Photographing Kiteboarders on Bodega Bay

This last week I was down on the Sonoma Coast for a couple of days. When I rounded the first corner on Highway 1 into Bodega Bay I could see kiteboarders racing across the bay close to Doran Beach on the bay side. I drove down to the beach and found a place to park. The conditions were perfect. It was high tide with small waves and there was a really stiff breeze blowing. The kiteboarders were really moving. I talked to one of the group on shore taking a break. He stated that it was quite unusual to have windy conditions like this so early in the year. He went on to say that they usually have to wait until early winter for conditions like this. This was the first time I have photographed the sport of kiteboarding and I really enjoyed it. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 L IS USM EF Mount v.1. #TeamCanon

Once Again Playing With Macro

This morning found me wandering around looking for macro subjects. I'm still getting comfortable in using my new Tamron SP DI 180mm Macro lens and testing out what it can do. My first subject was a wasp nest from the underside of our picnic table. No wonder we had so many wasps on our deck this summer. It's a wonder we never got stung while eating there! My second subject was a fish fossil that I received as a gift when I was a young lad. It's from some fossil beds somewhere in Wyoming. I was really pleased with the sharpness of these images as they were hand held and braced.I'm quite pleased to add this lens as another tool to add to my photography. God's blessings upon your week, chris Both images were created with a Canon EOS T1i camera and a Tamron 180mm SP DI Macro lens. The camera settings varied but I was shooting in AV mode at and ISO of 800.#TeamCanon,#WithMyTamron

By the Old Watering Hole

For the past couple of weeks I have been periodically going out and sitting next to the pond in the yard. It's a great spot for photographing the birds and squirrels that have been coming for drinks and to bathe. Sometimes there can be some really long waits between subjects. It requires a lot of patience. Here is part of a sequence of a Dark Eyed Junco that stopped by. When it first arrived it sat on the bank for quite some time before tentatively stepping forward to take a drink. Then it very slowly moved into the water. Once it got into the water it really got into it by diving under and splashing with its wings. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a Canon 100-400IS v.1 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX speedlight. #TeamCanon

Fine Fall Day

Such a beautiful day. The sky was an emerald blue just before the sun rose this morning. Not a cloud in the sky and the air had a crisp,chilly feel to it. After a quick breakfast I headed out and climbed into the photoblind. I waited for what seemed an eternity until I heard the skittering of a squirrel climbing up onto the bird feeder. I photographed it for quite awhile until I moved my lens a little too fast. It panicked and bounded off and up the nearest tree. This was my favorite image from all the ones I took this morning. I really like the direct eye contact. This image was created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 lens at 226mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/640th of a sec. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX speedlight set to minus 1-1/3 stops. God's blessings upon your week, chris #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

Waiting at the Old Waterhole

This last week I set up my large water feature. It's not really that large, it's a sheet of four by eight plywood with tapered three and a half inch sides. I fill the inside of it with visqueen plastic and then water. Next I add gravel, sand and river rock to make it into a small pond. The local wildlife love it and use it as a place to drink and bathe. This morning I went out and sat in the photoblind next to it waited. After a wait of about twenty minutes I could hear the scratching on bark of the nearby tree trunks and the calls of Douglas Tree Squirrels around me. Several squirrels even climbed up onto the roof of the photoblind itself. It's pretty cool to hear them scampering around on top of the blind! Not long after that I managed to capture some images of the squirrels stopping by for a drink. These three images were my favorites.What a great experience. God's blessings to all, chris All of these images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a TAMRON | SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 lens. A Canon 550EX speedlight was used as a fill flash. #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

New Wildlife Snag

On Monday we had to have a hundred foot Douglas Fir tree removed from our yard. It was dead and it threatened to fall on our house. The night before the tree service came I had an epiphany. I realized that we shouldn't cut the tree all the way down. We should leave a good fifteen foot section as a snag for wildlife. The tree service was glad to oblige as it was less work for them. As the snag rots over the next few years it will provide habitat for a multitude of creatures. Maybe I'll get lucky and have some cavity nesters use it after the woodpeckers have had a go at it. God's blessings upon your day, chris #TeamCanon, all images were created with a Canon EOS 7D and a Canon EOS 7D MkII cameras.

Up Close and Personal

I've never really like images of hummingbirds on feeders. Seeing the feeder included in the image just makes it seem too unnatural. However I took exception to that this morning when I set my photoblind and tripod right next to the feeder and I do mean right next to it! When I mounted my camera and macro lens onto the tripod the tip of the lens was a little less than a foot away from the feeder. I used some tape to block off all of the feeding ports except for the one on the side. When the hummingbirds started coming I was ready. I let them feed for awhile to get used to it and then I very slowly composed and focused the camera. Between the swinging of the feeder and the low light conditions I ended up with a lot of images that went directly into the trash. Three of them were just superb. I love the intimate look at the Annas' Hummingbirds that this macro lens could give. Hoping that you have a great weekend. God's blessings to all, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a Tamron SP DI 180mm Macro lens. The camera was mounted on a Manfrotto tripod with a Bogen 3055 Heavy duty ballhead. The camera settings used were manual focus, AV mode, ISO 800, F8.0, the shutter speeds used were 1/30th, 1/80th and 1/60th of a sec. #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron