Although these tiny birds flutter through the space between the black walnut tree and the feeders on my patio like butterflies on speed, siskins are not immune to the effects of the earth’s gravity.
Room for one more?
Of course! Always room for one more. Pull up a perch!
Are you sure – it looks pretty crowded…
Incoming!!
Crash! Spill! Flutter! Back to the tree until the paparazzi puts things back in order.
Last week’s just past full moon – I’m over the moon about the response to the eff stop.
I don’t typically write posts about my blog, I kinda prefer to write about photography or to at least put images into some type of context. I hope you’ll forgive me this one time, and I’ll do my best to make this post at least partly about images and context.
A rose by any other name…It’s been sweet getting to know so many of you through the blogosphere.
I wrote my first post on this blog on May 20th of last year. I had just come home from an epic vacation and had tons of photos. I thought it was the perfect time to start a blog, I only opened a WordPress account to follow my brother’s blog and he kept leaving me spam-like comments on my empty blog, so I thought if I wrote something I would at least have one reader. I thought it would be fun to share photos and a bit of humor with him in the format he was communicating in. The next day I wrote my second post with an eye towards complete silliness. I had read no tutorials and had not even read any blogs except for my brother’s – heck, I didn’t even know what the Reader was. I did everything wrong. I used too many tags, I didn’t check my spelling, I used over 50 photos – in retrospect that post was a mess. About an hour later I got a nice email from WordPress about my post being “pressed” or something, how nice of them to let me know my post was live. I had no idea what that email was, I tossed it. I went to work the next day and casually commented to a coworker at lunch that I was getting a lot of email from my blog – how cool, I had heard from my brother that the WordPress platform was easier to connect on – it must be working. I noticed a lot of the comments offered congrats, how friendly – something about Freshly Pressed or FP’d, so I sent my brother a text:
I clearly was clueless.
After texting Max, I googled Freshly Pressed and found this – there’s my photograph of a yonng elk in the top right corner:
Ahhhh – so that’s what all the fuss was about.
That day I had over 2000 hits – on a blog that was 2 days old. Of course I did nothing right at this point either. I was a bit shy about replying to comments. I accidentally replied to spam and not to real people – I was moderating a dozen comments at a time without even knowing what “moderating” was. I should have had the courtesy to reply to every comment, I was a bit reserved about entering into conversations – I didn’t really know what to say. I was afraid to empty my email in-box for fear of losing something I was supposed to keep up with. My post stayed on that front page for over a week. It was a wild ride.
I’ve been overwhelmed by my instant audience for my work – I appreciate you all.
Over the next few weeks I read a lot about how to manage a blog and have always wished I had done a better job of it from the start, by now I was embarrassed to reply (silly, I know) If I failed to respond to you, and you stuck around, I really appreciate it. I was a complete novice. I would be another month and another text conversation with my brother before I was keyed in to what the Reader was – it was only then that I really began to interact with other blogs. Another month passed before I wrote an “About” page.
This is my shy pup, Kirby. He’s timid about new things, a lot like me at the start of this process.
A little over 140 posts later and I am really enjoying the interaction. I studied photography in college and have gotten more serious in the last few years. I have been diligently shooting almost every day for about the last 5 years so I have lots of images to work with and it’s been great talking about my work with you.
It’s been a treat to introduce you to people like Mary Jane – a 99-year-old hiker through this blog.
This blog has helped me to organize my work, it’s given me focus. It’s allowed me to introduce you to my amazing 99-year-old neighbor, a herd of deer, a tougher-than-nails goldfinch, and a hummingbird who enjoys the rain.
Bee-lieve me, I have enjoyed sharing my work and getting to know you.
The interaction is something I never anticipated and it has been really rewarding – it has pushed me to try new things. Last fall I read a post about NaNoWriMo, it got me thinking and it challenged me. Back in May when I pushed “publish” the first time, who would have believed that I would take on a writing challenge and that I would have 50,000 words in me? I started a second blog, The King of Isabelle Avenue, to post excerpts from my memoir on. It’s been a rich experience with just a few followers, but it has been more rewarding than I could ever have imagined.
The King of Isabelle Avenue has let me introduce you to my family and their history – this picture of a hat with a wedding in the background is a more recent part of that history.
I have gotten into a rhythm – a couple of photo posts a week and a King of Isabelle post every 10 days or so. Initially I would look at my more recent photos and see if I could find a common theme and sometimes that worked out pretty well, gradually I moved more towards shooting something with a post in mind, occasionally I did a little of both.
Photography is about more than mechanics – it’s about a point of view. I hope to find unique points of view to share with you.
More recently I have worried about keeping things fresh. I challenged myself to shoot birds last year and I have posted dozens of times on the topic. I wondered if you would tire of my obsession with cardinals. Still, my favorite posts are those that feel like serendipity – when something just comes together.
Trying new things and sharing them with you has made me a better photographer.
That happened again a couple of weeks ago. I was supposed to have a working lunch but the other party cancelled. I grabbed my keys and headed to my car to run grab some fast food. I stood in the parking lot and it hit me, I didn’t want junk food – I turned around and decided to see if I could kick out a post in the 20 minutes I had left of my lunch hour. I started to write a post I was going to call “Deer on Pine Mountain”. As I started to tell my story the title sounded stupid and boring. I took the post in a different direction and wrote this story about my encounter with an old friend on the mountain. When I hit publish I knew I had shared an experience that was special to me, if no one else. Less than an hour later I got that email – this time I did have a clue about what it meant to be Freshly Pressed.
No need to text Max this time…
The last couple of weeks have been wonderful – I have enjoyed meeting new people and have done my best to interact with everyone who took the time to comment – even if it was in another language. I saw my friend on the mountain again last night – I hope to share more stories of my white nosed friend with you as the weather warms up.
To those of you who started the conversation with me – Honie, Paula, Michelle, Elyse, Jackie, and Diana – you got me going, you found me before I figured out how to find you, you showed me the ropes. Thanks so much! (Seriously – check out their blogs!)
The bottom line is this – I was incredibly lucky right out of the shoot. I am grateful to those who followed from that early post, and to those who have joined the party in the last few weeks – now that I have written that obligatory Freshly Pressed post, I will get back to taking photos and telling stories. I am checking out the blogs of everyone who commented or followed – it’s taking some time, but I am finding some amazing new blogs to follow.
I’ll sign off for now – there are photos out there to be taken – this shutterbug is ready for another adventure!
I have often wondered about the color differences of a female and a male cardinal. He’s so very flashy and red, he has that black mask and intense expression, he’s showy and casts an air of bravado – she does not. She practically blends into the background. Maybe it’s the lack of eyeliner, but she has a sweet face that seems mostly serene and happy. She almost disappears at times…
If I hold very still, no one will spot me…
Except for this ridiculous orange beak, I’m nearly invisible…
I see that the human has placed some fruit and sunflower seeds on that platter – so so tempting…
But if I move a muscle then she might spot me…
Even so, what harm could it do? I’m pretty hungry…
Dang – she’s already got eyes on me, still I’m staying put. I wonder if she delivers.
Don’t you hate it when you just can’t find something? Your car keys? Your cell phone? Your stalker?
Where’d she go? She’s not down there…
She’s not back there. Where the heck is she?
There she is! I think I’m gonna have to get a restraining order.
Spring is showing its face at the newly remodeled Stonehouse Buffet and Condos. Potential new tenants are stopping by daily to check out the facilities. The Bluebirds of Happiness are considering moving in…
Mr. Happiness takes a look around…
“This looks promising – I bet we can find something move in ready.”
Mrs. Happiness is skeptical…
“I’m not moving into that tin roofed shack. Better find something soon – I’ve already started nesting.”
Mr. Happiness reassures his mate…
“No dear, not that place. I don’t want our children raised in an old oil can. I’m talking about the cedar condo down the block.”
Mr. Happiness checks things out…
“Nice front porch…”
Mr. Happiness inspects the roof…
“A brand new roof…”
Mr. Happiness beckons the Mrs.
“I think you should come check this one out…”
Mrs. Happiness takes a look inside…
“Wow – this place is turn-key – move in ready!”
Mr. Happiness moves in the furniture…
“Where do you want me to put the couch?”
Mrs. Happiness rearranges the furniture…
“Move it over on the other side of the fireplace – no, not in front of the TV! A little more to the left, no the right – can’t you get anything right? The cable guy is going to be here any minute.”
Mr. Happiness takes a break…
“Next time we’re hiring a mover…”
Mrs. Happiness is finally happy with the living room…
“I think we are going to be very happy here…”
Mr. Happiness has one concern…
“I think we will be too – as long as we don’t have to deal with that nosy landlord!”
Sometimes you just have to improvise.
This week I had to give in and mail my beloved bird lens back to the manufacturer for repair. I considered renting one for a couple of weeks but decided that I should just try some close shooting, that this was the best time to mail it off. I could make due and try other things, at least it would be in good condition for springtime.
Wednesday we had a weather event, an ice storm. Someone online called it “slain” – a mix of sleet, hail, and freezing rain – it created about an inch of ice at my place infused with these marble sized beads.
The woods were like a layer of ice, topped with hail, and dusted with leaves from the winds.
I was prepared for the storm. I made room in the garage for the Jeep, I made chicken and noodles and I stacked about a rick of firewood inside the living room. I had my Carharts out and was ready for whatever came my way. By midnight there was thunder, lightning, sleet, and hail – all at once – the sound on my metal roof was unlike anything I have ever heard. I stoked the fire and planned on working from home the next day as long as I had power.
In the morning I let the dogs out and saw the crazy frozen hail soup on every horizontal surface and noticed that the bird population had soared. They came in waves, about 30 minutes before more ice and sleet. Lots of singing and calling and ravenous eating. Here was a bird bonanza and I was going to miss it – my bird lens was somewhere in Texas on a FedEx truck.
