Please share your photos of nature, wildlife, etc.

[Karl_K]

I love hummingbirds!

This is my favorite pic of the series. kicken.

 

[december-fire]

kewl pics. If I may make a suggestion, compose in camera just a bit more.
For example this one by moving the bird to the left it makes it appear like he is staring into space.

bleh just noticed I over sharpened this one a bit creating a halo, didn't catch it in processing.

Much better composition and it looks great in black and white!
Thanks, Karl!

I took a very quick and lazy approach to this photo in terms of post-production.
Just quickly cropped without any thought to composition; was really just wondering about the ID of the bird. However, cropping with composition in mind wouldn't have taken any real effort, so I appreciate your comment which is a good reminder for me.

Any and all comments or suggestions are welcomed!
Photography is a new but serious hobby of mine.
I love learning and (hopefully!) improving, so I've been trying to read and practice stuff.

Some photos I just want to crop as close as possible to the animal to show its amazing detail.
Other photos seem to call for more elements than just the main subject --- or cropping too close isn't possible because the animal was too far away to photograph sharply!
And there are several photos which I've spent some time on trying to get a nice layout.
I think each type of photography offers its own challenges, and wildlife photography means dealing with diva models who don't always show up for the photo shoot, won't stand still or where you want them, and don't care about lighting. But I love these independent, and sometimes frustrating, models anyway and try to capture their beauty to the best of my ability.


I love seeing all the wildlife and nature photos that people have so graciously shared here!

Just because I'm happy to get photography tips, don't mistake this for a photography thread.

I just love seeing the incredible creatures and scenes, many of which aren't available in my area.

So, please, keep sharing your cute hedgehogs, ocean scenes, rabbits, forests, etc.!

 

[december-fire]

This one is perfectly composed I love it!

Ha! This drove me nuts because I wanted to include more of the flowers but also wanted to have the hummer large enough to show details.

I know that software would allow me to 'delete' some of the space between the hummer and the planter but, yeah, not going to do that.

Thanks for the compliment.

 

[Karl_K]

december-fire, its almost a lot art these days with easy crops in digital but learning to compose on the fly in the camera is awesome. I don't think I could do it these days because it is a skill that is perishable. Back in the day on the fly I had in mind what ratio I going to print it and composition of the print before I pushed the button even with on the fly shots.

 

[december-fire]

This is my favorite pic of the series. kicken.

I almost didn't bother posting that one. Seriously.
I'm a recovering perfectionist who can over-analyze; thought 'yeah, beak's in focus, that's what I was going for'. Ha!
However, its a hummingbird. Its not interested in a 'Take 2'.

 

[december-fire]

december-fire, its almost a lot art these days with easy crops in digital but learning to compose on the fly in the camera is awesome. I don't think I could do it these days because it is a skill that is perishable. Back in the day on the fly I had in mind what ratio I going to print it and composition of the print before I pushed the button even with on the fly shots.

I actually try to do that. My preference is to do no or little post-production.
I need to learn about my new camera's focusing abilities and practice more.
I set a single focus point and can change its location by hitting a button then moving a joy stick on the back of the camera. I'm starting to develop the 'muscle memory' so that I can do so without having to look at the buttons on the camera and can continue to keep track of the subject through the viewfinder. A lot of the subjects move so quickly that its challenging to change settings while they're still in sight. I usually shoot in Shutter Priority and can quickly change the shutter speed, but I really need to read up on the focusing features of the camera. With my last camera, I could half-press the shutter, re-compose, then fully press the shutter. Loved it. I'm sure I can do that with the new camera but I need to read how to lock focus with it. This is a reminder that I also want to learn about some of the other focusing features. Again with my previous camera, I used a feature that locked on the subject and helped track it; great for birds in flight. My new camera has more advanced focusing features, but I haven't read about them yet. With my previous camera, first thing I did was read the entire manual, while trying out what I read. This time, I knew enough that I could start using the camera without reading much of the manual. I have to go back and read the rest of the manual, which is fine because I'm one of those people who actually read manuals.

 

[Karl_K]

Shutter Priority is a good idea for hummingbirds so you can keep the shutter speed up.
For anything else AV mode is better so you can control your depth of field.

 

[december-fire]

Spotted this chipmunk who appears to be doing a yoga pose.

 

[Karl_K]

:}

 

[Karl_K]

sad

 

[december-fire]

:}

 

[december-fire]

Male Cardinal

@Karl_K , adding a second version just for you.

 

[december-fire]

Went out a couple of days ago hoping to see deer.
Instead saw Wild Turkeys. Males, females and offspring.
Is a baby turkey called a 'turklette'?
Will post the baby photos later, but here's one of the adults.

 

[Karl_K]

Went out a couple of days ago hoping to see deer.
Instead saw Wild Turkeys. Males, females and offspring.
Is a baby turkey called a 'turklette'?
Will post the baby photos later, but here's one of the adults.

yummy lunch!

 

[Karl_K]

stuffed and takin a nap for a night of garbage party.
There is often 2 of them all cuddled up in there.
I never got a picture of king he was 6x as big as these ones but he was never around during the day.

 

[december-fire]

Some of my backyard photos taken yesterday and today.

Recently, there was a Blue Jay in the yard who looked bald!
I was quite concerned but learned that its normal for birds to lose their feathers and grow new ones around this time of year. Although feathers from all over the body will fall out and be replaced, apparently, Blue Jays (and perhaps other birds) might lose most of their head feathers all at once. Its so common that I can across this saying: 'If the Blue Jays are bald, it must be August.'

Guess it goes without saying that I've got a lot to learn about birds.

This guy's new feathers are growing in, so instead of looking bald, he now looks like he just had a haircut.

 

[december-fire]

 

[december-fire]

 

[december-fire]

Some hummingbird photos, of course!

 

[december-fire]

Last one for now!

 

[Karl_K]

*grin*

 

[december-fire]

*grin*

Love it!

I figured you wouldn't be able to resist adjusting this photo, but I never expected purple!

 

[Karl_K]

Love it!

I figured you wouldn't be able to resist adjusting this photo, but I never expected purple!

amethyst and ruby are favorite gemstones so just had to make it purple!

 

[OreoRosies86]

Lil lady moose who captured my heart today

 

[Matata]

December Fire -- have you thought about entering photography contests or submitting some of your pics to Audubon or Nat Geo?

 

[redwood66]

Great pics as always d-f!

 

[WinkHPD]

Okay, here is something a little different. I did my first Milky Way shoot the night before the eclipse.



I actually did the foreground in the early evening and then combined the sky taken about two to three hours later. (Without moving the camera.)

Wink

 

[Karl_K]

awesome Wink!

 

[WinkHPD]

Spotted this chipmunk who appears to be doing a yoga pose.

Downward facing Monk

 

[december-fire]

Lil lady moose who captured my heart today

Oh, no wonder she captured your heart!
She's such a sweetie!

Is this your backyard or somewhere nearby?
I don't see moose around my area.