Blog Archives
Adult Harrier
Friends, this Northern Harrier is probably an adult male and was hunting on an open field. You can see the blurred background as i panned with the bird in flight. This image was taken with my old 100-400mm lens, looking forward to working a similar image with my new 150-600mm lens. til Tomorrow MJ
Lens Test 150-600 mm
Friends, these are not spectacular decisive moments in nature, but rather a test of my new lens. Tamron 150-600 zoom lens. Years ago in the age of film, i had a 300 mm Tamron f2.8 and it was super sharp. I am not disappointed by this lens so far, a sunny day and was able to shoot at 1/1000 of a second or faster so handholding the lens was pretty doable. More testing is needed til Tomorrow MJ
Badlands Bluebird
Friends, this wet bluebird is in some stage of molting, not sure if he is juvenile or adult bird but something is going on with his chest feathers. I love the pink and blue together and his hunched up posture. The rain had stopped momentarily and he was hanging out on a branch to dry. til Tomorrow MJ
Summer Wood Duck
Friends, this is two views of the same male wood duck molting into eclipse plumage. I included two images to show why i am a big proponent of continuous shooting mode. The top image shows the bird at a rest position, and the second while he is paddling and peeking. Sometimes when ducks are paddling, their backs look extended and elongated, while the top image shows a quiet duck. Which one do you like best?? til Tomorrow MJ
Badlands Spotted Towhee
Friends, this spotted towhee was caught out in the rain hence his ruffled feathers. In the North Dakota Badlands, rain is not expected in the month of August, but it rained the whole week we were there. The rain was great for the plants and animals but not so good for photographers who wished to do some hiking. I am not afraid of a few drops on my head, but the slick gumbo under my feet is heavy to haul around, kind of like mud snowshoes. And did I mention that it is slippery, my camera has chunks of muck on it from the last spill I took trying to chase down a pincushion cactus. So this was taken from the safety of a pickup blind, and i learned that these birds like to perch on dead sagebrush rather than high in a tree. til Tomorrow MJ
Badlands Harrier
Friends, had to take some time away from this blog to visit the North Dakota badlands. Twice in one year is an unusual event, but also attended my 50th high school reunion then it is only another 150 miles to the badlands. This is a Northern Harrier gliding over a hilltop and i was able to grab four focused images, i combined them for this composite image. I would never been able to identify this bird without my experiences on Hawk Ridge last fall. His brownish feathers say he is an immature bird and f you look closely you can see his owl face. til Tomorrow MJ
Storm on the Horizon
Friends,his storm was photographed in May when the girls and i visited the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We are heading there again on Sunday to sit among the hoodoos and maybe a hike into the petrified forest. Hot weather is predicted so maybe we will have a rest and relaxation with photo runs at sunrise and sunset. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer Lovin
Friends, i love photographing beauty in nature and especially macro work, so while nosing around the wild lilies,in my childhood we called them tiger lilies, i discovered a small butterfly nectaring inside the cup. He is a hairstreak and these small creatures are easily confused with the Karner Blue, a rare butterfly also found in Crex Meadows. til Tomorrow MJ
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/summer-lovin/ other contributions on this theme can be found at this link
Turn Around
Friends, this is a picture of my friend at sunset, she is also shooting the sunset. We girls went to the badlands in the last week of May and had a glorious trip. When in the North Dakota Badlands you can often have the whole hillside to yourself. I shouted at her to turn around to see what was happening behind her, 🙂 til Tomorrow MJ
Peek a Boo
Friends, this shy fellow is one of the foals of the wild ones in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I love his bald face and his mane standing up on end. He was curious but very shy. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 