I had been watching a family of Barred Owls near my house for a few weeks and came across this scene unfolding one day. This was the last of the family to fledge and slowly climbed up the nest tree to the top. Soon Mom came to seemingly spend a little time with the youngster before it moved from the tree. Of course she would be continuing to feed the baby for awhile but this was a big day for the little guy. She nuzzled and cuddled it for some time before heading off to find food. The baby eventually tried to fly, of course couldn’t and walked to another tree and climbed up. I had never witnessed this behaviour before and it was amazing to watch. Nature is something to witness.
Atmosphere and Grain
This is an image I made some time ago and it lived on my hard drive for a long time. I didn’t see an image in it. Then with some attitude change I began to see something in it but it needed work. I used to restrict myself to conventional aspect ratios for a long time but I’m learning how to let that go and just use what looks best for the photo. I also added the grain on purpose, and I”m loving it!
Autumn Mood
Photo of the Week #227
Once again, one of my images has won first place in my local club competition. I’m not a nature photographer as a rule but I do love grabbing the odd photo when I can. I don’t have the patience required to sit for hours waiting for something to happen though. Two competitions in a row, honoured.
Photo of the Week #226
I was asked the other day what the shutter speed was and I had to look it up as I had no idea. I shot this at 1/1000 of a second. This required a higher ISO of course which some try to avoid due to noise issues. I would rather make sure I get the shot than have a blurry one, besides, high ISO isn’t really what causes noise, poor exposure does. Today’s noise removal software works very well nowadays anyway. This particular shot required nothing in the way of noise removal.
This image was chosen in a club competition as first place in November. I’m proud of this accomplishment because Nature isn’t my strong suit. At the end of the year, the photo also was judged as “Photo Of The Year” as well.
Gannet With Food
Photo of the Week #215
I recently had the opportunity to go on a boat taking us to an area where seabirds with numbers in the thousands were nesting. One of my favourites were gannets. Some find them dull but I find them beautiful. Their subtle colours and beautiful markings make them a winner for me. We found their numbers were devastated last year due to Avian Flu but are bouncing back now. There is also found that you can tell who has had the flu. They have a black iris as opposed to the normal blue of a normal specimen. It is thought their vision is completely normal but you can still easily tell the difference.
