Category: Photography

Thursday Doors 6/52: 3 Red Doors

Posted in Architecture, Photography, Red, Red Doors, Thursday's DoorsTagged , , , , , , , 32 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I’m into doors of color at the moment so this week I present 3 Red Doors from my neighborhood walk-abouts.

Nº 5049

Red Door Nº5049

Nº 131

Red Door Nº 131

Nº 2033

Red Door Nº2033

The top two panel doors are popular in my area. I’ve seen quite a few of them

painted red.  I looked at getting this same door when shopping for a new door last year, but  we bought a different door with more glass.

The bottom door reminds me of farmhouse door. I don’t see many of these in my neighborhood which is classic Suburban.

Nikon Df w/ 28-105mm, and the Lumix FZ200| Hoodman and Lexar Digital Film|PS CC 2015

This is my entry to Norm 2.0s Thursday Doors. To see all this week’s entries or post some doors of your own click here.

UPDATE: Little link thingy wasn’t working but it’s fixed now!

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2 44/52 Late Afternoon Merced Marsh

Posted in birding, Birds in the Wild, Black and White Photography, Monochrome Madness2, National Wildlife Refuge, National Wildlife Refuges in California, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 37 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

MM2 Late Afternoon Merced Marsh_3000593

My friend Dali and I went out to Merced National Wildlife Refuge last week-end and found oh, so many Snow Geese, and some Lesser Sandhill Cranes along with the usual suspects.  We were photographing some of the Snow Geese and other birds in the nearest marsh when all of the sudden the noise level escalated and the birds took to the air!

The squawking, screeching, quacking, and honking was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself speak!  It was pretty neat to see and hear. We’re not sure but, we think a Hawk, or Coyote spooked them.

This is my entry to Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness 2. To check out all the entries this week click here.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 200-500mm VR| Delkin Devices Digital Film| PS CC 2015 & On1 Photo 10

More to come…

Early Spring!

Posted in Bees, Flower Photography, Flowering Trees, Honey Bees, Nature, Nature Photography, Nikon DF, Photography, Poems of Robert Frost, Poerty, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Seasons of the Year, Spring, Trees, WinterTagged , , , , , , , , , 27 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I had a walk-around the neighborhood Sunday morning and found Spring everywhere.

The flowering trees are in bud, and beginning to blossom while others are in full bloom!

A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost-

“Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.”~Robert Frost (from A Boy’s Will, 1915)

Flowering Tree in Full Bloom

The huge white flowering tree was a hive of activity in the canopy. The buzz of bees

was dizzying, and the warmth of the sun on my face when I looked up felt wonderful, healing, and nourishing.

The branches were heavy with blossoms,

Flowering Tree in full bloom

papery white, with lovely “look at me!” centers.

Blossoms on a Flowering Tree

Plus one more…

Nearly home I found a huge Sweat Pea vine spilling over a fence with dozens of busy bees.

Honey Bee and the Sweet Pea

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2015

More to come…

 

Vermilion Flycatcher Male-In Watercolor + 1

Posted in Art, Birds, Flowers, Photography, Watercolor PaintingTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 31 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

It was rainy last week which kept #1 Grandson and myself indoors. Some of the things I’m trying to teach him are coloring, writing, and painting.  One rainy morning I set up his paints, paper, brushes, water bowl, and crayons. While he was giving his crayons a bath, and finger painting I reached for a piece of his Artist Loft watercolor paper then using my brushes dipped into his Artist Loft’s watercolor palette to paint a loose rendition of the Vermilion Flycatcher I had photographed the previous week-end.

Vermilion Flycatcher in Watercolor

 

A few days later I tried to paint it with a bit more structure and detail using my Turner Watercolor paints, and Arches 140lb cold pressed watercolor paper.

Vermilion Flycatcher Male in Watercolor

I like the loose painting best even though the pigment isn’t as rich and the paper hasn’t much tooth.

The Reference Photo-

Vermilion Flycatcher-Male

The following evening instead of watching TV or reading I went in a different direction and painted Poppies.

Poppies in Watercolor

I used my Turner Watercolor Paints, and Arches Watercolor 140lb cold pressed paper for

this painting.  I’ve been doing poppies on and off for a few months and I like this one the best so far.  I have a LONG way to go before I’m anything other than mediocre as a painter, but I’m having fun learning and trying.

Panasonic Lumix FZ200| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2015|

More to come…

A Western Bluebird at her Toilette

Posted in Backyard Birding, Bird Photography, birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , 24 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A few weeks ago I had a first time visitor to the little feeder which turned into a bird bath after the rainy week. I was thrilled to see the Western Bluebird in my yard!

Well, she like the temperature, and atmosphere so she decided to stay and have a bath. Luckily my camera was nearby.

Eyeing up the tub, and making sure the coast is clear overhead…

Bluebird Female

At her toilette

Western Bluebird Female bathing

“Do you mind! I’m bathing here!” That look really got me thinking…”man I’m a voyeur!” 🙂

Do you mind I'm bathing here!

All clean! She had a good shake and flew away after this image was taken. I hope she comes back!

Western Bluebird

I took these images through the window so they’re a bit soft. I used the dehaze feature to help that a bit. It’s a pretty neat feature!

 

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 300mm f4| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2015

Red-tail Hawk with Prey

Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds, Birds of North America, Birds of Prey, Hawks, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 22 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Warning!: Some may find these images too graphic!

While birding a couple of weeks ago in the Sacramento Valley we spotted this Red-tail Hawk having lunch on a levy about 25-30ft away from us.  It spotted us too.  It didn’t like the way we kept staring while it was trying to eat so…
Red tail Hawk with meal

…it picked up its meal…

Red-tailed Hawk with Prey in Flight

…and flew to a tree stump that offered a bit more privacy.

Red tail with prey on tree stump

We watched it eat for a couple of minutes then slowly drove away leaving it to enjoy its meal.

The second image with the Red-tail in flight has a bit of motion blur. I was hand-holding the lens and not used to its weight and think it was me being a wobbly rather than a slight pan.  The eye is pretty sharp, and the blur gives it a sense of movement I like enough to save, and share it.

I was also racked out to 500mm and I didn’t frame up the shot giving the bird enough room to fly out of the frame, so I extended the canvas a bit then added in some of the background to give the bird some room to fly out of the frame, and fix the composition.  There’s a learning curve to  all new lenses; getting used to the weight, and bulkiness -it’s a chubby lens, and framing with it will be what I strive to master in the coming years.

I liked the lens so much I bought one right after I returned the rental lens.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 200-500mm VR (rental lens)| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2015

More to come…

Thursday Door’s 5/52: Nº418

Posted in Architecture, Blue Doors, Brick Cottages, Photography, Thursday's DoorsTagged , , , , , , 18 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

While birding last Saturday I saw this door, and cottage and had to stop

to take a photo.  I really like the shape of this door, and the color. Next to red doors, blue is one of my all time favorite colors for doors.

Nº 418 Thursday Doors

I love this roof line and 3 gables.

Nº 418 Thursday Doors

This is part of Norm 2.0’s Thursday Door’s. Click here to see all the doors posted this week.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Hoodman STEEL Ultra High Speed Digital Film| PS CC 2015

More to come…