Lightroom Lizard

 Old photo, new computer. Playing around in Lightroom now that I can run it again and I figured out how to make a logo watermark. Fancy no?

Wallace Lake

The weather is a bit nicer now and I was able to take the camera out to a new location at Wallace Lake. I even found a few new-to-me birds!

Robin. Toby really likes these guys. I was hoping we might get a nest in our tree, but there is probably just too much activity on our street. 

This bufflehead is a new one for me. I couldn't get a great picture because it was really far, but luckily it is easy to ID. Also someone else a the park told me it was there. 

I occasionally see goldfinches a the feeder so I wasn't expecting one on my walk today. I think they are really lovely though. 

It feels like no walk is complete without a cardinal. This one got caught in a shower and we both had to sit and wait for the rain to stop. 

A red-winged blackbird looking a bit ominous. These are also pretty loud.

Very rarely I see something that isn't a bird. This is the first time I have seen one of these little squirrels so close to home. 

I just love the tufted titmouse. I could sit and take pictures of them all day.

This one is a nuthatch. I didn't get any really good pictures of it. 

This is a ruby-crowned kinglet, another new-to-me bird. 

The Virginia bluebell was particularly pretty today .

Lastly, another red-winged blackbird. I was almost tricked by the bright yellow dandelion.

Coe Lake

 

The city nature challenge is this weekend, so I went out to Coe Lake to practice before the big day. I was rewarded with some cool shots. 

This is a belted kingfisher. Apparently Ohio only has one kind of kingfisher. I guess it at least makes identification easier.

I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see this great blue heron. 

There were also a few ducks.

Porch Practice is for the Birds

 Last year I didn’t get out much between covid and 2020 being a hard year. Today I sat on the porch to try and get a little practice in. 

This female cardinal has a lovely color, but is it weird that I wish their beaks were another color? Also curse the fact that the christmas lights are stuck in the tree and visible in the photo. 

There is a pair of mourning doves we have seen around but I am unsure if this is a male or a female. I think they have pretty markings and they don't sound particularly sad to me. 

This black-capped chickadee could have used a little more light. I'm not sure why this feels so underexposed. Maybe there were more clouds in the sky or something. I honestly need to relearn all of my settings. 

Almost Spring at Sandy Ridge

Social Distancing is happening, but that doesn't mean I can't go to the park and look for signs of spring. 

Getting this guy on camera was a complete accident. I was looking to take a picture of the nest and missed, but when I looked through my lens this is what I saw. 

 I am the chipmunk whisperer.

The Red-winged Blackbirds were out and pretty vocal today.

I never realized the killdeer had such weird eyes, or a weird name. 

 Great Blue Herons look very different in the water than in flight. This one caught a fish flew away with it and then let it go back in the water to catch it again. 

 I think this is a milkweed bug. 

 My brain keeps labeling this a barn swallow but it is actually a tree swallow. 

 There was one lonely sandhill crane 

 Downy woodpecker

Red-bellied woodpecker

 And finally momma eagle on her nest. 

Bird Practice

A quick trip to the park today to try and get in some practice. There were too many people out where the ducks hang around so I went looking for the woodpeckers near the witch's house.

 

 red bellied woodpecker 

 red- bellied woodpecker

 

white-breasted nuthatch

Fowl February

My brother got me a camera strap for christmas, but I haven't had a chance to go out and use it until today. It was a bit overcast and I had my iso set pretty high, but I am still happy with how some of these came out. 

Downy woodpecker eating lunch.

I have had people make comments to me in the past before that they would rather be in the moment than experiencing the world through a camera lens, but I feel like the lens unlocks the world for me. Even with glasses my astigmatism is really strong and I experience a pretty blurry world. It always amazes me to take photos of things I can only partially see and to have the beauty of individual feathers appear. 

Female mallard. Check out that purple stripe. 

Canadian goose. These are all over the park but I find them pretty interesting. 

Mallard. 90% of my photo editing time is hitting the auto button and then trying to decide which exposure I like best. I think the duck eye is clearer in this picture. 

But I like how cool the water looks in the background of this picture.

Another female. 

Birds landing in water might be a new photography goal. I think the movement of the water is visually very interesting. I need more practice. I wasn't fast enough. 

This woodpecker was having a bad feather day. 

Look at the tiny stick! (maybe a bug?)

A more traditional exposure of the woodpecker. 

This would have been an awesome shot if my speeds were just a little faster!

See how cool the water looks? The cloudy skies and my shutter speeds were against me!