circadianreflections

A Gift from the Skies

January 30, 2011Posted in Uncategorized2 Comments

A Gift from the Skies, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

To see the photo larger click anywhere in the photo.

Shortly after arriving at Llano Seco Wildlife Refuge we were standing around listening to our guide talk about the area and the types of birds we might see here when someone spotted a flock of Sandhill Cranes flying toward us.
Thankfully I had my camera ready. I hadn’t yet decided I wanted my extender on it so this is a shot without it.
The forecast called for fog, low clouds, and no sun making for some rather dull back grounds I’m afraid.

I missed the Sandhill Cranes last year and hoped I’d see some this year. This felt like a gift from the skies seeing this flock fly by. A great beginning to the day.

Sandhill Cranes; Grus canadensis; Llano Seco Wildlfe Refuge; Chico California; Pacific Fly-by; Sandisk Ultra II Digital Film; CS5

Tundra Swan

January 30, 2011January 30, 2011Posted in Birds, California, NikonTagged Tundra Swan; Snow Goose Festival 2011;1 Comment

Snow Goose Festival 2011

I, and 3 girl-friends, and Alex went to Central California for the annual Snow Goose Festival.

The weather forecast called for gray skies, with low clouds, and rain in the forecast for Sunday.

It made for some rather dull backgrounds, but I saw several birds I’d never seen before.

The water birds were out in the ponds quite a distance from me. I had rented a Nikkor 300mm f4 for the week-end hoping to get some nice shots. I used my Tamron 1.4x extender for an hour, but wasn’t happy with what I was seeing in my LCD in playback so I just took it off. I did use my latest accessory the Wimberley Sidekick. I really like it. Moving my camera was so smooth, and panning was much easier. I wish I had thought to take a photo of it. I’ll do that this week.

We were all struggling with the distance, and getting the sharp, close up.

Our first tour Saturday morning was at Llanco Seco Wildlife Refuge where we saw several different types of ducks. I saw American Wigeon, Eurasian Wigeon, a Ruddy Duck, Coots, lots of Coots, a Sandhill Crane fly-by, Tundra Swan fly-by, and a Meadowlark.

After we finished our tour at Llano Seco we met a friend of R’s who is a local resident in Chico. She knew the back roads. She took us to a little known refuge where we saw a Night Heron tree. The trees had so many in them. I tried to get a good shot of one in flight, but they were too far away so it didn’t come out as well as I had hoped. From there we went out to another pond where we saw lots and lots of Snow Geese. We saw flocks of them coming in and landing in the pond which upset the Tundra Swan and sent some of them off.

Here is one of a little group of 3 that took off. They were pretty far away from me. I think I’d need an 800mm lens to get a close up! Still I’m happy to have got this shot, and to have seen them take off and hear them.

We had a great time with B. Thank you B for the gift of your time, and sharing your spots with us.

Sunday I woke up to rain, rain, rain… My 3 girl-friends weren’t able to get on the tour Alex and I signed up for so they were gone, and Alex who coming down with a cold wasn’t feeling it when he woke up to rain. I went out to the meeting spot for the Paskenta Tour but it was still rainy. I wasn’t feeling it so I headed for home. It rained the whole 3.5 hour drive home. On the bright side I beat the returning ski traffic.

Even though I didn’t get the money shot I hoped for this week-end it was a stellar birding week-end. Seeing the flocks of geese come in to land, the Sandhill Crane, and Swan fly-bys, and so many different ducks was thrilling. Hanging out with my friends was a joy. I am looking forward to next year’s Snow Goose Festival.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 300mm f4| f5| 1/3200 sec| ISO 800| Manual Mode| On a Tripod|

“Become so wrapped in something that you forget to be afraid.” ~ Lady Bird Johnson

January 27, 2011Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

"Become so wrapped in something that you forget to be afraid." ~ Lady Bird Johnson, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

She looks better large. Click anywhere in the photo to see it larger. To see it on black Click once more after being redirected to the larger view.

A closer look at her face.

Have a lovely week-end everyone!

My first shot of 2011 was this beautiful Coyote just a short distance inside the park. Dali (DD), Tj, Alex, and I spent the first week-end in 2011 in Yosemite National Park. We had hoped for some great winter landscapes, and were thrilled when Tj spotted her laying in snow across the road. We pulled over and she came over to the car and acted like she expected us to throw out something for her to eat. She hung around long enough to realize we weren’t going to feed her and other passing cars spooked her so she gave up and went into the forest.

Nikon D90| Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8@ 170mm| f4| 1/100 sec| ISO 200| Hand-held

Yosemite National Park; California; Coyote; Wild Animals

“Never fear shadows. They simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby.” ~Ruth E. Renkel

January 27, 2011Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby." ~Ruth E. Renkel, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

It looks much better large. Please click anywhere in the photo to view it in Large.
This is another photo from my road trip to Arches National Park last Nov.

