All Things Winged

This weekend was a beauty, a true indian summer weekend, with warm temps and sunny skies!  We were also having unseasonably high tides due to the wind, so Mr. Tide offered to paddle me around in the tandem kayak so that I could rest my shoulders and back and also so that I could hopefully take some pics of wildlife.

We decided to wander way up to the headwaters of the creek, where the marsh grasses grow tall and the eagles live.  Though we've never found a nest, we know there must be one up that way somewhere, probably too far for us to reach before the tiny trickle of water is completely blocked by overgrown wetlands.

I was so happy I felt up to going, but even happier that I was able to use my big lens for at least awhile, taking frequent breaks waiting for something to fly overhead.  Of course when I got back, I had to play around with the images I had captured.  On the one above I gave it a bit of a 1950s nostalgic look to it.  I told Mr. Tide that I could see it in a hunting lodge from the 50s, probably decoupaged onto a large wedge of wood...remember those?!

The images in this post were taken over several days, and even though I was sore from shooting the first day, I couldn't resist going out and trying again because it was so nice to be on the water again, and I wanted to take full advantage of it while I could!  No pain, no gain right?!

I was glad I pushed myself, because I captured some wonderful images of eagles on one of the days.  I always have trouble catching them in flight, especially from the land, as they often fly behind the trees before I can focus on them.

And the same is true for herons, they are so quick to fly away long before you get anywhere near them, but if you sit patiently in a kayak, sometimes they fly right past you.

This particular heron was perched high atop a long needled pine tree out in the open part of the creek, and surprisingly he or she was more than happy to let me snap a few shots before taking off.  It's the closest I've ever gotten to one and with the setting sun, the light was perfect!

But by far, this last image is my favorite.  This egret let me take some pictures of it perched atop this piling, but then it decided it was time to take flight.  I love that it had only one tiny claw touching as it lifted off...it is a quintessential "bird taking flight" pose in my mind!

There is something about winged things that makes me smile each time I see them....well most things, just not bats!  The quote below is so fitting for each of these images, so I will leave you to ponder your own winged destiny.

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”
― C. JoyBell C.

The Year of Us

Well here we are, at the beginning of a brand new year.  Can you believe that it's the first day of a new year?!  I truly can't wrap my mind around it quite yet.  Even as I packed up all of Christmas today, I kept thinking that someone must have hit the fast forward button because it seems as though it should still be July, not January.  Of course 60 degree temps may be causing me to think that way too!

But I've been thinking about 2012 for quite some time now.  I'm not sure why I felt that the beginning of one year seemed better than any other time to make some changes, but it just did.  So I've been plotting over November and December, not about resolutions per se, but about what I really want to do with my life.  Where I hope to be one year from now, or even one month from now.

Today, I wandered around my yard looking like the creature from the black lagoon...and I'm not exaggerating. I borrowed my son's ghillie suit (see the photo below) and I stealthily sat motionless waiting for birds to arrive so that I could take their picture.  I think the sight of me in the suit may have been more scary than just lil ole me slinking around.

See what I mean?!  I'm sure my neighbor thought that Sasquatch had moved in next door, but hey this was part of my grand plan, my new year, new me plan.  In my plan, I would fool all living creatures who inhabit our yard, and I would then be able to take my wildlife photography to the next level, you know, like National Geographic level.  I didn't say it was a good plan, but it was a plan!

What I discovered was that 

a.  Ghillie Suits kind of smell bad...like a mix of old fishing nets and kerosene.

b.  All those little string things that make you look like a bush...they don't mix well with a tripod.  In fact, they tend to get tangled up and it may or may not take you a lot of time getting them out of said tripod.

c.  Birds are smarter than they look, so camouflage is really only good for animals with bad eyesight.

d.  Even if you have on camouflage, the big honking camera spinning around on a tripod might just give you away.

So, back to my new year, new me plan, slightly amended to include some reality, ie. Nat Geo won't be knocking on my door anytime soon.

When I visited my friend Anna, who is an artist, yoga instructor, marketing genius, and all around great person, she told me that she was planning to focus on herself this year.  Before the words were even completely formed and out of her mouth I said..."YES!, this is the year of ME too!"

