source. #teamcanon

Tail

We awoke to gray skies and scattered rain showers this morning. Now at lunch time the sun is breaking through. Thank you Lord for springtime. Earlier today I put up a new perch with some fungi on it. Very few birds came. I was hoping for some Steller's Jays but not a single one made an appearance. What that left me was squirrels. I think i'm stuck in a squirrel rut! Check out the beautiful tail on this Western Gray Squirrel. God's precious light and love to all, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400IS v.1 lens at 135mm. A Canon 550EX flash was used for fill flash set at -2 stops. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/200th of a sec. The camera was supported with a ground pod on our window sill.

Some More Squirrels

A lot of photographers won't photograph squirrels. Then there are some of us that really enjoy photographing them. I obviously fall into that category. I really enjoy watching them. They are such a cool little creature. Photographing squirrels also gives me great practice in focusing and composing a moving subject which carries over into photographing other subjects. Beside that they are just fun to photograph and can be quite challenging to create beautiful images with. I will admit there are times when I'm photographing birds that I can't stand them. Usually that can simply be solved by placing a squirrel feeder just for them off to the side to use to keep them out of the way. Here are some squirrel images from my backyard this weekend. I love some of their expressions. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris These images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens. Fill flash was provided by Canon 550 EX flash set to high speed synch and -2 stops exposure. The camera settings used were, AV mode, ISO 4000, at a variety of shutter speeds and settings. The camera was supported on a ground pod on our window sill. #teamcanon

Ain't No City Pigeon

The wild Band-tailed Pigeons have made their return joining the few resident Bandies that stayed through the winter. Earlier today five of them came into the bird feeder for a morning snack. I was photographing Jays and Squirrels and I could hear them calling up in the trees above me. Suddenly one was on the perch in front of me. I very slowly moved to recompose the lens and clicked the image. Then one after the other they came down from the trees. This was one of three of my favorite images. May you have a blessed weekend, chris It was photographed with a Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400 IS v.1 lens. A Canon 500EX flash set at -2 stops was used for fill flash. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 5.0 at 1/250th of a sec. The camera was supported on a ground pod. #teamcanon