All American

Boy did this guy pose today! I feel fortunate to get these images of this young adult Bale Eagle. Just sitting atop a power pole, letting me grab quite a few shots. I was in the car, didn't get out as I didn't want to startle him into flight, braced on the window frame. No, not the highest of image quality, but I am still amazed at how well the Sigma 150-500 does do. The real cool part for me is how rarely I usually get this close to an adult. Today I actually saw 3 eagles in this area, this adult and 2 yearlings. There must be a good nesting area close by. I was actually on the way to see if the Egret was still at the lake and it seems not. I like both croppings, but I don't care for the power pole in the second image. Is that ok? What do you think? What I love about the second image is how he appears to be looking right through the lens at me.

Visit Midweek Blues for more of the blues!

Visit Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos!

Visit World Bird Wednesday for more flighty fotos!

Egret #2

Another version of the egret of a week ago. Not the best image quality but I like the pose and reflection he is giving me.

Visit Scenic Sunday for more scenic photography!

Visit Weekend Reflections for more reflective photography!

Visit Camera Critters for more critterific photography!

Into the Sunrise

More geese, another location, another day. This time though the clouds look like a painting naturally. I may have helped a little, but the colors were awesome this fine morning.

Visit SkyWatch Friday for more photos of above!

Painted Geese

No, not a painting, but an image of geese over an outcropping of trees. It took a lot of patience to get this shot with the geese as the sky was mostly clear of birds though we could hear them in the distance. Fortunately for me (unfortunate for the geese) hunters scared them up from a few miles away and they flew over the wildlife refuge I was at.

The image has been heavily processed in Topaz Adjust and Photoshop. I had no idea of how I would process this image but thought it would be good to play with Topaz with. I'm still experimenting with that software and I really like what it can do.

Visit Watery Wednesday for more wet photos!

Visit Midweek Blues for more of the blues!

Visit Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos!

Visit World Bird Wednesday for more flighty fotos!

Heron on the Surf

I forgot about this image and found it while looking for something else. This Blue Heron was searching for lunch during low tide at Seal Rocks on the Oregon coast. I was really surprised how long he stayed around and posed and the first time I had seen a heron searching for food in salt water. Guess I should not have been surprised as it all eats! :-)

Visit Camera Critters for more critterific photography!

Visit Straight Out Of the Camera for more untouched photos!

Reflections of a Lake

A few days ago I showed a couple images of an eagle. Well, in the stand of trees to the right is where he was. It was a stretch and this is a little misleading as it was taken with a fisheye lens. :-)

Visit Scenic Sunday for more scenic photography!

Visit Weekend Reflections for more reflective photography!

HighRise

An interesting grab shot while driving in the city. My wife was driving and I was clicking. This was my favorite.

Visit Sepia Scenes for more photos like this!

Young Bald Eagle

So, this young Bald Eagle was taking a break from hunting. I must admit, without this lens, the new 150-500, I would not have been able to get this image. The eagle was a good 150 yards away and the image is heavily cropped, but it works.

Funny, my brother and I were out taking photos and at this area we were alone for quite a while. Coincidentally, just before the eagle shows up so did about 6 other cars, cameras ready. Someone calls out "It's an eagle" and we all turn and do our best to capture him. Soon after all others were gone and we were left shooing scenic shots of the lake. (I'll post one soon of the lake.)

Visit Midweek Blues for more of the blues!

Visit Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos!

Visit World Bird Wednesday for more flighty fotos!

Power of 2 sources

We had a couple awesome sunrises this past week. I felt fortunate to record one.

I felt the contrast of man v.s. nature in this image with all the color was very moving.

Visit OurWorld for more OurWorld Tuesday photos!

Ankeny Refuge Geese

Thousands of geese, hundreds of ducks, 6 swans. 5 egrets, 3 hawks 1 blue heron and an eagle. I didn't get photos of them all and of the ones that I did get many are not usable. I need a LOT more practice with my new lens and tripod lens mount. It is a great setup but we cannot expect miracles on the first real outing! :-)

Visit Camera Critters for more critterific photography!

Visit Straight Out Of the Camera for more untouched photos!

Sad & Lost

I found these poor lost shoes on the beach, lost by their owner. I thought they simply looked lost, lost their way and now they are sad they cannot find their child.

Visit The Weekend in Black & White for more monochrome photos!

Just a Moon

I have posted moon shots before, but the quality has stepped up with the new lens. It's always nice to play a little......

Visit SkyWatch Friday for more photos of above!

Egret #1

Here is the first of a few I captured with my *new* 150-500 "bird" lens, hand held. It is an egret on the bank of the lake that I frequent (see previous post). The bird was there on the way in to school and I tried to capture him but no luck. Still here on the way home and I like this better. Just wish I could get closer for more detail. These guys don't take kindly to strangers however. Pretty amazing morning though. There was a bald eagle just sitting on a power pole and geese flying into the sunrise.

I did a bit of Photoshop and Topaz Adjust on this just to give it a little depth, color and pop. May be too much, maybe not. Let me know! Mouse over the egret to see a pretty much untouched (sharpened & cropped) version. Tutorial at right.



Visit Watery Wednesday for more wet photos!

Visit Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos!

Visit World Bird Wednesday for more flighty fotos!

Feed the Fire

Throwing another log onto the fire of a steam driven tractor......

Iced Lake

I have photographed this lake a few times and I thought this was interesting: Completely frozen over. Very this ice and nothing like others go through every winter. Unique for around here. Hand held HDR and monochrome conversion in Topaz Adjust.