Print of the Week

This was taken in Austin, Texas on our last trip, at the Zilker Botanical Gardens. It was still a little early in the spring for most of the plants, but warm enough for a few lizards to be out and about.

I managed to approach quite close to this little guy. I liked how he was peeking out between two leaves. Shallow depth of focus but managed to get the eye mostly in focus.

It made a good print because the light and dark and color form shapes from a distance, while the details of the lizard are interesting close up, particularly the colors around its eye. The eye looks like it can be pointed in different directions like a chameleon.

Printed 15 x 20" on 17 x 22" Exhibition Fiber.

More Spring Photos

With the recent warmer than usual weather spring has been advancing rapidly and the apple and cherry trees are blossoming.



The white ones are always a bit of a challenge to photograph, a bit like taking photos of snow. To the eye they look so bright in the sun, but if you're not careful the camera will make that gray, or too bright and you lose the highlights. Here's a high key (bright) treatment:



I'm not sure what these next ones are, but they have interesting flowers. Ants (another sign of spring progression) were visiting these.



These ones almost look like miniature roses.



The leaves are progressing well and the trees are turning green.



A male mallard seems to have taken up residence at the pond at Innovation Place. He likes to sit on the grass in the shade under the tree. But spring is the start of wedding season and that patch of grass is also a favorite with the wedding photographers. Every time he's chased from his spot he jumps in the pond and complains loudly. Once the intruders are gone he returns to his spot.



And another final shot of low sun through new leaves and seeds on the walk home after work.



For more of these, see all 15 photos as a slideshow or overview

White-winged Crossbills

We've had these birds around the feeder for the last few weeks. At first I thought they were Black-headed Grosbeaks, but they don't have black heads or conical bills. But they do have crossed bills and they were feeding in the conifers. Although most of the pictures show them as more red or pink whereas these ones are more orange. They are common but I don't recall seeing them before.



They eat the sunflower seeds, but they aren't very patient. If they can't crack the seed right away they throw it out of the feeder and take a different ones. Luckily we have a couple of pigeons that come and eat the seed that's fallen on the ground.

One of the first times I saw them at the feeder I grabbed my camera to see if I could catch them. (Leaving a pot to boil over on the stove!) Moving slowly, I managed to get quite close, which was good because I hadn't taken the time to put on the big telephoto.

As I took photos of the one at the feeder, I felt bits of vegetation falling on me from the tree above. At first I just thought it was from the wind but it seemed a little much for that. When I finally looked up, there was another of the same birds feeding in the tree. The following photos were taken looking straight up.



It looked down at me curiously.



It was a little hard to tell what it was feeding on. I'm guessing the buds for the new needles?



These photos are all of males. The females are less colorful. There are at least two males and two females around. I've also seen them in the back yard. Perhaps they have nests nearby?

Trying to Run

I had a pretty good summer of running last year. By the end of the season I was doing a 20 k run most weekends, and a couple more 10 k runs during the week. My 10 k time was down to 47 minutes which I was happy with.

So this summer I was keen to get out there and do even better. As usual I hadn't done a lot of running over the winter, but I'd managed to get on the treadmill fairly regularly.

But when I went out for my first outdoor run of the season I barely managed a few kilometers before my knee got painful enough that I walked the rest of the way home. (I'd been running farther on the treadmill, but for some reason that hadn't been a problem.)

The symptoms were classic for IT band problems, a common issue that affects roughly 1 in 10 runners. My right IT band had been a little sore last summer but it hadn't developed into a knee problem like now.

I crossed my fingers that it would go away once I got back into shape. I'd run as far as I could until it got painful and gradually worked up to 10 km. It was better if I ran fast, which is typical for IT band problems.

When I headed out this last Sunday I was keen to go longer. It was a beautiful day and I felt good. I was sure I was improving. But when I reached 6 k the pain started to come back. I made it through 10 k but no more, and afterwards my leg was pretty sore.

I've started doing exercises recommended for IT band problems. Apparently it can be a tough, slow process to get rid of it. I've still got my fingers crossed.

Today was another beautiful day and I was determined to get out for a run, but I knew it couldn't be a long slow one. So hills it was! Running uphill didn't bother my knee at all. Normally I would jog slowly down, but that did bother my knee. It was either walk or run fast downhill. Running was more fun :-) The good part is that the workout didn't bother my IT band at all, so at least I can stay in some kind of shape.

I'm really craving a nice long run, but I have a feeling it will be shorter workouts for the next while.

Slow Motion Green Explosion

Every day I see or I hear something that more or less kills me with delight ...

It is what I was born for - to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world

- Mindful by Mary Oliver

Spring is a special time, as the great white north turns green, as the tips of trees unfold in a miracle that goes mostly unnoticed, as the first splashes of color burst onto the scene, as the spiders appear :-)

My first challenge on the walk to work is to make it out of my back alley without pulling out my camera. These are our neighbor's lilacs to be.



The next challenge is when I reach the river and I have to try not to stand and gaze too long.



How can you not adore these new leaves?



Then I reach Innovation Place and its many wonders. These miniature tulips are one of the first bloomers. The wind was blowing them around so much I finally grabbed one to stop it from moving. (Two handheld shots focus stacked.)



