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Please share your photos of nature, wildlife, etc.

Eli22 said:
Yes! It was quite a task to stay on trail with the snow on the ground obscuring it. The view was worth it though!
Click to expand...

Those are the priceless moments, love.
 
Our friend is mountaineering in Scotland
Breathtaking scenery

0E6AE1B1-D999-4E68-868B-C47D84AF93F2.jpeg


E5A65CE3-59A9-447C-8B0C-6337414797CD.jpeg
 
The summit of Ben Nevis - amazing views FB797C01-9E4F-4415-85F6-524391670888.jpeg
 
Wednesday was a gorgeous day. Fresh snow on the ground and in the trees and it was bright and sunny when my wife's once a week caregiver showed up half an hour late for my morning off. Traffic was not good, her top speed on her normal 20 minute drive was 30 miles an hour and it took her nearly an hour and a half to get here.

I took my camera and the hope of finally getting a good picture of a blue heron.

I scored HUGE, three beautiful herons, each distinct from the other.

Here is the best picture of the first one.

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-0968.jpg
 
Wink said:
Wednesday was a gorgeous day. Fresh snow on the ground and in the trees and it was bright and sunny when my wife's once a week caregiver showed up half an hour late for my morning off. Traffic was not good, her top speed on her normal 20 minute drive was 30 miles an hour and it took her nearly an hour and a half to get here.

I took my camera and the hope of finally getting a good picture of a blue heron.

I scored HUGE, three beautiful herons, each distinct from the other.

Here is the best picture of the first one.

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-0968.jpg
Click to expand...

Beautiful pic! :kiss2:
 
Wink said:
Wednesday was a gorgeous day. Fresh snow on the ground and in the trees and it was bright and sunny when my wife's once a week caregiver showed up half an hour late for my morning off. Traffic was not good, her top speed on her normal 20 minute drive was 30 miles an hour and it took her nearly an hour and a half to get here.

I took my camera and the hope of finally getting a good picture of a blue heron.

I scored HUGE, three beautiful herons, each distinct from the other.

Here is the best picture of the first one.

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-0968.jpg
Click to expand...

That's gorgeous!
 
Wink said:
Wednesday was a gorgeous day. Fresh snow on the ground and in the trees and it was bright and sunny when my wife's once a week caregiver showed up half an hour late for my morning off. Traffic was not good, her top speed on her normal 20 minute drive was 30 miles an hour and it took her nearly an hour and a half to get here.

I took my camera and the hope of finally getting a good picture of a blue heron.

I scored HUGE, three beautiful herons, each distinct from the other.

Here is the best picture of the first one.

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-0968.jpg
Click to expand...

It's like the universe rewarded you for having your time off start later than expected! How beautiful a photo. The composition, lighting, subject matter—all absolutely top drawer! Thank you for sharing.
 
SparklieBug said:
It's like the universe rewarded you for having your time off start later than expected! How beautiful a photo. The composition, lighting, subject matter—all absolutely top drawer! Thank you for sharing.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the kind words and the positive feelings that arose from them. I am feeling very much like death warmed over right now, one of my rare, thank goodness, super colds. So those positive feelings are really appreciated.

I have been rewarded so many times for so many things that I sometimes completely forget that I can be punished at times too. I escaped with no enemy combatant caused injuries from Vietnam. Twice I was so close to death that if I shared the circumstances I would appear to be a tall talking phony.

Instead I was injured with a torn muscle in my calf while refereeing an under 19 soccer game. All the people I know with a similar injury say it feels just like being shot with a 22 slug in the muscle. I even used non trucker language, instead of my fluent trucker with a Marine dialect language I still use far too often.

Dang, rambling again... Sincerely, I just want to say THANK YOU!

Oh, and here is the best shot of bird #2. If you click on the picture, the size will expand and under the beak of the heron, you should be able to see the out of focus snow falling from the branches. It was such a beautiful addition to the scene, and would have looked incredible in a video, but I have never really learned to shoot video with my camera.

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-0994.jpg
 
Wink said:
Thank you for the kind words and the positive feelings that arose from them. I am feeling very much like death warmed over right now, one of my rare, thank goodness, super colds. So those positive feelings are really appreciated.

I have been rewarded so many times for so many things that I sometimes completely forget that I can be punished at times too. I escaped with no enemy combatant caused injuries from Vietnam. Twice I was so close to death that if I shared the circumstances I would appear to be a tall talking phony.

Instead I was injured with a torn muscle in my calf while refereeing an under 19 soccer game. All the people I know with a similar injury say it feels just like being shot with a 22 slug in the muscle. I even used non trucker language, instead of my fluent trucker with a Marine dialect language I still use far too often.

Dang, rambling again... Sincerely, I just want to say THANK YOU!

Oh, and here is the best shot of bird #2. If you click on the picture, the size will expand and under the beak of the heron, you should be able to see the out of focus snow falling from the branches. It was such a beautiful addition to the scene, and would have looked incredible in a video, but I have never really learned to shoot video with my camera.

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-0994.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow! Just Wow! Another beautiful shot and how lucky you are to actually see these birds.
 
Wink said:
Thank you for the kind words and the positive feelings that arose from them. I am feeling very much like death warmed over right now, one of my rare, thank goodness, super colds. So those positive feelings are really appreciated.

I have been rewarded so many times for so many things that I sometimes completely forget that I can be punished at times too. I escaped with no enemy combatant caused injuries from Vietnam. Twice I was so close to death that if I shared the circumstances I would appear to be a tall talking phony.

