23-APR-2013
Outside The Box
Something a bit different from me, outside the box so to speak. While waiting at the doctor's office for my wife, I saw this toy that was there for the children to play with.
I played with it in a different way, with my camera. :)
22-APR-2013
Bald Eagle and Baby
There are babies in the eagle's nest on Skinner Butte. The tree is so far out from where it can be sighted that one needs a very long lens to reach. I have an offer to use a 1000mm lens and have to get on the ball about using it. I got this with a Nikon D300 with 80-400 VR plus 1.4x Kenko converter. I forgot the tripod mount for the lens and so had to mount the camera on the tripod. This made for a less stable arrangement. I was fortunate to get a shot this good, and it is not all that great.
21-APR-2013
Lovely Yellow Blossom
This lovely yellow azalea blossom is in Hendricks Park's rhododendron garden. The lighting was wonderful!
20-APR-2013
Earth Day Dancing
I heard music across the river from Alton Baker Park and decided to check it out. I learned that there was an Earth Day celebration going on at Riverfront Plaza. Here we can see some moving with the music.
19-APR-2013
Blending In!
This is a beautiful red-tailed hawk. It flew right overhead when I was driving down off Skinner Butte, and landed in a nearby tree. I jumped out of the car to try to get some shots. Because of my vision problems, I had trouble seeing it since it blended in with the tree so well. But I managed to get a half dozen pictures before it flew away. This is one of them. Not too bad for a Coolpix P510!
18-APR-2013
A Nikon Cannon
I was excited to meet up with a fellow photographer at Hendricks Park, Eugene's oldest. We had a nice conversation about photography and equipment. He is a Nikon user also and here was shooting with an older Nikkor 500mm manual focus AIS lens. At this spot he was shooting fern fronds and getting great separation by using a long telephoto.
I learned that he is a professional photographer whose main interests are landscape, bird and botanical photography. If you would like to see his website and some of his work, this is the link -
http://www.headwatersphoto.com Take a look, I think he is very good!
17-APR-2013
Afloat in a Sea of Black
Trumpet Daffodil shot against a shaded background.
16-APR-2013
Love Blooms in Alton Baker Park
A beautiful couple, Northern Flicker male and female, on the sidewalk in Alton Baker Park. The Northern Flicker is a member of the woodpecker family.
15-APR-2013
Outdoor Dining On A Rainy Morning
This mural is in downtown Springfield, across from the museum and city hall. I shot the picture early this morning, in the rain.
14-APR-2013
Oregon-Grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
Oregon-Grape is the State Flower for Oregon. When the berries turn purple they do look like grapes. This photo I shot in Alton Baker Park in nice light. Wikipedia has information about the plant -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahonia_aquifolium Note the reference to the similarity of the leaves to that of holly.
The root of the plant has some medicinal value. It makes a bitter herb that is effective in treating digestive problems.
13-APR-2013
Spring Shows Up in Owens Rose Garden
Early flowers and trees are blooming in Owens Rose Garden. In late spring the roses will begin to appear and I will try to remember to visit there again.
12-APR-2013
Into The Fog
Our day started out with frost and fog. It is now cloudy with rain and wind. Here is a morning view of the pond below Fern Ridge Dam and Clear Lake Road that disappears into the fog.