Chris The Photog

Kickin' Up Their Heels!

2013-05-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

A sure sign of spring is the colt that was born last week on the ranch in the pasture below my photoblind. It's amazing how fast colts are up and around. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Yearning to Break the Bonds of Earth

2013-05-17T20:35:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week I went down to the Ukiah airport to photograph the B-17 Bomber that was on tour. While it garnered most of my attention I was also drawn to a nondescript, weather beaten old aircraft that was parked not far away on the tarmac. You could truly see it had been a beauty in its day. It looked as though it once again wanted to break the bonds of earth and fly again. Maybe with a lot of work and care it will again. God bless, chris I'm not sure what model of aircaft this is. Any aviation experts out there feel free to chime in. Thanks

B17 Flying Fortress

2013-05-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a banner day for photography between birds and bombers. I left the house well before six so I could go down to the airport in Ukiah to photograph EAA's restored B17 World War Two Bomber "Aluminum Overcast". The B17 was the first mass produced four engine heavy bomber used during WWII. It got the name from a Seattle newspaper reporter who when seeing all its machine guns deemed it a "Flying Fortress". The aircraft is currently on tour of the US with an all volunteer crew and support staff. The aircraft is only one of fourteen left flying in the world today from the thousands built during the war.Over a third were lost after being shot down during the war. Another third were lost due to accidents and crashes. After the war most of the rest were scrapped. Aluminum Overcast never saw combat as it was manufactured close to the end of the war and was never put into a combat role. After seeing the aircraft it was hard to imagine the feelings of all of the young flight crews that flew these aircraft into combat. Holding your position among other aircraft while under fire from flak and fighters must have been a terrifying experience.Even though it was well armed each .50 machine gun on the aircraft only carried roughly a minutes worth of ammunition.The ammunition was stored on a belt next to the gun that was roughly nine yards long. That's where the saying giving them the whole nine yards comes from. What an incredible piece of history and a living monument to those brave men and women of the "Greatest Generation" that served during world War Two and many wars and conflicts after. A Special thank you to them and to the EAA for bringing it to Ukiah,CA. God bless, chris

When Everything Falls Into Place

2013-05-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

Some days just seem to work out perfectly. Today was one of those days with my bird photography. The weather and lighting were superb. It was sunny with an overcast layer of clouds. Just perfect for bird photography.I was able to photograph from just a little past eight in the morning until just past eleven thirty before it got too bright to photograph anymore.The birds were cooperative too with California Valley Quail,Goldfinches,House Finches,Wrens,California Towhee and Acorn Woodpeckers all making showings at my photoblind. Badger and I had a wonderful morning in the blind.Thank you Lord for such a beautiful day capturing just a glimpse of the beauty you have provided for us. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Backyard Birds

2013-05-14T13:10:00.001-07:00

This morning I spent some time in the backyard photoblind photographing some of my backyard locals. The Steller's Jays came almost immediately. They never pass up a free meal! Especially since there were free mealworms. The Bandtailed Pigeons were extremely skittish as usual. I could hear them up in the tree tops for well over an hour before they finally came down to the feeder. Once they did they were pushing and shoving for a place at the feeder. By then the lighting was getting pretty harsh and I called it a day. I enjoyed myself and I know the birds did. God's love and blessings your way, chris

Creatures Great and Small

2013-05-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

This morning I had very little time for photography as I took my Mom to the big city of Ukiah,CA for a medical appointment. Like all plans of mice and men the one I had didn't work out.My plan was that I would photograph Western Bluebirds at the fish hatchery while she had her doctors appointment. The problem was when I got to the fish hatchery it was closed. Arrgh! On my drive out I spotted a Blackktailed Jackrabbit trying to hide next to an Oak tree. I stopped my car and photographed it until a car came up behind me and I was forced to move along. It was so cool how it's long ears were backlit by the sun! After I picked up my Mom and had lunch it was late afternoon by the time I arrived home. I sought out a moth to photograph and I found a Tiger Moth.They are just beautiful with their striking wing patterns.Such a beautiful day. God's light and love to all, chris