So after a walk, and some more chatting about what our vision will be for 2012, she and I decided that it will not be the year of me...or her...but it will be the year of US.  Us meaning, anyone who wants to move in the same direction.  Women just like us, or my friend J, or anyone really who wants to focus on doing the things we love, finding new things to love, taping into our talents, and really going after the things we want.

Not "going after" things in a Filene's Basement bridal dress sale sort of way, but in a way that helps us to reach our goals.  Because let's face it, when we are happy, satisfied, accomplished, well it overflows into every other aspect of our lives.

We are better people, mothers, children, siblings, workers, whatever, because happiness, calm, and focus are all contagious.

Now I haven't figured all of this out yet, but I do know a few things.  I will focus on my photography in a way I haven't ever done before.  Instead of taking pictures of things I think others might like, or processing them in ways I think might make them easier to sell, I will now create for me.

I will maybe even start a new blog, one that is more photography centered.  One that will chronicle this new journey I'm embarking on.  That may mean that this blog won't see as much action, though I can't imagine ever completely shutting it down because I still have a passion for design and decor, just not the same passion I used to have for such things.

I see this year of "US" as a chance to do what I want, be who I want.  Like the photos above, it will be one filled with realism some days, and others where I will create my own vision of how I want things to look.

I plan to use this year to reach deep within, clean out the clutter, both literally and figuratively, and find what remains.  And just like any good plan, I will remain flexible, open to possibilities, and ready to turn on a dime.

So who's with me?!  Are you ready for the Year of US?  You don't need a special membership card, or learn the secret handshake, as a matter of fact I suggest you keep it all to yourself so that others don't feel the need to give you any advice.  Just go out there and do it, whatever it is, climb that mountain, pull those clothes off the stair stepper and get moving, get rid of the people (and stuff) that are holding you back from being who you want to be, need to be, and can be!

I won't be giving motivational speeches, nope, I plan to take my cues from Nike...and Just Do It!

Happy New Year!

Shadows and Light

I thought we would take a little break from Europe and talk about photography and a local sale going on in southern Maryland this weekend!

When it comes to taking photographs, I feel that trying new and different stuff is the only way to find what works best for you.  As a self taught photographer, I am slowly learning the terms of photography, but I doubt I will ever be an expert, heck I can barely remember which lenses I own, but I do know what I like.  And what I love doing is playing around with the settings and trying to grow as a photographer through pure luck and lots of trail and error.

In the photo above, it was early morning the other day when a heron landed right on the dead log by the end of our dock.  The fact that a heron did this is nothing new, but the fact that it let me and 2 boisterous dogs come clamoring out of the house without freaking out and flying away is nothing short of a miracle!  Herons are skittish birds in the wild, and they will fly off at the drop of a hat, screaming loudly at you as if to say, "you scared the heck out of me and I'm outta here!"  I have lots of pictures of heron butts to prove this!

This heron however, was quite content to perch on the log long enough for me to extend my telephoto lens to it's full 400 millimeters so that I could try and see every feather.  Of course I realized after snapping a few pics that my ISO was way too low and so the pics were going to be very blurry.  As a general rule, and without using a tripod, your shutter speed shouldn't be any less than the length of your lens.  So if you are using the 400 mm your shutter speed shouldn't be below 1/400th of a second.  This is the number that you can see when you look through the viewfinder, on my Canon it is in the lower left of my screen display. 

So I quickly bumped up my ISO, which makes the light sensors more sensitive, meaning you can have less light and still get a good image.  And voila, I got a great shot of the heron!

When shooting wildlife that is apt to move off quickly, you don't have a lot of time to stop and see if you got a good shot, you tend to just snap away and hope for the best once you are done.  So besides changing my ISO, I also switched to TV mode for a few shots.

In TV mode, you can set a fixed shutter speed, one that is quick enough to capture something in low light.  These images can often be dark, but if you shoot in RAW format, you can sometimes lighten things up and still have a fairly sharp image.  This is a great trick if you simply don't have a tripod for low light situations.  I actually used this trick while shooting in a castle in France, and even though the images looked almost black on my LCD screen on my camera, and I wasn't sure I would get anything out of them, I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and manipulated the exposures in Photoshop...I got some wonderful images by using the TV setting 1/125 while using my wide angle lens which is a 24 - 70 mm.

