Nikon Wednesday 2015: #15

[richard_]

<p>35/2.8, tri-x 400</p><div></div>

[ShunCheung]

<p>This Allen's Hummingbird has it easy. She is feeding standing up.</p><div></div>

[sjmurray]

<p>Another graddaughter shot. The snow has finally melted here in MN. The other day my daughter took two year old Iris outside and she looked around at the bare ground and said: "where's winter?""</p><div></div>

[hanappa]

<p>It is springtime in Texas, after what has to be the longest winter in the nearly two decades since I have been down here (though we didn't get the snow they got up north, so I really cannot complain). The birds are out and amorous. The first two below are the Red-Winged Blackbird, taken with the big Tamron 150-600 on the D800, the last is a scissor-tailed flycatcher, which showed itself on the sideline of a wedding. Just the walk-around 28-300 on for that. Wish I had the bigger lens at the time. When I travel to Australia, I am jealous of the beautiful and brightly colored birds they have, but then I come home, and remember we still have some attractive, if a bit less ostentatious, birds right here. <br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18005172-lg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /><br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18005173-lg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /></p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18005174-lg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="420" /></p>

 

[phillips]

<p>Old Mission Santa Barbara-Easter Vigil</p><div></div>

[Barry Clemmons Photography]

<p>The dogwoods have been in bloom here for the past week, along with plenty of rain.</p><div></div>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>I'm going to follow Lex' take on fruit.... some fruit of a little labour. Well, actually just playing with a pair of new flashes I got recently.... but it stars a tiny fruit of a tiny bit of labour.</p><div></div>

[lex_jenkins]

<blockquote>

<p>"When I travel to Australia, I am jealous of the beautiful and brightly colored birds they have, but then I come home, and remember we still have some attractive, if a bit less ostentatious, birds right here. "</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yup, Rodger, while I'm not much of a bird photographer (my longest lens is only 200mm now, having sold my 300 for lack of use), I do enjoy the springtime antics of grackles, and the evening murmurations of various birds, including pigeons. In the right light grackles are quite striking, with an iridescent sheen, and their penetrating green eyes.<br>

<br>

And many Texas birds are quite fearless so it's easy to get reasonably close shots of mockingbirds, cardinals, cedar waxwings, jays, etc. And if we get too close to their nests, mockingbirds will swoop our heads, making it even easier to get closeup photos - if your reflexes are quick enough.<br>

<br>

If you get just outside the urban areas you'll begin to see lots of raptors, including one I've dubbed the Great Speckled Hood Swooper. That's actually somewhat close to the hawk's real name, but it has a penchant for swooping in uncomfortably close to automobile hoods in the evening. I've never hit one but always worry that I might.<br>

<br>

The lake fronts and every tiny bit of marsh, wetland or even stagnant puddles will have some water fowl: egrets (which are often found around cattle here too); herons, cranes.<br>

<br>

Lots of turkey buzzards too, which are simultaneously colorful and ugly. They hover close enough for good photos with only modest telephotos.<br>

<br>

Occasionally I see feral parakeets of various types, but I suppose our climate isn't quite suited to allow them to flourish into larger groups as they do in Australia and elsewhere. One of my friends who lives in Irving has photographed some small groups of feral parakeets in her neighborhood, just using a teensy sensor Sony P&S.<br>

<br>

If I was to get slightly more serious about bird photography I'd probably consider a longer lens for my Nikon V1, which is very quick and makes good use of magnification with lenses that are easily handholdable.</p>

<hr />

<p>*<img title="Grackle springtime turf wars - Kung Fu Fighting!" src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/7154078-sm.jpg" alt="Grackle springtime turf wars - Kung Fu Fighting!" width="138" height="199" border="0" /><img title="Grackle springtime turf wars - My Crane Style beats your Fan Style." src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/7158020-sm.jpg" alt="Grackle springtime turf wars - My Crane Style beats your Fan Style." width="181" height="199" border="0" /><img title="Grackle springtime turf wars - Dive!" src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/7158023-sm.jpg" alt="Grackle springtime turf wars - Dive!" width="142" height="200" border="0" /><br>

Springtime grackle mating ritual photos from around 2008, taken in my backyard<br>

with Nikon D2H and 300/4.5 AI ED Nikkor. A very good lens but I wasn't using it much<br>

and sold it a couple of years ago.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>No fruit here yet, not even blossom. The insects have woken up though. My afternoon nap in the garden was disturbed by a pesky hoverfly that kept buzzing in my ear - so I shot it! With the D800, that is. Lens was a 180mm f/2.8 ED AF-Nikkor. The fly was far too small in the frame for the AF to latch onto, so it became a manual focus challenge. Below are two tiny crops stitched together of the pest. Ugly brute isn't it?</p><div></div>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Another afternoon visitor to the garden was a robin, investigating what my rake had turned up on the lawn.</p><div></div>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Another view of the robin.</p><div></div>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>There was an old farmer a little way away on a back road, who lived in a rather shabby old house, and kept goats and ducks and chickens. He was always out in the yard and always friendly. He disappeared, probably died, but someone cleaned up a little and keeps the place tidy.</p><div></div>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>And I'm sure he'd be happy to see how well the goats are being looked after too.</p><div></div>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>the wood louse sits on a splinter<br>

and sings to the rising sap<br>

aint it awful how winter<br>

lingers in springtimes lap</p>

<p>(archy the cockroach)</p><div></div>

[mark45831]

<p> Playing around with some IR</p><div></div>

[vrankin]

<p>These daffodils and smaller blue flowers I can't identify were growing in a ditch yesterday. It's nice to see life springing up again.</p><div></div>

[oliver_flint]

<p>Trout Lily (native wildflower) with visitor - early Spring in South Eastern Pennsylvania</p><div></div>

[thadley]

<p><img src="/photo/18002052" alt="" />Up until a week ago it was still winter and to prove it here is the evidence of the St.Lawrence River still frozen. Today it was mostly water. </p><div></div>

[thadley]

<p><img src="/photo/18001482" alt="" />Taken today in candiac Quebec in my son s backyard - this is what is left of the herb garden from last year</p><div></div>

[thadley]

<p><img src="/photo/18002052" alt="" />This one was taken in February 2015 Orlando Florida - Epcot center</p><div></div>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Howard, your unidentified blue flowers are Bluebells by the look of it.</p>

[vrankin]

<p>The tiny petals are in a star shape of five. I believe bluebells would be bell-shaped, right?</p>