Tag Archives: wildlife photography

A Free Bugatti?

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Here I am minding my own business, taking photos of quail and working on my photography presentation due Wednesday (today). Then I checked my email and I’m receiving dozens — no make that hundreds — of emails about a free Bugatti.

What’s a Bugatti, you ask? I googled it and this is what I found:

Everyone on the spam list is replying all with “remove me” to more colorful expressions that begin with the letter “F.”

I was on the phone with my son and told him what was happening. I’m trying to block the sender and move them to my junk folder. But they come in faster than I can click.

One reply made me laugh out loud. “This looks legit. Can I send you my bank account number and mother’s maiden name?”

But I’m literally receiving hundreds of emails every hour. I mark them junk and block or mute the sender. They’re coming into my Apple email folder and the culprit is from China. Not good. I’m worried I could be hacked.

I may turn off all my email devices like laptop and phone until tomorrow!

More QUAIL:

“Where’s she going?”

What a beauty this poppa quail is.

Here he is again! I think…might be another guy.

Busy times on the birdseed block. I can now navigate the stairs that go down to our sunken pool bar which I used earlier this year — prior to my broken ankle — as my bird blind. I can now take photos on level again with the critters.

Have you been spammed like that with hundreds of emails? Have you been hacked? How did you handle it?

What relaxes me

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I made an executive decision over the weekend that was difficult for me. It made my stomach hurt a wee bit, but I’m glad I did it. I decided to retire as our HOA newsletter editor after four years. I have a partner that works with me to create the newsletter and she also agreed with me. I am missing the joy and sense of accomplishment I once had. I wrote a resignation letter for the two of us and I’m waiting to hear back from the Board.

I found that photography is relaxing and rewarding to me. I enjoy taking my nature photos. I enjoy exploring Adobe Bridge and Photoshop and tinkering with the pictures to make them a bit better. I have decided to enroll in my second art workshop for DSLR photography beginning in January. This is becoming a lifestyle more than taking a random class.

Mourning Dove on our fence.

I also want to get back to writing and working on my several WIPs. If I get too busy with things I have to do, I don’t get in the time to write and edit.

Red is fortunately a constant in my backyard. I’m enjoying taking his photo along with Mrs. and various other creatures and plants.

Mrs. in a setting of purple flowers.

Agave with sharp red tips.

The same plant from a distance.

I never get tired of watching the squirrels.

Have you made any difficult decisions lately? When you are faced with a decision, how do you go about deciding what to do?

Squirrel!

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I had three squirrels running around the birdseed block yesterday. It turns out they like the sunflower seeds and run quickly to get their fair share. Here are a few photos of them, plus a description of the type of squirrel:

Harris’s antelope squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and in Sonora in Mexico. They are adapted to hot weather conditions. — Wikipedia

I had Red, Mrs., quail and a gila woodpecker hanging out as well.

Here’s Mrs. on a firestick plant.

This gila woodpecker likes to hang upside from time to time.

A handsome poppa quail keeping an eye on his family.

Red also likes the firestick as a perch.

I’m waiting to find out my son’s surgery date and when I’ll return to Northern California with Waffles.

Plus I need to prepare a presentation for my photography class about a photographer or photos that I’d like to share with the class. I’ve selected Inge Morath who was married to Arthur Miller for 40 years after he was married to Marilyn Monroe. I’ll share more about her with you — after I’ve done my homework and selected a few photos of hers.

What’s on your agenda for this week?

Sea Glass, Flora and Fauna Photos

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I was surprised to get an email Tuesday that I needed to submit my Sea Glass Work In Progress for Thursday night’s photography class. After traveling to Northern California to help my kids, I hadn’t had a thought about photography in more than 10 days. Before I left town, I sent a few photos to my professor that I took with my Macro lens and asked him for suggestions. He pointed out that I needed to adjust a setting for “exposure compensation” to zero. It was set at -.7 and my photos were too dark.

