Enjoyed a lunchtime hike at Hills & Dales Metropark - birds were surprisingly few, but we did spot a pileated woodpecker.
Mirgration Time - 2018
The birds are hopping (at Spring Valley Wildlife Area)!
Sunshine!
Out looking for migrating birds today. Some Yellow-Rumped Warblers and Ruby Crowned Kinglets, but no keeper photos. Three nature reserves, and the closest (and last) park saved the day with this beauty.
This very beautiful and patient Northern Barred Owl was only feet of the travel and at staring at me at eye level.
Where Have I Been?
My apologies - I've been absent from the blog (and somewhat photography) for several weeks now. The end of February marked the sale of our farmhouse and moving into our new home. Glad to have sold the old home, but unfortunately we're not finished with the remodel on the new house yet. Excuse number two, I've started a job search after wrapping up seven years leading Product Innovation for ACCO Brands. Maybe I'm biased, but two pretty good reason I haven't been getting behind the camera as much as I would like (not to mention the horrible weather we've had.) Hopefully I'm back - I'm still working on the house and searching for a new job, but both those are a bit more manageable now and the weather is improving.
Here are a few shots from Spring Valley Wildlife Area
Thanks to Chiiz Magazine
A special shout out to Chiiz magazine. Chiiz staff reached out to me back in October to feature my macro photography in a future issue of the magazine. Issue 11 (February 2018) focuses on macro photography and I'm featured with a two-page spread. It's great to be featured alongside other great macro photographers like Nicky Bay. You can check it out in here
Preview - Venus Optics Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro
Christmas will come early this year - just in time for Macro season.
Venus Optics announced a new full frame macro lens for Nikon F-mount: Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra. The US price will be $399. Here are the details:
- It is a macro lens for full size of manual focus.
- The shortest shooting distance is 173 to 223.5 mm and shooting magnification 2.5 to 5 times is available.
- It is possible to secure a working distance of 40 mm (5 times) to 45 mm (2.5 times) by optical design with a special configuration. It can correspond to various lighting to obtain better shooting result.
- By adopting ultra low dispersion lens (UD lens), by appropriately suppressing chromatic aberration and color fringe, it is possible to capture images with high sharpness and high color reproducibility.
- Each lens is coated with multilayer coating, minimizing ghost and flare. Therefore, under a strong light source, it is possible to take pictures with a very high contrast and neutral color.
- Adopting a metal enclosure with excellent robustness.
- It is compact, lightweight and excellent in portability.
- Shipping starts in April 2018
source: NikonRumors.com
I look forward to addimg this to my camera bag.
Hong Kong: Part IX
The Royal Pacific Hotel and Towers at China Hong Kong City in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Check off another box on the Hong Kong Instagram bingo card.
Hong Kong: Part VIII
Located between the Jordan and Yau Ma Tei MTR stations you'll find the Temple Street market - also referred to as Night Market. Feel free to haggle over trinkets, tea ware, electronics, watches, fashion wear, jade and 'antiques.' Fortune-tellers crowd the car park and outdoor food stalls for the strong stomached.
Hong Kong: Part VII
Shooting from Victoria Dockside, a panorama of downtown Honk Kong's skyline.
Hong Kong: Part VI
Another one from the Hong Kong trip - The Peak. With an elevation of 552 m (1,811 ft), Victoria Peak it is the highest mountain on Hong Kong island with great views of Central, Victoria Harbour, and Lamma Island. We were only blessed with two clear nights in Hong Kong, making our way the The Peak on the second of those nights.
Hong Kong: Part V
Located in Diamond Hill, Nan Lian Garden is a nice respite from the busy city. Opening in 2006, the gardens were designed in the classical Tang dynasty style and are maintained by the Chi Lin Nunnery.
Hong Kong: Part IV
Ocean Terminal Mall was the recent focus of well-known French urban artist, Invader. An interesting challenge to try and capture an intriguing photograph of someone else's art. His distinctive 3,564 creations can be seen in 74 cities in more than 30 countries, including 132 in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong: Part III
International Finance Centre (Hong Kong) Towers One and Two. This 15-second exposure captures the very end of blue-hour and the busy rush hour traffic. Tower 2 (on the left) is the second tallest building in Hong Kong (415 m), behind the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon and the eighth-tallest office building in the world. The Bank of China building in the back right is my favorite Hong Kong skyline feature.
Hong Kong: Part II
Built from 1970 - 1973, Ping Shek Estate has a population of more than 12,000. Among them, 4,300 or about 35 % are over 60 years old. Three of the tall tower feature a center atrium similar to this one in the Hung Shek House. The housing complex even features it's own market, barber and miniature McDonald's.
Hong Kong: Part I
Here is the first in a series of photos from a recent extended business trip to Hong Kong. Choi Hung Estate (translated Rainbow Estate) is one of the oldest public housing estates in Hong Kong. Completed between 1962 and 1964, the estate is home to nearly 43,000 people. Choi Hung Estate is also home to it's own markets, three primary schools and two secondary schools.
When I first arrived, the playground above the parking garage was extremely busy (with what appeared to be boy's gym class.) But after awhile, it started to clear out allowing me to capture this isolated image of a basketball player.
Shooting for the Moon
Waxing Gibbous (or a full moon)? Could be up for debate, but a nice clear night. Below is a stack of 17 images using RegiStax 6. Images were taken with the Nikon D500 and a Tamron 150-600mm lens.
A True First
On the way to work this morning, I spotted a Snowy Owl flying in low over a nearby corn field. This is the first snowy owl I've ever seen in the wild, and it is the first ever snowy owl reported on eBird for Greene county (ever!) Extremely glad I had my camera with me in the car.
Fall Sunrises are the Best
Beautiful sunrise this morning - I pieced together a couple panoramic images (unfortunately I couldn't quickly find a good foreground subject.)
Guinea Pig Rock Star
Wicked Petunia visits Tony and Chelsea LIVE! You rock girl!
Happy Halloween
Petunia (and Buttons) wish you a safe and happy Halloween!