Photographs - Animalia

(Animals)

Red Squirrel - South Dakota - 2008

Title: Red Squirrel

Date Taken: October 4, 2007

Location: Mickelson Trail - South Dakota

EXIF Data: Camera: Fuji FinePix S9100; Exposure Mode: auto; Lens Aperture: F/4.8; Shutter Speed: 1/263 sec; F/L: 57.7 mm; ISO: 100; Flash: none

Notes: I say this little fellow early in the morning as I headed north on the Mickelson Trail from Hill City, South Dakota.

Yellow Warbler - 2008

Title: Yellow Warbler

Date Taken: May 16, 2008

Location: Mickelson Trail, South Dakota

EXIF Data: Camera: Fuji FinePix S9100; Exposure Mode: auto; Lens Aperture: F/4.9; Shutter Speed: 1/340 sec; F/L: 66.7 mm; ISO: 200; Flash: none

Notes: I saw a bunch of small, yellow birds while riding back to Custer, South Dakota. They were flitting about the side of the trail where rain or snow-melt filled the drainage ditches on the side of the trail This picture is a very small detail cropped from the original. I really liked how the yellow bird stood out against the bluish-color of the water. I added a soft-focus background to bring attention foremost on the bird.

Cedar Waxwing

Title: Cedar Waxwing

Date Taken: March 17, 2010

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

EXIF Data: Camera: Fuji FinePix S9100; Exposure Mode: auto; Lens Aperture: F/4.8; Shutter Speed: 1/47 sec; F/L: 60.1 mm; ISO: 80; Flash: none

Notes: I finally had some cedar waxwings in my yard. There were about four or five of them that hung around for about three weeks and really enjoyed drinking at my bird bath. The shots, especially in the afternoon, were a bit difficult as the sun was backlighting the birds. Some creative use of histogram, curve, and level adjustments helped bring out the colors of this bird.

Hummingbird

Title: Broadtail

Date Taken: May 19, 2010

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

EXIF Data: Camera: Fuji FinePix S9100; Lens Aperture: F/5.7; Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec; F/L: 66.7 mm; ISO: 100; Flash: none

Notes: I set the camera up on a tripod outdoors, pointed towards my bird feeders in the ornamental grass garden. This picture is a small detail cropped from the original.

Rocket - January 2011

Title: Rocket

Date Taken: January 30, 2011

Location: Colorado Springs, CO

EXIF Data: Camera: Fuji FinePix: S9100; Exposure Mode: auto; Lens Aperture: F/3.1; Shutter Speed: 1/3 sec; F/L: 8.1 mm; ISO: 400; Flash: none

Notes: Rocket had his friends Sadie and Maya over for a few days. It was night time, so I set up the tripod and snapped this and the two pictures below to capture our canine friends. I processed this photo on my Linux box using the GIMP and a plugin called 'National Geogrpahic' which gave the picture a nice tone.

Sadie - January 2011

Title: Sadie

Date Taken: January 30, 2011

Location: Colorado Springs, CO

EXIF Data: Camera: Fuji FinePix: S9100; Exposure Mode: auto; Lens Aperture: F/3.7; Shutter Speed: 1/4 sec; F/L: 15.4 mm; ISO: 400; Flash: none

Notes: Processed using the GIMP's 'National Geographic' plugin and cropped from the original photograph.

Maya - January 2011

Title: Maya

Date Taken: January 30, 2011

Location: Colorado Springs, CO

EXIF Data: Camera: Fuji FinePix: S9100; Exposure Mode: auto; Lens Aperture: F/3.5; Shutter Speed: 1/3 sec; F/L: 11.7 mm; ISO: 400; Flash: none

Notes: Same scenario and processing as done with 'Rocket' and 'Sadie' above except I did not use the 'National Geographic' plugin.

Title: Master of His Domain

Date Taken: June 16, 2011

Location: Colorado Springs, CO

EXIF Data: Camera: Fuji FinePix: S9100; Exposure Mode: auto; Lens Aperture: F/4.4; Shutter Speed: 1/73 sec; F/L: 48.9 mm; ISO: 80; Flash: none

Notes: One of several great shots I got of a house wren that morning. He is one of a nesting pair that have taken up residence in a driftwood bird house attached to our garage. He sings all morning long in between collecting nesting material that he diligently puts into the house. Much like chickadees, which inhabitated the house earlier in the year, the house wrens don't seem to be too concerned about a nearby human presence. Good thing, as that allowed me to set up the camera on a tripod very closely.