Sunrise and the Rest of the Birds

This mornings sunrise was a glorious repeat of yesterdays. Soft pastels that gradually faded away to gray and white. On Tuesday I was inundated with juncos but there were a few other species of birds that managed to sneak their way into the feeders. It was interesting to see that the Acorn Woodpeckers would drive away any Steller's Jays that came to the feeder but they pretty much ignored the other birds. Juncos would move out of the way of the woodpeckers but they wouldn't be forced to leave. The woodpeckers would go after the jays with a vengeance. It was really nice to have a Spotted Towhee come up onto the feeder. They are normally pretty secretive preferring to stay in the brush or on the ground. A couple of pairs of House Finches made an appearance and I managed to photograph the male. Overall I had a great time. Today I'm off to visit the tax man. Wish me luck on a good return. God bless, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. Camera settings used. AV mode for more control of the depth of field. ISO 400, F 8.0 for the birds and F16.0 for the sunrise. Shutter speeds varied. A Manfrotto 055 PROB tripod and a Bogen ballhead were used to support the camera for a sharper image.

Inundated

Yesterday morning after setting up the bird feeders and putting the pole back into my photoblind I settled in for some bird photography. The birds must have been ravenous from lack of food during the storm because they came piling in. There was a continual stream of four to six birds at a time. My only problem was that ninety nine percent of them were Dark Eyed Juncos. I was inundated with Juncos. Didn't I recently say something about missing them? Somehow they all must have heard me and come! The lighting was just fantastic and I was able to create some gorgeous images. It's so nice to have mornings like this. God's love and blessings to all,chris All images were created with a Canon 7D in AV mode using an F stop of F8.0. This F stop was chosen to allow the background of Bay Laurel trees to be out of focus. This F stop also gave enough depth of field so most of the bird especially the eye would be in focus. Shutter speeds varied. The camera was fitted with a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens set on a Manfrotto 055 PROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead.

Foggy Day From Above and Below

Today was a beautiful day for photography. There was a thin layer of clouds overhead that hung out all day long giving a nice diffused light. When I awoke this morning the Little Lake Valley was awash with heavy fog. I photographed it from above and then drove down into the rapidly clearing murk and made an image looking back the other way from below. Such a great day. Yesterday was a bit more challenging. My pick up thankfully only needed some minor repairs but the parts house twice sent the wrong part. So much of the day was spent waiting. While I was waiting I went out to the ranch to check on my photoblind. It was not where it was supposed to be having been torn loose from its moorings by the high winds. One of the carbon fiber blind poles was broken and I now can see daylight through a couple of holes in the top of the blind. I repaired the pole last night. Now I just need to repair the roof. One thing at a time. Please enjoy my foggy views. The first image was created with a Canon 7D and a Xanon 28-105 lens and the second was done with a Canon 100-400 IS lens to pick out some details from the view. God's love and blessings to you, chris

Oh the Little Juncos!

Today the wind is blowing and the rain is coming down.It sounds like music to my ears on the roof! I think we will be staying put by the wood stove today. Plus my pick ups engine warning light came on yesterday on my drive home. Not a good sign. It looks like a visit to Cal's Garage is in the line up of activities for tomorrow. I pray it is something simple. This winter the most common species of bird has been remarkably absent from the feeders around my house. Dark Eyed Juncos have always been a familiar sight out in my yard but not this year. Last week when I was photographing Acorn Woodpeckers in my photoblind out at the ranch they were one of the more dominant species coming into the feeder. It was so good to see them again. Here are some images I grabbed off my desktop from then. They are such cute little guys! Enjoy and may God bless your Sunday, chris All of the junco images were created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. Manfrotto 190 XPROb Tripod with a Bogen 3055 Ballhead. Camera settings used- AV mode, ISO 400,f 8.0 or 5.6. Shutter speed varied . #TeamCanon #Bringit

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.

Bushel of Acorn Woodpeckers

The weather outside is frightful. The wind is blowing and scattered rain is coming down from light gray skies. I don't mind photographing when it is snowing but pouring rain is another story. Today is a perfect day to sit by the warm fire and work indoors. I always have a lot of indoor work to catch up on! Here are a few more from my bushels of Acorn Woodpeckers. All of these woodpecker images were photographed at either F 5.6 or f 8.0 to allow the background of Bay Laurel trees to blur out into a pleasing background. The rainy image of the Madrone Tree was created with a Canon 28-105 lens with an f stop of F 11.0. The main focus point was the raindrops on the window pane. May you have a blessed day. chris All of the woodpecker images were created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. Manfrotto 190 XPROb Tripod with a Bogen 3055 Ballhead. Camera settings used- AV mode, ISO 400,f 8.0 or 5.6. Shutter speed varied .

Delightful Find

I spent two mornings on Thursday and Friday of last week photographing at my photoblind out in the Little Lake Valley. There were a lot of birds coming into the feeders resulting in a lot of images that needed to be processed. As a result of that I spent much of yesterday and all of this morning working at sorting, judging, labeling and tossing images. There were some great ones I'm looking forward to sharing. It was so nice to see something other than Chestnut Backed Chickadeees for awhile. I was delighted to find a really nice image of a male House Finch. They are just starting to progress towards their breeding colors. They will be magnificent this spring. I'm looking forward to it. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens at 400mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400,F5.6 at 1/250th of a sec. The camera was supported by a Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead. Please check out my bird photography book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography" on Amazon and other fine book sellers. It is available in both hardbound and as an Ebook. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559