San Jose Nature Photographer – Page 3 – Circadianreflections Blog

Prairie Falcon

January 21, 2014January 21, 2014Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Photography, WildlifeTagged Birding, Birds in the Wild, Photography, San Jose Nature Photographer7 Comments

Saturday last I had the pleasure of Dali, and Rainey’s company for a few hours of birding.

We headed south about an hour from home hoping to spot Golden Eagles. We hadn’t gone too far down a country road when I spied a falcon on top of a telephone pole. I quickly pulled over and turned off the car so we could take photos without the vibration of the engine.

None of us was positive about the bird’s ID at the time, but we were excited because we knew it was a bird we hadn’t seen before. Here’s how it looked when I first saw it.

With both Rainey and I clicking away we spooked it and he planned to flee the scene.

Ready for Take Off!

Take off!

In Flight—

I was thrilled when I uploaded the images to find I had captured the whole sequence of flight on film. Upon closer look I thought this might have been a juvenile Kestrel, but Rainey confirmed it is a Prairie Falcon. A first for the 3 of us.

We also saw two Golden Eagles, which were flying away from us too fast to capture a photo. Later we saw a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree. Dali got the POD (Picture of the Day) as he got a good image of it. I wish I could show you, but at the time of this writing he hadn’t posted it yet. I was too slow to get the car parked, and out so, I missed the shot. When it got spooked and took flight another Bald Eagle took off with it. We hadn’t seen that one due to tree cover.

We saw this Loggerhead Shrike sitting on a wire. We hoped it would spot something good to eat and dive for it, alas it never did.

We also saw this pretty little Savannah Sparrow—X Marks the Spot:

Savannah Sparrow: Closer Look–

Other birds of note that we saw were: A Red-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-billed Magpie; (see Rainey’s image here) White Crown Sparrows, Acorn Woodpeckers, and Red-tail Hawks.

It was good birding. I hope to get out there again this week-end. With luck I’ll see the Eagles again.

All photos were taken with a Nikon D300s and AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 lens

Grass Backlit Macro 1/52

January 5, 2014January 5, 2014Posted in California, Macro Photography, Nature, PhotographyTagged 2014, Macro photography, Project 52, San Jose Nature Photographer2 Comments

Grass Backlit Macro 1/52, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved

For the first time I’m going to try to complete a Project 52 this year. Right now I’m leaning toward making my P52 a Themed project focusing on light/lighting using both natural light, and light modifiers but, we’ll see how that goes. It could end up being a little of everything.

The Ghost of Jacob Marley

December 16, 2013December 17, 2013Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Events and Fairs, PhotographyTagged A Christmas Carol, Dickens Fair 2013, San Jose Nature Photographer2 Comments

“I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it, link by link and yard by yard, while on Earth, and now I will never be rid of it, any more than you will ever be rid of yours!” The Ghost of Jacob Marley speaking to Ebenezer Scrooge

I couldn’t get a good photo of this character last year no matter how I tried so, my goal for this year was to get a decent photo of him this year, and to photograph a few characters I missed. This actor plays this character brilliantly! I got goose-bumps listening to his scene.

Here are a few more photos related to A Christmas Carol, and Ebenezer Scrooge from this years Dickens Fair

Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit taking tea with several ladies…

Ebenezer Scrooge with Bob Cratchit and a Gentleman…I don’t know who this character is, but he was a ham for the camera.

Ebenezer Scrooge at the office of Scrooge and Marley…

The Ghost of Jacob Marley warning Scrooge of the awful fate that awaits him…

The Ghost of Jacob Marley tells Scrooge he will have 3 visitors over the next 3 nights…

The Ghost of Christmas Past…

The Ghost of Christmas Past-profile

The Ghost of Christmas Present with Scrooge…

I’m happy with the images I made this year, but I did miss a few characters again like the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Which just means I have to go again next year. 🙂

Nikon D700| Nikkor 24-70mm G| SB600 on camera-more to follow

A Waltz at Fezziwigs

December 12, 2013December 12, 2013Posted in California, Events and Fairs, Photography, TravelTagged Charles Dickens, Dickens Fair, San Jose Nature Photographer, TravelLeave a comment

My friend Alex and I arrived at the Dickens Fair just at opening and went straight to Fezziwig’s & Company to get our gear out and ready to take photographs of the extraordinary people and costumes we were about to see. Little did we know that about to begin was a wonderful Waltz!

After the first Waltz they invited the guest (us) to take a turn with an experienced dancer (read actor)

Alex and I both opted out and took photos of the wonderful characters, and costumes instead. The musicians were fantastic. Not a note or beat missed. I wish I could play the piano as well.

Isn’t that mustache and Top Hat something, and look at those curls in her hair! Imagine how long that took. More than I spend on my hair I’m sure.

A gentleman, and gracious teacher.

mtf

Nikon D700| Nikkor 24-70mmG| SB600- On camera flash| Daly City, California Dickens Fair

San Francisco California

December 10, 2013December 10, 2013Posted in California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Photography, TravelTagged Holidays, San Francisco; Night Photography, San Jose Nature Photographer, TravelLeave a comment

San Francisco California, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

After spending a delightful morning and afternoon at the Dickens Fair my friend Alex and I headed up to the city to photograph the skyline all lit up for Christmas. It’s a bit hard to tell here, but the Trans America (Pyramid Bldg) has a red light on top for Christmas. Also, in this photo are the towers of Embarcardero Center, the Ferry Building, and way over to the right is Nob Hill. I was freezing! It dipped to the mid-30’s while we were photographing here.

Golden Crowned Sparrow-Winter

November 24, 2013November 24, 2013Posted in Birds, California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Photography, WildlifeTagged Birds, Birds in the Wild, Nikon, San Jose Nature PhotographerLeave a comment

Golden Crowned Sparrow-Winter, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

I have to double-check, but I think this is my first Golden Crowned Sparrow!
So, far this has been a fantastic birding year for me, and it’s still early in the season.
If I see Eagles this winter it will be icing on the cake. 🙂

Photographing birds in Manual Focusing mode is tough. My finger is always on the focusing ring and I’m adjusting all the time since the birds are so fast and moving all the time. It’s a miracle I got this in focus at all. My friend Dali shoots with a Legacy Nikon lens the 400mm f/3.5 which is a manual focus lens and he gets the most beautiful bird and wildlife photographs. I want to be as good as that if I have to manual focus.

See his work here.

Bushtit

November 21, 2013November 21, 2013Posted in Birds, California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., PhotographyTagged Birding, Gear, Photography, San Jose Nature PhotographerLeave a comment

Bushtit, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

Testing the Nikkor 14E II Teleconverter that I purchased. It isn’t Auto-focusing on either the D700 or D300s with my AF-S 300mm f/4 lens. Once in awhile when manual focusing the AF would work, but not consistently like it should have. This was manually focused. It looks like this unit is a lemon. I’m sending it back for an exchange. I’m very disappointed.
I’m not good at manually focusing on birds. I don’t have many keepers from the hour and half I was out testing this TC today. In the meantime my Tamron TC will have to do.

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