Nature clicks #133 - Fox Sparrow
I interrupt my 2012 "Looking back" series one more time for an actual picture of another "first time" shot. The blizzard that came through last Thursday left us with about a foot of snow on the ground and this brings a lot of birds into our yard here in the woods. A heated bird bath and different bird feeders all around the house are obviously well received by the birdies. Two Fox Sparrows were among them today, a bird species that I have seen only ones before here. At that time I didn't pay much attention and thought they were young robins. Todays photo shoot made it clear, no American Robins, no Hermit Thrushs (looks also very similar) but some nice looking Fox Sparrows were feeing on the ground. This sparrow is larger and almost chubby in comparison to other sparrows and that's why I made my mistake. They spend the summer up in Canada and in the western part of the United States. Here in Iowa they are usually seen only during migration and I wonder if we will have them all winter long here. Except for the last couple nights it has not been really cold and maybe that makes them stay here (beside the good food and drinks ;-) ).
2012 – Looking back, part 6
OK, here is part 6 of my 2012 photography review. Number six indicates June, but I'm still in May with the images I show today. After Seraphine's and Andre's wedding we went for a wonderful trip to Prague, the capitol of the Czech Republic. This is only three hours away by train from my home town Bautzen. I have been there many times before in the old days (Oh boy, it always has been a Mecca for interesting experiences of art and architecture, mostly followed by endless "beer drinking nights" during my 20's and 30's. Those trips where legendary.. ;-) ). Joan hasn't been there before and so we went. Prague is a city that wasn't damaged during World War II as much as other cities in Europe. History is present by looking at any single stone in a wall or on the streets. As the avid follower of my blog knows, my main interest in photography is wildlife and landscape photography, but an opportunity like Prague, with lots of architecture, art, street, or just travel photography, can't be ignored. We loved it, including the good Bohemian beer again... ;-)
2012 – Looking back, part 5
May 2012 was a month full of joy. We were over in Germany and attended the wedding of my son André and his wonderful wife Seraphine. It was nice to see all my family gathered in one place and we had a great time. Beside that it was just a good feeling being back in my home town Bautzen. I claim that I know every single stone in the old quarter of the city by name (just kidding :-) ), because I grew up in this part of town. Joan and I enjoyed walking through the streets of this over 1000 years old city again and I will never get enough of it, especially since I live in the US where many cities look very uniform.
The first picture shows the Rathaus (city hall) and the Dome St. Petri in the background. This old church is, as far I know, the largest church in Europe that is shared by two confessions. The western part with the tower is used by the Protestant Church St. Petri and the eastern part is used by the Catholic Church.
This image shows the Nicolai tower, one of the old access gates to the city. It was part of the defense system in the old days. I have taken pictures of this tower many times before but the light did something very special for my image this time. The photo was made in the evening and light of the low sun got reflected by a house on the right hand side next to the tower (you cant see much of this house). The bouncing light illuminated the old wall and the cobble stones in the lane, which would be otherwise just in the shadow. I liked that effect and was happy to be there at the right moment.
2012 - Looking back, part 4
I had a very busy travel schedule this year and one of my business trips required my presence in Arizona. I stayed through the weekend and spent some time in the Red Rocks around Sedona. Not far from Sedona is Jerome, an old mining town, charming, and with lots of places for photography. One of them is the Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. I wrote about it in April here in the blog. Feel free to click in the archive to see more pictures about this place if you like. I couldn't be choosy about the time to be there and just had to deal with the harsh light of the Arizona sun. I did a lot of bracketing, usually between five and nine exposure steps. This one is the front porch of one of the old buildings in the ghost town. The final picture was made out of five images, each one f-stop apart, in NIK's HDR Efex Pro software. Black & white works very well for the structure of the old wood and it gives the image that nostalgic look that I like.
2012 - Looking back, part 3
March was a great month for wildlife photography this year. The mild winter with almost no snow on the ground led to an early return of many birds from the South in the Green Island Wetlands along the Mississippi. I spent almost every free minute out there watching the birds and shooting like crazy.
