Rainy Day Hummingbirds

There have been rain showers off and on all day today. In the morning made a run downtown for groceries and a workout at the gym. On the return trip I stopped and photographed our local icon the Willit's Arch just to show what kind of a day it was. When I got home I put a rain cover on my camera and photographed the hummingbirds in the backyard. This year instead of the usual one or two Anna's Hummingbirds staying through the winter I've got six plus a couple of strays that seem to drop in from time to time. They didn't seem to mind the rain as there was a buzz buzz of activity at the feeders Have a blessed evening, chris

Rainy Day Bird

We awoke to gray leaden skies this morning. I wanted to photograph birds but a bear tore apart my bird feeder so that kind of shot down that idea. Our view of the Little Lake Valley came and went with the rain showers all day. During a brief respite I made a new feeder and tried some bird photography for about an hour with only one successful image. It was of a Chestnut Backed Chickadee. It captures the light of the day pretty well with the dark forest behind it. These chipper little birds help brighten up any rainy day. God's love and blessings to all, chris The image of the bird was created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 375mm. They were supported by a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with a Bogen ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 1600, F 8.0 at 1/80th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Holiday Express or The Santa Train

Every year the Roots of Motive Power puts on a favorite long time Willits Event. Santa Claus arrives on their 1916 Heisler locomotive. They offer rides on the train along with free hot cocoa, cookies and other goodies. Then the kids get to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. They are also given a small gift to take home with them. We went yesterday and there were parents, kids and train buffs streaming through all afternoon. The rains held off and it was a fabulous event. Please check out the Roots of Motive Powers website for future events through out the year. Merry Christmas and God bless you, chris http://www.rootsofmotivepower.com/events-schedule All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF-s-17-85mm lens

Garlic or Waiting for the Rain to Clear

I awoke to a glorious gray day. We really need the rain here in Northern California so it's a good thing. While making breakfast I was contemplating what to photograph as I puttered about the kitchen. Then I spotted the garlic bowl. Hmmnnn... that might make a simple still life. I searched through the bowl and grabbed the three most decent ones and a single clove. I arranged them on a cutting board in window light and photographed them with an off white background. After cropping the image down into a panorama I think it looks pretty cool. Hopefully there will be a break in the weather this afternoon so I can do some bird photography in the backyard. I've got an image all planned out. God bless and have a wonderful day, chris image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF-s-17-85mm lens at 56mm on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 18.0 at .60 sec.

Gray Day

Outside it is a lovely gray day. The raindrops are coming down in rolling sheets and the wind is howling. Occasionally a small branch hits the roof making me jump. Hmmnnn... what to photograph on such a stormy day? I grabbed my macro lens and photographed the water drops on the window. After editing them it looked pretty dark. What I needed was something with some color. Looking out the window I realized the best thing would be to include the water drops on the window and one of the the Madrone trees in the yard. I grabbed my tripod and set my camera to F 16.0 for more depth of field. Now I had a bit of color and some pretty cool water drops in the image. What a wonderful way to start the day. May the joy of the Lord fill your day, chris All image were created with a Canon 7D. The close up of the water drops was done with a 100mm macro lens and the Madrone trees were created with a Canon EF-s 17-85mm lens.

Portrait of Squirrel

Yesterday while photographing the Steller's Jays I had the privilege of photographing a little female Douglas Tree Squirrel that came to the bird feeder. I have a really big soft spot for small mammals. Whenever I'm at a wildlife refuge, state or national park I'm the guy you will see photographing the cottontail while everyone else is photographing the elk. While I do photograph the elk and the bison but I really prefer the more intimate interactions with the smaller animals.God's love and blessings to you, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400IS lens at 320mm. Camera settings used were,Av mode, ISO 800, F 5.6 at 1/100th of a sec. The camera was on a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with a Bogen Ballhead.

Love That Over the Shoulder Look

Last night I grabbed a flashlight and went out into the back yard to set up a new perch for photographing Steller's Jays. This morning I went out just before dawn and climbed into the photoblind and waited. As usual the first customers to arrive were the Dark Eyed Juncos. They were soon followed by a Douglas Tree Squirrel girl. She was there for awhile until a group of Jays surrounded her and she looked rather unhappy and she left. That totally surprised me because usually squirrels will hold the feeder against the Jays. Several Jays took turns feeding. I really wanted to photograph one with that over the shoulder look. It's my favorite pose to catch birds in because it shows off their plumage really well and it creates an intimate connection with the viewer. After numerous tries I captured a few images that looked pretty good. Later on in editing my image this one had the best head angle and composition and I really like it. May you have a blessed day, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens at 285mm. Supported on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 Havy duty ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 5.6 at 1/160th of a sec.