I ran outside with my macro lens and shot the hail shot above, but thought that I was just going to have to sit this bonanza out…until I remembered an old piece of glass sitting in a box in my studio. It was a Vivitar 90-230mm zoom – manual focus. I bought it from a friend who was clearing out some of his dad’s photo equipment. I bought some nice glass from him, but this was in the not-so-nice category. I had seen this same lens on eBay for as low as $29 – not much to write home about, but it was a zoom. I had never attempted to shoot any wildlife without any autofocus or image stabilization, but with those birds out there in those numbers I just had to try.
I found that the birds were having to do a bit of improvising of their own…
Sometimes you have to risk a falling icicle for a good meal…
Sometimes an empty feeder can still be a shelter from the storm…
Sometimes you have to try new things…
Sometimes when you slide off the tree trunk you need to hang onto a rope…
Sometimes it’s too cold for worms…
So you have to try seeds…
Sometimes you have to attack a problem from a different angle…
Sometimes you have to try a new technique…
Sometimes you have to put on your yellow puffy coat…
And sometimes you have to put on your white puffy coat…
Sometimes you have to quit worrying about having your own private table…
And show a little attitude even if you’re eating off the ground…
Sometimes you wish you had warm slippers…
And sometimes you would do better with ice skates…
Is it just me or do her eyebrows look painted on like Lucille Ball’s?
Sometimes you need to walk like a penguin to keep from slipping…
Sometimes you get your balance and stand proud…
Sometimes all you can do is hang on tight even though you are sliding…
Sometimes all you can do is look up…
And up…
And up…
And over…
Sometimes the answer is just below the surface…
Sometimes you just need a place to take cover…
After a storm like this, the best place to be is cozy and at home.
The verdict – focusing was challenging but not impossible. The lens is not as bright as a modern one, but not bad for 35 years old. It has haze inside the lens and that may account for the lack of brightness. The pictures are sharper than I thought they would be, but there is a grainy quality to them, they remind me of film. There is some chromatic aberration – I plan to try some shots in better light this weekend to see if I can get better results.
Tech Specs:
All shots were shot between f4.5-6 / 300-400 / ISO 2000 or lower.
I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record. I’m a huge advocate of taking your camera with you…everywhere.
I drag mine through airports, take it on business trips, pack it into work everyday, and throw it in the jeep when I head to the grocery store. You just never know when you might get lucky and get a shot that teaches you something that you never knew.
You might learn that…
…There’s something hiding in the tall grass…
…Marmots have buck teeth…
…Some chickens can bend metal with just the power of their minds…
…Prairie dogs love to play tiny green harmonicas…
…African parrots not only copy voices, they do movie impressions too – this Linda Blair from the Exorcist…
…Woodpeckers have really long tongues…
…Hummingbird tongues are even longer…
…Squirrels like to sit on tiny benches…
…Canaries can be wistful…
…Deer can be kind if vain…
…Titmice like to hang out…
…Someone is watching you…
…Chickadees can be intimidating…
It’s great to tell stories about the wonderful things you see every day, but a picture says so much better!
Good morning, my little Chickadees, the Bird Buffet at the Stone House will be open daily throughout the winter, but make sure to stop by for our award winning Sunday Brunch!
Dead tree trunks packed with suet for all our nuthatch…
and woodpecker friends…
On sunny days be sure to swing by and check out our all new winter menu…
Wintering goldfinches, we are stocked up with fresh top quality Niger seed…
Titmice, come prepared to feast on the finest black oil sunflower seeds…
And dine at our special platter feeder designed to help you forget about those fickle buntings who left you to spend the winter in Mexico…
No need to worry about squirrels at this buffet, Velcro is standing by to dispatch any rodents. Nothing will spoil your dining experience at the buffet…
As always, we welcome cardinals, even if they are thankless snobs who lurk until we close for the night.
4P5JS7W8AGS6
A question – how many goldfinches can you fit on a feeder?
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
I bet a few more would fit if only the feeder were fuller.
Woodpeckers are shy. This is a red-bellied woodpecker who hangs out in my yard. My suet feeders were up for over 3 months before he dared get close. Here he sits on top of my pergola, deciding whether or not to go for the feeder
He stayed up there for about 30 minutes checking to see if it was safe. He did this several times before he decided it was safe to try out the suet.
Eventually his appetite overcame his fear and he made the leap. It was clear right away that he was too much bird for a feeder like this.
I’ve built him a feeder out of an old dead cedar tree – I have seen him using it, but haven’t managed to catch him with my camera – yet. I drilled 1 1/4″ holes into the log and filled the holes with suet. The little guy loves it, its like his own personal suet tree.
By far his favorite place is my black walnut tree just off my patio. He paces along the limbs, scouting the feeders and tapping on the old tree.
He has a distinctive call, it’s really more of a cry. It sounds mournful, sad – in contrast to his chipper face.
I can hear him in the woods near the house. He flies in long sweeping arcs from tree to tree.
I hear his tap and I know he’s back.
the eff stop 