Blog Archives
Junco
Friends, i am running out of images to post, guess i have to get busy and do some photography. This junco was sitting on my desktop, so here he is in all his feathered glory. I do love the birdies, til Tomorrow MJ
Over the River….
Friends, on this Thanksgiving eve i am thinking of the old song, Over the river and through the woods to Grandmas house we go. This is not a river but Amity Creek that runs off Hawk Ridge into Lake Superior. We traveled over the plains and thru the hills to get to my grandmas house in the badlands of North Dakota. This time of year I remember being a child and being loved by parents and grandparents but kind of missing the Thankful part, now I am an adult and I realize how Thankful i am for the blessings of family and friends, so Happy Thanksgiving everyone, til Tomorrow MJ
Downstream
Friends, two weeks ago wee took a short journey to Gooseberry Falls north of Duluth. I got in a few shots before getting sick and having to return home, We went with several members of the Northern Lights Camera Club who are so much fun to be with, also Jim was my trusty driver, thanks all, til Tomorrow MJ
My New Toy
Friends, experimenting with some macro of fall leaves, i know they are gone, but i rescued a few before our snow. The biggest problem i have with macro is getting all the different planes of focus in focus, so when my cam ranger arrived, i was eager to try it. This device will allow me to focus the camera with my iPad where i can really see the details. Also it will step focus thru several planes and capture the depth of field at my lens’ optimum aperture, then I can run software focus stacking program. This is my first result. do you like? til Tomorrow MJ
My Deer Hunt
Friends, well the men of the family are out sitting on tree stands in single digit cold (F) with fingers freezing and trying to stay quiet in the frosty woods. Deer hunting opened this morning but i got this white tail deer doe several days ago before the shooting started. She was so pretty, hope she makes it, til Tomorrow MJ
A Quiet spot
Friends, this quiet spot in the woods is like a dream for me, this image is an HDR and maybe a bit dramatic, but i like all the colors. Something to look at in the drab months ahead, when i will have to make my own light and action. Today is the eve of deer hunting and the deer will be hiding out for a few weeks to escape the hunters, not my favorite time of year. Orange is the color this week. til Tomorrow MJ
Back At It
Friends, I thought that returning to my images of Big Manitou Falls might help to refresh my creativity that has been a bit lacking lately. I guess after photoing the Whooping Crane, I thought “I can’t do any better and everything else is boring”, but i need to push onward. Winter is coming and all the boys are thinking deer hunting, so the orange clothing is lying about the living room, the guns are cleaned, the rifles sighted in and Saturday morning all the Wisconsin hunters will be out. This image is an HDR that was made from three images, just to show that HDR can have a natural look. til Tomorrow MJ
One More Whooper
Friends, normally i don’t use this type of image in my blog, but this is a rare bird and a rare opportunity to share with you. This image was taken against the light and at a distance too far for my tele, but photoshop helped the situation so the leg band colors could be seen and recorded for posterity. Sorry but i couldn’t resist showing one more Whooper image, til Tomorrow MJ
Another Thrill
Friends, Jim and i went crane hunting again today to see if we could find the Whooping Crane among the hundreds of Sandhill Cranes, I showed an image yesterday of the large flock with a distant white bird. Today we surveyed the fields and found her again, among the Sandhills. She walked up and down and finally took off, she flew into the sun, but i stayed focused as the small group circled, turned , came right at us and passed directly overhead. I guess my practice at Hawk Ridge and the flying cranes at Crex, paid off, as i was able to capture her in flight. I know, i know, you want the wings fully extended either up or down, sorry you get what you get, it was a beautiful day to share with my honey. til Tomorrow MJ
What a thrill!!
Friends, these Greater Sandhill cranes are gathering on the Trade River for their last hurrah before going south. But surprise, one of these birds is not a sandhill, but is a rarely seen Whooping Crane. The big white one in the top of the image whose head markings are a little different than the Sandhills. They are very white and larger than the sandhills. These birds are extremely rare and are now bred in captivity then taught to fly using an ultralight aircraft at Naceedah Wildlife Refuge, then they are released into the wild. Occasionally we see one who is migrating on his own with the Sandhills, it is a very rare sighting. Sorry for the poor image, but i was stretching my telephoto. Thanks Kim for the tip and Jim for the company. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 