SOTC 359/365

SOTC 356/365

SOTC 348/365

I find that small birds are crazy-quick and hard to photograph. However, they're also great subjects, and so interesting to watch in their own right.

So I bought a bird feeder to see them more often.

Then I bought a good bird feeder to see them longer.

Finally, I bought a fancy-pants zoom lens to see them better.

And I watch. And I practice.

Ages ago I learned that with portrait photography, make sure the eyes are crisp, and try and get the catchlights if you can. Turns out that applies to any species. So I start from there and compose as I go.

Small birds are crazy-quick to photograph. Here's to sometimes being quicker.

SOTC 335/365

I always appreciate a willing model.

SOTC 313/365

A bird on the lens is worth...

SOTC 302/365

#NoCaptionNeeded

SOTC 294/365

Warrior!

SOTC 283/365

I love when the geese come back.

And then let me get within two feet of them.

#IAmGrateful 21

Nature

Even at -20C, nature still moves about, inviting us into moments of wonder, delight, and awe. I am so grateful.

 

(c) Photos by Gina

 

Well, Poop (SOTC 251/365)

Sometimes you get more than you bargained for in your images.

SOTC 245/365

I have no shame in bribing birds with food to get them closer to my camera.

SOTC 244/365

Magpies are jerks. They are noisy pilferers and bullies. Several of them roost in my neighbourhood. If I am working in the garden and suddenly hear a bunch of magpies squawking, I know that somewhere on the street, a dog or cat (likely my own) is being taunted.

Late last night, I heard quite a ruckus of noise, louder than usual; what are they taunting now?

I was shocked and angered to see 8-10 magpies squawking and pecking at a baby bird in the street. My heart took over--natural selection be damned; baby birds don't deserve to be bullied!

My presence scattered the magpies, and I managed to scoop up the bird--a baby blue jay. I wasn't sure if he was injured, and I wasn't sure how long the magpies would linger, so I opted to house him for the night.

This morning I spotted the adult jays in my front yard, and another fledgling on the neighbour's lawn. Assuming this must be his family, I was happy to release him*... but not without attempting a few pictures first, of course.

The adult jays sure vocalized their opinion about me being so close to their young, but baby blue jay clearly had a sense that I had treated him well, because he stuck around on the grass just long enough to let me photograph and pet both him and his sibling one last time.

Stay clear of the magpies, my feathered friends.

* I had considered taking him to Edmonton's wildlife rehabilitation centre if his parents didn't come back for him.

SOTC 241/365

I find small birds insanely hard to photograph. Fortunately for me, this one has perched himself on a back yard wire a couple times now. He will chirp 'sass' at my cats down below for a good half hour at a time. I think he thinks he's a magpie... Buddy, you're too cute for that.

SOTC 235/365

You know spring has officially arrived when the geese are back :)

SOTC 160/365

SOTC 129/365

Autumn at the Bird Mansion, a photo on Flickr by Gina Blank

SOTC 115/365

Fly into the Evening, a photo on Flickr by Gina Blank

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"Quack."

Quack, a photo on Flickr by Gina Blank.

Winter Berry Silhouette II (SOTC 77/365)

Still so many berries on the tree. Standing stark and slightly wrinkled against the winter sky. The birds had their fill over the summer, and have abandoned the berries as they move south for the winter, or burrow away from the cold.

Sometime in January, the birds will come out to play on an abnormally warm, sunny, winter afternoon. They will get drunk on the fermented berries, chirping and fluttering in a manner not so different from their human counterparts.

How many berries will still be on this branch when spring returns?

But I'm Not a Quitter AND SOTC 30/365

I've never been one to give up easily. I value integrity and loyalty, which goes hand-in-hand with persistence and general stick-with-it-ness much of the time. So when I DO have to prematurely terminate a project, a trip, a visit, a commitment of some sort, I do not do so comfortably. And I certainly do not do so flippantly.

I have spent the last month taking photos, consciously working in-camera to avoid the need for post-processing, to enhance my creative photographic skill.

I gotta tell ya, this hasn't been nearly as engaging so far as my first 365 project.

It's not that I don't like working without Photoshop; I certainly don't need it for many of my photos, anyway, and I have surprised myself a few times with what I've been able to pull off in my camera. There is tremendous satisfaction in knowing that what I'm creating is a pure, unadulterated image!

But those have only really happened when I've been purposely out shooting anyway--a photo club event, an autumn walk. I'm not enjoying the days so much where I fly through my work day, get home, and then have to try and find something interesting enough to want to spend time shooting. And those have, unfortunately, made up the better part of these last thirty days.

In short, I enjoying creating great images, but I am not really enjoying this project.

And, okay, even that's not entirely true. It's more like I'm not really enjoying the pace of this project.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenge of creating a higher ratio of images that don't require any post-processing. I just don't like doing it every day. There seems to be a subtle qualitative difference in the underlying energy that's going into these photos than in my last project, where I wanted some great compositions, yes, but more than that I wanted this-is-me-right-now images.

So, after much deliberation, I'm discontinuing my photo-a-day project.

Sorta.

I will still continue to make a conscious effort to create photos that I can pull Straight Off The Camera, because like I said, the actual challenge it provides when I am out taking pictures is awesome. But I will not necessarily seek to take one each day.

I need to work at my own pace. I need to work with my creative drive, and not try to force it when it's not there.

Day 31 is coming... just not tomorrow...