I had several opportunities to see the Sandhill Cranes this spring. This one here has its beak covered with mud from sticking it deep into the ground and searching for food. I still like to be a little closer to the cranes, but what you can't see is a wide water filled trench between me and the Sandhill Crane that prevented this approach. What can I say, spending time with these wonderful birds is always a treat for me and that's why this image made it into my "2012-looking back" series.
Nature clicks #132 - Tufted Titmouse
I like to interrupt my 2012 photo review for an actual post. One of my favorite birds here in Eastern Iowa is the Tufted Titmouse. They are here all year long and I have photographed them many times before. Last weekend I made a few clicks with the D300s and the Sigma 50-500 attached. I'm very happy about this image for several reasons. First, It is the closest shot I ever made of this fast moving bird, second the titmouse is backlit and that makes the picture more interesting. I don't have much experience making backlight shots but I think it turned out well. And third, I handhold the camera with the lens fully zoomed to 500 mm (equivalent to 750 mm on a FX body) and still got a sharp image. I had recently a similar experience (backlight plus very sharp photo). I really wonder if the autofocus system on the D300s can handle this situation much better because of the sharp contour that the backlight creates on the bird's chest? Let's forget all the technical talk, the most important thing was the fun watching and working with the birds in the backyard. The Tufted Titmouse had obviously a successful breeding season this year because, at least I believe, we see more of them than the years before, and that is really a good thing.
2012 - Looking back, part 2
The year comes rapidly to an end. Time to browse through this year's photo library in order to clean up, learn from all the mistakes made, and maybe to discover still some images that are worth to be shown in public. Photos are memories and it is always nice to remember the good and great moments in life. For me this is very often the time I spend behind the camera and in the great outdoors. I invite you to follow me through the year again and share some good photography moments.
The time from January through March is always the best time for shooting the magnificent Bald Eagles. They gather in big numbers near the open water at the locks and dams of the river if the Mississippi is frozen over. The mild winter in 2012 made it very pleasent to go out and look for the eagles. I got my best pictures on sunny days during the late afternoon, when the light was warm and not so harsh. However, I went out even on days with a gray overcast. I knew I would not always come home with a good picture, but I liked to study the behavior of the eagles and to predict their movements while hunting for fish. I believe it is simple, if you can handle tracking the bird in flight and keeping it in focus on a day with bad light, it is much easier to get the good shots on those days when the light is just right. We don't know yet how cold this winter will become, but I can't wait to look into a Bald Eagle's eye again...
2012 - Looking back, part 1
The year comes rapidly to an end. Time to browse through this year's photo library in order to clean up, learn from all the mistakes made, and maybe to discover still some images that are worth to be shown in public. Photos are memories and it is always nice to remember the good and great moments in life. For me this is very often the time I spend behind the camera and in the great outdoors. I invite you to follow me through the year again and share some good photography moments.
The last winter was the mildest one I have seen here in Iowa yet. This picture of a Hairy Woodpecker in a snowstorm was made January 20, 2012, and was really not typical for this year. For a photo like this we don't have to go very far. The birds come in big numbers to the feeders we have placed around the house. Exposure times between 1/90s and 1/30s make the dynamic of the drifting snow visible and the white stuff on the ground works like a giant reflector and throws some light from underneath.
The Dark-eyed Juncos are not always easy to photograph. Their eyes often blend into their dark heads and in a high contrast scene you hardly can see them. This was no problem in the low light situation of this snowstorm.
More to come, stay tuned...
Nature clicks #131 - Northern Flicker
During the eight years we live now above the Little Maquoketa Valley north of Dubuque, Iowa we have counted six different species of woodpeckers here in the woods around our house. Among them are the Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and the huge Pileated Woodpecker. We can see them all year around in the neighborhood. Only ones so far I have seen a Red-headed Woodpecker here but they are not uncommon in Eastern Iowa. The last of the bunch is the Northern Flicker. We see them mostly during late winter or early spring when they quite often sit on the ground and dig with their beak for insects or seeds.
While looking out for the Brown Creeper yesterday I suddenly saw a Northern Flicker fly to a nearby tree. It was sitting there only for a few seconds, but long enough to focus and make a few clicks of this wonderful bird. I hope you enjoy, thank you for stopping here in my blog and have a great weekend!