Something special is on its way!
Saturday Night RedTail Ducks Ahoy – Sailor
Timing, timing, timing…anyone who’s a photo shooter knows how important timing is. Years ago, I only shot manual cameras without an auto-winder and my shot timing benefitted from the experience. Fast forward to today, there’s no film advance lever on modern digital SLR cameras. (I’m not so sure the younger generation knows what a film advance lever is.) We have single shot and continuous modes. I find that with continuous shooting, I just start shooting…and miss that fine tuned finesse of catching just the right shot.
Sailor offers reference photo for Making a Splash.
Here’s a reference photo that missed the mark.The water splashed up, right before Sailor locked his gaze in on the retrieve. I was hoping for the lock. The next shot has the lock, but not the dynamic splash.
Solution, an artist interpretation of the not so right shot. Thus was the beginning of the Making a Splash series of Sailor.
Here’s the process to the final piece of Making a Splash part 1.
Sailor’s always ready to go!
Sailor says,
“Let’s go again!”
Sailor on the retrieve in watercolor.
Common Goldeneye on our pond this morning.
Baby Opossum Hanging On
Spring storm breaks for a little rainbow bliss in my backyard.
I wrapped up Kinta stalking butterflies. Try as he might to catch them, the pipevine swallowtails were too quick for him. He is now six months old, a gawky age for a pup. His rabies titer is done and he will be clear to go home in September. We’re going to miss him around here. He’s full of play and snuggles.
Stalking Butterflies
Morning inspiration as the sunrise rises over our home, illuminating our view. I love where I live. Okay, I confess. This is a phone picture. I wanted to check out the panorama feature on the new phone. Angle of view…I figure about 270.
Our California drought is getting bouts of wild wet weather. Over the weekend through Monday we received 4 inches of rain at our place. It was accompanied by high winds and power outages.
On Tuesday we heard barking on the deck, however no dog was in view. Sailor was under the deck, barking up a storm. Kinta kept trying to go under the deck and Blitz kept sniffing it in a search pattern she uses for bird hunting.
We didn’t give it much thought, then yesterday morning I blocked the under deck access enough to keep the dogs out and still allow the cat or whatever else was hiding to egress. Sure enough, look who wondered out…
He or she was soaked and tattered. A friend from Shasta Wildlife Rescue stopped by to pick up a donation and we observed the turkey vulture together. It looked old and a bit bedraggled, but appeared to be getting drier and stronger. This time of year, birds are fighting over nesting spots. Perhaps this one took a dunk in the pond during one such struggle, and then took shelter under the deck while the storms passed.
Dogs, being dogs, found it and sounded the alarm. Who knows, perhaps they plucked a feather or two. Lucky dogs, the vulture didn’t vomit. That’s the usual defense mechanism.
Once dried, the turkey vulture safely made its way into a tree to roost for the night. Tap on the any image and enjoy the slide show.
Sneaking Bliss 