Nikon – Page 38 – Circadianreflections Blog

Moulton Barn-Mormon Row Grand Tetons National Park

October 25, 2013October 25, 2013Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Landscapes, Nikon, Photography, Travel, US National ParksTagged Grand Teton National Park, Holidays; Valentine's Day; Nature; Wildlife; Ducks; Hearts; Nikon; Nikkor; Photography, Landscapes, Nikon; Travel; Landscapes, San Jose Nature Photographer, Teton Range, U.S. National Parks, U.S. National Register of Historic Places, United States1 Comment

Moulton Barn-Mormon Row Grand Tetons National Park, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

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

This place has been on my bucket list since I first passed through here back in the early 1980’s. We didn’t spend any time in the park on that trip and I’ve regretted it since. This barn has been photographed a million times I’m sure, but I had to have my turn.
This was one of the first places my group visited while in the Grand Tetons. We arrived just at sunrise and already there was quite a crowd of people here.
There wasn’t much color pre-sunrise, but once the sun crested the mountains behind me and lit up the Tetons, and the barn it made getting up early and traveling 45 minutes well worth it. I really hope I get another opportunity to return to this area.

Grand Tetons National Park, Mormon Row, Travel and tourism, Nikon Photographer

Sun salutation

October 16, 2013October 16, 2013Posted in Birds, California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Birding, Birds in the Wild, Holidays; Valentine's Day; Nature; Wildlife; Ducks; Hearts; Nikon; Nikkor; Photography, San Jose California Nature PhotographyLeave a comment

Taken last week-end while looking for Cedar Waxwings. He was a delightful pause along the journey.

Zajac

October 16, 2013October 16, 2013Posted in California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Birding; San Jose California Nature Photographer; Photography;, Nature, Wildlife3 Comments

When I got married way back in the early 80’s my name changed to Zajac. It’s Polish and means White Rabbit, or Little Rabbit depending on which Eastern European you’re talking to. 🙂 I’ve named our house Rabbit Hollow. In Polish my last name is pronounced Zi-onsh.
I’ve never really felt the name is me, but He-Man, and my children are Zajac’s, and I’m honored to be bonded with them for the rest of my life. I’ve often wondered if other married women feel this way? You know, my daughter will always be a Zajac to me no matter what.

I took this photo last week-end while out birding looking for Cedar Waxwings. It’s thought this rabbit was a pet set free. People have been seen feeding it I’m told.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 300mm f/4

Two hours in the park

October 14, 2013October 14, 2013Posted in Birds, California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Birding; San Jose California Nature Photographer; Photography;, BirdwatchingLeave a comment

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of going birding with a my friend Dali. We heard the Cedar Waxwings were returning, and we hoped to find them.

We found a good size flock of them zipping through the Aspens, and pines in the park. We spent most the morning photographing them.

We spotted several other birds too. I managed to nail this photo of a White Crown Sparrow as it was just about to take off.

There was an old dead tree along the creek that had several Acorn Woodpeckers, and Starlings perched on it. Here’s an Acorn Woodpecker taking a quick break from pecking for bugs.

In the wooded area we came across these lovely berries. I don’t know what plant this is, but it was lovely in the morning light, and the colors were vibrant, and perfect for the season.

It was in this area we also saw several Anna’s Hummingbirds flitting around.

Dali says this is a Yellow Throat Warbler. If it is this is the first one I’ve ever seen.

Here are a few more Cedar Waxwings. I just love seeing them. They’re so exotic.

The Aspens in the park were at peak Fall color, and the Waxwings liked being in the yellow branches.

…and here’s one that was high on top of a tree feathering its nest.

It was a very successful outing for birding, and a lovely way to spend two hours.

All the photos were taken with a Nikon D300s with a Nikkor 300mm f/4 lens, hand-held.

