Photographed TODAY (or Processed today) con't

[Kraellin]

this was taken today, out on our lake. we had four goose nests around the lake this year. one is still sitting, but these were out and about and was the first time i'd seen them. two of the other nests are empty now, along with this pair's nest, so only one nest left with eggs and she's got six. not sure what happened to the other two pair. sometimes right after hatching the parents will take them elsewhere, but most times they'll stay around the lake for a while. so, dont know if all the others hatched or if some got eaten or abandoned or what, but at least we've got these four little goslings. there's just something soothing about watching them swim about on the lake, like, yes, this is what's supposed to happen

shot taken with my kodak z981, pretty much full telephoto and cheated with the auto-focus and other auto-settings, but hey, i like it i did doctor it a bit in psp but nothing extreme, just a little hue/sat, contrast, clarify, fade correction and a little usm, all with fairly small adjustments.

[CJ Swartz]

Craig, thanks for the shots of the goslings - love "baby" photos! I love ducks and ducklings, but goslings go thru a stage of fuzziness that is even better than baby ducks.

I'll have to go to the local artificially created pond (it is Arizona, after all) and get my baby duck/goose fix if there are any still there.

[Kraellin]

hehe, hadnt thought of this as a 'baby' pic, but yes, i guess it is about a month ago we had three others. this four is the latest and if the last eggs hatch on the last nest, we'll have six more. she's still sitting. he stays very close guarding. i went down there yesterday to check things out and to leave her a little corn. as i approached she got up and slowly, and reluctantly, got into the water. he came in close and they were both raising a storm. i stayed just long enough to count six eggs and leave the bits of corn.

today, i didnt see the four little ones or their parents, but the remaining couple was still there, diligently sitting and guarding. i look forward to taking some more 'baby' pics

[Nasturtium]

Craig - they grow up so fast!

I found out how much time you have to take a picture of a 10 year old. Not very much. He got tired of the whole exercise after only two frames. Here he is waiting for me to set the EV (50mm, f5.6, iso 400). In the 2nd picture I used the fill flash.

[Kraellin]

hehe, yes, i feel like a poppa and they'll be leaving all too soon

your boy? nice composition. and that 2nd one looks like you(?) were having a quiet, content morning. love those

[Nasturtium]

Craig, yeppers - he's my pride and joy. And yes - it looks like I was having a quiet morning lol.

I have houseguests so we visited the Dutch tulip gardens at Keukenhof yesterday. Fabulous day! I love my 50mm lens.

[Kraellin]

he looks like a sweetheart. i feel your pride

lovely composite. i like that

[palms]

this was taken yesterday a little foray into b&w again

Palms

[CJ Swartz]

Palms - love the sharp detail on the key with the soft out of focus background. Also love the tight framing excluding all but your subject. Very nice job!

[Kraellin]

nice one, palms. i could see running that through a high pass filter in filter forge, but regardless, it's a good shot. makes you wonder "whose keys and what's the door go to?" and yes, i like the sharp focus also.

[pellepiano]

Fresh out of Photoshop.Anna Ericsson

[Kraellin]

good night shot, pelle!

[CJ Swartz]

Anyone good at identification of snakes? It might be a corn snake or a coachwhip. My dog and I came across it late last nite as we started our walk; the snake was draped lengthwise across the sidewalk at the entrance to our neighborhood greenbelt park. At first I thought it was either a dead snake or a toy that some bratty person placed there to scare people. If it had been tan, I would have turned around and headed away for fear that it could be a venomous young snake (I'm not good at telling whether a snake is small because it's a small snake or a baby ). Since I could see that it was orange (?!), and was long and narrow including its head, I thought it probably was a non-venomous snake IF it was a snake and not a rope or toy. So I tossed some pebbles at it to make it move - no movement. I finally reached down (keeping my dog behind me safe from harm) and touched it -- it was soft, and then I noticed that the head and upper area started moving -- away from me... So I took my dog home and grabbed my camera. The snake had moved near a bush and had hidden its head in the leaves, but I could see the rest of it against the granite ground cover. Went home with the photos to try to ID it, but not sure what it is, and with the increase in worldwide snake trade, there's no guarantee that it is an Arizona snake.

