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By Puteri, August 31, 2010 11:37 am

I was quite pleased by how the foggy background on this picture enhanced the overall picture. It gave the picture an other worldly feel to it!

In Nipomo, California, where this picture was taken, fog in the morning is an almost daily occurrence. I was glad I took out my camera that morning and waited for the hummingbirds to appear.

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By Puteri, December 9, 2009 1:14 pm

Yesterday morning it was cold and the everything that was out in the open was covered in frost.

I took many pictures of the flowers in my front yard during the summer and it was interesting to take pictures of the remaining flowers covered in frost this late in the fall.

Frost Covered Flowers I
Galt, California 2009

Frost Covered Flowers II
Galt, California 2009

Frost Covered Flowers III
Galt, California 2009

Frost Covered Flowers IV
Galt, California 2009

Hummingbird at a Feeder I
Galt, California 2009

Hummingbird at a Feeder II
Galt, California 2009

I felt sorry for the hummingbird that stopped at my empty and frozen hummingbird feeder. After the bird left, I took the feeder in, washed it in warm water and filled it back up with syrup. I waited for the hummingbird to come back that day, but it never did.

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By Puteri, December 1, 2009 3:07 pm

Flowers
Nipomo, California 2009

I was out in my mother-in-law’s garden photographing flowers in the early evening when a hummingbird flew right in front of me.

Hummingbird I
Nipomo, California 2009

Hummingbird II
Nipomo, California 2009
I quickly took a few snapshots of the hummingbird. Only a couple turned out good enough to share here. A pity.

Hummingbird in a Tree I
Nipomo, California 2009

Hummingbird in a Tree II
Nipomo, California 2009

The next day I went out in the garden again and followed the sounds of the hummingbirds. Unfortunately, they stayed mostly high in the trees. Only one actually flew in front of a flower but unfortunately all the pictures I took of it turned out fuzzy. A disappointment, really.

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By Puteri, September 28, 2009 5:26 pm

Song Sparrow and a Western Bluebird
Galt, California 2009

Western Bluebird
Galt, California 2009

Yellow-rumped warbler
Galt, California 2009

Western Bluebird
Galt, California 2009

Yellow-rumped warbler
Galt, California 2009

I cannot identify the birds so I’ll leave the naming for now. These birds are common in my backyard. They like to gather around a walnut tree because there’s a sprinkler under the tree where the water collects.

I have discovered that photographing birds needs a lot of patience and a camera with a good telephoto lens to catch all the detail! Having said the bit about the camera lens, I am happy that my bridge camera is good enough to photograph birds, well birds that are not too far away, that is.

I hope to photograph more birds in the future and hopefully by then I will be able to identify the birds. There’s a book at Amazon about backyard birds of California. I should get that.

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By Puteri, September 28, 2009 9:08 am

Geese I
Consumnes River Preserve, California 2009

Geese II
Consumnes River Preserve, California 2009

Geese III
Consumnes River Preserve, California 2009

Geese IV
Consumnes River Preserve, California 2009

Geese in the Evening Sky
Consumnes River Preserve, California 2009

I am surprised that I managed to capture the geese in mid-flight! I zoomed in towards the direction of the geese and clicked away .. they were a bit too far for a clear view with my naked eye because of the glare on the water. That is why I am surprised that I had taken some reasonably good pictures.

The low evening sun was also a bit too glaring, and I wasn’t sure what feature to use on my new camera. I think, if I were to go back to the preserve, I will use one more feature that I did not use when I was there … the wide dynamic range that will prevent wash out in very bright light.

As they say, practice makes perfect!