Following what almost everybody else is doing on their blogs today (and it seems like everybody is posting today, I spend hours just reading new feeds), I want to wrap up this passing year for myself. This was my very first year of seriously taking photographs. The Nikon D40x showed up in my house last Christmas and I took it as The moment to finally start doing what I was thinking probably for many years- be serious about it. So I took the Nikon, started shooting, at the same time educating myself- reading books, magazines, blogs, listening to podcasts, and then shoot again, and getting better with it each day. I looked at some photo from last winter, and it was like: “how could I take a photo like it! It is so overexposed”. Well, I looked at a photo from few years ago, and it was “how I could take so unsharp photo”…

My blog was following me through my trip into photography most of the way, as I started it in May. It looks like I posted 145 entries during that time. What is more important then this statistics is that my photographs were part of two contest entries, and both of the entries were the winners! I wrote about first one in November, and I am planning to write more about the other when it get published on the net, which should be in just few days. It gives me more motivation to go on with what I am doing.

Happy New Year everybody. So that the New Year was at least as good as the Old was…

I usually enjoy living on Midwest, not minding neither too hot (well, they invented AC for a reason) not too cold (cold is fine by me). But there are days that I just feel stuck here. These are days I don’t have time to go off somewhere, as everywhere where is significantly different is not a day trip. And the weather just sometimes makes it impossible to go anywhere here. Recent days, it is just fog, blizzard, ice, wind, in any combination you can imagine. So, today’s photo is a cheer up. To look and think of how the winter looks like in other places. I took this photo while visiting Arches National Park in February, and it seemed like a good time to be there. Sunny blue sky, just a bit of snow, warm enough not to mind hiking all day…

It was the view out of my deck yesterday. On Saturday, first the snow was melting due to warm front, then the rain came, later snow and cold front, and in effect, there was an ice storm. It was beautiful day on Sunday, and the trees covered with ice were reflecting the sun shine. The ND filter helped to reduce the midday light and to stress the blue of the sky.

The Raptor Center I wrote about yesterday has also a bird blind, accompanied by regularly refilled multiple bird feeders. Great chance to observe and photograph Iowa winter birds, like dark-eyed junco or cardinals. Squirrels can also be found there, lazy creatures, and deer would pass by. An interesting place to hang out.

To walk off some of Christmas overeating, we went off to re-visit the Raptor Center, not far away from the place we live. It is a part of Macbride Nature  Recreation Area. The weather was rather stable, which is not happening often recently. I was counting on the some opportunities to photograph birds. I didn’t took into consideration how troublesome the cages might be, but not being pressed by time helped and I could make many photograph until I was happy with the results. The other aim was to make a short photo essay, by choosing from all the photographs only four, which will tell the story of the place. It was hard to pick up certain photos above the others, maybe that’s why the limit of 4 is suggested as an exercise. I had many photos of different bird species- owls, kestrels, hawks, eagles. There is also a bird blind with its variety, and ubiquitous here deers… But after some consideration, I made my picks.

I have been reading Brenda Tharp’s “Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography” book recently, and one of ideas inspired me. The technique to photograph while zooming the lens. I tried it from few different angles on my Christmas tree, up front and from the top, and I was zooming in and out, with different shutter speeds trying to find the most interesting effect and pleasing view.

Bursting light

The fact that I haven’t been blogging much this week, and will start now, when “normal” people spend time with family tells something. Quite a lot, really. It means that I don’t have family close by who I could visit and spend time with, for once. And my other plans fallen apart, because the winter this year decided to stick around, and it is not only snowing every other day, but also the temperature oscillates between -5F and +45F, and cannot stay anywhere in between… Good, that I have a lot of Christmas decorations and food at home, so I can photograph and post in the holiday mood.

Iowa “zero weather” is outside, with no clouds and no temperature (wind chill is well below 0F). If it crossed my mind to go out and photograph, I quickly dismissed the idea… Good, that I made some winter pictures yesterday. Lensbaby can turn bare branches with few remaining leaves into winter impression.

I wasn’t posting for few days due to ….lack of ideas, mostly. But the snowboarding today didn’t work out, we got hit by third winter storm… this week. So instead of doing some sports, I went out taking some photos. My husband took one camera, I took the other and my Lensbaby, and there we went… around our block. Turns out if you want to just shoot something, anything, you can keep yourself busy for a while. It seems that this photo is the best summary of today. In all respects.

When I was photographing birds yesterday, I wasn’t using only the Lensbaby. To get closer view of my subjects, I put teleconverter (2x) on my “street lens”.  With all the optics, window glass (probably not too clean) and falling snow, the picture is still quite sharp. According to field guide, this feeder guest is dark-eyed junco.

Dark-eyed Junco