[Kraellin]

i'd say it's a rat or corn snake. take a look at 'snakes' under google images?

[CJ Swartz]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

i'd say it's a rat or corn snake. take a look at 'snakes' under google images?

I looked at several sites for ID'ing snakes - in Arizona and other locations. There are images of corn snakes that look close, but not exactly. If anyone puts up a sign looking for their "Lost corn snake", then I'll be sure.

[palms]

Originally Posted by CJ Swartz

I looked at several sites for ID'ing snakes - in Arizona and other locations. There are images of corn snakes that look close, but not exactly. If anyone puts up a sign looking for their "Lost corn snake", then I'll be sure.

no expert here at all but i would say corn snake,
C.J. love your instinct "run for the camera" ( I would of had to scrape hubby up of the pavement, he dislikes snakes big time, (we dont have many here ) but after getting the camera of course )

[Kraellin]

"run for the camera"

i wear mine on my belt now

[Overdoze]

New hair for her.

Edit(24.5):
Canon 40D @ 1/125, ISO100
Canon 50mm/f1.4 @ f4.0
Elinchrom bxri500 with white foam to background
Magnum reflector in front angled downwards
Tri-grip reflector with white/silver cover about belly height.

[Kraellin]

some pics shot in the last few days. the turtle was out sunning himself after the flood waters have gone down a lot. the deer were out in back about 200 to 250 yards away... tough to hold the camera steady enough for those. and, the thistle was along one of the farm roads looking away from the fields, just sitting there by itself waiting for me

[sharynideas]

the thistle was along one of the farm roads looking away from the fields, just sitting there by itself waiting for me

Wow, Craig. I love the angle for this. I thought it was some kind of exotic sunflower. really neat shot!

[Kraellin]

thank you! you just made my day

[Nasturtium]

Pelle-putting the eyes in the shadows like that is really interesting
CJ-eek! You touched it!!!
Overdoze-Now I'm very curious what the SOOC hair looked like - I can't imagine it being any other way
Craig-nice of the deer to pose for you out in the open like that :-) That thistle is eye catching - doesn't look the same as the ones around here. Great job on capturing the turtle - did you stumble upon it or were you stalking er I mean looking for it? I can tell none of the wildlife in your vicinity is safe from being shot by you with your new camera on your belt.

Believe me. I just climbed the local church tower with two (!) cameras weighing me down.

I'm trying to figure out how to make the ground look more convincingly real in the composite of DS.

- Nancy

[Kraellin]

hi nancy,

the deer come out most every evening. they stay hidden pretty much during the day. but they're definitely shy and have excellent eyesight. they generally catch me sneaking out to take their picture pretty quickly. sometimes they'll let me and sometimes they'll dodge back into the woods.

i found some more thistles today. the bees were having a party.

and the turtle i stumbled upon. he had a buddy with him, but the buddy jumped into the water as i got close.

explain the composite and what is DS?

gorgeous church. nice shot

[Nasturtium]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

explain the composite and what is DS?

I guess I was trying to do too many clone things at once. Since I had the camera on high speed burst and pivoted ... it's not the same as various tripod shots with DS in different spots in the same frame.

DS=dear son

[Kraellin]

ah, dear son. ok

wait, you said composite. i had to look again. all the same boy... i'm gettin slow in my old age so, what do you consider is wrong with the ground? looks fine to me.

[Kraellin]

took this at the local bank a few days ago. very fragrant too. not sure what they're called.

[pellepiano]

I shot Anna on location and tried to frame her a little with some out of focus plants.

[Kraellin]

i'd have framed her a little differently, but good idea. the blur across her chest is what i'd have left out, btw

[James Penner]

Just thought I'd share this picture of a crab spider (I believe that's what it is) eating a bee on one of our clematis flowers.

[pellepiano]

Wow, thats different. Great capture, never seen anything liket it. Good posing from both =)