rmuckey

Beautiful capture! We always time their arrival by the maples budding and the hummers have arrived early this week. We're about 30 mi.east of you in the hills surrounding Conklin - outside of Binghamton. 

Unfortunately,this year we have a black bear that has taken to making the rounds and raiding bird feeders. He demo'd our feeder about mid April and has been quite adaptive in gaining access to neighbors feeders and has bent poles and ripped feeders off porch soffits besides breaking the limbs of trees to get to them. We now take our trash out in the morning rather than the night before pick-up day but some neighbors haven't figured that out yet ... As long as it finds food, it'll keep returning so we're not going to put out the oriole or hummingbird feeders this year - hopefully the flowers, trees and shrubs will suffice... Kind of heartracking though when the oriole or the hummer flitters in the windows,as they did previous years,to let us know the syrup was getting low - sorry, but...

Wonderful capture with great detail and well balanced colors. Well done!

Bob

Great capture in colors and detail - especially after noting in "details" that it was hand held. 

Can almost hear & feel the quiet of the snow covered forest and the murmur of the stream!   

Beautiful capture of the eagles majestic pose.

Great detail in the creamy white petals and  the rich and vibrant colors of the stamen and pistil. Well done!

Hope you enjoy your day,

Bob

Beautiful capture , crisp & clear.

Spot on with great detail against the golden maple leaves 

Bob

Nice photo of a TITMOUSE, clear and sharp.

Bob

Wow! Great, spot on, capture of the colors, reflection and details down to the feathers with water droplets.

Bob

I would not rate this as below average, sure perhaps a little tighter cropping and some WB adjustment in post to help make it "pop". But considering it was probably hurry up, grab the camera and get a hand held shot before it was gone - rather well taken and sharp even +175% in large view  .

Bob

Magnificent capture in it's rugged, natural setting. Spot on in all details - one almost feels as if they were standing next to you at that moment !

Bob

Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery!

Bob

The tattoo is a replica of the Western Native American's "Dreamcatcher" design. The woven web is to catch "bad" dreams .

Bob

Could be after the insects but also might be after the flower's nectar- a high energy source. I've witnessed woodpeckers here in upstate NY  actually "lapping "  sap oozing out of trees from the holes they've just made as well as coming back later(squirrels also exhibit a sweet tooth and will actually "bark" trees to get at the sap). We also have "downies" that drink from our hummingbird feeders in the summer by inserting their long tongues in the feeding ports - on the list to get photos  of them doing so. 

Nice photo with great sharpness and detail - especially when they aren't know to hold still for long!

Hope you enjoy your day,

Bob

Very nice "portrait"! Blue jays around my feeder back down from the woodpeckers, even the little "downies", their 2 in. beak that sends woodchips flying is quite intimidating I imagine. I've watched the jays chase red and grey squirrels and even dive bomb the neighborhood cats. One of my neighbors told me of blue jays harassing whitetail deer near her feeder! Let's hope they never see Alfred Hitchcock's "Birds" :-) 

Bob

I "Googled  "American bittersweet" to check out the "old wives tale"(TRUE!) but found out that there are 2 different  types - American and Oriental.

The American is considered threatened in some areas and has the berries only on the tips of the vine.The Oriental is considered "among the most invasive" and has berries along the vine. So from your photo it appears it would be of the Oriental variety.

I checked out your portfolio (great macros & birds BTW) and noted "Blue Woods flower" photos -  they're Bottle or Closed Gentian or at least the same family. I had to look them up myself this past summer as I took photos of  them growing  in The Moose River Plains of the Adirondacks and didn't know what they were.Sorry, but my grandmother always told us kids - if you don't know what it is  - look it up - back in the days of encyclopedias instead of internet :-)

Bob

Appears to be bittersweet with the yellow husks still on the berry patches. Growing on a vine that climbs up & around surrounding trees or bushes? I'm not sure if it's native to your area but  spreads quite readily thru birds eating the berries and passing the seeds. In some areas it's considered rather invasive and can choke out the host plant.

We were told, as children, that the berries were poisonous and the the name came from the last tastes you would ever have if you ate them - bitter & sweet. Not sure if only an "old wives tale" but never tried eating one!

Hope you enjoy your day,

Bob

Sometimes you wish they'd stay in this stage, but before you realize it they've grown into a wonderful companion in your walk through life. Right now my 7 yr. old blonde Lab is sacked out on my(make that OUR bed) waiting for the first sign of movement from me. May you have many joyful years together.

Bob

Nice, while the little free-loaders:-) are quite bold, they don't seem to hold still long! Soon they'll be switching their calls to "he did it, he did it" as the sun gets higher in the sky. One of my favorite winter birds - always seem cheerful and up-beat no matter how cold or stormy.

Stay warm,

Bob

I've seen places in upstate NY where they've used old mill stones for rip -rap when worn and/or discarded. The old log dam on West Canada Creek comes to mind - the dam was for releasing water to float timber downstream not for milling purposes back in the 1800's and early 1900's.

I like the "flow" and moss on the boulders as well as the rugged terrain - makes me yearn for spring and trout season.

Hope you enjoy your day,

Bob

A newbie myself, welcome. Not sure what you were shooting for - a nice soft shot of a beautiful flower - you got it. I peaked at your portfolio and noticed the same with the red flowers(also f1).

I personally prefer a sharper subject with just a bit of bokeh for the background and usually shoot with a bigger f-stop as you did with the yellow ribbon (f5).

Also, to help ensure sharp details, I do not hesitate to used a sturdy tri-pod with remote firing as my elevated heart rate these days creates camera shake even at moderately fast shutter speeds.

Keep shooting, keep learning,

Bob

As a newbie myself, do not feel qualified to offer much more critique than " I'd be happy with the shot". Never tried to capture lightening photos myself but have long admired them - yours is added to them.

Keep shooting, keep learning.

Bob