Spring Birds

The birds are enjoying the spring flowers as much as I am. We have a young weeping cherry tree in our front yard and as you can see this little titmouse is loving the spring blooms.

I really look forward to spring and all the birds and flowers, it gives lots of color to everything. I have been spending time sitting on the front porch with my camera in my lap waiting on an Eastern Blue Bird to come and pose. She has a nest in a birdhouse we have hanging in the front yard. The problem is, she is not very camera friendly. We have to play a waiting game each evening.

I come out onto the front porch and she flies away, across the street into a big tree. She sits in the tree or on the gutter of the house next door and watches me and waits. I sit in my chair on the front porch and wait on her to return to the birdhouse or my yard. Guess who wins.

Yep, I typically give up and go inside before she gives in and returns to the yard.

About five minutes after I go into the house, I look out of the window and she has returned to the front yard again.

One of these days I know I will win.

Flowers are a Bloomin

Yes, the flowers are a bloomin! Spring is on it's way, lots of flowers are starting to bloom and it is time to get the camera out and start shooting.

I love the spring and I love to take flower photos. I have an article I wrote on flower photos please check it out at http://www.squidoo.com/adviceonflowerphotography there are a few tips on taking some nice flower photos.

Winter and Birds

Winter is not the best time of year for landscape photography. In the winter, the skies in Tennessee are not appealing most of the time. The skies are quite often grey, and rather one dimensional. These skies leave a dull lifeless feel to most of the landscape images you try to capture.

But if you do not mind turning to another subject for your images, you can get some really nice bird photos. The winter months create a lack of good food for the birds so the birds need to come to our feeders to eat. We put feeders close to the house, on our deck, and the birds just flock to the feeders. Then we just wait for the right bird and click, we get some great bird photos without leaving the warmth of the kitchen.

Winter may not produce blue skies but it does produce birds on our deck ready to be photographed!

Snow Pictures

Have you every tried to get some really good snow pictures?

I don't get a lot of snow where I live so I must travel to find enough snow for my pictures. The problem with needing to travel to get snow pictures is it can be rather difficult. It is a matter of timing and knowing where to find snow. It seems everytime there is snow forcasted nearby I am tied up with something else and I can not get away to take pictures. Then when I am free to travel to the nearest snow, I get there and the snow is melted or there is not enough to get any real interesting shots.

When I was up north visiting recently I did encounter plenty of snow. I had some fantastic fresh deep snow to work with. The problem was a matter of getting outside to get the photos. I had not come prepared for snow. I had my camera but I didn't have the proper transportation. You just can not drive on snow covered roads with a sports car. Rear wheel drive and a ground clearance of about 4 inches just doesn't get you very far in the snow.

It looks like the winter is almost over and I really have gotten only a very few snow pictures this year. Each year I vow I will do better and capture some great snow photos but each year I only get a very few.

Waterfall Pictures on My Birthday

Well, today is my birthday. I don't know if I should be happy or sad, getting older is not much fun.

I had a great day yesterday celebrating my birthday. I went to Savage Gulf State Natural Area in Tennessee. I have never been there and I really enjoyed the trip.
We hiked about 1.5 miles to a waterfall. The hike was moderate, not difficult at all and it was such a pleasant day for a hike, the temperature was in the 60's and the sun was shinning. This was just the perfect kind of day for a hike in the woods. There was not a lot of wildlife to be seen, a woodpecker or two and one squirrel. There were very few fellow hikers so it was just a delightful and peaceful day for hiking.
When we arrived at the waterfall it was even better than expected. The setting was very tranquil, you can just picture a summer day and kids swimming in the pool around the falls.
Of course this was not a summer day, there was still ice behind the falls and over some of the rocks on one side of the falls.

I did have a great day taking pictures and just relaxing, so I really did enjoy my pre-birthday celebration.

Landscape Photos in Winter

I have attempted for several weeks now to capture a great cityscape. It is very difficult to capture a cityscape in the winter with the gray skies. A blue sky is a rare sight in January here in Tennessee.

A landscape or cityscape photo is not very exciting when it is grey, all the colors are muted when it is overcast. If the sun is shinning on that rare day, I am always committed to doing something else and I can not get away to take a photo.

I just can't wait for a nice blue summer sky again!

I guess I need to settle for bird photos at this time of year.

Waterfall Pictures

Wow, now is the time in Tennessee, to take photographs of waterfalls. Due to the rainfall we have been experiencing in the last few weeks the waterfalls are just roaring.

I have been out to two state parks this week and the water is just rushing over the falls. This is wonderful since all summer long the falls were pretty much dried up.

Now is the time to get out there and take some waterfall pics