Cleaning Up After Breakfast

2013-05-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

This morning I was up and around pretty early. I was cleaning out kitchen drawers that were full of just too much junk. Among the mess I found a few treasured finds. A few old Chinese coins,a silver book mark,an antique barrette and a worthless pocket knife with a broken handle. Hmmmnn... Why am I saving all this stuff? “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 wow, that's something to think about. Taking a break from cleaning I stepped out into the backyard and I spotted this hoverfly sitting on the African Daisies. I ran back into the house and grabbed my camera and made a few images of it busily cleaning away breakfast leftovers from its legs. A very productive morning if I may say so! God's precious love and blessings to all, chris

Stalking the Wild Butterfly

2013-05-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

This afternoon when I got home I went into the back yard to check on my bird feeders. When I walked past one of our flower beds a Duskywing Butterfly shot out of the daisies and flew off towards our garden area. I knew it would be back. I went back into the house and grabbed my camera and came back out and set a chair about two feet away from the flowers. I focused my camera on the flowers sat down and didn't move. After about five minutes of waiting the Duskywing came floating by. It circled the Lilac Bush and the settled on a single Daisy flower underneath it to my left. I waited and waited.It fed on the Daisy and then fluttered to the flowers in front of me. I slowly turned the camera downward and when I moved the camera to adjust it a little more the butterfly took off. Once again I sat and waited not moving. The next time it appeared I kept my movements to minimum and I was able to create quite a few images of it on the Daisy flowers.If you read my previous post you will notice that the antennae have the clubbed ends of a butterfly. God's love and blessings to all of you, chris

Moths of the Morning

2013-05-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

Last week Annika looked out the back door and exlaimed."Look at all the moths!" Sure enough there was a snow storm of moths flying crazily around the back door porch light.I'm not sure of the numbers involved but it had to be between one and two hundred of them. They were everywhere on the window, the walls and doors adjacent to the porch light.Last night there didn't seem to be as quite as many but there were quite a few still left on the side of the house this morning. With a little finesse I was able to tranfer a few of them one at time onto a rock to be photographed. Their intricate wing patterns are just amazing. You can tell that they are moths and not butterflies due to the fact that their antennae don't have a little ball on the end. In fancier terms Most butterflies have thin filament-like antennae that are club-shaped at the end. One the other hand, moths often have comb-like or feathery antennae.Close up some of them resemble a comb or a feather. I had some fun photographing them this morning. An enjoyable and interesting way to start my day. God's love to all, chris

Procrastination Can Have Its' Rewards

2013-05-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday dawned rather gloomy with gray skies and some rain. My intention was to stay home pay the bills and work on the manuscript for my new book. About ten minutes after making this momentous decision the skies in the valley below were filled with glorious light.The winds of change were upon me and I immediately decided to put off the toils of labor and go play. I made a few images of the clouded valley below. Then I loaded up my pick up, called to a more than eager Badger the Photoblind Dog and we were on our way to the Burris Ranch. It was a great decision. I ended up photographing a Lazuli Bunting, Lawrences Gold Finches (Thank you Judy and Ron for the ID), California Valley Quail and some superb images of House Finches.Oh, and a California Ground Squirrel as well. I had a wonderful day. Now I need to get back to work. Hmmnn, the lighting looks pretty good down in the valley... God's love and blessings to all, chris

Randomness of a Rainy Day

2013-05-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today are rainy days. I just photographed some random objects around the house. Badger because he is handy and such a cute dog and a Lake County Diamond because I thought it might be cool. The last item was a dandelion because I wondered what the seed heads looked like when it rains. Now I need to get to work on my book! A rainy day is perfect for working inside. God's love and blessings to you, chris

