A Photo a Day by Bill Heller | ||
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Feather Photos |
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Saturday, April 19, 2008
Tulip FeatherMore plants followed us home from the grocery store the other day. One of them was this beautiful Tulip. The bellows was still out from the recent Ladybug fest so this shot was inevitable really.bellows 3 | closeup 29 | feather 22 | flower 313 | macro 16 | petal 40 | red 23 | tulip 2 | variegated 31 | yellow 27 |
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Saturday, March 1, 2008
Iridescent Anna'sIt was a bit of a gray day today. But there was still enough sunlight to show off this guy's beautiful plumage. |
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Saturday, December 22, 2007
Carmel Valley HummerToday we took a nice trip to a nursery in Carmel Valley. It's one of my favorite places to chase humming birds. There are always a bunch of them but there is one in particular that seems to like to play. He keeps buzzing me and then sitting and waiting for me to get almost close enough for the shot I want before taking off again. I'm sure he's having as much fun with me as I am with him. Fortunately, he usually takes pity on the big lumbering beast with the 300 millimeter nose and lets me get a few nice shots. |
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Saturday, September 8, 2007
Fuzzy ContemplationLike I've said before, the subject is important but the background can really make or break the image. The pink around the hummingbird is from the flowers (or more technically the bracts) of the Bougainvillea he is resting in. I love the contrast with his beautiful feathers.This is actually an older shot, it was in my first show. The show was a flower theme, but interspersed in the flowers were small shots of hummingbirds. Seemed fitting to me. :-D |
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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Hummer in the BushIt's taken a while but we have built up some nice traffic to our hummingbird feeders in the back yard. Originally I thought our umbrella was blocking their view of potential threats and scaring them away. When we put it down for a while they came closer and started eating at our feeder that is hung the highest. Now that they are more comfortable, the umbrella is back up and they seem to like the seclusion of it. We have two lower feeders that are almost under the umbrella and they are emptied the fastest. I even got scolded today when the lower feeders were empty! |
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Sunday, August 19, 2007
Nappin' in the Golden HourThis is my friend from the other day. Like I said he was back in the evening, and the light just kept getting more and more beautiful.Anna's Hummingbird 11 | beak 8 | bird 51 | Calypte anna 13 | eating 6 | feather 22 | feeder 4 | fuzzy 12 | golden hour 1 | hummingbird 33 | lighting 1 | nap 2 | rest 3 | sleep 5 |
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Friday, August 17, 2007
After Dinner NapTruth be known it is more of a DURING dinner nap. He was sitting there napping and licking his chops. Then, every so often, he would wake up (almost) then lean over and take a few sips. He let me get very close, but his friend (mom?) was a little excited at one point. I don't think I freaked them out too much though because they came back later in the evening after leaving for a bit to let me clean the feeder and make fresh food. He was watching, because I barely had the feeder back up and he was on it while I was still standing there.The last time we had a hummer do this he was staking out the back yard to raise a family. I'm not sure it is the right time of year for that, but I'll be watching. Anna's Hummingbird 11 | beak 8 | bird 51 | Calypte anna 13 | eating 6 | feather 22 | feeder 4 | hummingbird 33 | nap 2 | rest 3 | sleep 5 |
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Friday, July 27, 2007
Reflective HummerThis was at the same nursery as the hummer from the other day. This guy was just being thoughtful in the filtered light. He was watching me intently as I got closer. He did not seem scared. He was more curious I think. He kept tilting his head from side to side. He probably knew the big lumbering beast that was stuck on the ground could never get close enough to bother him.I love the way the side lighting shows every feather on his face. |
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Monday, January 1, 2007
Egret in the WindThe last couple of days have had some amazing winds. Wild weather always makes for great photo opportunities. The backdrop of this image looks almost like a painting, but the gusty wind made these beautiful ripples on top of the bigger waves near the beach. The timing of the heavy gust was perfect too, just at the right time when this beautiful Egret looked up from foraging in the tidal pools.bird 51 | Egret 4 | Egretta thula 3 | feather 22 | ocean 62 | Snowy 1 | Snowy Egret 3 | water 55 | wave 23 | wind 1 |
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Tuesday, November 14, 2006
AnnaWe were looking at roses the other day at La Sumida Nursery on Patterson in Goleta. I was minding my own business when I heard this buzzzzz over my head. She was having a great time buzzing the roses and me, but with a little patience I was able to find her resting spot in the top of a Pomegranate tree. |
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Thursday, November 2, 2006
