Iridescent Photos
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Anna's Hummingbird
The hummingbirds are quite active around here these days. They seem to like to taunt me any time I'm outside without my camera. I have not had time to chase them down, this guy was from a walk at Seaside Gardens. Hopefully I'll get out with my camera to chase the hummers tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Emerald Hummer
This is my friend from the other day.
I thought you might enjoy seeing his beautiful green back. Like I said,
I have a few more shots to go through so I'm sure you'll see more of him in the coming
photos of the day. This was one of his other favorite perches.
I really liked the alternating diagonal lines, but he was usually sitting
at an area that was behind another bush. I got lucky this one time
when he decided to land further out.
One other interesting thing in the comparison of the two shots
is the fact that his head and throat plumage is very directional.
If you have never seen one of these guys up close, that is not
a trick of the camera. The feathers are amazingly iridescent when he
looks right at you. So much so that my computer has trouble dealing
with the details in them from the hot color of the feathers.
But when he looks away, the same feathers look almost black.
I love the details in nature! That is why I can happily spend hours on
the same subject and still go back for more.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Seaside Hummer
We spent the afternoon yesterday wandering around the Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria. It is the best place to get hummer photos, there are enough flowers there to support a bunch of them in a much smaller area than they would normally be comfortable with. This guy was one of my favorite subjects. He had about four or five favorite perches. I followed him from one to the next getting a little closer on each circuit. I started taking photos when I was still far away from him so he would get used to the sound of the shutter. After about five or six trips around his space he got comfortable enough for me to get this shot. I have no idea how long it took seemed like only a few minutes, but there were hundreds of images when I was done.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Hummer in the Mallow
This guy is sitting on a branch in our Sea Tree Mallow. He is waiting for me to fill up the hummingbird feeder. Don't you just hate it when your favorite restaurant makes you wait. It's so hard to get good service. It's a good thing our most popular hummingbird appetizers are blooming right now.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Iridescent Anna's
It was a bit of a gray day today. But there was still enough sunlight to show off this guy's beautiful plumage.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Iridescent Epi Blossom
One of our Orchid Cacti, blooming like crazy. It may look like a close macro shot, but it is actually THAT BIG! 'Bout 9" across. I have kind of gone wild with Orchid Cacti. We actually have about a hundred epis now. Most started from small cuttings.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Epiphyllum Irridescense
Last Sunday there was a Cactus and Succulent show here in Santa Barbara.
We went looking for some new Epiphyllums, and specifically this one.
I saw one the day before at a Nursery and had my fingers crossed they would
have it at the show. We got this one as a single pad cutting. Of course
that one pad is about two feet long and four inches wide, with two blossoms.
To get an idea of the scale, the petals are almost an inch across and about five long.
The whole blossom is at least eight inches across.
I hope you like it, because there are more Epi photos to come. We got
seven cuttings at the show of six different varieties! I think it
is safe to say we have a jungle in our back yard now since I have
long since lost count how many we have.
Friday, September 1, 2006
Hummer-Hawk
She 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.





