On the Old Garden Gate

I have spent the past couple of mornings photographing birds on an old garden gate in my backyard in Mendocino County. Well what is supposed to be an old gate any way. The mossy wood pieces are from an old ranch cabin that burned many years ago and were tossed in a pile. I put them together with an old rusty hinge for my "Garden Gate" series. Here is the first image from that series. I just love how the bold blue of the Steller's Jay and the green moss go so well together. There will be a few more to follow as I process them. God's light and love to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 173mm.Camera was on a Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod with a Bogen ballhead. Camera was set to AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/50th of a sec.If you are interested in learning more about this type of photography please check out my book, "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography", on Amazon and other online book sellers. Copy and past the following address into your browser for a look http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Heart of the Oak Woodland

If I could pick any bird to be the heart and soul of the Oak Woodland it would be the Oak Titmouse. These little birds are vocal robust singers and are always active. They stay as a mated pair for life, and both partners will noisily defend their home territory. These little birds have spunk and are fun to watch when they come to the feeder. They drop in grab a seed and are gone in a flash with few delays. If there is a bigger bird present at the feeder they will wait until the bigger birds back is turned and grab a seed and be gone before the bird is aware of it. Photographing them is always a challenge because they are so active. They do have one character flaw that makes them easier to photograph though. They are creatures of habit. They often will perch in the same place for a second or two before dropping down to the bird feeder. I will prefocus on that spot with my camera and wait. That is how today's image was created. May you have a blessed day, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens on a 190XPROB Manfrotto Tripod with a Bogen Ballhead. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/125th of a sec.

What Berries?

I had a fine morning photographing birds on the Burris Ranch in the Little Lake Valley of Northern California this morning. There were just enough birds starting to come to the bird feeder to keep me busy. One really interesting House Finch flew in to visit. It had plumage that looked like it had just finished moulting as it was pretty tattered. It appeared to be partially leucistic with patches of white. It's appearance was made even more interesting by the fact that it had been feeding on berries as evidenced by the berry remnants on its bill. Enjoy the view. God's love and blessings to all, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens at 370mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/320th of a sec. the camera was supported with a Manfortto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. If you are interested in learning more about bird photography please check out my book,Secrets of Backyard bird Photography on Amazon or other online book sellers. Cut and paste this address into your browser. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Patience Required

Late this afternoon I thought I would just set up a quick mossy perch and take a beautiful hummingbird image. The hummingbird must have had other plans. For over a half an hour the hummingbird would feed and then circle the perch looking at it. Then it would zoom off. It would return and then it would fly off and land somewhere else. I moved the perch lower. Nope it still circled it. I removed some of the moss. It almost landed and then changed its mind and zoomed off again. I trimmed more moss away. Nope! Still not interested. I grabbed a new perch with no moss on it. Yep, this one would do. It just took a bit of patience! God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400IS lens at 330mm, Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 1600, F 8.0 at 1/50th of a sec.Camera was supported with a 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead.

One Hummingbird

Early this morning I went out to the Burris Ranch in the Little Lake Valley to do some bird photography. I haven't been out there in a long time so at the end of last week I set up a new feeder to hopefully bring back in some birds. When I arrived there wasn't a bird in sight. I settled into the blind and waited. After about fifteen minutes or so I started hearing sounds of some birds on the edge of the pasture. That was soon replaced by the sound of a couple of large trucks pulling up and doors slamming. I unzipped the blind to find that a tree trimming crew had arrived to trim the branches from around the power lines. No birds for me! I decided to head home and do some hummingbird photography. When I got home I looked for the blasted cat but I couldn't find her. I settled into the backyard photoblind and waited for some hummingbirds to land on a perch I set up by one of the feeders. After a short wait one male Anna's hummingbird started using it. Then the blasted cat showed up and wanted to be petted. She went in and out of the photoblind. The hummingbird stopped using the perch. I grabbed the now squirming cat and put her in the house. The hummingbird didn't come back so I gave up. At least I got some really nice images. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris

Thank You Lord For the Simple Sunrise

Rainy Day Jay

We awoke this morning to the soft patter of rain on the roof. Thank you Lord for the rain! When I finally crawled out of bed the rain had stopped and the sun was just starting to poke through for some really beautiful light. I grabbed my camera and went out to my backyard photoblind and sat in the blind for about forty five minutes. The Steller's Jays that visited the bird feeder were all suffering from bad hair days from the rain. I loved the mussed up look. This one was my favorite. This image was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens at 275mm. camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/160th of a sec. Camera was supported on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty Ballhead. God's precious light and love to all, chris