This is part of the sliprock trail you must climb to get up to Delicate Arch. Where it is wet it’s slippery, and this is on the a slant which made it worse in some places. It’s a mountain side your scaling. The trail looks like a long faint scar going up this part of the mountain. Made by the many feet that have gone up and down this sliprock to get to Delicate Arch.

It was here, or very near here that I realized I hadn’t seen a cairn for awhile. This is just a few feet from the top of this mountain. You can see the top here. I paused to look around and take this photo of the clouds with those radiant light beams, and the La Sal Mountains behind them then Theresa and I back-tracked to find the last seen cairn. I had missed one that veered to the left. This was the only cairn I missed I’m happy to say. The cairns are spaced a good distance apart in places.

It’s a pretty rugged trail with no shade or water, it’s steep and there is a narrow ledge on open cliff face you hike up without any barriers just before you get to Delicate Arch. I don’t suffer from vertigo, or a fear of heights, but this had me in Mother Mode! 🙂 I think I pulled Theresa a little closer to the wall several times. It’s worth the effort to get up here. Do it if you can!

Total miles hiked 3+
Total ascent 480 feet

I come here not to look out, but to look within.

January 26, 2011January 26, 2011Posted in California, Landscapes, Nikon1 Comment

I come here not to look out, but to look within., originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

To see the Photo Large click anywhere in the photo.

I returned to Pacifica with 3 friends ( T, DD, and PP) for the sunset. As luck would have it the fog didn’t come in, but hung back with just a thin layer of mist floating in the air.
The wave and tide while high again today wasn’t nearly as rough or as high as Saturday last, but I wasn’t able to get down on the other side of the beach to take another shot I had hoped to get.
I wish Pacifica would replace those 2 burned out bulbs! I’ll have to come back when they’ve replaced them.
T said she had heard that the Mavericks were in. “Mavericks is a winter destination for some of the world’s best big wave surfers. Very few riders become big wave surfers; and of those, only a select few are willing to risk the hazardous conditions at Maverick’s. An invitation-only contest is held there every winter, depending on wave conditions.” ~ wikipedia

That explains why there were no surfers here on Saturday evening. They were all down watching the Mavericks.

I read that an OC county surfer Jacob Trette was nearly drowned at the Mavericks on Sunday. He was pulled out of the ocean unconscious by a photographer who was out there in a boat. The story is that he and other surfers were caught by a huge wave that came in and the subsequent waves pushed him down. Trette was put in a medically induced coma, but his condition was upgraded from “critical to fair” yesterday. I hope Trette gets stronger with each new day, and send my sympathy and warmest thoughts to his family. People are keeping you in their hearts and prayers. May you find strength and comfort in family and friends.

Pacifica, California| Pacifica Pier| Blue Hour|

Delicate Arch

January 24, 2011Posted in Uncategorized1 Comment

Delicate Arch, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Click anywhere in the Photo to see it Large.

I’ve been so blessed to have been able to visit so many wonderful parks and places last year that I’ve fallen behind with my photo editing and developing.
This is from a road trip I took back in Nov. 2010.
Theresa and I hiked up to Delicate Arch after our sunrise hike out to Landscape Arch.
This hike was a strenuous 3 mile hike over open slip rock, no shade, and one part was open cliff face with no barrier. Along the open sliprock there are cairns marking the trail, but I missed one and we hiked up about 1/4 mile before I realized I hadn’t seen a cairn in some time so we turned around. Sure enough I missed one. I’m glad we decided to do this hike after sunrise rather than in the dark.
Having now done this hike I feel confident that I would be able to find my way up here again with my headlamp and torch.

The young woman here doing the Yoga pose Warrior 3 was fantastic. She recited poetry, and she and a friend later sang a duet standing under the arch just there. Oh, it’s so long ago now I can’t remember all the words, but it was about the simple things that make you happy. It was such a wonderful and spiritual experience being up here. Those of you who have climbed to high places or sat near the sea, or been deep in the forest know what I’m talking about I am sure.
Though I have forgotten the words to the song I will never forget the feeling of peace, and happiness I felt on this morning. I am grateful for the gifts of song and poetry she and her friend gave those of us who hiked up the sliprock to Delicate Arch on the morning of November 7, 2010.

Beach Entertainment

January 24, 2011January 24, 2011Posted in California, Landscapes, NikonTagged Beach, PacificaLeave a comment

Beach Entertainment, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

While I waited for the sunset the gulls came flying in and landed in a line stretched across the beach. I watched them grooming, and squabbling with each other, and wondered why they line up that way?
The waves were huge and the surf was so loud. There was a bit of a breeze that carried the sea spray up which looked really neat, and when the waves hit the pier I bet a few fishermen got wet once or twice.

Who needs TV when this is available?

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