Well, our little screech owl has been coming and going with somewhat regularity (some days he stays with us, and other days he does not). This evening, I decided to try and get some more photos and perhaps some video...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at approx 300mm, 1/30 sec at f/5.6. OS Mode Off. ISO 12800.

Because it was getting dark, I had to bump up the ISO which makes the video a bit noisy, but it is still a fun little video.

- Bill

Ok - well, apparently after hitting my blogaversary, I kind of just ran out of inspiration for a while. Luckily, some moved in recently... quite literally.

Back in 2011, I bought Anya an owl box for Christmas. Shortly thereafter, we hung it in one of the trees in our backyard. Except for some starlings using it for a few weeks during their breeding season, it sat empty the whole time.

Until yesterday morning, when Anya went to let the dogs out, she was startled to see the owl sitting on the pole system for her bird feeders. After a little bit, it flew directly up and into the owl box. She was so excited that she called me right away to tell me the news.

Last evening, with the unseasonably warm weather, we decided to grill some burgers, and sure enough while I was doing that, the owl came out of the box and flew off. I checked in the morning and didn't see him, so was worried he had just been staying the one night, but when Anya checked when she again was going to let the dogs out, he was back again!

So now I have a new photographic subject to work with...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM with Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 "DG" AF 2x Teleconverter.

All of these shots were taken with the big Sigma lens plus the 2x teleconverter to get as close as possible. Unfortunately it also meant that there was less available light in already dim conditions, so this was quite the challenge. I don't want to disturb him too much, but eventually I think I will have to try using some flash to make this process a little easier.

So after some research, it looks like this is the time of year when these owls (Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio)) start nesting. The male will locate a suitable nest site and if he can find a mate, they will lay eggs around March, and the owlets will fledge in May. So hopefully I'll have plenty of opportunities to get good (ie: better) shots of this cool little bird... and maybe even some babies too!!!

Definitely stay tuned!

- Bill

PS: Oh, I almost forgot to mention... As you can see, this little fella has a rusty color to him. That is the rufous or red morph which is supposed to be much more uncommon around here than the grey morph. So it looks like we're doubly lucky with this beautiful bird.

In a week from now, I will be hitting the two year anniversary since I started this blog. If I get the posts done in time, I will also be hitting my 400th post to celebrate the occasion. As such (and partially because I've been a tad lazy with getting the camera out as much as I should), I'm going to dig through the archives and see what gems I might have missed, or how I can give a new look to some photos I've already shared.

With that in mind, I present a couple photos that I shared here in the past (here and here). After seeing someone else share a photo of a snake that they converted to black and white, I decided to give it a shot with some of mine... here are the results...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD Macro1:2 at 238mm, 1/32 at f/11.3. ISO. No post production. Beechwood Farms, Fox Chapel, PA.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD Macro1:2 at 238mm, 1/130 at f/5. ISO. No post production. Beechwood Farms, Fox Chapel, PA.

Mouseover the images for the original color version.

- Bill

Well, we're about to head into 2013. I plan to try and get some work done on the blog this year to get it upgraded to the latest version of the software, so hopefully this will introduce some change to the look/feel. But in the meantime, here are a couple shots I took while freezing my butt off trying to get the birds to come to the feeders for some nice shots of them in the snow...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/160 sec at f/8. OS Mode Off. ISO 100. RAW conversion and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/320 sec at f/6.3. OS Mode Off. ISO 320. RAW conversion and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/250 sec at f/6.3. OS Mode Off. ISO 320. RAW conversion and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Have a great New Years! And we'll see you in 2013!!!

- Bill

Today during my lunch break, I was walking to the bank to take care of some business there. As I walked down the sidewalk, I noticed something laying there, and as I got closer, I quickly realized it was a hummingbird!

Seeing that it wasn't moving well, I decided to pick it up and relocate it somewhere more appropriate. I was hoping that it was just cold and once I moved it into the sun, it could warm up and fly again.

So it very cooperatively let me scoop it up and sat quietly while I walked it to a better location (I was going to see if it would sit in a tree in the sunshine). As I held it in the sunlight, I could visibly see it start to perk up - it became more alert and was watching me intently, it start holding its wings in a normal position, and most amazingly... I could feel its heartbeat getting faster!

