Blog Archives

Horned Grebe

grebe portrait

Friends, this is a friendly horned grebe on Phantom Lake, the afternoon light was just right for a closeup portrait.  Those yellow feathers on each side of her head are the “horns”.  I don’t always get this close but he didn’t mind my vehicle.  til Tomorrow MJ

Hope

hope

Friends, this flower (pasque) is the first to bloom after the winter season, and reminds me that good things await with the blooming of spring.  It points to God as the basketball player raises his index finger and points upwards, he knows where the strength and blessing come from, and so do i.  All the blessings of spring to you all, and may you walk in peace this day.  til Tomorrow MJ

THE Garganey- A Rare Duck

garganey4

Friends, Crex Meadows was full of birders this weekend and this duck was the object of their affection.  This is a garganey that has never been reported in Wisconsin or Minnesota.  He sure is handsome but moves constantly, today was our first sunny day since he arrived about a week ago.  I guess he wants to stay awhile enjoy while you can til Tomorrow MJ

Bluebills and Redheads

bluebill male

Friends, while watching a huge flock of bluebills (greater scaup) another small flock of redheads landed in the middle of the bunch then they all continued on their merry way.  They (redheads) acted like they were scared to death and hiding among the bluebills.  My new header shows the combined flock, although just a small sampling of all the birds together. til Tomorrow MJ

Spring is for the Ducks

shoveler male

Friends, this duck is called the shoveler because his bill is shaped in a shovel, very broad and black.  He is a dabbler and his head is wet from trying to eat water plants, i was going to clone out the weed hanging from his bill, but it is part of him, he is what he eats.  hope you like til Tomorrow

Spring Ducks

buffle pair3wp

Friends, these friendly ducks are a very tiny pair of buffleheads, lots of white on the male makes him difficult to photograph while keeping the dark details intact.  They were very close to shore thanks to a fish kill and melting icepack so i made the most of a great opportunity. hope you like til Tomorrow MJ

The Moon Also Rises

timelapse moonrise final

Friends, while taking this time lapse of clouds drifting through crex, i noticed that the moon was rising in this series of shots, i am exploring a time-stacking technique and got a lovely surprise.  This image is a result of stacking 12 images taken 1-2 minutes apart into a single image, i like this effect and will be doing more stacking in the near future, as soon as our 15 inches of new snow gets melted away. ugh! til Tomorrow MJ

Sharptails

 

Friends, tomorrow morning we are going grouse hunting, with our cameras of course, this image was taken last year in the Namekagon Barrens of Northwestern Wisconsin.  He is moving but that is the best i was able to get, but this year is another chance to fix the problems and come up with a winning image, it is spring, time to get to work til Tomorrow MJgrouse jump

Red Moon

red moon11

Friends, was up early this morning (2AM) to photograph a total lunar eclipse, it is called the blood moon, but i prefer the red moon.  I love that on this shot you can see the ice cap, pretty good for a 400 mm lens on a camera. This was a 3 second exposure on a tripod and a night with only a few clouds wisping through at times. til Tomorrow MJ

Owlets have flown

best two owl 11x14

Friends, the dilemma, two images, one with open eyes on mama bird and the other with open eyes on the owlet, solution: combine two images into one for an official portrait of both birds, hope you like my artistic treatment, as of yesterday, both owlets have left the nest and are roosting in nearby sites, til Tomorrow MJ