I Do

What better way to spend a wet summer Sunday (which just happens to be the last day of my holiday) in Cornwall when recovering from a migraine double whammy and suffering a bad back, than playing with your camera and some still life.... and here is what I came up with.  Hope you like it.

Did a landscape and portrait version to see which I like the best - think it is the portrait as I like the black showing at the top, though I like the closeness of the landscape.  What do you think?

Just as I was packing up, I noticed this little chap in the garden again, first time we have seen him this year.

Meet Freedom

Spent a lovely afternoon at the Screech Owl Sanctuary http://www.screechowlsanctuary.co.uk/ yesterday a very friendly place and a nice group of people.  The afternoon was an organised bird of prey photo shoot, never been on one of these before so a new venture for me, one I thoroughly enjoyed but left me with feelings of guilt towards the birds put there for the likes of me to point a camera lens in their face all for the sake of a 'natural looking wildlife photo'!!  Brings up the whole debat on animals in captivativity...... hmm.
Anyway here is one of the photos I took, this is a Little Owl and she is little, so cute and adorable, her name is Freedom and she is 15 years old.

58)

Maybe not the best I took but I really like this one - pretty 'natural  looking' I think. More will follow. Oh and just so you know - my mojo has returned, spent the evening standing on the balcony photographing the stars and the landscape in the moonlight!!!  Now how sad is that eh??

Watching You....

57)

Never got around to this yesterday!  I decided to post this one because on Sun I am going to the Screech Owl Sanctuary for a photo shoot with the birds!!  Never done one of these before so it will be interesting to see how it is orangised.  Anyway I thought it would be interesting to compare this one with what I come up with on Sun.  Hopefully some improvement as this photo was taken a couple of years ago. I now have a different camera and a huge pap lens (as Mick calls it).

Last one of a Robin ....for now anyway.

Promise this will be the last one of a Robin ...... for a while anyway.  Was really pleased with this one until I noticed that I had chopped the end of his tail off!!!! 

Actually managed to get a photo of two Robins together today, though one was missing the end of it's tail as well!!  Maybe I have a problem here.  (He looks great enlarged - well I think he does)

51)

Robin again

Here is another one of the robin in the garden, this time in the snow. I just love the way he is behind the branch with his head tilted slightly.  Lovely dof as well, though I say it myself!!

50)

Mr Robin

Whilst setting the camera this afternoon I looked down and stood right by my feet was Mr Robin who very kindly posed for me for a good ten minutes (by which time my fingers were numb it was so cold!!) So lots of short depth of field shots were taken. Here is one to start with.  I have  uploaded a different one on the website.

49)

Still playing...

45) Woke up to a very heavy frost so after setting up the camera in time for birds breakfast I had a play with my macro lens and was really pleased with this shot.  It made me think about the book I was given for Christmas which is full of images of snow flakes taken via a microscope.

44) We are lucky enough to have woodpeckers in the garden but they hate having their photo taken ..... until now that is, here is one I took yesterday.

43) Last for today, think I need to reposition the camera for this shot or ask the birds to sit more to the middle of the holly branch in future.

A New Year!!

Well here we are at the start of a brand new year. Like many I think this year is going to be a good one, not that the last was bad at all, in fact it was very good indeed.  Every year I make wonderful new year resolutions and every year come the 1st Feb they have been long forgotten, so for a change I have decided to only make two, one being the obvious - hence the 9am jog this morning - boy it was freezing - and two to move my photography forward another step this year.   So today I have been playing in the garden with my christmas pressie from Mick - a wireless remote control.  Unfortunately the results were more like the kit kat advert - no birds until I looked away - as soon as I reappeared they disappeared!!!   I did manage to capture some birds on the feeder - though I have along way to go to perfect this technique but I thought I would show it to you anyway.  I'm rather pleased with it as before I have only managed to capture them through the lounge window - there is nothing between them and the lens now!!


42)

Part of my new year resolution is to update this blog with a new image each week, I am setting myself a project but haven't decided what it is going to be yet, will let you know when I do.  I am also setting up a website http://memycameraeye.moonfruit.com/ if you fancy a look.  Please feel free to leave comments either here or on the site.

Before I go today I would just like to wish everyone who reads this a very happy and prosperous New Year.

30) Green Woodpecker ( juvenile) - whilst on holiday we had a new visitor to the garden - who I am delighted to say keeps returning. I had never seen one of these until last Thurs evening and I am over the moon with his presence in the garden. We have a lot of ants in the garden so hopefully he will be here for some time.

23) We have a family of woodpeckers that visit the garden and they dominate the bird feeder. The only bird who is brave enough to have a go was this little chap and I was delighted to have caught this shot.

16) Mute Swan - taken down by Par Beach. There is a large flock of swans and Canada Geese, all so photogenic.