Mandarin Duck- Male(Drake)

October 6, 2013October 6, 2013Posted in Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Asia, Drake, Hunting, Mandarin Duck, Outdoors, Recreation, United StatesLeave a comment

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Mandarin Duck- Male(Drake), originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

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

This duck is usually a resident of Asia not the USA. This one is the only one if its kind on this pond. Most likely it was a pet that was released or flew the coup. It’s known as the most beautiful Duck in the world and I agree! My friend Dali and I went to photograph him when we got wind that he was in town. Prior to this sighting I’ve only seen this duck in captivity. It’s very exciting to see one in the wild!

Tufted Puffin-Adult Summer

July 29, 2013July 29, 2013Posted in Birds, California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Nikon, Photography, Travel, WildlifeTagged Alvaro's Adventures, Birding, Farallon Islands, Nikon D700, San Jose California Nature Photography, Tufted PuffinLeave a comment

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Puffin in the wild! I went on a Birding trip out to the Farallon Islands 27 miles outside of San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean. We weren’t allowed on the island-only Biologists are allowed on the island, but we cruised all around them and then we went out to deeper water from there. Along the way we saw 3 Tufted Puffin.

There are only 50 pairs of Tufted Puffin nesting on the Islands at this time, but there thousands of gulls, Common Murre’s, lots of Cormorants, seals, sea lions, and one lone Gannet. In deeper water we saw Hump Back whales, and a Blue Whale too.

I saw so many new birds on the trip, and the one bird I hoped to see was the Tufted Puffin. I went home a happy sailor just seeing one. I hoped I got one good shot.
The weather was overcast, and to get the shutter speed I needed I really pushed the ISO. Shooting from the boat was challenging. I would focus on a bird then the boat would go up or down and my focus point was off. I didn’t start to get the rhythm of the sea til near the end of the day, and then there wasn’t much to see as we were pushing hard to get back.
We were out at sea for nearly 9 hours. I went with Alvaro’s Adventures out of Half Moon Bay. I would definitely go again.

Alvaro is a Biologist, and he had two expert birders along for the tour. One was on the starboard side calling out birds and mammals, and the other on the Port side doing the same. I don’t think we missed anything flying or swimming on our route.

I’ve not been able to spend much time online lately. #1 Grandson is very busy and takes all my attention these days. I’m looking at your photos when I can and I’ll catch up soon!

Bird of the Week: Tufted Puffin (valleybirder.wordpress.com)

Add a little Sparkle to your day…

July 17, 2013July 17, 2013Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Gear, Nikon, Photography, Still LifeTagged Jewelry Photography, Nikon, Nikon D700, Off camera flash, Photography, Product photography, StrobistLeave a comment

I had the whole day free so I played with my continuous lights and SB600 Speedlight. I bought a couple of pieces of jewelry recently which started me thinking about Jewelry Photography and lighting. I am still trying to get more accomplished with external lights and photography and I hope this exercise will help me grow in that area.

After studying lighting techniques, and jewelry styling for a couple of days I got my props together and by late this morning I was ready to start taking some photos.

I still don’t have the lights quite right for the sparkle I want. I’m looking into getting a Dazzle Bulb for the future. I also need another high wattage bulb. I’d also like to add some plexiglass sheets to my kit as well; I see a trip to the hardware store in my near future.

This is my tabletop set up. I set up on the kitchen table with a white sheet, white foam core board, and my lights. I had to hunt for something to tie dental floss on to be able to hang the jewelry and this is what I came up with. My daughters old high-school locker shelf. It came in handy after all these years of non-use.
I took the photo of the set up with a Nikon D300s and 24mm f2.8 AF-D and on-camera flash.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D, and Nikkor 28-105mm AF-D| Continuous lights 1 full Daylight camera right, 1 soft light bulb camera left, SB 600 camera front

I did all the photo development/processing in Photoshop CS6. All my processing starts in Adobe Camera RAW then I moved to Photoshop for levels adjustments, output sharpening, cloning out the thread that held the ear-rings and necklace, cleaning up dust spots, and adding my watermark then resizing for the web.

P.S. Several times today I wished I had a macro lens!

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