the turkeys came back this morning
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
more from Lake Superior
Canon Xti 70mm f/4 1/4000 ISO: 200
Canon Xti 400mm f/8 1/500 ISO: 200
Friday, August 28, 2009
remote control for your DSLR
Think of the possibilities for unusual and great photos if you did not have to hold your camera but could operate it with your iPhone or iTouch and even look through the viewfinder (selected models) from some distance. I have been aware of this program for a while, but the newly released version has me excited. Take a look at Moose Peterson's review here and the developers site here.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
the fear of failure
Those of us who enjoy photography are often timid when it comes to taking pictures. What are we afraid of? Is it failure? You may want to read this commentary by Scott Bourne.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Lake Superior
Photo by Anna Canon XTi 70mm f/4 1/400 ISO: 200
Earlier this month we spent a few days at Bob's Cabins on Lake Superior (4 mi. south of Two Harbors, MN). It has been a family tradition for us to take the grandkids there. Even though Anna is a teenager and there are no amenities at Bob's, they still enjoy throwing rocks in the Lake.
Canon XTi 70mm f/2.8 1/3200 ISO: 100
There always seem to be some kayakers staying at Bob's Cabins.
Canon XTi 200mm f/2.8 1/4000 ISO: 200
Mergansers maybe? I saw very few birds (not even gulls) at close range during these few days on the Lake.
Canon XTi 200mm f/4 1/500 ISO: 100
Canon XTi 70mm f/2.8 1/4000 ISO: 200
Perhaps one reason for the few birds near the shore. What's the point of these machines?
Even the crow did not appreciate the jet ski.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
the rest from Springbrook
Canon XTi 300mm f/4 1/1600 ISO: 200
Canon XTi 300mm f/4 1/4000 ISO: 200
Canon 20D 400mm+1.4x f/8 1/250 ISO: 200
Canon 20D 400mm+1.4x f/8 1/250 ISO: 200
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Green Herons at Springbrook
Canon 20D 400mm + 1.4x f/8 1/400 ISO: 400 
Canon 20D 400mm + 1.4x f/8 1/320 ISO: 400
Canon XTi 300mm f/8 1/320 ISO: 200
Canon 20D 400mm + 1.4x f/8 1/20 ISO: 200
Friday, August 21, 2009
Springbrook visit
Canon XTi 300mm f/4 1/200 ISO: 200
I arrived after an overnight rain. Rain drops everywhere!
Canon XTi 300mm f/4 1/60 ISO: 200
Canon 20D 400mm+1.4x f/8 1/30 ISO: 400
Canon XTi 300mm f/4 1/1000 ISO: 200
Canon 20D 400+1.4x f/8 1/320 ISO: 400
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Springbrook Nature Center, Fridley, MN
During the last two weeks I visited the Springbrook Nature Center several times. I hadn't been there since spring and it was encouraging to see a number of improvements under construction, the most obvious being a boardwalk along the north boundary of the Center. Below are some iPhone photos showing the environment. Bird & flower photos to follow.
f/2.8 1/24 ISO: 70
f/2.8 1/15 ISO: 87
f/2.8 1/30 ISO: 72
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
this one may be more useful for impromptu birding
20x Wide-angle Zoom Lens (28-560mm). We'll have to wait for tests to see what the quality is like. More specifics here.
new Canon PowerShot G11
Not so much for birding, but could be a good carry-around camera for scenics, close-ups, RAW. For more info, click here.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Whooping Cranes
I registered today for another trip with Stan Tekiela. This time to a facility in central Wisconsin where young Whooping Cranes are being trained to fly behind ultra-light aircraft for their migration south to Florida. For details go to p.42 at this link. We depart for the overnight trip on September 12 -- the cost is nominal considering all that is provided.
Monday, August 17, 2009
last morning at Blue Cloud Abbey
On my last morning at the Abbey, having spent a week there, I took a short walk around one of the ponds and came upon this Red-tailed Hawk.
A few moments later it took off. I didn't know why, but should have guessed from the small song bird coming toward us -- see the out-of-focus spot near the center of the photo.
I'm sure most of you have observed this same scene -- a small bird going after a much larger raptor.
Sure enough, a few seconds later it was joined by a second, small attack-bird.
The Red-tail managed to elude and out-distance them. There must be a moral somewhere in this short scenario -- I'll leave it to you to come up with it.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
vacation
I'm off to the North Shore of Lake Superior for a few days with the grandkids. I'll be posting on Twitter & maybe some iPhone shots on this blog -- back by the weekend.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