Instead I was injured with a torn muscle in my calf while refereeing an under 19 soccer game. All the people I know with a similar injury say it feels just like being shot with a 22 slug in the muscle. I even used non trucker language, instead of my fluent trucker with a Marine dialect language I still use far too often.

Dang, rambling again... Sincerely, I just want to say THANK YOU!

Oh, and here is the best shot of bird #2. If you click on the picture, the size will expand and under the beak of the heron, you should be able to see the out of focus snow falling from the branches. It was such a beautiful addition to the scene, and would have looked incredible in a video, but I have never really learned to shoot video with my camera.

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-0994.jpg
Click to expand...

Fantastico! I wonder how a judge in a photo contest would be able to choose which of your two shots would be the winner?!
 
We drove across the Mississippi yesterday and there were HUNDREDS of bald eagles! I was frankly kind of creepy LOL. The one in the last picture flew so close to me I could feel the wind flapping off his wings!


5DB30864-B074-4062-97D2-AE415549D931.jpeg
 

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Wink said:
This is my last Heron shot from last Wednesday's shoot. Today is a dull dreary day with me stuck at home with Covid...

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-1003.jpg
Click to expand...

Another beautiful shot. I'm so sorry your down with Covid. I hope it's a mild case.

Are these photos taken with your phone? The clarity is amazing.
 
Lookinagain said:
Another beautiful shot. I'm so sorry your down with Covid. I hope it's a mild case.

Are these photos taken with your phone? The clarity is amazing.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, a mild case and while I felt like death warmed over on Monday, with my first two doses of Paxlovid I felt like poop yesterday and again today, a MAJOR improvement. Who ever dreamed that feeling like poop would be a major improvement???

While many of the photos I have shared here, especially in the last year or two have been taken with my iPhone, these were not.I did take some of a heron a week before when I only had my iPhone with me, but they were seriously unshareable. Most wildlife is too far away to be good with the phone. My rule of thumb is any photo I would take with a 70mm lens or shorter is great with my iphone. Most of my landscapes are shot with 35mm or less. With most of those shots, it is hard to see any difference between my top quality lenses and my iPhone.

However, I wanted to get up close and personal with these shots. The closest was my first heron at about 35 yards, the second bird was over one hundred yards away and my third bird was about 70 yards away, all calling for a longer lens. I was using one of the few extravagences I have allowed myself in the last few years. I bought a new Nikon Z9 and a 500PF lens. To the lens I added a 1.4x teleconverter so I was effectively shooting a 700 mm lens. The Z9 has bells and whistles on its bells and whistles, so I am able to grab a quick focus with a half press of the shutter and then the animal eye detection goes into full gear allowing me to push the back focus button and it will follow the eye wherever it goes, so long as I can keep it in the viewfinder. I kept the lens wide open so I get the great shallow depth of field and the very nice out of focus background and I shot these at 1/2000th of a second so even had the bird taken off, I could have gotten great shots. In theory.

The first one took off shortly after I shot and I instantly lost the eye as I was not able to move fast enough to keep the bird in my viewfinder as it was just too close for me to handle. Sigh,
 
Well @Wink I don't comprehend most of what you explain about photography but the shots are amazing. And I'm glad the paxlovid is helping. Recover quickly and stay safe!
 
I had a pair of Piliated Woodpeckers in the rear of my yard today, but only caught a photo of one of them. The one is flight isn't the greatest shot, but figured I'd add it anyway. I only see these types of woodpeckers a few times a year.
IMG_1643.JPG

IMG_1652.JPG
 
Lookinagain said:
I had a pair of Piliated Woodpeckers in the rear of my yard today, but only caught a photo of one of them. The one is flight isn't the greatest shot, but figured I'd add it anyway. I only see these types of woodpeckers a few times a year.
IMG_1643.JPG

IMG_1652.JPG
Click to expand...

Awesome. I enjoyed this show.

www.pbs.org

Woodpeckers: The Hole Story ~ About | Nature | PBS

Get an intimate look at what makes woodpeckers so special. Explore their unique abilities and intimate stories from around the world. Narrated by Paul Giamatti.
www.pbs.org www.pbs.org
 
Wink said:
Thank you for the kind words and the positive feelings that arose from them. I am feeling very much like death warmed over right now, one of my rare, thank goodness, super colds. So those positive feelings are really appreciated.

I have been rewarded so many times for so many things that I sometimes completely forget that I can be punished at times too. I escaped with no enemy combatant caused injuries from Vietnam. Twice I was so close to death that if I shared the circumstances I would appear to be a tall talking phony.

Instead I was injured with a torn muscle in my calf while refereeing an under 19 soccer game. All the people I know with a similar injury say it feels just like being shot with a 22 slug in the muscle. I even used non trucker language, instead of my fluent trucker with a Marine dialect language I still use far too often.

Dang, rambling again... Sincerely, I just want to say THANK YOU!

Oh, and here is the best shot of bird #2. If you click on the picture, the size will expand and under the beak of the heron, you should be able to see the out of focus snow falling from the branches. It was such a beautiful addition to the scene, and would have looked incredible in a video, but I have never really learned to shoot video with my camera.

Kathryn Alberson Park Blue Herons-0994.jpg
Click to expand...

What a beautiful shot!! Incredible! We have a pair of blue heron at our pond right across the street. It's so beautiful to see take flight, and gracefully land again. I love visiting them and taking pics, although nothing as amazing compared to yours!!!
 
No nature photos here, just hopping in to say, I love this thread! :kiss2:
 
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