Rebirth

2013-05-06T15:09:00.001-07:00

I have always liked this old gray stump at the end our road. It has sat there for over twenty years greeting me each time I come home. Recently meaning sometime in the last five years or so a young fir tree has struggled up into the sky next to it. The young fir has had to fight for light and moisture from the surrounding trees. Today I noticed the prominent new growth on it from the recent rains. It proudly stood out in the rainy weather we had today. Standing there as symbol of rebirth next to the old gray stump a promise of new life. There are a lot of parallels to my relationship with Christ here for in him I have been reborn. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Return of the Snakes

2013-05-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

My backyard pond is a summer destination for Garter Snakes. They love the goldfish and the rocks to sun themselves on. Yesterday I noticed the first two arrivals. Each had their own small rock on either end of the small pond. Periodically they would go for a swim and so far unsuccessfully try and capture a goldfish to eat. They were pretty tolerant of my presence as long as I didn't make any fast movements and I didn't get too close. Here are my first snake images of the summer. God's love to all, chris

So Beautiful

2013-05-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

This afternoon the butterflies were back into the backyard in force. Just a few warm days in a row and they are fluttering about the flowers. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Early Morning Madness

2013-05-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Last night the dogs awoke me at ten 'til three in the morning. Who knows what critter they were barking at? Mountain Lion,Bear, deer or flock of turkeys I really don't know. I got up to see what all the fuss was about and I could hear some creature off in the forest traveling through the dry leaves. While navigating my way in the dark back to our bed I noticed a bright spot of orange in the sky to the east. The last quarter moon was up and climbing into the sky. I'm up so I might as well photograph the moon I thought to myself. So I photographed the moon and surprised my self afterwards by promptly falling asleep only to be awoken by the dogs at six to be let out to go for their morning constitutional. I love my dogs... . This morning there was smoke in the air though not as bad as yesterday. That's probably why the moon was so orange. I took Badger the photoblind dog with me out to the Burris Ranch in the Little Lake Valley. The bird photography was a little slow and there were very few birds. All House Finches and one Junco. Before leaving I completely rearranged all of the feeders to hopefully change things up a bit. We'll see what happens. God bless everyone, chris

Letting your Hair Down

2013-05-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Last night we smelled smoke and this morning the Little Lake Valley was full of it. The fire season has started and there were two fires in neighboring counties that blew smoke our way overnight. I took Badger the photodog with me to the photoblind out on the Burris Ranch this morning. He sat very patiently while I photographed House Finches. There were House Finches galore with a few Goldfinches,Titmice and even one Junco. The California Valley Quail made a surprise showing. Usually I can hear them way off. Today they were quiet as little church mice. I was kind of shocked to see about six of them suddenly appear out of nowhere! They stayed on the ground as I think they were camera shy. My favorite image of the day was a House finch that puffed up its feathers and it looked like a baby chicken. Great way to let your hair (Feathers) down. I had a great morning in the blind. God's light and love to all, chris

House Finch and Dragonfly

2013-05-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today it definitely felt like spring. Not to many of my friends in Colorado though where it was snowing pretty hard! There were lot's of House Finches and I photographed my first dragonfly of the season. I spotted another Monarch Butterfly when I was carrying things to the car without my camera of course.So here are a few of my favorites from today. God's love and blessings to everyone, chris

Niñas de la Tierra

2013-04-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

While digging in the garden I ran across a Potato Bug or Jerusalem Cricket.In Spanish they are called Niñas de la Tierra "Children of the Earth". This is because because you usually find them in dirt while digging or under rubbish piles. They love moist places where they can eat their favorite foods of roots and tubers. They will also eat other insects as they are omnivorous.Many people find them to be rather scary for they make a hissing noise similar to sandpaper being rubbed together. The other reason they can be frightening is that they do have rather strong jaws and will bite if they are mishandled or squeezed too hard if you are brave enough to pick one up. Here are a few images of Niñas de la Tierra. God's light and love to all, chris

Leftover Outakes

2013-04-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today I was catching up on some much needed yard work before the weeds mass attack took over the back yard. As a result of that here are a few images from yesterdays journey to Arcata. The waterfall is from Dora Creek and the shorebirds in flight are from Humboldt Bay. God bless, chris

