Photos and Projects

  Decided to do post processing on the Pileated image from Dec 26th.  I was aiming for a portrait crop that would zoom in more closely around the bird but also show his claws and more of the tree.  I also lightened the shadows by about 20% in Photo Elements to reveal a little more detail in him.  I am beginning to like the taller portrait aspect ratios. f6.3, 1/80s, ISO 100

  There were so many birds out yesterday (Dec 26th) around 3:00 pm.  There were several Pileated Woodpeckers and an army of Robins about.  Went back out today and saw the Giant Blue Heron as well.  Not since Summer when the Hummingbirds were around have I seen so much activity.

  Christmas Eve at the Prairie Went for a walk at the prairie and then the gardens.  Was lucky enough to get some good shots of a pair of Cardinals in the woods along the canal.  Didn't think they turned out well until I got home to take a closer look.  Thought of mom and grandma since that was their favorite bird.  Ironic that I was able to get a good view of a male and a female.  Getting a good angle at just one is rare.  They don't perch long and are constantly moving in the wild. f6.3, 1/80s, ISO 800 f6.3, 1/125s, ISO 800 f6.3, 1/125s, ISO 2500 f6, 1/60s, ISO 100

  We were in Alexandria last night watching the Alexandria High School Band's Christmas concert which was great. Jack played first chair trumpet and did a wonderful job. The Charlie Brown Christmas theme was well done and also enjoyed the traditional songs they played as well. Takes a lot of focus and dedication to be able to play these songs (none of them are easy) as well as they did. Jack is turning into a great trumpet player. Alexandria High School Band

  The 2021 Christmas performance by the Alexandria Community Band . So impressive that the band has been performing high quality live music for the past 34 years. The first few rows were mercifully left empty due to Dad's front trumpet section. Good turnout and they all sounded great!!! Alexandria Community Band

  On a walk yesterday with the D7100 and saw a  Woodpecker .  From the description it is either a Downy or Hairy which are very difficult to tell apart.  This one looks like the Hairy Woodpecker due to the larger beak.  He was really going to town on whatever was hiding in that tree. 1/640s, ISO 6400, f6.3 1/1000s, ISO 6400, f6.3 1/1000s, ISO 6400, f6.3

  Filled up both backyard bird feeders.  I've heard the extra food helps birds stay fed and warm during the Winter.  Today's high was only 38 degF, tonight's low will be 20.  There was a lot of bird activity today.  I enjoyed the expressions on this Cardinal which was hard to see while taking the photo because it was almost dark outside.  Even at a shutter speed 1/60s, the D7100 and the Tamron 400 did a pretty good job freezing the motion.  Was just too dark when I took these to get a great result but they turned out pretty well. 1/60s, 6400, f6.3 1/60s, 6400, f6.3 1/60s, 6400, f6.3 1/60s, 6400, f6.3

  I had been looking at the Nikon D7000 camera series for the past several months, in particular, for its ability to add an additional 1.3x crop factor onto the already 1.5 crop factor of the sensor.  This effectively turns the 400mm lens into a 780mm focal length.  This additional focal length should speed up the workflow, reduce the need for cropping in post-processing and magnify the images in the back display of the camera.  This camera series can also auto focus more of the old legacy Nikon lenses than my current d5300.  Some of those old legacy lenses have legendary performance which you can pick up for a fraction of the cost of the new lenses today.  Yesterday, I visited Roberts Camera downtown and they happened to have a D7100 in excellent condition so I happily purchased it. This morning's walk down to the Butler Prairie was the first time using the D7100 outside and I was very impressed with the operation and the images from the camera already.  I really liked the additio

  Very fortunate on a walk this particular morning.  I took the Nikon d5300 with my new Tamron 18-400mm super zoom lens.  Both paired really well and the images I have been getting are great both indoors and out.  Since the d5300 has a 1.5x crop sensor, the effective focal length of this Tamron lens converts to 27-600mm which really helps in wildlife photography since animals and birds keep their distance. The first stop was the Butler Prairie around 8:30 am.  Was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of goldfinches flying around and staying within this habitat this late in the year.  Looks like they will be here through the Winter which is going to be great for photography in this area throughout all seasons.  Can't wait for the snow! The second stop was the Butler Botanical Gardens and to my amazement I happened to see a pair of Hawks swooping down hunting for prey and I was able to capture some really great photos of each of them perched in their respective trees.  They were very h

  Below are some Harley lunch time photos from yesterday.  She has been such a good cat already.   The Gaze Hunger Games Communicator Curious Dreamer Relaxed The Portrait