Dusk shot. FujifilmXH-1. 50-140mm with 2X teleconverter. Very high ISO and very low shutter speed. Propped up against a tree. On my wishlist the 100-400mm lens!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Photo of the Day August 2020
- Thread starter oblomow
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Dusk shot. FujifilmXH-1. 50-140mm with 2X teleconverter. Very high ISO and very low shutter speed. Propped up against a tree. On my wishlist the 100-400mm lens!
Something you don't normally see and that is a hummingbird closing its eyes.
Pacifica-200815-35.jpg by Charles Martorelli, on Flickr
Our babies are doing just fine in their little tent, so in the meantime, here is an adult visiting my zinnias. We are also nursing along another small caterpillar named Paul, who was barely holding on outside, but seems to have perked up considerably after being brought inside.
I also saw my first hummingbird here this afternoon, so hopefully I will get a photo of him soon too.
I also saw my first hummingbird here this afternoon, so hopefully I will get a photo of him soon too.
Beautiful.
[automerge]1597694727[/automerge]
Is it just me or does he look fatter than he used to?
I think they ALL do!!! LOL! Not surprising, the way they go after the food!!! Good grief, I'm already going to have to add birdseed to the grocery list again!
An image I had in mind for the skies theme competition this week when the Boof and I went for our 10km walk on Sunday, but even with a 14mm couldn't get enough sky to warrant it being an entry!
Exif blah, click blah, busy day, coffee... 😊
Exif blah, click blah, busy day, coffee... 😊
And soon, it’s not the grocery list anymore, it’s the animal feed store for bulk seed and peanuts. Oh, and the largish order of suet for the flickers, bushtits and other interesting birds. I know your direct outside space is your balcony and there’s only so much space, but they’ll start looking at you with those eyes and what can you do but give in?😀
Lady Distant
X100T f5.6 - Lightroom - walk in the park, she was well hidden
X100T f5.6 - Lightroom - walk in the park, she was well hidden
Last edited:
I draw the line at bulk seed and peanuts!!!! Peanut butter, too. Suet? Eh, not a chance! I have seen cardinals and gnatcatchers and other kinds of typical "backyard" birds around my neighborhood but they have not visited the deck, even though the package of birdseed proudly displays a cardinal and claims to attract all kinds of wild birds.... Either word has not gotten out around the cardinal gang or among the other species or they're not interested. All I'm getting are sparrows! (And the two squirrels and the crow, who pops around every now-and-then.). That's fine with me, actually -- twenty sparrows on the deck at once, all happily hopping, chirping, cheeping, perching on the railings and taking off and landing, not to mention partaking of the goodies offered on the trays is plenty right there! It is really fun when I get both squirrels on here chasing each other and a few sparrows watching the action from a safe distance and seeing how everybody eventually decides to get along.....
Heh, they don't even have to look at me with those eyes.....I'll hear a significant increase in chirping and cheeping from the sparrows which builds into a loud chorus, and when I look at the tray, realize that, gee, all of a sudden it's pretty well empty and, yeah, instead of just letting it stay that way for a while I find myself grabbing the container of new food and going out to the deck to pour more into the tray.... As for the squirrels, the other day Smaug impatiently lifted the wooden tray up a bit and let it loudly smack down on the deck, and yep, that caught my attention and let me know that, hey, it was time for replenishing the food supply. They've got me trained.....
Our cardinals are a private lot. They even live in the bushes in the backyard, but they are quick to fly away and they will fly to the feeder, grab a few seeds and then fly back for cover.
The ones here seem to be rather private and skittish, too...... Probably my deck would be a little too open and public a scene for them, especially if the space is already being shared by sparrows and squirrels. I've briefly seen a couple of cardinals when I've been walking around the neighborhood, and often they're in a tree or a bush and they rapidly fly off at my approach (hence, no photos yet!). The cardinal is Virginia's State Bird: I'd love to capture a classic image of one, but so far, no go....
You could try going to a zoo or botanical garden. It seems at such locations, they get very comfortable around people and the food their kids drop everywhere. Some of my best cardinal shots have come at the zoo, uncaged. 
You could try going to a zoo or botanical garden. It seems at such locations, they get very comfortable around people and the food their kids drop everywhere. Some of my best cardinal shots have come at the zoo, uncaged.
I definitely intend to get downtown to our National Zoo as soon as the weather is a bit cooler and when the kids are back at school (or being taught online in "distance learning"). I dislike huge crowds, and with school back in session the crowds should be a bit smaller. I've been itching to get there with my new gear to have fun with shooting the various species in residence! Back in the spring and early summer when I normally would've been there at least a couple of times, of course we had the worst of the shutdown and all that.
Back in the winter as I was getting to know and having fun around home with my new gear I kept looking ahead with anticipation to the spring, when there would be excursions here, there and around..... Well, that didn't exactly happen! Instead, I've been surprised at how much I could do around my own home and my immediate neighborhood, but, yeah, it's nice to get out somewhere new and different, too!
When things finally started opening back up again on a limited basis, that provided more opportunity to get away from my own four walls and my neighborhood.....but actually, I haven't done much of that yet. I have gone once so far to a local botanical gardens in nearby Vienna, VA, once it had reopened, but haven't gotten back there again or gone anywhere else interesting, since it has just been either too darned hot and humid here or too stormy. I am looking forward to return visits to Meadowlark over the next several months, since I have an annual membership and it's the kind of place which always offers some new delights every time one goes there. There's also a very lovely little gardens/park in Annandale, VA, another nearby suburb, which I enjoy visiting, too, and going further afield, there is also the fascinating National Aquarium in Baltimore (about an hour or so's drive from here).
We are finally having a break in the weather after what felt like an eternity of 90+ hot and humid days...... by and certainly in September we should definitely be in the "comfort zone" more often than not, and I am so looking forward to that!
Last edited:
There a couple of cardinals in my area, but I hardly seem them and as a matter of fact the last couple of days I haven't seen many birds at all. The reason is there is a red-tailed hawk searching for prey in the area, it's kind of funny as I know when the hawk is in the area as I see the birds I do see scatter then I simply look up in the sky seeing the hawking gliding in the air. I do say the hawks are very graceful when they are flying and hardly make a sound, but the small birds seem to know when they are in the area. Though the stupid squirrels don't as I have taken a pictures of a squirrel that met its fate with a Red-Tailed Hawk. 😀