After a few minutes, it was sufficiently warmed up that it tried a test flight, but needed some more rest, so returned to my hand. It sat there a few more minutes and then took off and flew away - hopefully it makes it to a warmer location and doesn't get itself into any more trouble...

Unfortunately the photos could only be taken with my cell phone, so the quality sucks... but the experience is one I won't soon forget.

Pretty cool, huh?

- Bill

Ok - as promised, more marine mammals. Unfortunately, these aren't nearly as cute as the sea otters from the other day. Again, to get through all of these photos, I'm just going to post another assortment (plus I'm having a difficult time choosing just one or two to share) - so just mouse-over the thumbnails to see the larger version.

These elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) are mostly males and pups. Apparently the females had already left the area. They return to this one cove in California (just up the road from Hearst Castle every year. The males - which get the long noses which give rise to the name - can grow to be 16 feet in length, and weigh over 6000 lbs. They can also dive to depths ranging in the thousands of feet (usually averaging around 1000 - 2500 feet) and can hold their breath for up to 100 minutes at a time. During breeding season, you would never see males together on a beach like this because they become fiercely territorial and fight (note all the scars on their heads and necks).

... but like I said, they're not very cute... oh, and they are moulting at this time of the year too which certainly doesn't make them any prettier...

As with the outdoor shots at Hearst Castle, the lighting wasn't exactly ideal. In this case, the sun was on the other side of the seals from where we were, which caused a lot of poorly places shadows. It was also ridiculously windy, and there was sand whipping around everywhere - which not only is bad for the camera, but also caused a kind of dusty haze in most of the shots.

However, I was glad that I had lugged my Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM long telephoto lens with me on the trip as after I took a few shots with the Tamron 70-300 and wasn't getting as close as I would have liked, I went back to the car and pulled out the big gun so to speak, as well as the tripod.

It definitely helped make better photos of these ugly beasties....

Then again, the pups are kind of cute...

I really love that third shot there with the pup almost completely buried in the sand. Between them throwing sand on their backs (to protect their skin from sunburn as well as flies) and the wind, this little fella was almost completely hidden in the sand.

Anyway, after this, we continued driving up the coast on Highway 1 which is a beautiful road (and fun as all heck to drive!). We tried finding the classic view of Big Sur, but unfortunately, the coast was socked in with fog and I didn't get many good shots (I guess we'll have to go back and try again sometime). So we'll be jumping right along into the Monetery Bay Aquarium next!!!

Stay tuned.

- Bill

We saw sea otters while we were in California... they really are fun to watch!

Note how this one has his dinner sitting on his belly...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD Macro1:2 at 300mm, 1/2000 sec at f/5.6. ISO 400. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

- Bill

A nice assortment of vertical oriented shots from The Wilds...

Enjoy.

- Bill

Ok - while we're on the B&W conversions, here's another from The Wilds. (mouseover for the original color version).

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/100 sec at f/7.1. OS Mode 1. ISO 400. RAW conversion in Adobe Camera Raw, B&W conversion in Photoshop CS5.

I'm not as happy with this image as the one of the zebra. The large featureless sky takes up far too much of the background and simply is boring and distracting in my opinion.... but what are you going to do when the majority of your subject is up there?

- Bill

Ok - I guess I couldn't wait any longer to get to these photos from The Wilds, and we're going to jump straight to my favorite one of the set.

The Wilds is a wild-life conservation center associated with the Columbus Zoo. It is about 1.5 - 2 hours away from Pittsburgh in an old strip mine location. The layout provides for some different opportunities for photography - with the usual way to tour the facility being in safari type vehicles through the large, wide-open areas where the animals roam free. So fences aren't a problem, and you can get some more natural behavior out of the animals.

I spent the day with my longest lens - my Sigma 150-500mm - mounted on my camera. Many times it was a hindrance with the 150mm end being a bit too long when the animals were close, but when they were further off, it gave me some great images...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/120 sec at f/6.3. OS Mode 1. ISO 100. RAW conversion in Adobe Camera Raw, B&W conversion in Photoshop CS5.

I don't know what all to say about this image. I love the composition, the simplicity of it, the nicely blurred background and main subject isolation. The only complaints I have with it would be the fence post that is just below the zebra's mouth, and the focus is ever so slightly off (actually it may have been vibrations from the vehicle motor).

But I can't decide which version I like better... color or B&W. So place your vote below and let me know!

- Bill