Time for a Cool One

This morning I was up and around and in my backyard photoblind even before the sun rose. I have been noticing that with so much more light that the birds were coming to my bird feeder earlier and earlier. So in order to catch the birds in the best light I needed to be in the blind before the birds came. My decision payed off as I was able to get some really nice Steller's Jay and Band-tailed Pigeon images. My favorite image of the morning though was of a Western Gray Squirrel that came to get a drink from my water set up. I could really tell that it wanted a drink. It kept looking longingly at the water and then it would scamper away as soon as it heard the sound of the camera's shutter clicking. I eventually got smart and prefocused on the water where I thought it as heading for a drink. I didn't click the shutter until it was actively drinking. I came away with two images that I really like and this one was the best. May you have a blessed weekend, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 Is lens on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen Ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode,ISO 800, F 5.6 at 1/125th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Species in Decline

I had a great time photographing Band-tailed Pigeons (P.f. monilis) in my backyard this morning. I have nowhere near the numbers of them that I used to have visiting my bird feeders. Five or six years ago I would have flocks of twenty or more. Now flocks are typically less than a dozen. In fact this morning there were only six or so. At present the population is still considered to be a species of "Least Concern" even though they have been steadily dropping in population since 1945. Recently a new pathogen (Trichomonas stableri) has been found by scientists from UC Davis looking into major die-offs of pigeons native to North America. The pathogen creates nasty lesions that can block the esophagus. This prevents the birds from eating or drinking often leading to suffocation. Hopefully a way can be found to stop this disease so that future generations of people can enjoy seeing this bird in the wild. God bless, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. Camera settings used were. AV mode, ISO 800 at F 5.6. Shutter speeds varied. Camera and lens were supported with a Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead. If you are interested in learning how to photograph birds in your backyard please check out my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography". It is available in both hardbound and as an Ebook on most online book sellers. Please copy the following link into your browser. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

My Aloe Vera Plant is Blooming

Yesterday I spent about half an hour photographing hummingbirds. I had the perfect spot for hummingbirds as my Aloe Vera plant was in bloom and the hummingbirds just love it. I placed it right next to the hummingbird feeder for the hummingbirds to find and it didn't take them very long to start using it. Here are two images of them. The first one is an Anna's Hummingbird with moulted wings. You can see the feathers starting to grow back in if you look closely. The second is and immature Rufous Hummingbird. The images are quite different in tone because I used a different setting and I moved my flashes. Both images were created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 mm lens at 250mm. Camera settings used were Manual mode, ISO 400, F 11. and F 9.0 at 1/160th of a sec. If you are interested in learning how to photograph hummingbirds please check out my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography". It is available in both hardbound and as an Ebook on most online book sellers. Please copy the following link into your browser. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Crushed

Yesterday I dropped off our recycling at the local recycling center. Every time I go there I am always intrigued by the bright colorful blocks of tin cans stacked up outside the building like giant Lego blocks of multi colors. They have a giant compacter that crushes and compacts all the tin cans into large rectangular blocks that are about five feet long and four feet tall. Here is a close up of one of the blocks. God's precious love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a handheld Canon 7D and a Canon 17-85mm lens at 85mm. camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 100, F 5.6 at 1/ 1,600th of a sec. #TeamCanon, #Bringit