Images From a Rainy Day

Yesterday it poured rain off and on all day. Late in the afternoon I decided to photograph some birds and squirrels in the backyard. I did it from the comfort of our back bedroom window so I had a cozy chair and I stayed warm and dry.Our backyard is such a fun place to photograph birds and squirrels. I was using my Canon 7D MkII camera with a Canon 100-400 L IS USM v.1 telephoto lens. It was really dark and cloudy out so I upped my ISO to 800 and I used my Canon 550 EX for a fill flash to brighten things up just a little. Especially the shadows. I had the flash set to minus one and two third stops so it wouldn't be too bright. I photographed in AV mode at F 8.0 to keep a pretty shallow depth of field and too let in a lot of light as it was so dark out. I was really happy with the images that I created after I went through and edited them. I ended up with some really beautiful images of some Chestnut Backed chickadees and one Douglas tree Squirrel. God's light and love upon your week, chris #TeamCanon

Quick Hike

Late this afternoon we went for a quick hike up Thimbleberry Trail along the banks of Willits creek. I hope that you are Having a great week. God bless, chris

Sopot

This last summer we stayed in an apartment in Brzezno a suburb of Gdansk. One day we rented bikes and rode our bikes to Sopot a beautiful seaside town beside the Baltic. We road a lovely bike path through Ronald Reagan Park.It passes by many old dachas. We even saw a Hooded Crow. Sopot was much more upscale than Brzenzo. There is a beautiful touristy pedestrian walkway/road through the center of town called the Monciak. We checked out the local church and shopped. While taking in the sights we stumbled upon a fashion shoot with three models. Something we have rarely see where we live out here in the country. God's love and blessings to all, chris Canon 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 18-200mm lens.#TeamCanon, #withmytamron

Lichen and a Splash of Color

Yesterday morning I wanted to create a simple image with a splash of color. I thought about it a little bit and grabbed a lichen covered branch and clamped it up beside the bird feeder to use as a perch for the birds to land on. For a splash of color I added a fall covered backdrop about eight feet back behind the perch. Next I went back and forth between our back bedroom and the set up adjusting things so that they looked just right when I was looking through the camera's view finder. For the camera settings I put the camera in AV mode so I could choose the F stop. I used an F stop of 8.0 so the background would be out of focus. For my ISO I set it at 800 a it was fairly cloudy out. I waited for a bit until the birds found the feeder and started using it and i could start photographing them. Three or four times I had to yell at the squirrels to chase them away as I didn't give them their own feeder. After creating over a hundred images. I went upstairs to my computer to edit them. It didn't take very long to eliminate the ones with chopped off tails and heads. After that I got rid of the ones that were way too soft or out of focus. Fairly quickly I was down to just one image. Here is my favorite from the morning a Red Breasted Nuthatch. I love how the bird's plumage matches up with the background colors. God's blessings upon your week, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens at 600mm. The camera was placed on a ground pod on our back bedroom window ledge with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

Waterfowl at One of the Crown Jewels of Santa Rosa

Yesterday I drove my Mom down to Santa Rosa, Ca for a doctors appointment. It was the first time that I have visited Santa Rosa since the terrible fires. I was totally shocked by what I saw as I went up over Fountain Grove Parkway. The photographer in me wanted to stop and photograph the devastation that surrounded me. But it felt so intrusive to all those people who have lost their homes. I just drove along in sadness. After I dropped off of the parkway I worked my way southward to Lake Ralphine in Howarth Park. Howarth Park and the adjacent Spring Lake Park are some of the crown jewels of Santa Rosa. They provide boating, swimming,fishing and hiking trails right within the city and are next to Annadel State Park for those that are even more adventurous. Being short on time I spent about forty five minutes photographing waterfowl along the edge of the lake.What a special place right in the city. God's love and blessings upon your evening, chris All of these images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash. #TeamCanon, #takenwithmytamron

Surrendering to the Sun

One place that I have photographed many,many times over the years is the fog filled Little Lake Valley from our bedroom window. On a lot of mornings I get to watch the fog slowly burn off down below. It's fascinating to watch the fog slowly surrender to the rays of the sun. Have a great weekend and God bless, chris This image was created with a handheld and braced Canon 7D MkII and a Canon 100-400 L IS USM V.1 lens. #TeamCanon

Squirrel Outside My Window

I awoke to a cloudy gray day this morning. When I got up I looked out to see a squirrel outside my window. It was a little Douglas Tree Squirrel visiting the stump feeder in our backyard. I ran upstairs and grabbed my camera. I went back down and got down on my knees beside the window. I ever so slowly opened the window. Then I very carefully poked out my telephoto lens and braced it against the window sill. The squirrel nervously scampered down to the bottom of the stump and then cautiously returned. It remained there watching me as it fed. I photographed it for a little while and then left it to eat in peace. Here are three images that I really liked. God's precious light and love upon your day, chris All three images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a a Canon 100-400 L IS USM V.1 lens. #TeamCanon