Taking FlightThe hound loves to explore new territory. I guess she's sniffed all there is to smell at home. Yesterday we got to take a walk along the bluff in Shell Beach, just north of Pismo Beach. Near the end of our walk we heard a bit of chattering from a bush. Upon further examination we found the hiding place of a beautiful hummingbird. Unfortunately the sun was too low in the sky to get a good shot so when we went out for our walk today I checked the bush and sure enough, that must be home for this guy!I took quite a few shots, this is where he was just about tired of playing with me. He is just starting to take flight. You can see his left wing rising behind his back. |
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Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Green HummerShe thought she was blending in pretty well, but I saw her fly in. |
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Friday, September 1, 2006
Hummer-HawkShe looks like she is perched, just waiting for lunch to scurry by. The only problem with that is flowers usually don't scurry.In reality, she is stretching her neck out and tilting her head back and forth trying to figure out why there is a strange creature with a 300mm nose stalking her. |
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Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Cactus FeathersZoe took me for a walk today, as she has been known to do. We took a little different path than we normally do. We went past this beautiful Prickly Pear cactus up the street from us. It is about six feet tall and it is in a pot in front of a house near the street. It is pretty obvious by the health of the plant that the growth of the roots has not been slowed by the bottom of the pot!I think the coloring on the petals makes them look like feathers. |
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Friday, March 3, 2006
Crazy FinchAhh he's a great bird!This is his scratchin' perch. He comes over there when he wants a good bird scratchin'. Not something your average Finch would do. They are usually quite a bit more high strung. But, hey bird, you are almost 7 months past your "best by" date! This is not his first appearance here. |
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Friday, January 27, 2006
Relaxing HummerThis is a little guy who had a little too much to eat. He had just finished eating at a feeder and he flew over to the Bougainvillea and fluffed out to rest. |
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Monday, January 23, 2006
Peacock, Hammin' It UpSometimes you have to coax your subjects to do something interesting. This guy was more than happy to show off for me. They were actually quite friendly (and loud!) |
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Friday, December 30, 2005
More Pictures of the KidsYes as a matter of fact I am one of those crazy people who thinks of their animals as their kids! :-DIf you had animals like mine you would too. 'Course, if you had animals as smart as mine and you treated them like most people treat their pets you'd probably get an unpleasant present in your favorite shoes. |
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Thursday, February 24, 2005
Hold the CrackersI have always loved big birds, they are unbelievably intelligent creatures. Once upon a time, when I lived in Hawaii, I had an Umbrella Cockatoo named "Baby". Sadly, when I left Hawaii I thought it would be best for her to stay there. Luckily I was able to find her a good family. I still think about her a lot though, and hope she is doing good in her new home. And I hope they remember to give her lots of canned pears and butter (not necessarily at the same time) of all of the crazy things we tried to give her as treats, those were the only two things she really loved. Well, those and millet spray, which she held in one foot and ate like corn on the cob! |
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Sunday, February 13, 2005
Isla Vista HummerThe day I took this I was supposed to be practicing pastels in a class at Island View Nursery in Carpinteria. But once there is a hummingbird around I can't think of doing anything but taking pictures. |
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Monday, January 24, 2005
Cattle EgretI found this guy poking around the stream along the path to Nojoqui Falls near Santa Barbara. I knew he was an Egret, but I was not sure what kind.Once I identified it, I found out some interesting facts about this bird. Although it is now distributed over the entire world as recently as 1910 there were no records of it in America. Apparently, in the early 1900s this bird migrated across the Atlantic ocean from Africa then spread quickly across South and North America. USGS Patuxent Bird ID InfoCenter South American Birds Site, with some interesting information. |
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Monday, January 3, 2005
Morning SalutationHumming birds are incredible to watch, this guy was sitting in a huge Bougainvillea above my head. They have a habit of making a sound that makes you think they are dive-bombing you but they are usually sitting still when they make that sound. When they call they put their beak in the air and the feathers on their throat stick straight out. This photo was taken just after he had made the call and he was in the middle of a good post-breakfast stretch. |
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