AstroGypsies

It was so warm I just went down to the dock, stuck my feet in the water and decided to wait to see what came along…not much of an afternoon plan but hey, it was stinking hot! Off in the part shadows a Loon was napping, slowly drifting towards me with what little breeze there was. Unfazed, but looking….

Loons are so aware of their surroundings even at rest. I love to watch them. Humans could learn something from them;) Awareness seems to be a causality of walking, looking at a phone while crossing the street and not looking in either direction…mandroids;) Ha!

After a bit he/she stretched, one foot then the other, then it was time for a look around, up, sideways, behind…then it was bath time! Ready for his photo shoot;) with a few dragonflies as well!

I am astounded what swims by our small home! It is fascinating watching the comings and goings on the water, and back on the land! The juvenile hummingbirds have flown the coop! Big Daddy is busy trying to keep them all in line but not being very successful!

I love the challenge of photographing these beautiful birds. It is what got me back into photography when we moved to Baja, we had SO many! Here, I have to be content with my Ruby-throated friends until global warming has us in a tropical zone;) I usually sit mid-morning, or late afternoon. I like the light best then. More shadows depth than noon day sun. Sometimes too many shadows! Ha!

I move my feeders around to best catch the light, they find them pretty quickly and know where I hang them! I start out with a set setting. F6.3 (unless there is a lot of light! Then it can inch higher) ISO 3200, that’s high, but I use Topaz DeNoise to help out with that. 1/4000 to 1/6400 sec. are the shutter speeds I rotate up and down, depending on the situation, light, shadow, etc and usually I’m about 8-10′ from the feeder so I sit at 600mm with my trusty old Tamron 150-600G2. Lower your feeders to your seated eye height as well! Really helps out!

Now, backgrounds…the busier they are, the harder it is to keep focusing on the hummingbirds. I usually set the telephoto to 2.2-10 meters so it’s not picking up too much detail behind. Sometimes the “eye focus” works, sometimes even these guys are too busy for it! The less background distraction certainly makes it easier but sometimes you want some colour in the background! Better light makes it easier. I often don’t try too hard on a cloudy day, filtered light can be OK but you need LIGHT for these guys. Or Flash which I don’t have but maybe would try one day. It would fix the “cloudy” days!

The dark background is me shooting into the alcove of our house, shadows. I hang the feeder from the rain gutter and yes, I have been known to put white clover blossoms in the feeder hole right in front of me…why? I get tired of but shots! Ha! It also allows me to get the light where I want it. I do shoot handheld, they move so fast!

My flowers are just starting to bud, I didn’t get going soon enough this Spring so will endeavor next year to plant a few earlier bloomers! Once the calla lilies, gladiolas and other Hummingbird favourite bulbs I have started bloom, it will be a field day! Zinnias next year! Remember! Zinnias! Ha!

Look at that proud chest! Ha! I did have one juvenile that had very odd looking claws but I think she just needed to grow into her feet! Ah, being a teenager…:) Speaking of juveniles and teenagers, were you a speak your mind kind of kid? I have to admit I wasn’t shy or one to mince words, ask some of the boat crew or my mother’s boyfriends;) We had a young Oriole who has the same problem yesterday;) Ha! Go kid, tell ’em like it is!

He was picking a fight with a much bigger bird! Quite pleased with himself he was…

Until he couldn’t figure out how to land on the jam jar…Hopefully Dad will come along and show him the ropes…again!

He wasn’t the only too big for his britches lad. Last week Rocket the largest of our orange cats somehow managed to tip over our metal turkey vulture, Zophia the zopilote, I think he got a claw stuck on her neck when he jumped her, yes, jumped her…0_0…sigh…that boy, and they all went tumbling down. I missed getting a shot of the great kerfuffle…Rocket decided, the mouse was going to be his, he circled, and circled…as I changed directions to get a shot he leapt onto the back of poor Zophia, they both went tumbling to the ground below and we saw a mouse go flying through the air a few feet off the ground…only to scramble back into the rocks when it landed…quite the sight! Not sure the mouse will move back in now…but it did….

He said he smelled Moussey in there!

He circled and circled, sniffed her butt, under her wings…rude boy! Then….so glad I was sitting with the camera…he turned into a marmot! The Greater Orange Bellied Marmot to be exact! Ha!

Mike and I were laughing so hard, while trying to make sure he didn’t send her tumbling again! Mousey had moved back in!”Piss off cat! You already sent me flying once! Now I have to rebuild!! Scramola!!”

Never a dull moment with this one!

Smoke has moved back in, the temperatures are forcast to drop which would be delightful! Some rain please! I hate that crispy feel of dead grass under my feet! I still need to get out and check on the Loonlets, just needs to be a bit cooler, yes, I’m a complete whimp! I’ll leave you with the baby raccoon down at Jennifer’s. This little girl, we think, (didn’t see any equipment;) Ha!) got left in the barn by her young mother, first time mother Jennifer said. She was completely dehydrated and fading away. Jennifer is trying to get them to take her back but she says she’d like to live with the cats please in the house! Nope…! Another piece of mandarin please! Too cute, but she’ll be moving back to the barn soon hopefully with her kin! Alice, the white and gray tabby, is adamant…no long nosed bandits at the house! Ha!

Life is precious! Sometimes things need a hand along to survive:)

I almost got up for the sunrise this morning at 5:32, I need a landscape fix, there was some colour, unfortunately there were parts of my body that disagreed with the photography union side, the legs, feet, hips, those the mobility parts, well, they told the photo parts, hands, brain, arms, to piss off and go back to sleep, talk to their representatives later;) Saludos amigos:) From earlier this month:)