"Well, it's not quite a mop and it's not quite a puppet… but man (laughs). So to answer your question, I don't know." – Homer Simpson, "A Fish Called Selma"
I’ve written a few blog posts during quarantine cataloging the weekend walks (and their corresponding pictures) I’ve taken these past 7 months or so. This time around I took a very leisurely stroll in the rain on Saturday and then I did a combo walk/run on Sunday when the weather was better.
I’ve broken up the pictures into two galleries but I find them hopeful. The recurring theme is that you can find some real beauty when you slow down a bit. [I know this isn’t earth-shattering]
Enjoy!
Lawn art
A different kind of lawn art
Suburban sign
This gate looked decorated orange & black for Halloween
Jenn and I were a little bit late to the hummingbird game. We’ve had a feeder in the garage practically since we moved into the house in May, 2007 but we didn’t put/fill it up until the very end of Summer this year.
The first attempt was literally a mess.
We didn’t boil the water/sugar mixture.
We nearly lost several tiny, key components to the feeder (stopper, hook).
We (I) spilled some of the “nectar”.
All in all, not a fruitful first effort.
But over the last six weeks or so as the “season” for ruby-throated hummingbirds is waning and they all prepare for the long, southerly flight to warmer weather, we’ve had multiple visitors every day.
They seem to be most prominent early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
They always hang out in our weeping cherry tree before and after feeding.
They are extremely territorial, dive-bombing one another and any bug or bird that attempts to crowd their space.
Here’s my favorite photo of one grabbing a meal from a flower on a neighboring bush near our feeder:
I was very inspired to snap some of my shots based on this Petapixel post. And while I didn’t go to the trouble of spending a weekend day parked in front of the feeder, I think the shots above show off the calm and busy states of the hummingbird perfectly.
I’ve also been inspired by the recent photography and sketches of Ben Prisk. Seems he’s had hummingbirds on the brain too.
And since I’m linking willy-nilly to any and all things hummingbird-related here’s Wilco’s “Hummingbird” an excellent track from “A Ghost is Born”:
The beginning of the above song make me think of the opening of Guster’s “Manifest Destiny”. Guster, you may or may not know, had and album, “Keep it Together”, whose art featured – you guessed it – a hummingbird.
I’m going to stop now before I hurt myself (or you).
Inspired by Brody (thx for the Maui Revealed book), I’m thinking I need to take some proactive steps for better photographic health prior to our June trip to the island. I tweeted as much earlier.
Enter Lifehacker and a wonderful post on RAW format from the Wired Blog. Now all I have to do is:
Convince the Missus
Buy a bigger SDHC card (8 GB!)
Remember the tripod to reduce shaky-cam
The lenses and inside workings (guts?) of the D80 need a thorough cleaning. I may do it myself if I can find the kit I got for my birthday or the safer bet might be to take it to Wolf.
And no matter what Duane or my brother-in-law say [WARNING: Flame War-inducing comment]: Nikon’s kick Canon’s square in the ass.
Maybe I’ll even get around to a post-trip class a la Maigh. Who knows?
