A Ruby Throated Hummingbird approaches a Butterfly Bush to feed
The other day while taking photos, I observed two hummingbirds chasing each other around the yard. Several times one of them had stopped no more than five feet in front of me and hovered for a few seconds before continuing on its way. As if taunting me, they just hung there until I began to bring the camera up, then they flew off.
Read More
House Finch preening in black and white
August was a busy month and I had not had much time to get out with the cameras. This past Labor Day weekend I spent some time outdoors around the house taking photos.
Read More
Downy woodpecker searching for food
Downy woodpecker scaling a dead tree
I took the Canon 7D Mark II and the Canon EF 100-400MM F/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens for a walk a few weeks back. We have a pair of Pileated woodpeckers that live in the neighborhood and I see them frequently when walking my dog, but of course I never have my camera or cannot get very close with the dog. So most weekends I spend some time by myself looking for the Pileated...with no luck to date.
On this day, the sky had turned overcast and the background was gray and muted. I came across this Downy woodpecker and followed him for ten minutes as he flew from tree-to-tree looking for food. At times I was able to get within ten feet and capture some descent candid images.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Downy woodpecker searching for food on a dead tree
Blue Jay feeding
Typically one or two Blue Jays visit and bully the other birds. Shooting on this morning, there were a large number of Blue Jays visiting facing off with not only the other birds, but themselves.
These images of the Blue Jays were captured using the Canon 7D Mark II with the Canon EF 100-400MM F/4.5-5.6L IS USM and the CamRanger on a tripod.
What I love about the CamRanger is that I can adjust the focus, F-stop, and, trigger the shutter from my iPad or iPhone while sitting at the kitchen table drinking my morning coffee. The downside is that the camera is static, so if the birds decide to go to another location, rather than the one I've setup to shoot, then there is not much I can do. Inevitably after 30 minutes of no activity, I'll move the camera only to have a bird land where I was aiming 5 minutes before.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Blue Jay lands on the feeder.
Blue Jay in sunlight
Photographed on the same day as the Blue Jays in the previous post, these male Northern Cardinals were kind enough to stop by while I was testing my new CamRanger wireless controller.
Not certain if it is because of the lack of snow-cover here in the New York Capital Region which has left plenty of food for the birds in the woods, but Northern Cardinal sightings have been scarce so far this Winter. These were the first I've seen in weeks, which is unusual.
All images photographed with the Canon 7D Mark II and Canon EF 100-400 F/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens on a tripod using the CamRanger wireless controller as a trigger and post processed in Adobe Lightroom CC.
Have a great day!
February in the Capital District has been punctuated with bouts of cold stormy weather interspersed with days of unseasonably warm weather that melts our snow pack. The birds have been arriving in large groups or none at all. On this day, over a half dozen Northern Cardinals visited within ten minutes then moved on.
The weather has been cold and wet the last several weeks. I have been catching up on post-processing of January photos. Above is a close-up portrait of a female Northern Cardinal in a light snow.
I have added a new tool to my photo bag; the CamRanger wireless camera controller. While we have been mostly without snow this Winter in the New York Capital Region, the temperatures have been seasonal nonetheless. With the CamRanger, the camera can be placed outdoors within 150 - 300 feet of my location indoors, and then I can shoot from the comfort of my sofa using either the iPad or iPhone.
The images here were my first attempt at using the CamRanger. Photographed with the Canon 7D Mark II and the Canon EF 100-400 F/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens, the images here were all shot off of a tripod and remotely triggered with the CamRanger.
Thanks for stopping by today!
It has been dark and gloomy day in the Capital District. While working on the year-end clean-up of my Lightroom catalog I came across an image of some flowers in the mid-day Summer sun that I thought would work well as a background to one of my winter bird photos and add some color and warmth to the day. Above is the result of some quick editing.
I have been seeing a lot of woodpecker sign this Spring and every once in awhile I spook the Pileated Woodpeckers while walking the dog...there is always two. On this late sunny afternoon in early April, my son happened to notice that we had a visitor on the tree stump in the backyard. I managed to grab the camera and start taking a few photos through the glass window in our backdoor.
Capital District, however the sunlight is making it feel warmer than it is and and the mood is not as gray and glum. Spring is just around the corner!
Another week in the NorthEast and another Nor'Easter providing the white winter background well into March. On this weekend in early March we had a number of House Finch visiting.
Capital District, however the sunlight is making it feel warmer than it is and and the mood is not as gray and glum. Spring is just around the corner!