House Sparrow on a Twig.....

Here we go....the first of what I hope is many bird shots of the season. In the past, I have not done much in the way of nature photography. It is not because I do not enjoy nature, because the opposite is true. It is just that circumstances have not permitted me to spend much time out in the wild. So I put up a little bird feeding station just off my back deck, and I can even shoot from inside on days that I find too cold, or if I am involved in other chores about the house, and I keep my camera handy to get a fast "grab shot", which indeed this one was. It was taken with my 500mm mirror lens on my crop sensor Sony a77ll camera. This would give an effect similar to 750mm I am told. The bird is about 20 feet away, and it is hard to get a sharp image of these little birds, as they constantly jump and fly about. So it is mostly having the camera on high speed frames per second, in this case 12/sec. and then it is a matter of "spray and pray" shooting. It is good for the ego to try and shoot these little creatures, because your "keeper" rate will plummet when compared with other types of photography. Anyway, it was a bit of fun, and hopefully some folks will enjoy this one....Cheers!
 

Family Heirloom.....

 This little image is one that I shot a few nights ago, just to test out a little background that I had made from a couple of sheets of black foam core that I had picked up from the local Dollar Store. It also served as a test of my 90mm Macro lens that I had purchased about a year ago, and I am still getting used to using it. It had been touted as one of the sharpest lenses that you could buy, and is often used for portraiture as well. That was enough to tip me over the edge, and go for it. The tea set in this image is one of a family heirloom from my wife's little collection of tea cups etc. that she keeps in a cabinet. But I wanted to give the lens a workout, and this image was shot at f11 for 1/8 sec. with the camera on a tripod. The textures in the carnation and the doily came across very nicely, being next to the shiny porcelain tea set. The contrast between the black background and the tea set is quite stark, and I am hoping to do a similar set up using a white background for a high key effect. It will be interesting to see the difference between the two images, and which would be visually more appealing.....Cheers!

Abstract Sparrows.....

 Sooooo, December is upon us! The year really sped by quickly, and in just 3 weeks, we will have the Winter Solstice again, and then we will get to see the days lengthen, as the Sun makes it's way back from the South. As I was reading online earlier today, it appears that up North in the Muskoka's they got really clobbered with about 50 inches of snow....boy, I sure would hate to be stuck in that one on Hwy. #11 N. Here in SW Ontario, we got just a small sprinkle, and some folks are pushing the panic button already. We don't get Winter here...we get about 4 months of November, then Spring happens overnight. Anyway, I digress....This little image tonight is from a few shots that I took earlier today, or I should say yesterday, as it is well past Midnight now. When I got to playing with it a bit later tonight, I thought I would make it into an abstract of sorts. It always amazes me that I am now committing such violence to Nature shots, as when I first started in photography, I was the ultimate "purist", and wanted every image to be tack sharp, and well exposed and composed. When digital imaging came along, I felt it was the Devils curse upon photography, and it would never go far anyway....Now, all these years later, here I am, taking 2 lovely little Sparrows, and turning them into this Abstract piece of work. My in house art critic just hates this stuff, but for what ever reason, I still get a kick out of this sort of image, and when you get to be my age now, anything that gives you a mood kick is all good. No offence intended to the Nature purists.....I will post nice clean shots of birds in due time, but indulge me for now. Here's wishing everyone an enjoyable Winter season, and Christmas and New Years as well...Cheers!

Bird Feeder Station - 2024

 This is a quick shot of my bird feeding station that I set up a few days ago. Last year, the squirrels and I had an all season fight, and I tried everything to keep them off of the feeders, but after a day or so, they managed to get up the pole and dine on the bird seed. So this year, I decided to try something else beside greasing the pole with axel grease. I have to admit that I got a bit of sadistic pleasure from watching them slide back down the pole a few times, but they persisted, and eventually made it to the top again. What to do! Well, I went up to the CTC and bought a cheap plastic funnel and cut a slit down the side so that I could slide it over the pole. Then I taped it together again, and taped it to the pole just under the feeder. After filling the feeder and put the suet blocks in the cages, I waited for the birds to arrive....but the squirrels arrived first. They don't miss much.... When they would climb the pole, they made it up as far as the red funnel, and could not get past it no matter how much or hard they tried. After a few days, it appears that they have resigned themselves to dining on the seeds that the birds knock to the ground while they chow down. The red funnel actually works great, and I don't know why I did not think of this sooner. Now, I shoot birds through the back door window with my 500mm mirror lens....works great. Cheers!

Autumn's Rose From the Garden.....

 

About a week ago, I finally got around to pruning the bushes in our back yard, and in the process, was able to rescue a few blossoms that were still hanging on. It has been rather cold at night since November has arrived, and pretty soon we will be having frost which will bring the colours of the garden to a halt for another year. So I gathered a few roses, and placed them in a vase on the kitchen table. Of course, I could not resist taking a couple of quick shots of them, since flowers are one of my favourite things to photograph. Today, I set up my bird feeders for another Winter, and hopefully will be able to get some decent shots of the visitors, should the squirrels permit....they are pretty persistent creatures, we shall see what transpires.....Cheers!

Tools of the Trade.....Repost for Terri

Well, every once in a while it pays to listen to input  from those of you who are caring to visit my little blog from time to time. Terri informed me earlier today that she had difficulty making out what was in the image of my old tools that I had posted below. On top of that, my "in house art critic" agreed with her, so who am I to argue with 2 very smart women? Here is my repost of the image below, and hopefully it will be a lot easier for folks to view and enjoy somewhat. Maybe it is me who is fading into history, and not the tools so much.....at any rate, for what it is worth, here it is again. Cheers everyone.....

Tools of the Trade.....

Over the years, I have enjoyed many many DIY (do it yourself) projects that involved some fairly minor renovations, and some quite major. When I was just a boy, I had been involved in building 3 homes by the time I was 16 years old. My work life started when I was 12, and I got a job at a local BP service station, pumping gas, checking oil levels, and cleaning the windshields of customers cars. However, I always enjoyed building stuff, and renovating. This past Summer, I replaced the front verandah on our house, and by the time I was finished, I pretty much knew that this would be my last major project. From now on, someone else will have to do it. As the song goes, you gotta know when to fold 'em. So tonight I went out into my "man cave" and set up this little image that is a "parting shot" to my old tools....they helped keep me somewhat balanced financially and mentally as well over the years.....I think!! Hope you enjoy.....