So, Tuesday and Wednesday with my camera adjusted, I set out to take more sea glass photos. I also looked through my scanned images of kids and beach photos. Finally I settled on some and sent in my WIP. As I’m writing this, I haven’t had my Thursday night class yet, so I’m not sure what my feedback from the professor and students will be. It’s more than a little nerve wracking.

Here are photos I’ve taken this week since coming home:

Bougainvillea blossom from a new plant. The last plant was eaten at the roots by a raccoon, skunk or javelina.

A house sparrow at the bird bath. The little birds like the bird bath, rarely do the bigger birds use it.

Someone in Laguna decorated this city structure with shells and sea glass. This was an old photo I scanned from our summers in Laguna Beach.

Another sea glass photo from this week.

I identified this pretty shrub with blue flowers as “Imperial Blue.”

Red on his flamingo buddy.

Mrs. gets a turn.

Three more photos of Red, just because:

Happy Friday and weekend!

Which photos do you like best?

What plans do you have for Saturday and Sunday?

Flora and Fauna

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A backlit bunny showing off his ears in the morning light.

I’ve been trying to capture the morning light with backlit sea glass for my photography project. I’ve been observing how light changes throughout the day.

The past two days, I walked with my camera in the early morning. Normally I take photos sitting down at home. The camera is a little bulky to carry on my walks compared to my iphone. But I managed because I was inspired to capture a gorgeous Texas Purple Sage in the morning light that’s on the other side of the neighborhood from me.

It’s a massive plant. Since I was using my macro lens that is for closeups, I couldn’t get far enough away to photograph the whole plant. Also, the sage is on the west side of a two-story house and was in the shade when I walked over.

Along my walk to the sage, I spotted so many beautiful instances of backlighting on plants like the Firestick cactus above and the Staghorn below.

My favorite is the following series of an agave. I took a photo of the whole plant and then got closer — and closer.

Last but not least, a chipmunk munching away on a blossom of a Golden barrel cactus.

Do you notice changes in light throughout the day and throughout seasons?

Which photos do you like and why?

Seeing Red

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Now that I’ve been home for a few weeks, I’ve been enjoying photographing my backyard birds. I find it relaxing as well as rewarding. Red and Mrs. stop by several times every day. I think I have another male cardinal, too. At first I thought it was Red, but this guy is a little chunkier and has a dark gray spot on his beak.

How can I be sure if there’s another male, because Red and the other guy are never in the backyard at the same time. Last spring, I saw two red Cardinals chasing each other, flying at full speed over our house. That’s the only time I saw two males together.

This one is definitely Red. See there’s not a gray mark on his beak. The photo below is the imposter Red. Or, it might be Red with a bruised beak. My first few days home, I took photos of this guy, thinking it was my Red.

Here’s Mrs. on a planter at the edge of our fence.

I was pleasantly surprised with this finch photo because of the sharp detail on the barrel cactus.

The birds love their perch on a flamingo.

Here’s a view looking out the casita window with my telephoto lens set at 80mm instead of 400mm I use for closeups of critters.

I haven’t seen the cardinal with the gray spot on his beak lately. So that brings the questions of the day:

Do you think I had an imposter Red? Or, did Red bruise his beak and now it’s healed?

What’s your opinion and why?

JoyRoses13 from Nuggets of Gold wrote a fun story on her blog using my photos and another photographer’s. You can read it HERE.

Birds and a Chipmunk

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Red looking majestic in our backyard tree.

Now that I’m back home and have my camera, I’ve been taking photos when something interesting pops up in my backyard. From my cardinal couple, quail, finches and roadrunner, there’s been lots of action. Throw in a few chipmunks and I’ve taken a lot of pictures!

I’m impressed with this chipmunk’s balance on two legs.

I think this sweet bird is a female house finch?

This roadrunner actually laid down in our yard, waiting for prey. He had his eye on the chipmunk but left without any luck.

Mrs. staring at me taking while I took her picture.

Red found himself fending off quail to get a bite of birdseed.

Another shot of the roadrunner. Isn’t he beautiful?

Do you have a favorite of my backyard buddy pics? If so, which one?