Tag: ground squirrels

Posted on in photography

my lens

I enjoy taking pictures for the blog. I keep trying to up my skills, but that requires donning bifocals and reading and studying about my camera. ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance and focus mush my brain into a slimy swamp.

Recently, I acquired a ‘new-to-me’ lens. Bought it used from local photographer extraordinaire–Pam Lary. In case you are interested, this beast of a lens is the Nikon AF-S VR-Nikkor 70-200mm 1:2.8G. It’s heavy as an anvil and as long as a submarine sandwich. Big enough to keep my chiropractor in business for years.

I’ve been trying it out. Learning. Making mistakes. When I whip it out, people automatically assume I know what I’m doing. Lens envy, I guess.

It’s fun to put the camera in aperture mode (‘A’ on the dial for most DSLR’s) and shoot with the aperture wide open. In this case, 2.8.

flower
mmmm…..creamy background. This photo inspires me to paint a room this mossy green and use purple as an accent color. Amazing color combo.

A gorgeous, milky background makes the subject of the photo really ‘pop’

doxyonrock
Look at the gray hairs on her muzzle. She’s showing her age. Have I told you we can no longer play tennis ball? It aggravates her back.
doxyonrock1
My sweet wiener girl. Since we can’t play tennis ball, we have to play ‘rock’ instead. Less running and more digging.

Do you like the fuzzy backgrounds for these portraits? The learned call this ‘bokeh’.

Here’s another wide-open shot.

hannah
Baby H swaddled in a fish curtain at the cabin. I knew those old curtains would come in handy one day! There’s a stack of games in the background. Can you make out the names? Scattergories? Clue? Boggle?

One more blurry background for your consideration.

groundsquirrels
Ground squirrels or ‘chipmunks’.

Do you know what instinct these rodents trigger in my dachshund?

roxycollage
The most natural state of a badger dog.

Another handy setting on the camera is the shutter-priority mode ( ‘S’ on the dial of most digital cameras).

I use this setting when I need a certain shutter speed to capture the action.

72a
The wily Rufous hummer.

Have I told you I am compulsively trying to get the perfect hummingbird photo? Been at it for 3 years. I know I need a fast shutter speed to catch them, but man, are they difficult to photograph!

I suspect I have neither the skill nor the proper equipment to get a truly great shot.

indexI won’t stop trying.

59a
The Rufous jealously protecting his feeder. Catching these buggers in flight is like trying to photograph a mosquito. Sorry….I had to catch him through the wire-mesh fence.

Well, that’s the A and the S mode for you and how they look through my new lens.

At times I just point the camera and shoot on auto. Maybe I’ll get lucky.

catThat’s why I enjoy photography. It makes you LOOK. You never know what you’ll find lurking in the weeds.

Hope your week is coming into clearer focus.

Big lens love to all.