In the Land of Fairies

This morning Jay and I went for a hike on one of the local trails. It was actually more like he hiked and I kept stopping to photograph. The best thing about the hike was that the Fairy Slippers were blooming in abundance. They are known by a few other names as well, Calypso Orchid and Venus's Slipper.They aren't very big which is probably why they are often called Fairy slippers.They are so delicate and incredibly beautiful when viewed close up. I also photographed some fungi and some other early blooming wilfdlowers. May your day be blessed, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, 100 mm Macro Lens,Ground pod with a Manfrotto/Bogen 3055 ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,Exposure varied.

What is That Orange Stuff?

Today was pretty close to being a non photography day. I finished up the first edit of the book and sent it off to the publisher. Following that I went out to the Burris Ranch and set up a couple more bird feeders and did some clean up around the photoblind. I was excited to to see that the western Bluebirds were checking out the nest boxes. One of the other boxes already had some Tree Swallows in residence.On the trip home I stopped to photograph some Blacktail Deer. On a closer look one of the deer had a swollen face and what appeared to be some sort of orange scarring on its face. I've never seen anything like it before. God's light and love to all, chris Photographed with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS USM lens

99.9% Moonrise

Today I was busy working on edits for my forthcoming book "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography". I did manage to break away for a little while to restock my bird feeders out at the Burris Ranch in the Valley. Then it was back home for some more editing. I really wanted to do some photography today I just didn't have the time. I missed yesterday's moonrise due to the clouds so tonight I was ready and waiting. According to TPE the moonrise was going to be at 8: 44 p.m. at 98.9 degrees.It was a 99.9% Waning Gibbous Moon. It arrived as scheduled. OK so it's not a full moon! I'm not going to quibble over .1%. Here is the moon rising up over the Mendocino Range this evening. God bless, chris

Camera Equipment used- Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 at 400. Manfrotto 3055 Ballhead, ground pod on windowsill. Camera Settings- Manual Mode, Manual focus, ISO 400, F 5.6 at 1/60th of a second

Missing the Moon

Missing the Moon I was all prepared for tonight’s full moon. I consulted TPE (the Photographer’s Ephemeris) to make sure the moonrise was going to be visible from my bedroom window. I checked the bearing and marked the location of the moonrise on the horizon so I wouldn’t miss it when it first peeped over the mountains. The weather report was clear for this evening as well. I was ready and waiting at the appointed time for the moon to appear. It didn’t appear. Usually I have to wait six to eight minutes for the moon to clear the mountains as the time given is based upon a flat horizon. No moon. There was a thick layer of clouds on the horizon. About a half an hour later the moon barely rose above it and even then it faded in and out of view in the thick fog that was forming over the valley. No moonrise but there was such a wonderful, pastel sunset. So soft and beautiful. God’s glory isn’t always big and bold sometimes it’s in the softer gentler things that we overlook. chris

Photographed with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens at 200 mm. Camera Setting Used- AV mode,ISO 400, F5.6 at 1/125th of a sec.

Rounding up the Strays

Late this evening I was looking through my image files from my journey to Humboldt County in Northern California. I was looking for images that I may have ovelooked in my first edits. I found this image of shorebirds above the Arcata Marsh that I really like. It really portrays the activity in the marsh well. God bless, chris

Colorful Kayaks

At one point on my trip to Humboldt County I stopped by the Woodley Island Marina to look at all of the boats. At one of the docks there was group of about twenty kayakers coming out of the bay carrying their kayaks. Quite a few of them looked pretty cold! After having a short conversation with them I learned that they were taking a class practicing rolling and doing self recoveries in Humboldt Bay. Brrrrrrr! As I was getting ready to leave I noticed that their kayaks looked pretty cool all lined up side by side ready to load onto the trailer. A beautiful splash of color! God's blessings and precious love to all, chris

Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400 IS L USM 4.0-5.6 lens set at 100 mm. Camera Settings- AV mode, ISO 100, F 16.0 at 1/60th of a sec.

Humboldt Part Two the Arcata Marsh

Whenever I'm up in Humboldt County in Northern California one of my can't miss places for photography is the the Arcata March located on the northeast corner of Arcata Bay. The marsh is actually a very innovative waste water facility for the city of Arcata using settling and oxidation ponds in conjunction with marsh plants helping to process their waste water. It helps to serve as a great habitat for bird life. I was up and out there before sunrise on Tuesday and I must say it was quite beautiful with the soft light. There were a lot of waterfowl and shorebirds migrating through along with the local birds. I enjoyed a pleasant morning photographing before I met Jay for lunch for a burrito at Carmelos. (I could only eat half). Then I pointed the nose of the pick up southward and drove through the Redwoods homeward. I must say I had a great day photographing shorebirds, Green Wing Teal, Northern Shoveler, American Coots, Sparrows and even a Great Egret eating a fish. God's light and love to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lensand a Canon 10-22 EF-S lens, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV mode, ISO 400,Shutter speeds and F stops varied.