Friday Night Photos Feathered Friends Edition
Happy Friday everyone. Well, we made it through another week of endless wars, rising inflation, a collapsing economy, and a country on the brink of financial disaster. Not to mention an environment that's slowly burning up the planet. As bad as it is, it's not all doom and gloom 24/7. Tell us what you did this week to put a smile on your face and forget about the doom and gloom. My go to is to get out with the camera and take photos, What's yours?
After photography, watching or listening to sports is another way I tune out the doom and gloom. At the top of the list is baseball. I'm a real happy camper. The San Diego Padres qualified for the post season with their win last night. Who and where they play in the opening round of the playoffs will be determined over the last three days of the regular season. Whether they play at home or on the road, I'm just happy they will be playing in the post season
Earlier this month the camera club went to La Jolla Cove for our monthly outing. Each month we have a photo challenge based on the location of where we are shooting. Since La Jolla Cove tends to have a lot of sea and shore birds, this months photo challenge was birds. The Blue-footed Booby is a rare visitor. Normally they are not found this far north, but because of the expanding warming ocean temps in the Pacific due to the developing El Niño, the Booby's food source has moved north with the expanding temps and the Booby's have moved north with them. There have been sightings from San Diego to as far north as the Port of Los Angeles.
Juvenile California Gull
Immature Blue-footed Booby
Black Oystercatcher
Pacific Brown Pelican Non-breeding adult
Spotted Sandpiper Non-breeding adult
Osprey
Pacific Brown Pelican Non-breeding adult
Cormorants
Comments
birds are amazing
.
seem like pre-historic remnants of by-gone cultures.
Thanks for capturing them on digital format!
Zionism is a social disease
Hi, Q
It's rather amazing to think that birds, some of the smallest creatures today, are related to dinosaurs, the largest creatures from the past. Evolution is a funny thing.
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It is amazing
This very little guy, a slink, is also related to the dinosaur. Its slender body is only 1/4 inch wide. Usually they dart away so quickly you only see them in a flash. This one didn't move, so I thought maybe something was wrong with it. It let me touch its smooth skin and still didn't move. It actually stayed still for at least 15 minutes and then got lost in the wood box.
It's the Geico Gecko
Little guys like that are good to have around the garden. I have Western Fence lizards all over my yard. They're great at keeping the bug population down.
MAGA
Morons
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Governing
America
Hi Social
Beautiful La Jolla and its birdlife. Thanks for the wonderful images.
What a cute rare visitor the Booby is. I had to see what an adult looks like, so I went to google.
Thanks for the shots of the Booby, Janis
The blue feet comes from pigment in the fish they eat. I would have loved to have seen an adult with the blue feet.
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Morons
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That's interesting!
If they become more permanent visitors you very well might see an adult.
I love your pictures
I am envious of how crisp they are compared to the shots I get with my Canon cameras. I have had a 60D since 2012 that has been a workhorse that I retired for a 7D. I got a 100-400mm lens, but it has always been a bit "soft" with the focus. Last year, I splurged and got a full-frame 5D and a Sigma 60-600 lens. I have a tripod and have tried to shoot fast shutter speeds 1/2500 at f 8 with high ISO and still cant get the sweet spot.. I get big pictures and pretty good closeups, but nowhere as sharp and detailed as I would like.
I would post them here but C99 seems to have size limits on files you can upload. I'll post the links to my page someday when I get my bird pics up there. I was in Eastern Oregon a couple of weeks ago to a bird blind with a friend who is a serious birder. We saw dozens of Pinion Jays, Crossbills, Cassin Finches, a Clarks Nutcracracker, along with many, many chipmunks at the watering hole.
Hi, BORG
I shot these with a Nikon Z9 and a 100-400mm lens. Camera settings were, ss 1/1000, f/5.6 and ISO between 64 and 250.
A few things you can try to get sharper images. keep your ISO as low as possible. The lower the ISO the better your image quality will be. If your lens has image stabilization, turn it off when using the camera on a tripod. Try out different autofocus modes. Some are better for birds in flight and some are better for birds in trees or on the ground. As for image file size, most all photo editing software can down size image file size. Canon should have free basic editing software you can download from their website. Last, if you don't have a field guide for your camera body, I highly recommend getting one. A good field guide will show you everything your camera can do and how to get the most out of those settings.
Sounds like your birding trip to eastern Oregon was a success. I'll be in Tillamook Oregon next month. but probably won't get in any birding while I'm there.
MAGA
Morons
Are
Governing
America
@Socialprogressive @Socialprogressive Hi SP, thanks for
Hi SP, thanks for the tips.
I have Photoshop CS5. I learned the entire Adobe suite as an adult worker in retraining at college 2010-2012. I also know how to do 3D sculpting and animation with Autodesk Maya.. I acquired Lightroom 6 last year, but haven't used it much. I am pretty good at processing the shots, etc.
It's the photography, especially birds that is challenging. Darned creatures are always moving.. I have to rely on autofocus since I can't really trust my eyes anymore, like I could in my youth.
There's a wildlife photographer on youtube, Simon d'Entremont , that I follow. He has a lot of interesting technical videos. He's made a few that show high ISO photos will clean up (noise) better (with processing, of course) than comparable photos with longer exposures/ larger apertures. So I have been trying that. On the Canon DSLRs, in manual mode, if the ISO is set to auto, then you can still control exposure and aperture. Bracketing (which is how I usually shoot) still changes exposure. It's not until you get into the Canon mirrorless that you can bracket ISO. --that will have to wait, I am still paying off my 5D and Sigma lens, LoL..
I have to do some range testing with fixed targets to find what are the sweet spots on my lenses.
cheers!
Hi all
It's Springtime here. Typically, each day is different, containing 2-4 seasons in its 24 hours.
The plant growth, and activity of the birds is full on.
This image from google captures the Kereru on one of its acrobatic mating flights.
And a Taro leaf
Have a wonderful weekend
Hi, janis
It's moving into Fall here but you would never know it from the weather. It was 93 today and it's supposed to be hotter tomorrow. Thanks for the visual slice of NZ. I always marvel at how lush and green the landscape is.
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Morons
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Thank you Social
I still marvel at it every day, for 30 years now.
Very nice full moon tonight
We don't have a good enough camera to take advantage of it. It was good to see it though. Saw it early just before dusk on the eastern horizon, magnified quite a bit it seemed. Don't know how that happens. Anyway, it's up at about 11 o'clock now in clear sky, shining brilliantly.
Guess I missed the fall equinox by a few days, but the sky was cloudy then.
Thanks for the amazing bird pix, SP!
己所不欲，勿施于人。
Sounds like a beautiful sight
The full moon rising as the sun sets.
Hi, soryang
Sorry you weren't able to get a shot of the moon. It was quite a sight.
MAGA
Morons
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America
; )))
although I'd prefer mine on a plate looking like this ...
https://jessicainthekitchen.com/veggie-wrap-recipe/
Now you're making me hungry
Those look good.
MAGA
Morons
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Governing
America
Good morning sp, great pics. Thanks. Congrats on
the boobies!
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Thank you, EL
I'm hoping to see an adult with the blue feet.
MAGA
Morons
Are
Governing
America