Drops in the Ocean

Sometimes when I'm out photographing a song will start running through my head sparked by the image I'm creating. On Wednesday evening Lenore was taking a Ukulele workshop in Mendocino giving us the perfect opportunity to spend some time on the coast together. While she was at the workshop I went out onto the Mendocino Headlands and photographed rocks. There are millions of rocks in the ocean which reminded me of the song "Drops in the Ocean," by Hawk Nelson talking about how much God cares for us. "If you could count the times that say you are forgiven. It's more than the drops in ocean." That gives me a lot to be thankful for. Have a great day, chris Both images were created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Canon 100-400 IS v.1 lens on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod.#TeamCanon

Two Images of a Chorus Frog

This morning found Lenore and I out at the coast wandering a trail on the Mendocino Headlands. Suddenly Lenore stopped, pointed and excitedly said."Look a frog!" I looked where she was pointing and all I could see were grasses and a small blackberry bush. "Where?" I asked in confusion. "Right there on that blackberry leaf", she responded. Sure enough when I looked closer there was a Pacific Chorus Frog AKA Pacific Tree Frog sitting there on one of the Blackberry bush leaves. I see frogs like this quite often but rarely do I see them up off the ground on a plant.Way cool! We both photographed it numerous times before we moved on. I liked the one with the frog more towards the center with the leaf leading from the corner to it. Lenore liked the image with the frog off in the right hand side. I decided to include them both in today's photoblog. Which one do you like better? God bless, chris This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D mkII and a Canon EF 28-135mm lens at 135mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 5.6 at 1/1,250th of a sec.

Orion Rising

I was up this morning way,way before the sun rise. I was doing some star photography and I wanted to capture the constellation Orion coming up over the Mendocino Range and the Little Lake Valley. I created quite a few images but this one was my favorite. For those of you that don't know Orion's Belt is that row of three bright stars in the lower right bottom of the frame. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens. the camera settings used were Manual mode,ISO 1600, F 1.8 at 8 sec. The camera was supported on a Gorilla Pod on our window sill.

Portraits of Notches

This morning as I was setting up I had visions of creating some great images of Mountain Quail. I made sure to include a ramp up to the feeder for the quail to use. I waited and waited for about fifteen minutes and nothing came. Eventually a couple of Dark eyed Juncos showed up. They danced around the feeder but wouldn't come up to the perch. Next came a coupe of Chestnut Backed Chickadees. I made one decent image not worth sharing. A chipmunk circled the feeder and then left. Following that "Notches" showed up. Notches is a grizzled old Western Gray Squirrel that I have been seeing off and on for the past few years. It got it's name from the notches that look to be bitten from its ears. Ouch! I let the squirrel stay and feed and made a few close up portraits of it. I never heard or even caught a glimpse of a Mountain Quail today. At least you get to see some close ups of "Notches". God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0, shutter speeds varied. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto tripod and a Bogen ballhead. #TeamCanon

Baby Quail

Yesterday morning I set up new perch in the backyard for the birds and squirrels. I photographed numerous Steller's Jays, Band-tailed Pigeons and Douglas Tree Squirrels. As I was photographing I heard the distinctive sounds of the feeding calls of Mountain Quail. When you are in a blind you have very narrow openings to see out of so I was trying to figure out where they were coming from. Eventually they ended up in front of the blind and I was able to capture this image of a little baby one scratching for seed right out in front of me on the ground. It's always exciting for me to be able to photograph Mountain Quail as they are quit skittish. Enjoy your day and God bless, chrisThis image was created with a Canon 7DmkII and a Tamron 150-600mm lens a 552 mm. Camera settings were ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/100th of a sec. The camera was supported on a Manfrotto 190 XPROB tripod with a Bogen heavy duty ballhead.

Still Life

Today ended up being a crazy day. This evening I had a some time to create a still life with a Steller's Jay feather and some Tan Oak leaves from the yard. I love the serene feel of this image after a long day. God gives us little gifts of joy if we take the time to listen and look for them. God bless, chris Image created with a Canon 7D mkII on a tripod with a 100mm macro lens. AV mode,ISO 400, F 11.0 at 1/4sec

Touch of Color

We are in for another hot day ahead. I was really surprised to see a touch of color in this mornings sunrise when I got up this morning. There wasn't any time to travel anywhere as the sun was already rising so I made a few quick images from the corner of our deck. Enjoy the view and your day as well. God bless, chris Images created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 150-600 and also a 100 macro lens.