Getting Dusted

After leaving the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge last Friday I spotted a low flying crop duster making some passes over a field off in the distance. I pulled over to watch and realized that they were landing to reload right next to a public road. I drove down the road and parked right next to them and sat and watched. They had a rudimentary but perfectly flat runway cut into the dirt twenty feet off of the county road. The crop duster was a Gruman AG Cat. It came in landed and powered itself around to get ready for take off. The truck with the hopper loader came forward and loaded the crop duster with fertilizer. The crop duster powered up to take off. I thought there would a be a little dust. Oh how wrong I was! I snapped off a quick couple of images and then was completely overcome and enveloped in a cloud of dust so thick I couldn't see. For the next take off I made sure I was well past the end of the runway. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Sacramento Valley crop dusters or aerial applicators are used quite heavily in the growing of rice. After fields are prepared and flooded they are seeded and fertilized from the air. Insecticides are also applied in a similar fashion. May you have a blessed day, chris These images created with a Canon 7D, a Tamron 150-600 and a Canon 17-85 mm lens.

First One of the Year

With the warmer weather on the way especially the lazy days of summer will come the churring sound of the Cicadas in the trees. This morning when I got up I spotted the very first one right out the front door. So here it is. May you have a blessed Sunday, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a 100mm macro lens. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 16.0 at 1/250th of a sec. Camera was supported on a Manfrotto tripod with a Bogen ballhead.

It Takes some Patience

Yesterday I drove the auto loop at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. This time of the year the refuge is mostly dry with a few ponds and it is devoid of the flocks of thousands upon thousands of ducks and geese. There is a lot of wildlife to be found in the form of rabbits, squirrels, hawks, dove and a few families of geese and as always ever present American Coots. The bird that fascinated me the most were the Marsh Wrens. They could be found around several of the ponds every thirty of forty feet or so. As I drove slowly along there would be a male on the highest bulrush singing its heart out to claim its territory. As soon as my pick up got close enough they would dive down into the cattails and continue singing from there. You could catch glimpses of them and the cattails moving but they wouldn't come out. I found that the easiest thing to do was stop right next to where you saw them last. I would then turn off the motor, poke the camera out the window and wait without moving. Usually I wouldn't have to wait very long before they would slowly work their way slowly upwards onto a nearby high spot. I had a great time photographing them. Gods love and blessings to all, chris All images created with a handheld Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. AV mode, ISO 400, Exposures varied. #Team Canon, #Bringit

Rascally Rabbit

This morning I was out the door before five a.m. I made a quick trip to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Those of you that know me or have followed my photoblog for a long time know that I have a soft spot for small mammals. This morning was no exception as I really got into photographing the Blacktailed Jackrabbits. Here is my favorite image of one them. This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600 lens at 552 mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 6.3 at 1/1,600th of a sec. God's love and blessings to all, chris #TeamCanon, #Bringit

Thank You Lord for the Showers

The past week has been somewhat crazy and I have had very little time for doing any photography. We are having the inside of our house painted So I have been moving boxes, cleaning closets, spackling and sanding holes. Between chores today I watched the clouds move in at an astonishing speed and this afternoon we had some well needed rain showers. Here are a few views from the day. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Great Year for Wildflowers

With the late spring rains it has been a great year for wildflowers. You have to really look for them as the grasses are growing so fast that they are covering them up. I found this California Poppy on the edges of the grass and it looked so beautiful all by its lonesome. This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D with a Canon 17-85 mm lens at 85mm. Camera settings used were AV mode,ISO 200, F 5.6 at 1/1,250th of a sec. god's love and blessings to all, chris

Love Those Hummingbirds

I had a fantastic time photographing hummingbirds in the backyard this morning. Here are my three favorite images from my time in the blind. They are such beautiful birds. All images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. Camera settings used were Manual mode,ISO 200,F 16.0 at 1/160th. Four Canon 540EZ flashes set to 1/16th power.