Category: Photography

Posted on in Birds, Invertebrates, Photography, Plants

Changes

Gambel’s Quail, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, NM

Back in 2020, the COVID lockdowns put a major damper on everything. I found that while I was still gardening, and birding locally, the lack of social interaction put my brain to sleep. No inspiration. No new discoveries. Nothing to write about. And not wishing to fill pages with meaningless drivel, I stopped blogging.

However, I still have a desire to share my awe and love of God’s creation. Instead of writing more articles, I simply began sharing one photograph every day on Instagram (look for LeslieHolzmann) and on the Mountain Plover Facebook page. I haven’t been posting them here, but perhaps it’s time to start.

There is no social commentary. No political opinions. No contention. We have plenty of that already. I just identify the subject and note where I took the picture. Consider it a one-minute break from current events.

In addition to the Gambel’s Quail photo, I’m adding a couple of previous pictures as well:

Potinara ‘Denver Gold’ – Denver Botanic Gardens, CO
Monarch Butterfly – Chico Basin Ranch, CO

And finally, the answer to February’s bird quiz is Little Blue Heron (immature).

Posted on in Birds, Photography

Focusing on the Bird

Yellow-breasted Chat_FCRP7w-EPC-CO_LAH_3270

Why wouldn’t the camera focus on the bird?!

I was trying to finally get a decent picture of a Yellow-breasted Chat. They’re not all that common in this part of the country, and I was thrilled to find one. In fact, we’d been hearing it call since we’d arrived at one of my favorite birding spots. But where was it?

After much searching (my ears aren’t very good at recognizing direction), we finally found the noisy bird sitting in a bare treetop, far overhead. It was in plain view, if you discounted the multitude of leafless twigs surrounding it. Praying it would stay put long enough for me to grab the shot, I aimed my lens and partly depressed my shutter button to activate the autofocus. (more…)

Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds, Photography

Photo Birding

Katoomba, NSW
Wongabel NP, QLD
Blue Mountains NP, NSW
Daintree Village, QLD

The view out my window on a recent morning was solid white. I was looking at four inches of what the weather folks called “it may or may not snow, and surely there won’t be much accumulation.” Schools were on a delay, temperatures hovered in the mid-teens, and visibility was nil. Yup, I wouldn’t be driving anywhere to go birding that day.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Photography

Plant Photography: Color

Helianthus annuus_Sunflower_DBG_LAH_6805

My final post on photographing plants, in all their forms, deals with one of my favorite aspects of photography—color. My dad was an avid photographer as well, but he preferred to shoot a medium format camera loaded with black and white film. Then he’d disappear into his darkroom and spend hours dodging and burning, doing his best to emulate Ansel Adams.

Me? I want color, and the more, the better. Happily, gardens are colorful places.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Photography

Garden Photography: K.I.S.S.

Malus 'Branzam' Brandywine_Crabapple_DBG_LAH_5147

It’s helpful to understand your equipment, to know how to set up your camera so your subject will be in focus and properly exposed. Knowing how everything works will allow you to avoid mistakes and the frustration that accompanies them. If you’re especially enamored of technical things, you’ll probably enjoy trying out all your camera’s menu choices, dials, and buttons, learning what it’s capable of. But just as most of us don’t pull out our phone simply to play with the settings, understanding the technical aspect of photography isn’t our final goal. Rather, it’s the means to an end. We want to create quality photographs.

(more…)