Common Sparrow.....

This image was quite a severe crop from the original and I was quite amazed at the detail that still remained, as I enlarged the cropped portion as seen here, to 16 x 20 inches. It was shot with my SONY a7Mk4, and a SONY 70 - 300mm lens. Over the years, I was able to acquire a fair assortment of lenses that were in excellent, but used, condition from B&H and Adorama in New York, sometimes for a quarter to a third of the new price....that was before all Hell let loose lately. Even with the currency exchange, it was still a good deal. I was amazed to find that now, used lenses and bodies are often more expensive than buying new here in Canada. So it looks like my days of shopping south of the border are pretty much done. 

Anyway, this little guy visited my feeder today, in between the swarms of Starlings, and I managed to grab a very quick shot. These little guys don't hang around too long, and you have to sort of "spray and pray" to get anything worthwhile. It takes a little getting used to, as I have always been a single shot guy at ISO 100. So, it is a bit of an adjustment for me to start using Auto ISO and Shutter Mode set to High Speed. It sure burns through many frames, and I am starting to understand why so many of my friends have to buy extra hard drives for storage. Can you imagine burning through film like that, and having to wait 10 days to 2 weeks to get the film/prints from the lab? Ouch!! Well, I am rambling on again, so have a good one. Cheers! 
 

Starling.....

This image was one that I took this afternoon, while keeping my other eye on the Olympic hockey games. Starlings are not my favourite bird that visits my feeder, as they tend to be very scrappy and push the other Juncos and Sparrows out. There seems to be a shortage of Blue Jays, and Cardinals this year, but the Downy Wood Peckers visit daily, which I enjoy. Anyway, since it was a really nice day here, I decided to shoot a little from my back deck. It didn't take me long to realize that my ability to shoot bird photos is going to need a lot of work, before I feel somewhat competent. Birds and wildlife photography requires a special set of skills, and even though I am a bit long in the tooth, it is not too late to improve in that area....so, wish me luck. Cheers!
 

P.S. Camera: SONY a7Mk4

Lens: Minolta 500mm f.8 Reflex Mirror lens.

                                                        

If Ever You Were Mine.....

This little image is a result of a new song that I recently heard. It is an Irish slow waltz, and has such a lovely tune. Of course, it is a fiddle tune, and since I do not read music, I must listen to it over and over to learn the note progressions and tune. Then I have to spend many hours trying to transfer the imbedded tune from my head, to my diatonic accordion. Sometimes that process will take me days and nights on end, and I have spent many nights with a tune keeping me awake, as it just will not stop playing in my brain.....wonderful insomnia eh? Anyway, last evening I spent a couple of hours assembling the items for this arrangement, and this is a horizontal crop of a vertical image. The original had an old Black & White photo included, and I chose not to put it on this blog to preserve a peaceful atmosphere in the tent....The violin is an inheritance from my late Father-in-Law, and he and I spent many many hours in front room sessions when we would go to visit. In case it matters to some, this tune sounds wonderful on the old button box.....Cheers!