Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw Flower Deformity

It's raining and snowing at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area today so I thought I'd add some flowery cheer by posting this shot of a couple conjoined twin black-eyed susans.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw Grass

The light we nice and golden for a few minutes at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area tonight. Here is a shot with the 500mm and 1.4x TC of some big blue stem.

I saw a whole bunch of mallards fly over which they do this time of day.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw a Vibrant Sunset

I did see a vibrant sunset but it wasn't exactly like this shot. I added a lot of editing (not HDR) to this shot so I could see the grass and the trail then enhanced the clouds a bit.

Below is a shot from a few minutes earlier that is straight out of camera.

Sunset SOOC D7K-4339.jpg

Friday, February 24, 2012

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw a Dragonfly on Mullein

I've been thinking about a getting a Nikkor Micro (aka macro) lens for a while so I can get more close up bug shots. So far, I've always been able to talk myself out of it. I shoot wildlife, mostly birds, and just don't want to lug another lens around and I surely don't want to take the big glass of the camera...that's when all the cool wildlife shots happen. ;-)

Besides, I think I do pretty well with what I have. I used the old Nikkor 300mm f4 AF-ED for this shot. It's cropped quite a bit because the closest focus distance of that lens doesn't allow me to get very close. On the other hand, if I had had a micro/macro lens, I never would have made this shot because the dragonfly would have flow way before I got close enough.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Previously at the TCCAP WVA, I Saw Bridge Shadows

I really like this wide shot of the bridge and shadows at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. I took it back in May 2011 with the Nikon D5000 and the 10-24mm Nikkor lens.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw Tracks Through the Mullein

Almost exactly two years ago today, there was a foot of hard crusty snow at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. We are expecting some slushy rain/snow tonight but as of Saturday, there was no snow at the WVA.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw a Jay

I went out to the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area for sunrise today. Didn't see much. I like this shot of a blue jay. I think the shadows look like whiskers.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw a Frosty Grass Foreground

Here is another shot of the hoarfrost day at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area on February 4, 2012. I just processed this one today.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw Barbed Wire

DSC_4254.jpg by Mully410 * Images
DSC_4254.jpg, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.
Made it out to the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area today for sunset. I've made lots of photos of the sunset but only a few with the sun behind the barbed wire. I'm not sure I like this one. I've been fiddling with Adobe Lightroom because I got is super cheap at Adorama but I miss Nikon's Capture NX2 for developing. Everyone says Lightroom is awesome so I'll keep trying. It's quite possible I'll figure out how to process things faster.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Previously Near the TCAAP WVA, I Saw a Lost Valentine Litter

Someone lost their Valentines Day balloon near the TCAAP WVA last Saturday. It flew over me while I was looking for wildlife in the Arden Hills Army Training Site. It's still enclosed in the Dollar Tree bag.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Today Near the TCAAP WVA, I Saw Lots of Stuff

I spent a good part of the weekend in the Arden Hills Army Training Site.  Today, I got to see 10 white-tailed deer navigate the cliff surrounding the gravel pit like they were mountain goats.  I also saw: 1000s of ducks; about 40 robins; a bald eagle; a pair of red-tailed hawks; some woodpeckers; a dead coyote and heard a pileated woodpecker.

Here is a slideshow:

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Today Near the TCAAP WVA, I Saw a Doe and a Fawn

I often cruise the west side moraine within the AHATS. Tonight, I saw this doe and fawn pause in the golden light on a nearby rise.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Today Near the TCAAP WVA, I saw the Northern Shrike

I spent the afternoon within the AHATS today. At the time, it didn't seem like there was much bird activity. Now that I have had time to reflect on it, we did see a number of birds: bald eagle, sparrows, a pair of red-tailed hawks, a Hairy Woodpecker, a couple groups of tom turkeys and one group of hens. We also some a few deer.

We located some owl and hawk nests that have been used for years but didn't see anyone sitting in the nests yet.

(I think the weird background on this shrike shot is due to the vibration reduction on the lens trying to compensate for the vibration of the truck.)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw a Frosty Gate

I found a couple more gems from the hoar frost day at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. This is a shot of the gate at the entrance. Straight out of camera. RAW converted to JPG.

Here is a link to my previous post with the slideshow of all my hoar frost photos.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Hoar Frost at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area

Fog was predicted for Saturday February 4, 2011 so I headed out to the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area with all my gear. We had spectacular hoar frost. Some of it was over an inch long.

I started out with the tripod and the Nikkor 10-24mm to get some wide environment context photos. Then I moved to the Nikkor 70-300mm for some tighter landscapes and close up before pulling out the Nikkor 500mm f4. I shot the 500 with and without the TC1.4eII.




After about three hours, I headed home and ended up shooting birds in my backyard for a while. The chickadee (not on the barbed-wire), the American tree sparrow and the grackle are all from my backyard.


Here is a slideshow. Click the four arrow like icon in the lower right for a full screen view of these 19 photos.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw a Chickadee on Frosty Wire

Dense fog was the weather at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area today. Along with the high humidity came the hoarfrost.

Only one chickadee landed on the barbed wire. It only stayed for a few seconds but I managed to get this shot.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw Pink and the Sunrise

I'm hoping to get out to the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area tomorrow morning for sunrise. Patchy fog is predicted so I'm hoping to see a scene link this one.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I Saw Snow

Parallel DSC_0332 by Mully410 * Images
Parallel DSC_0332, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.
One year ago today, I was snowshoeing in the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. There was over a foot of fresh fluffy snow. It was a big snowy winter last year so I went out and bought some snow shoes. I'm anxious to get out with them again but of course we don't have any this year.