Friday, July 22, 2011

Further Fodder

This robin seemed curious but supremely unconcerned about the device being aimed at him.


I liked the moody look that nighttime brought to the front entrance of Hilary's neighbour's house.


The insect below was only about the size of a quarter. I thought its colouration was striking against the green of the fern.


I sure didn't notice until I uploaded the photo but if you look closely, you'll see a mosquito attached to the little fellow below.


Cardinals make beautiful couples.


And bold, brassy bluejays are always great subjects.


Call me crazy, but females of many species seem to acquire a certain serene, maternal loveliness when their babes are young. I think the mallard below illustrates my point. When I took the shot, she was keeping an eye on her youngsters as they swam nearby.


Late afternoon light, leaking through drawn curtains, made this collection of knickknacks in Hilary's living room irresistible to my lens.


Got lots more but I don't want to exhaust your patience. They'll keep for another day. I'll close with a shot of Ben "helping" a young lady with car-washing duties.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Early Shots

I did the photographic version of running amok when I got the camera and lenses. I took thousands of shots in the first two weeks. Unfortunately, it was well before Hilary tweaked the eyeglass-wearer's adjustment knob thingy. Until then, what I thought was in focus, usually wasn't. Ergo, my ratio of decent shots in those early weeks was pretty dismal.

With that caveat out of the way, here's some of the early birds (literally, in some instances).

This furry fellow and his/her family have taken up residence near my house. They enjoy birdseed which abounds at Chez Baron. More pics of chippers will come in the days ahead.


One of my neighbours always has a beautiful floral garden in her front yard. What follows is a pic of a portion of her tulip bed.


Before tulips are too much of a distant memory, here's two more shots I liked.


And...


This sparrow regards his domain.


The starling below has snared a nice, juicy grub. At least, I imagine that starlings would find them nice and juicy.


Although I hope to get a better one sooner or later, the following shot is the closest I've come to a crisp picture of a soaring turkey vulture.


Again, not a crisp shot, but my chances at Baltimore Oriole pics are few and far between. I was just happy to get him in the frame.


What are YOU lookin' at?


I'll wrap up with a pic of Ben doing one of the things he does best: defy gravity.


Hope you liked some of the early returns. And I hope you'll stay along for the ride as the equipment and I get to know each other better.