And more crocuses, although these aren't wild they're still beautiful.



The Forsythia are still brightening the windows at work.



How's this for an explosion of new life?



I was happy to see the first of the fishing spiders appear at the pond. Just a little guy.



Love these buds on a tree beside the pond. Definitely bursting with life.



And at the end of the day, walking home into the lowering sun, these lovely new green leaves.



For more photos, see all 37 as a slideshow or overview

All of these with the new Lumix ZS100

Photos of the Day

There are lots of tracks in the snow in the winter so I know they are around but I haven't seen many rabbits (or hares) lately. So I was happy to spot this jackrabbit on the way to work. I wasn't sure if it would stick around long enough for me to get my camera out, but I ducked behind a tree and it went back to feeding. I was surprised when it didn't run away even when I approached. And when I stopped, it came even closer to me. But that turned out to be because it wanted to get by me, and once it did it bounded away. It looked a bit scruffy, probably shedding its winter coat.



A robin also let me approach quite closely before taking off.



And more flowers were opening on the larches.

Prints of the Week

"I suffer from a love affair with this planet. My camera is my ticket to a front row seat for the spectacle of nature. It has taught me to see with greater intensity, understand more deeply, and appreciate more fully the blue planet we call home." - Jack Dykinga

From Monteverde Reserve, Costa Rica on our recent trip. Taken near the hummingbird feeders, but thankfully without a feeder messing up the photo. I think it's a Steely-vented hummingbird. Decently sharp result from the 18-300 travel lens.



Earlier on the same trip, this was one of the many turtles we saw in Austin, Texas. I like the reflections of the trees on the left, and how you can see its feet underwater, and how the turtle is framed by the two horizontal highlights on the water above and below and the circular ripples around it.

Photos of the Day

Walking home I spotted my first gopher (Richardson's ground squirrel) of the year, unfortunately not in a very natural setting! They've probably been out for a while since I often see them when there is still snow on the ground.



And the robins are around, of course. I hear some stayed around all through our mild winter this year. (Nice to see the grass starting to grow.)



Most of the trees are flowering now. I'm not sure what kind this is.



I think these next ones are some kind of cottonwood (same genus as poplars).



Closer to home I heard tapping and thought woodpecker although it didn't sound like on a tree. I homed in on the intermittent sound and eventually spotted this small Downy woodpecker pecking at the top of a telephone pole. Apparently this tapping is not feeding, it's the woodpecker equivalent of bird song.



See all 8 photos as a slideshow or overview

Photos of the Day

After a few warm days it seems like spring is bursting out all over. The crows and magpies are busy collecting twigs for their big messy nests. A few days ago the first water boatmen appeared in the Innovation Place pond, even before the ice was off it. Today there are hundreds of them, and the first water striders are showing up.

The Forsythia are blooming and their bright yellow is such a contrast to everything else that is still brown. Although they aren't native, they've become a sign of spring here.



Other buds are swelling rapidly.



And the larches are growing new leaves, and flowers that will turn into pinecones in a fascinating progression.



Irises are pushing brilliant green up through the dead leaves.



And a Mourning Cloak butterfly cooperatively posed long enough for me to pull out my camera and take enough shots to get a decent one. They are one of the few butterflies here to overwinter as adults, and therefore one of the first to appear in the spring.



These were all taken with the new Panasonic ZS100. I'm still getting used to it, but so far it seems to be doing a good job.

Photos of the Week

Spring is arriving slowly, but the landscape is still dominated by the dead brown plants of last summer. But they can still be interesting.







I took some more crocus photos with the new ZS100 (without frost this time)





Another sign of spring - my first beaver sighting of the year.



I also got a chance to test out the ZS100's telephoto with the waxwings. The results weren't quite as sharp as I'd like, but considering I wouldn't have gotten anything with the RX100 they're certainly better than nothing!



I was trying to photograph them drinking from the pond, but ended up catching them taking off. I quite like the result.



And I couldn't resist a few more shots of the ice and water.





For more of these photos see all 26 as a slideshow or overview

New Panasonic ZS100 Camera

I recently bought a Panasonic ZS100 to replace my Sony RX100m2 as my everyday carry camera.



I've had the RX100m2 for about three years and I'm still pretty happy with it. The main thing that attracted me to the ZS100 was the longer 10x zoom (25 to 250mm, 35mm equivalent) versus 3.6x on the RX100m2 and only 2.9x on the latest RX100m4.

The ZS100 also has a viewfinder, which the RX100m2 is missing (later RX100 models do have a viewfinder). It's not a great viewfinder, but there are times when it'll be handy.

The ZS100 also has better video capabilities (e.g. 4K). I don't shoot much video but it'll be nice to have better quality when I do.

On the other hand the ZS100 lacks the tilting screen of the RX100m2. I did use the tilting screen occasionally, but I can live without it.

It's a similar 1 inch 20 mp sensor in both cameras so I expect low light performance will be much the same.

The ZS100 is physically a bit larger than the RX100, but it's still a small camera that I can throw in my backpack.

I'll be keeping the RX100 for underwater photography since I have a dive housing for it. (And a telephoto is seldom useful underwater.)

Stay tuned for photos from the new camera.