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Big Bluestem

I have been rethinking exposure settings in the morning light.  I have made images like this before where the sunlight is hitting the grass inflorescence  and the background is in shade.  I like that overall affect but usually the grass head is over exposed.

Big Bluestem

I had the idea the other day that my meter probably does not handle this shot well.  I can usually deal with it in Photoshop but it would be better to get it right in camera.

The drawback in a shot like this is that the background can be cluttered.  The shadow on it helps but the f/stop needed for the grass to be in focus is too narrow and does not blur the background enough.  I found that if I dialed my exposure down by two stops (two stops under that recommended by the meter, I could have the inflorescence exposed correctly and the background less distracting at the same time.  I tried f/8 and f/5.6 on these two.  With f/5.6 the rear toe of the flume was beginning to be out of focus and the background was not as bright.  I liked that exposure, e.g. the latter, better because of this.

I was thinking about my grandsons, L & L, while I did this.  Bees like to visit this plant at this stage for the nectar and pollen.  I made a video showing the pollen released as you bump the plant.  I thought that you might enjoy it.

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Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwings

I added a new bird image, see above, to my collection of images the other day.  I am trying to remember what called my attention to them.  It might have been their vocalizations.  They are lovely, colorful birds which have a black mask.  I was grateful for the dead tree in which to photograph them.

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Gorman Pond

Gorman Pond

This is the shot I was making when the Kingfishers arrived.  I shot at two different focusing distances so that the foreground would be nice and sharp.  I shot five captures at each focusing distance with the intention of combining them in Photomatix Pro.  When It was finished I began looking at it closely and discovered that the tall sunflower in the right foreground had moved.  I almost threw out all captures upon making that discovery.  I thought about it, a slow process for me, and decided that I would try using one each from the different focusing distances to combine them, eliminating many chances for movement.  The result was much better.  There is still a little movement in the upper parts of the plant but the lower parts were steady.  You may also notice the dual contrails representing the time difference of the captures.  I cropped out the movement and used it on Facebook.

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Bird Blind

My Bird Blind

I built this bird blind in the early first decade of the 21st. century.  I used it in my backyard by the bird feeder.  I had to stop feeding the birds because chipmunks, which ate the bird feed, became pests.

My recent images of the Kingfisher became a motivation for me to repair it and use it.  Two days after the siting I took it to Gorman and set it up.  I sat in it for 2.5 hours with no sitings.  I thought I heard them.

My Bird Blind

I purchased the camouflage fabric at the local outdoor outfitter.  The rings, there are four, are made of half-inch plastic water pipe.  They are four feet in diameter.  The top one has a tee every 90 degrees to accept the plastic uprights.   They are three-quarter-inch plastic water pipe.  I created the base out of half-inch rigid copper pipe, now more expensive than when I built it.  Carol sewed in rod pockets for the hoops.  I used Outdoor Adhesive and Sealant by Goop to adhere the top.   It is in its lowest position, quite high enough for me to sit inside.  It will go high enough fore me to stand inside, though I don't stand for long periods now.  

I have not heard the Kingfishers for some time.  I think it is possible that I am not arriving early enough in the day.  

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Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher Females

I was doing a landscape shot of the pond from the West end that morning.  I have seen Belted Kingfishers before.  They come in and land on the rail as shown above.  I must have been standing partly behind a bush and did not frighten them off.  I left the landscape setup and grabbed my monopod and long lens, Sigma 50 - 500 mm, f/4 - f/6.3.  I made the shot below.

Belted Kingfisher Adult Females

There were two, both females, and they seemed to be competing for space, see top shot.

Kingfishers are exceedingly flighty.  A shot of one is a trophy for a photographer.  This is not the lighting I would have chosen but they gave me no choice.  They have a "ratcheting" call which is quite distinctive.  Wikipedia has a recording of its call on the Belted Kingfisher page.  Scroll down about 3/4 of the way.

I made many shots at 500 mm.  I then decided to try for 1000 mm by adding my 2x converter.  I wanted to get to the tripod for more stability also.

Kingfisher Setup

  I already had the long lens mounted on the monopod and a tripod bracket mounted on the camera.  I decided to place the tripod under the camera as shown.  It was not an exceedingly stable setup.  The lens would no longer auto focus, f/11, so I was left to manual focus.  The birds were active so focusing was difficult.  The shot at the top was the best of the shots using this setup. 

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Blueberry Parade

Addie Truax

We went to the Blueberry Parade recently.  Little Addie and mom, Sasha, came to watch her big sister Lilly march in the parade.  Carol and Tiffany enjoyed holding her.

Lilly Truax

I did not get a good shot of Lilly marching.  She was doing a good job when I spotted her.  It took me too long to pick her out.  She had her hair pulled tight and it was too difficult for me to recognize her.  She came over for a picture afterwards and looked very cute as you can see.

Their big brother, Gavin, was helping roof a house and could not come.  Their Daddy, Matt, came and it was nice to see him.

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