Quick Stop at the Waterfall

2013-04-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

This morning I drove up to Arcata, California with Jay. Along the way we stopped at the Frank and Bessie Smith Redwood Grove for a short hike to the Dora Creek Waterfall. On my return I stopped at the Arcata Marsh and was simply astonished at the massive shorebird migration that was underway.Hundreds of thousands of shorebirds. Parts of the bay looked like they were moving due to the masses of birds feeding. Then I drove southward towards home through the Avenue of the Redwoods and was humbled by God's creation. Grove after grove of tall dark mysterious Redwood trees. Now I'm totally bushed. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Angel's Breath on the Ridge Tops

2013-04-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

On Thursday morning tendrils of fog drifted in from the coast on a light breeze. The rays of the rising sun poked through a forest of tree trunks along the ridge top. It made for a perfect stroll along the dirt logging road that wanders past my house. God's love to all, chris

Pairs

2013-04-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

I just love it when I can capture an image of a pair of animals or birds. It's so much harder to do than photographing a single creature. There are so many more things that have to happen to make it work just right. Both critters need to be in a good position and light. There has to be a good head angle for both of them and you have to have more than one catchlight in the eyes. Earlier this week when I was photographing a Wren two House Finches landed on the perch while I was waiting for the Wren to come back. At first I was annoyed because I really wanted to photograph a Wren! Suddenly it popped into my brain.Wait a minute. They are perfectly placed on both sides of the fence post.I quickly readjusted my camera and created three images of the that looked fantastic. Feeling kind of lowly this morning with a sore throat and a springtime cold. Hopefully I can push through it to enjoy this beautiful day! God's precious love and blessings to all, chris

I'm So Handsome

2013-04-25T06:04:00.002-07:00

Earlier this week I photographed out at the Burris Ranch in the Little Lake Valley below where I live in Northern California. It's great place to photograph birds as it is at the junction of three types of habitat.There is pasture land/valley floor, oak woodland and the riparian habitat of a small creek that flows through the property.Just a marvelous place for photography. When I first walked up the pasture to my photoblind a covey of California Valley Quail took off from the apple tree close to the blind. I hoped that they would come back. As it is often typical for me just about when I was ready to call it quits for the day I heard the feeding call of the quail. I heard them started working there way back down the mountain towards the blind. After a short five minute wait they were up on the bird feeder. Here is a close up image of one of the males. He is pretty handsome. May God bless you, chris

Hot One!

2013-04-24T14:17:00.001-07:00

It's truly amazing how fast the temperature has changed. Just recently I had to wear a jacket and long pants in the photo blind.On April 15th it snowed for a short time in the afternoon at my house. This morning I spent about an hour in the backyard photoblind.I was just cooking in the photoblind wearing a T shirt and shorts. Today it is already 76 degrees at one o'clock! Just a gorgeous day out. Not too many birds visited the feeder. I'm guessing it's because I cleaned up the backyard and set up a new feeder. It takes awhile for them to adjust to a new setting. The squirrels on the other hand seemed to have adapted quite readily. There were five Western Gray Squirrels vying for feeder rights. Here are my favorites of a Steller's Jay and a Western Gray Squirrel from this morning. God bless, chris

House Wren

2013-04-23T16:01:00.003-07:00

This morning I was once again trying to capture a Goldfinch image. I had a beautiful flowering perch for them to land on. It was a long wait and a few goldfinches came by but they weren't using my perch. I kept hearing a Wren calling and with the limited view from the photoblind I couldn't locate it. I started imitating it and it got closer. I saw it land on one of the old fence posts next to my blind. It stayed for awhile and then it left. I knew it would be back so I shifted my camera over to that side of the blind and and started calling again. Within about three minutes it was back on the post displaying and calling. I was able to make six images of it before it flew off again. This one was my favorite. God's love and blessings to all, chris