Toads Again?

American Toads

They come to the pool from the woods to mate.  I have seen these tadpoles in a puddle near the woods.  They are black or near black.  It takes the eggs 3 to 10 days to hatch.  The tadpoles mature in 30 to 40 days.  The young toads may stay around the pool for a short time before returning to the woods.  They are amphibians like the frog.

American Toad

This is a small toad my stepdaughter found at her house.  It was not nearly as big as those previously photographed.  I think this one was a young one from this season.  Maybe it had just returned from the pool or pond.

American Toad

I tried to shoot video clips of this little guy.  I have decided that I need two more LED lights for it.  Please, Santa Clause?  He did move his head and move the skin under his chin.  I assume that is breathing.  

American toad

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Dandelion

Dandelion

I shot these three this spring.  They were shot on different days.  I captured what drew my attention that day.  

Dandelion

Carol liked this one but she did not like the color of the background.  At one time, I thought she planned to use it in her sister's family room which she is redecorating.  I have not heard anything lately so it my have been displaced in the running.  

Dandelion

I thought that they might make a nice grouping of three.

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Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Shutter Priority gives me the choice of what shutter speed I want depending on the type of action I am photographing.  (Forgive me if you already know this.)  I am discovering that the correct speed will give me sharpness in slower moving parts and blur in faster moving parts like the wing tips.

Red-winged Blackbird

As I came home to process these shots,  I started looking at the bird's details and began to notice how sharp the beak is.  

Red-winged Blackbird

I noticed that he looked a little like a serious eagle in the face.  I also noticed how sharp and long his talons (not shown) were.  I knew this bird was defending his territory and protecting his female (one of many), who was feeding the young.

Red-winged Blackbird Female

She was also upset about my presence but not as aggressive as he.  The experience of processing these images gave me pause about the circumstances.  I was more gentle in my approach after that.

Red-winged Blackbird Female

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Blackbird Helps Me Learn

Red-winged Blackbird Male

I walk through the territory of this male red-winged blackbird daily.  I really don't look for the nest in question and have not found it.  The bird, however; presents a photographic opportunity for me because he flies around my head and lands on bushes closer than he would if there were no nest.  That provides me with practice with my long lens, auto focus and choice of mode on the camera.  

Red-winged Blackbird Male

I had to send a camera body back to Canon for repair recently.  When it returned, I wanted to check it out as much as I could so see that it was working properly.  (Incidentally, my last hiatus from writing here was due to my having no camera for a while.)  As a result of this camera check, I have learned more about the menus and settings in the camera.  I have been practicing the action photography aspects.  

Red-winged Blackbird Male

I have become acquainted with Shutter Priority mode.  I have learned about what shutter speed I will need to obtain sharpness in the bird's eye and still show some movement at the wing tips.  (More about that in a later blog.)

I have noted the ISO settings that the camera chooses for all this.  I can be using 1/500 or even 1/1000 in bright light and the ISO can be 100.  That is the one at which I would like to shoot all the time because of low noise.  I am learning to judge the light and whether it is even useful to setup for action photography or not.  My long lens is not fast.  I need more light than a person using an f/4 or f/2.8, fast, long lens.  I have learned to trust f/5.6 with my slow lens to provide enough DOF (depth-of-field).  If auto focus gets the eye sharp, I am good to go on DOF.  Previously, I used f/11 for action photography hoping that it would provide me with enough DOF to hit the focus manually.  I used Aperture Priority Mode and controlled the shutter speed with ISO settings.  I think that I may be finished using Aperture Priority in this application.  

Red-winged Blackbird Male

All these benefits compliments of the above bird.  Thank you Mr. Red-winged Blackbird.  Thanks for helping me learn.

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Blue Flag Iris

Blue Flag Iris

I arrived at Gorman that morning and there was not enough light for me to photograph wildlife.  I love these flowers and the conditions were ideal.  We had no wind, and diffused light.  I used a Sigma 70-300 zoom.  I used a slightly low camera angle.  I love the bokeh that lens creates in the background!  I shot several captures so that I could be sure to have enough DOF.  Carol said that it was beautiful but not her color.  

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