Blog Archives
One of my favorite images-Trumpeter swan family
Friends, we have a few resident Trumpeter swans in Crex Meadows. This is one of the parents of seven (count em) cygnets. I was going to save this, one of my favorite images, to show you on father’s day but couldn’t wait. Must share the spring in the middle of winter, we have new snow today so looking for wild tracks will be possible. Unfortunately, i have to travel to the city to help my mother. Oh well there is always tomorrow. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Down
Friends, thinking about both applications for the word, down. Down as immature feathers poking from the backside on this Pied-billed Grebe or down as the direction out of my car window.I guess both definitions apply in this image. This is a fall image as the lily pads are in a state of decay and the fall colors are reflected in the water behind this tiny bird. They dive for their food and hence are almost always wet. til Tomorrow MJ
What the raven saw
Friends, even the raven appreciate viewing the Grand Canyon. He followed me as i moved along the path above the canyon, posing and calling for his comrades. I finally took his picture and he was quiet. til Tomorrow MJ
Do not disturb-Bald eagle dinner
Friends, this time of year we see lots of bald eagles along the road, usually perched on a road-killed deer or in a tree alongside the road overlooking roadkill. They prefer fish but most of the water is still frozen and fishing is not an option. When they have found unfrozen dinner, they are reluctant to leave and are “sitting ducks” for the nature photographer. This one gave me the “eye” and i took his picture from across the road. til Tomorrow MJ
Another close-up-Boreal Chickadee
Friends, another closeup of a chickadee, this is a boreal chickadee, a small bird that occupies the tamarack and black spruce bogs of northern Minnesota. His coloring is very different from our more common black-capped chickadee, but I love all the feathered textures in this image. They love suet and will come to an undisturbed feeder like those in the Sax-Zim bog. So how do you like this tiny bird?, til Tomorrow MJ
Grouse in the Grasses
Friends, today we return to color and the wild birds. This is a grouse from the badlands of North Dakota, taken in late summer or early fall. Not sure if it is a sharp-tail grouse or a sage grouse( or other?). I am not a very good birder so I don’t know all the differences between the species. But these birds come to the road in the early morning light to get their gravel and pose for pictures :). I didn’t crop this image closely because i wanted to show the relationship between the grouse and her grassy environment. What do you think? til Tomorrow MJ
I’m Ready for my Closeup
Friends, In an old movie, Sunset Boulevard, Gloria Swanson told the Director Cecil DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup. Lately i have been experimenting with converting color digital to black and white, and this black-capped chickadee begged for attention. I love how the textures appear more prominent when the image is in black and white. The big challenge is to preserve the black details as well as the white details. These birds are extremely friendly, waiting for their seed ration every morning and practically landing on me while i fill their feeder. No patience needed to photograph these guys so they make good practice subjects. til Tomorrow MJ
Pine Siskin II
Friends, this pine siskin shows the yellow wing edges typical of these tiny birds. He is perched on a bird feeder hence the turquoise metal and has a sunflower seed in his bill. I sit and wait at the feeder, patience is the key to small bird images. til Tomorrow MJ
Birds in Flight
Friends, today I will address photographing moving targets. Recently, we journeyed again to the Bog in Northern Minnesota, a haven for winter birds. The photo technique is really quite simple, but lots of practice is needed to stay sharp. First pick an aperture that will give you a very fast shutter speed. In this case the telephoto lens (400mm) is open all the way (f5.6) and the shutter speed on a lovely clear winter day was 1/500 with ISO of 100. I focused on the bird (female pine grosbeak) at the top of the tree and waited until it tipped ready to fly. Then leaned on the shutter until the bird was gone. See simple 🙂 til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 