Saturday, April 9, 2011

Redheads and pink trees

 I love birds of all kinds, from skittish chickadees and territorial hummingbirds to fish-snatching osprey and frenetic kestrels. I'm fascinated by how each type of bird has adapted to its environment. In order to catch bird activity in photography, my camera has to be ready and I need to act quickly.

I see a lot of birds on my daily walks with Padme the wonderdog. I usually take my camera bag but don't always have the camera out and ready to shoot. Mainly because it's usually drizzling here, so I limit how long my camera is exposed to moisture.

In the past month, there have been several occasions where bald eagles and great blue herons flew directly over me. I tell myself that would make for an uninteresting photo of the underside of a large bird against a gray sky.

Last night's woofie walk was no different. This time, though, I had my camera out with the longer (300mm) lens. I managed to catch a very active red-breasted sapsucker, usually a very shy bird. I was reluctant to use a flash but that would have made him sharper. These were photographed about 6:45 p.m. in low light at 800 ISO.

The light was dramatic yesterday evening. Our street is lined with flowering cherry trees that burst into bloom this week. Here is a favorite.