Anyway, that is all a very long and boring way of saying that I like trying these different settings, and learning the capabilities of my equipment.  The image above was taken using the TV setting and I decided not to lighten it, I loved the dramatic effect that I got as much as I liked the first image.  They are both different and each have their own appeal, at least to me anyway.  Sometimes photography is about shadows and light as much as it is about the subject matter.

Ok, enough camera gobbledygook for one evening, but before I go, I want to tell you about a sale going on this weekend in my neck of the woods.  My friends Susan and Julie are at it again, pulling together a fall show that is sure to help you find those early Christmas presents!  

The flyer below will give you all of the details, and if you go, please tell them Kat says hello!  I will be up in DC meeting a bloggy/Garden Web forum friend of mine (for the first time) who will be in town from Atlanta!  We've been friends for a few years now, and I can't wait to meet both Traci and her husband!  

I hope you each have a wonderful weekend!

Bad Start, Happy Ending

Today started out on a rough note.  I wasn't feeling well at all...

But by the time Mr. Tide got home this evening, I was feeling better and asked him if he would take me out in the kayak.

We took the tandem out for a spin and while he paddled, I got to ride along like the Queen of the Nile and snap pictures.  It's quite a treat to just glide along while someone else paddles, of course we all know I have the hard job of trying to capture the wildlife *rolls eyes*.

If you are wondering why I'm doing so many textured pictures this month, well I have a little project underway and so I'm working on a portfolio.  I promise, realism will be back soon, but for now I'm having fun creating.

So after a bad start, the day ended happily...thanks to some salt water, fresh air, and a handsome husband I can always count on!!   I hope you each had a good day, even if it started out upside down!

Just Around The River Bend

Hey, want to head out in the kayaks tonight?  It's a beautiful night, and we'll be able to catch the sunset!

Look at those trees barely clinging to the banks of the creek...pretty cool eh?

Look, there is our favorite bald eagle heading back home for the evening.  I told you we should have brought the telephoto lens!

Turn around and look back towards the house, isn't the sun pretty!

And check out the heron flying low along the water.  Dang, next time, I'm bringing that telephoto lens!

See these marsh grasses?  The herons love to fish alongside the tufts of grass!

Keep paddling, we're coming up on the long bridges that connect the creek to the river!

Look, the tide is coming in.

It's pretty windy, the little fish windsock says so!

And watch out for the crab pot lines hanging down from the bridge!  Wonder how many crabs are in there?

I love these old tree roots, don't you?!

Last bridge before the river!  How are you doing...getting tired yet?

Mr. Osprey is not happy that we're so close to his nest!

Wow, we've already gone over a mile, but just wait until you see the river!

Shhh, look up ahead, see the heron silhouetted up in that tree?  If we're quiet, we might be able to sneak up before she flies away!  Oh, and did I mention that we should have brought the telephoto lens?!

Nope, there she goes.  Heron's are so skittish aren't they?!

Hey cool, look...I got the osprey, the moon, and that tiny speck (just to the left and a little up from the moon) which is an airliner...all in the same shot!  

Ok, we're finally here.  There's the river straight ahead!

There we go, out in the river!  See Virginia off in the distance...it's about 5 miles away...think we can make it before the sun sets?!

Yeah, you're probably right...not one of my best ideas...we'll stay on this side tonight!

There's just enough wind to create a little wave action...isn't the rocking motion soothing?!

Such a pretty sunset isn't it?!  Look at how it reflects off of the water!

And check out that cloud back towards the creek!

Ok, the sun is getting pretty low, we better start heading for home, we have a few miles to go and we don't want to lose the light.

The waves make it so much easier to paddle back in don't they?!

Hey, don't paddle too fast or we'll get in trouble with the Natural Resources Police!

I don't know which I like best, going out or coming back in.

The creek is always so calm this time of night.

Wouldn't it be nice to just sit on this bench every evening and watch the sunset?!

And here we are back home again.  Did you have fun?  I know I sure did, we should do this again sometime soon!

Thank you everyone for your well wishes for Mr. Tide, he's feeling much better today!!