Filed under: Home, Photography | Tags: Home, Hummingbirds, Learning, Photography
Ugh, I’m frustrated with my new camera (the Nikon D7100)~not really it but, rather, my slow learning curve with it. I just finally fired off a bunch of shots this afternoon but I have a lot of settings I need to change because I’m not happy with these shots.
I sort of prefer manual focus but these were all done auto focus to take advantage of the 51 points of focus that is touted in the reviews. But now I know I have some things not set optimally and have to change them.
I also shot in the 1.3x crop mode but I still further cropped in post processing so I don’t like the look of these.
Oh, well, this little guy is cute and was trying to be a good model for me. If the sun had caught his head right, you could see all the red but it didn’t. He’s a male Anna’s hummingbird, I believe. You can catch a glimpse of red in the 3rd photo and a little bit on the top of his head below.
So, it’s back to reading more and messing with the bazillion settings again. I need a one-on-one coaching session.
“Tell us what’s happening.”
“More tuna for me?”
“Are we gonna have a catnip party?”
No…the buzz is…much as I love my trusty Nikon D80, I’ve now added a Nikon D7100 to my gear lineup. My D80 will be my backup body so I don’t have to change lenses much and so that Tony will have a camera to play with when we go on shoots. The higher resolution and 1.3x crop feature will, hopefully, allow me to have closer, sharper wildlife shots. I’m totally impressed with the reviews and totally overwhelmed with all the features. I spent some time this weekend doing online tutorials and I still feel confused and lost. Oh, well, once I actually start shooting, maybe it will become less muddled…hopefully. So far, I haven’t been able to bring myself to use it…
“Oh, that’s the buzz…big deal.”
Filed under: Arizona, Art, Photography, The Route to Work | Tags: Arizona, Art, Flora, Paradise Valley, Parks, Photography
It was the first sunny day after several uncharacteristically gloomy Arizona days so I made a stop on my way home from work. Everything was clean and fresh from the rain and this little oasis glowed golden in the setting sun.
This is a park in honor of a famous Arizona photographer…with many more claims to fame…
In Paradise Valley, AZ…his former home overlooks this memorial…sculpture by Joe Beeler.
Filed under: Arizona, Blogging, Home, Photography | Tags: Arizona, Blogging, Home, Hummingbirds, Learning, Photoblogging, Photography, Verdins
A short story, told mostly in pictures…
A cheery little hummer enjoys some sweet nectar and happily flits around.
Until…
The bossy hummer is happy again.
This is what I love about blogging~that I feel compelled to take more photos than I normally would, pay more attention to my surroundings than I normally would, and then research what I’ve found. I now know a lot more about various butterflies, birds, flowers, animals, places, artists than I would have ever discovered if I wasn’t trying to capture them all digitally and record them here.
This previously-unknown-to-me little yellow bird is a verdin (aka yellow-headed bushtit). They are found in only 5 of the US states, all desert southwestern states: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. They’re inquisitive yet shy, only 4 inches long at the most, and one of the smallest perching songbirds in North America. They build unique, basket-like, enclosed nests (which I have yet to see). They love nectar but are not pollinators. Verdins will also visit hummingbird feeders, sometimes using the feeding holes, but more often probing small cracks or openings around the feeders to collect dried sugar water. They also like pomegranate trees and we have one. Read more about these pretty creatures here.
Filed under: Home, Photography | Tags: Butterflies, Flora, Home, Hummingbirds, Photography, Photoshop
(If this isn’t animating by itself, click on it.)
I’m not that much into photo gear. I’ve mostly been shooting with the convenient and versatile 18-135mm kit lens that came with my Nikon DSLR 3 years ago and occasionally with the nice 10mm fisheye Tony got me or my old 50mm lens from my film Nikon (that doesn’t meter). But, the other day, I stopped into the Ritz Camera close to my house (all the Ritz’s are going out of business 
) and got a deal on a 55-200mm Nikon VR (Vibration Reduction) lens.
I am into special effects, though, so forgive some of the possibly silly ones you will see here. I was just going to do a couple but it got out of control.
The new lens did make it a lot easier to sneak up on my little hummer friends from the cover of a nearby tree.
Strawberry Fields Forever…
I was at the nursery buying some pots and flowers yesterday and saw this cool plant. I don’t know what it is but these 2 guys that work there were riding around in a cart and started singing Strawberry Fields Forever when they saw me taking the photo.*
Okay, this one above may be the hokiest of the special effects here but I kinda like it. It’s a rare bird.
And, lastly, this tiny butterfly was no more than 1/2 an inch. Although 200mm was still not close enough to get a good shot, I wouldn’t have even attempted it with my 135mm. I can’t ID this butterfly, though…can you?
*Noelle, the AZ Plant Lady identified the strawberry fields as red gomphrena. Apparently they really are nicknamed Strawberry Fields.
