Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 300mm f/4| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2017
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Tag: Nature
Wordless Wednesday 5/52
Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Cedar Waxwing
Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm @460mm| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 2017
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Along Swanson Creek
Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
After all the rain we have had I’ve been itching to get out to Uvas Canyon to photograph the creeks, and waterfalls, but Uvas Canyon County Park was closed for about 2 weeks due to flooding, and high water. It just reopened on the 27th so, this morning #1 Grandson and I went up there for a little hike.
The creeks are full of rushing water hurrying down the hills, and the waterfalls are full and lovely.
I stopped along the creek to make some images on the way up the trail.
I really wanted to get in the creek and get to some better angles, but with #1 Grandson with me that wasn’t a good idea. He was wanting to get in to go for BIG rocks to throw. 🙂
He was trooper and made it all the way up to Upper Falls, and back on his own two feet. Although while throwing rocks in the creek he waded in after a big rock and got his feet and shoes wet. He said he had lots of fun today.
He did sit and pose for me, and give me a silly smile. I’m crazy about this boy!
I am hoping to get back up there with my Wellies and maybe not #1 Grandson so I can get in the creek and head up and down a few more trails where there other little cascading falls to photograph.
I have several more images to work on I’ll share soon.
Nikon Df| Nikkor 17-35mm| Delkin Digital Film| PS CC 2017 & On 1 Photo 10.5
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Super Moon Rising November 2016
Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post here that photographing November’s Super Moon was N° 1 on my photography list of things to do this past week-end.
Quite awhile back I made plans to shoot it with with friends, and a photography group we’re in in central California at a Sandhill Crane Refuge called Woodbridge Ecological Reserve aka Isenberg Crane Reserve. The Sandhill Cranes Winter here, and in November both Greater and Lesser Sandhill Cranes are on the Reserve.
The goal was to photograph the Sandhill Crane’s evening Fly-in and rising Super Moon.
Here is a series of images I made.
It was hazy and a little cloudy, but here is the Moon just rising above the mountains. You can barely see the mountains.
…some Sandhill Cranes making their way into the Marsh.
Two Sandhill Cranes flying in high in front of the Moon.
Once the sun went down it was pretty tough shooting. I really pushed the ISO to keep my shutter speed up so the Sandhill Cranes wouldn’t be too blurry, but I failed for the most part. I also focused on the Moon and not the Cranes which didn’t help keep the Cranes sharp. Still. I would do it all over again. It was an amazing evening hearing and seeing the Cranes coming in with this year’s special Super Moon, and the company was the best.
Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 2017 & On1 Photo 10.5
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Draw-a-Bird Day Nov.2016
Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
I actually painted this in late October and thought if it came out alright I’d post it for this month’s Draw-a-Bird day.
I’ve never seen a Barred Owl in the wild but, would love to!
Reference/inspiration Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America
Painted on Canson 140lb coldpress watercolor paper
Paint: Turner Artist Watercolors; sap green, maya yellow, burnt umber, permanent yellow, ultramarine blue
Ink: Carbon Platinum Pen and ink
Brushes: Escoda #6, rd #2 rd , Mimik Kolinsky #12
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Fall Colors in the Eastern Sierras
Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Here are several images I made while in the Eastern Sierras looking for Fall Colors.
A spillover along a creek…
The back-light was gorgeous on this little tree, but the broken branch looked like an arm with fingers placing the tree in the light to me.
a little cluster of color among the sage brush…
After sunrise I turned around and saw some Alpine Glow on the Sierras so hustled over to the this side to make a quick image. The reflections were nice too.
I was delighted to see a little flock of White Crowned Sparrows. They’re just beginning to show up in the Bay Area to winter where I live.
a valley full of color!
I couldn’t resist a little close up of the new pinecone with the golden Bokeh gleaming behind it. Feels like Christmas in October. 🙂
I walked back from Misty Fall about a quarter mile to get this shot. I’m so glad I did. I love this sign!
Nikon Df| Nikkor 17-35mm & 180mm lenses| Delkin Digital Film| Tripod & Hand-held
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Fiery Skipper & Gear Review
Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
I’m renting a Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G VR lens for a week to see if I like it well enough to replace my older 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 AF-D Micro lens. I sat in the backyard hoping the Skipper would show up so I could see how the lens handles close up imaging with my Canon 500D Close Up lens attached to it.
I really would like 24mm on the wide end, and having a little more reach couldn’t hurt.
I’ve shot less than 200 frames since picking up the lens late Friday afternoon; so far I am liking what I’m seeing.
It’s sharp, contrasty, auto-focuses quickly, and is pretty quiet. I don’t hear or feel VR (Nikon’s lens stablization) kicking in, but it must work b/c I was able to snap off a throw away low light shot made in my living room at 1/13s hand held and it’s pretty good…in focus and not blurry!
It’s easy to carry. It weighs 1.56 pounds which is just a tick under my 17-35mm so, the weight feels natural to me. What I’m trying to say is; I’m comfortable holding it and my camera. There’s not much difference weight wise between having the 28-105 or this lens on the camera to me.
One bête noire is the focus ring on this rental lens is SUPER hard to turn. Doing photography in the dark means one needs to be able to focus manually. While photographing the Moon and planet conjunctions both Friday and Saturday nights it wasn’t easy rotating the focus ring with this copy of the lens. I’m hoping it’s just this rental unit and not a characteristic of the lens. The rental copy has been well used. I can tell that because the gold lettering stating the lens specs is just about worn off, and the focus ring is a pain to use.
I haven’t uploaded last night’s images yet, but hope I was able to dial in a well focused shot. I’ll be posting those images soon.
You won’t get graphs, charts, and scientific testing with my reviews. I’m all about how the lens feels, works in my hands, and how good or bad the images look. I’ll be printing several images as well as pixel peeping on my PC to see how well they look.
My kit this week will be Nikon Df| Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G VR
Canon 500D Close Up lens
B+W Polarizer
2 Singh-Ray Graduated Filters
2 B+W Neutral Density Filters
SB910 Speedlight
Cable Release
Either my Nikkor 20mm f1.8G or my 16mm f/2.8D Fisheye for ultra wide angle photography.
Iphone 5
Both images made with the Nikon Df| Nikkor 24-120mm f4G VR| Canon 500D Close Up lens|Delkin Digital Film| PS CC 2015.5
FWIW: I’ll be off line most of this week. I’m still behind reading posts, and will get further behind this week! I’m getting some posts ready in advance and scheduled, but won’t be able to comment or view posts easily. Y’all have a great week! I’ll catch up when I get back. xx
More to come…
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