Photographs by Frank

26 January 2015

Practice

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,The "New" Yard & Environs,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 8:00 PM

Like so many things in life, photographing small birds takes practice.

Thus, yesterday afternoon I set up the chair blind, tripod, etc. near the feeders in our yard intent on getting some practice.

In addition to the usual birds we see all winter (chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and downy woodpeckers*) we have been seeing small flocks (8-12 individuals) of goldfinches at the feeder in the past week or so. I photographed them all yesterday.

I have decided that the titmice are the hardest of these birds to photograph.

Many individuals fly directly to the feeder from fairly far afield. Those that do stop at one of my “photo perches” near the feeder rarely stay for more than two or three second; a much shorter interval than any of the other species**.

Photographing titmice requires rapid reflexes… and much practice!

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* We also seem to have a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers that visit the suet feeder regularly, most often fairly early in the morning. I did not see them yesterday afternoon.

** The red-bellies are hard to photograph as well for similar reasons. They spend a much shorter time at the feeder than the other woodpeckers. They stay only long enough to dislodge a large chunk of suet which they then carry off into the woods. I suspect that they cache much of this food for later use.

 

19 January 2015

Snow and Light

Filed under: Monadnock Region,The "New" Yard & Environs,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 7:00 PM

Snow is not simple.

Once it falls to the ground, it begins to change. It is sculpted by the wind, pitted by rain, trod upon by animals, etc.

The late afternoon sunlight playing upon a snowy landscape makes life interesting for photographers.

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Sermons in Stone

Filed under: Monadnock Region,The "New" Yard & Environs,Winter — Tags: , — Frank @ 6:00 PM

Joan’s old friend Sally sent me a copy of a wonderful book about stone walls for the holidays.

I finished the book, Sermons in Stone by Susan Allport, last week and was inspired to photograph the snowy walls along Brimstone Corner Road.

All of these photos were made within a quarter mile of the house.

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9 January 2015

Plow Truck

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 7:00 PM

Here in northern New England, folks with long driveways often keep a “plow truck”.

These old (and usually unregistered) pickup trucks are kept running for the sole purpose of plowing snow off the driveway during our long cold winters.

I have driven past this long unused plow truck dozens of times over the past three or four years but the light falling on it was never “interesting”. Yesterday morning things were different. Thus, with the temperature in the single digits and ungloved hands, I stopped and made a few exposures of this plow truck.

Oddly, this particular plow truck has been left way down at the road end of a driveway that is long enough that one can not see the house from the road. Usually plow trucks are kept up near the house. After all, who wants to have to walk the length of a long driveway in deep snow just to begin the clearing of one’s driveway. Just one of life’s little mysteries!

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Patterns in the Snow (and Ice)

Filed under: Landscapes,Monadnock Region,Winter — Tags: , — Frank @ 6:00 PM

Yesterday afternoon Joan and I took a walk “down back” in “our” beaver-made wetland. The temperature was about 15 degrees F (up from a low of -12 the previous night) but there was no wind (a stark contrast from the day before). As long as we stayed in the sunny spots the walking was quite pleasant.

The sky was cloudless. The sun was low. There was a light coating of new and very dry snow. These conditions made all sorts of interesting patterns on the frozen ground stand out. I photographed them!

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30 December 2014

Sunday Birds

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,Wildlife,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 7:00 PM

Sunday was a warm (for December in NH) day… the temperature was in the mid-40’s.

Just after noon, I filled up my ersatz tree trunk with suet, set up my chair blind near the feeders and waited to see who would show up.

The chickadees, of course, were back about ten seconds after I walked away from the feeders. In addition to the numerous chickadees, there were good numbers of white-breasted nuthatches present and a few tufted titmice and blue jays. Two female downy woodpeckers appeared simultaneously a couple of times as did a lone male. Lastly, a male red-bellied woodpecker made a very brief (five frames worth) appearance.

The relatively mild temperature and sunny skies lulled me into complacency and I was under-dressed for sitting in the blind… a breeze had also developed. Thus, by two thirty, I was cold and stiff enough that I headed inside.

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A Stroll Along The Lake

Filed under: Landscapes,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 7:00 PM

Last Thursday was the first (at least partly) sunny day in more that a week of cold, gray and rainy days. Joan and I celebrated by taking a stroll along the shore of Gregg Lake. I, of course, toted my camera.

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12 December 2014

Backyard Birds

Filed under: Birds,The Yard,Wildlife,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 6:00 PM

This morning dawned partly sunny and cold and I was hopeful for some good skies for landscape photos today. Alas, the overcast moved in by noon so I switched plans.

About 2 o’clock, I geared up (warm clothes, camera, tripod and chair blind) and headed out to photograph the birds by the feeders. I set up about ten feet from the feeders and made my first exposure at 2:30.

By 4 o’clock the light was gone, the temperature was dropping and I had filled a memory card. I headed back inside. Twas, an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes.

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11 December 2014

“Cheating”

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,The Yard,Wildlife,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 4:00 PM

We have had a stretch of cold, gray weather. Monday’s “wintery mix” turned into Tuesday’s rain…nothing like a 35 degree F rain! Yesterday (Wednesday) nothing fell from the sky but the sun still did not make an appearance. I awoke this mornring to snow flurries which continue as I write this in the mid-afternoon.

So why is this post titled “Cheating”?

Well… you see that small “tree” upon which the birds are perched? It is actually a dead branch I picked up in the woods in the beginning of November and specially prepared for bird photography. I mounted the branch on a stand made of lumber so that it is more-or-less perpendicular to the ground. Around the back-side, I drilled a series of one inch holes.

On Monday, I packed the holes full of suet and stood the whole thing out back near the other bird feeders. (It is probably about 25 feet from the house.) I retreated to the warmth (and dry) of the house and photographed thorough the glass of our French doors.

See what cheating will get you!

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31 January 2014

Conowingo Dam

Filed under: Birds,Winter — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 7:00 PM

This past Monday morning, Joan and I pointed the car south and headed to Maryland. Photographically, our destination was the Conowingo Dam. We also visited Katrina (our daughter) in Baltimore as well as my sister and her family and my parents, all of whom live in suburban Washington. We arrived back home early yesterday evening.

The Conowingo Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Susquehanna River just north of where the river enters the Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace. The dam is ‘famous’ for the birds, especially bald eagles, which hang out there in the winter. The Harford Bird Club maintains the Conowingo Dam Site Guide with much useful information about the site.

We intended to arrive at the dam early enough on Monday afternoon to get in some photography then. However, complications of the dental kind conspired against us and we did not arrive until dusk. We spent a short while reconnoitering the dam and its environs before before heading off in search of dinner and a motel.

We were back at the dam a bit before 9 on Tuesday morning. The temperature was about 10 degrees and there was an intermittent breeze blowing… so much for heading south! Dressed appropriately things were not bad as long as the wind was not blowing. Conditions were good for photography with a light overcast diffusing the sunlight. We arrived at the tail end of a release of water from the dam and the concomitant flurry of activity.

Although we stayed until after 1 PM, we did not see another release. Thus, although there were plenty of birds around the action was somewhat subdued.

Here are the results:

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