circadianreflections

Woody in Badwater Saloon Death Valley

May 20, 2013May 20, 2013Posted in PhotographyLeave a comment

Woody in Badwater Saloon Death Valley, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved

I had a trip to Crater Lake scheduled since last August, but when I checked the weather forecast it showed rain for 3 of the days I’d be there, so I canceled the reservation, and changed directions and went to Death Valley where it was sunny for 3 days and the temperatures ranged from 87 to high 90’s.
After checking into Stovepipe Wells Hotel we unpacked, then headed for the Saloon for an ice cold Blue Moon and burger. It was really windy out with gusts up to 20mph, so my plans to shoot the sunset at the Mesquite Sand Dunes had to be scrapped. I needed to find a Plan B….To be continued.

Death Valley National Park, Badwater Saloon, Woody Artist Manniquin

Forty Top U.S. Birding Trails

May 14, 2013Posted in PhotographyLeave a comment

This is a great resource to have. There are 83 locations in California alone! I doubt I’ll bird them all in my lifetime, but I’ll have fun trying.

Natural History Wanderings

Audubon Magazine has an article on 40 top American Birding Trails by Kenn Kaufman. It was originally published in July- August 2008. It includes Birding sites throughout the U.S. Here is the link to the article.

Audubon’s Field Guide to Birding Trails | Audubon Magazine.

View original post

“The stars twinkle in the Milky Way and the wind sighs for songs across the empty fields of a planet a Galaxy away. “~L.Ron Hubbard

May 14, 2013May 14, 2013Posted in PhotographyLeave a comment

“The stars twinkle in the Milky Way and the wind sighs for songs across the empty fields of a planet a Galaxy away. "~L.Ron Hubbard, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I purchased the Nikkor 16mm Fisheye lens with Night Photography in mind. This was the first time since acquiring it that I’ve been out shooting the stars.

I really wanted to see how it works and how photos would look so I used only the Fisheye lens for all my Night Sky photography on this night.
I was hoping the angle of view would be so wide that I could capture a lot of the Milky Way. I couldn’t capture it all in one frame but I was able to get more than ever before.

A small group of us were hanging out together most the night. Meggie, Ritesh, Nikki, Marsha, and I. We had been photographing the night sky waiting for the Milky Way to rise then climb high enough above the mountains, and clouds for us to see it. Our position then was down near the campground using the Oak Trees and grass in our foreground. About 1:30AM Marsha and I hiked back up to the Peak to shoot the Milky Way over the valley.
The pockets of light in the right mid-ground is the city of Hollister hidden under the fog I believe. This was my last shot of the night. I took this at 3:12AM from just under Fremont Peak. It was a fun night under the stars. Marsha and I hiked down the mountain tired, but elated. It’s so exciting seeing so many stars, and the Milky Way this vibrant and clear once again in our hemisphere.

My next goal is to learn how to do a panorama of the Milky Way.

Sunset from the Galiban Mountain Range

May 12, 2013May 12, 2013Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Landscapes, Nature, PhotographyTagged Fremont Peak State Park, San Jose California Nature Photography, Sunset3 Comments

Sunset from the Galiban Mountain Range, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved

This year for my birthday I wanted to spend it photographing the Milky Way, stars, and sunset. Since I would be up all night or nearly so my family opted out. So, I joined one of my favorite Meet-up groups in Fremont Peak State Park to shoot the stars.This Sunset was the beginning of an awesome night out. The sunset was fantastically beautiful, and the sky cleared for us to get wonderful photos of the Milky Way., and Star Trails I was up on the Peak when the clock hit Midnight May 12th…my birthday. Myself and several friends shot until after 4AM. I arrived home at 9AM on Sunday morning tired, but happy. I spent the rest of the day relaxing then my family took me out to dinner for my Birthday/Mother’s Day combo.
I feel so blessed right now to have such loving and supportive family. I’m heading to bed soon. I’ll probably fall into a deep sleep as soon as my head hits my pillow.
I hope all Mom’s reading this had a wonderful day, and a great week-end!

Sunset Santa Cruz (circadianreflections.wordpress.com)
Appreciating A Sunset (authormccloskeyspeaks.wordpress.com)

On the third day there was better light

May 11, 2013May 11, 2013Posted in Birds, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Photography, WildlifeTagged Camera, Cedar Waxwing, Los Gatos, Niko, San Jose California Nature Photography1 Comment

I have gone out 3 mornings in a row trying to get a decent photograph of a Cedar Waxwing. The first morning the light was awful. It was overcast requiring me to really crank up my ISO to get the speed I needed to maintain a sharp photograph, but all my photos have too much noise…yes even with the D700 it’s too much noise for me. To keep my speed up I was using ISO 3200. These little guys move fast.
Yesterday wasn’t as overcast, but the Cedar Waxwings kept themselves high in the trees which was too far for my lens unfortunately, but this morning the light was better, the sun was breaking through the marine layer earlier, so I dressed grabbed a slice of toast, and a quick cup-a-tea then headed over to the park hoping to spot the Waxwings before the park got too busy.

Arriving in the park I saw a gaggle of geese with several goslings in tow-here’s just two, two Killdeer in the grass hunting for breakfast, and there were robins, and crows as well.

The early morning runners and walkers were already there, and several families were claiming picnic areas, and tables.

It took me a little while to find the flock this morning. They moved a little further south from where they were previously. I spent over an hour following them and photographing them. They had flown to some great low branches where the sun was at a great angle for both back-lit and side-lit shots. I was focused and shooting away when suddenly in the creek below this Canadian Goose started honking, and honking, and the Waxwings got upset; flitting around and then from the corner of my eye I spied a large bird coming in fast…it was a Hawk! All the Waxwings, and the Goose took off for safer branches. I’m not sure if this is a Red-tail or a Coopers.

I saw this Hawk high up in a Eucalyptus Tree on my way out of the park. I think it’s a Cooper’s Hawk, but am not positive. Any help with the Hawk ID I’d appreciate it.

Waxwings don’t normally live here. They will be gone by June I’ve heard. This is the first time I’ve ever seen them in the wild. I’m so happy to have seen them and get a few photos I like. I hope to get back here and photograph them again before they move on.

Canadian Geese and Goslings

May 10, 2013May 10, 2013Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Canada Goose, Canadian Geese Goslings, Nature, Nikon D700, San Jose California Nature Photography, Wildlife2 Comments

I went to a local park this morning looking for a small flock of Cedar Waxwings that I spied yesterday, and on the way I spotted two Canadian Geese Goslings.

They were adorable pecking along the grass looking for worms and grubs.

Here’s the only photo I was took with the parents fully in the frame:

…and here are the two little ones together: