Loon Pair....

Here's another loon photo I took last Monday from the kayak.

Prarie Ringlet....

This picture was taken a few years ago and was shot on film. Butterflies don't fly at night because it is cool so they spend it clinging to grass and flowers waiting for the sun to come up. When the conditions are right they become covered in dew like this and you have to be out there before the sun comes up and warms them up and they fly off.

Chickadee in Nestbox.....

Yesterday I had a few questions on how I knew the difference between the male and female chickadee. I can't tell by looking at them, I was just able to figure out which was which by their actions. Here's a photo of the female in the nestbox, while she was in there the male came and fed her a caterpillar and I snapped his picture when he landed on a branch afterward. I actually have a photo of him holding the caterpillar which I may post at another time. The female flew out of the box after a while and the second photo from yesterday is what I took.

Mr. and Mrs. Chickadee....

I mentioned a few weeks back that some chickadees would probably be nesting in my nest box. This past weekend I finally noticed them preparing the nest. The two pictures were taken Sunday morning and as you can see these chickadees were backlit so I used my flash set at - 2/3 exposure compensation to add a little light and put a catchlight in the eye. They're used to seeing me around so I was able to get pretty close. The top photo is the male and the bottom one is the female.

Memorial Day Loons At Sunrise....

I was out in my kayak first thing this morning to photograph loons. This is the same pond I took pictures last year and I wasn't disappointed this year, I saw 9 in all. The first picture is of a loon that was fishing, they submerge their heads and cruise along looking for fish. I snapped the photo just as it lifted its head and I was able to capture the water droplets falling off the beak. Both photos are straight from the camera, no color correcting or adjustments. I like photographing loons, they're black and white and the camera meter practically gives you a perfect exposure every time, no compensation needed ,which makes it a lot easier in Photoshop.

A Flashback and a Thank You.....

This photo was taken last spring on a drive to Camden, Mike and I were going to scout a location for a wedding that we were photographing the next week. It was a dreary day and it was raining off and on. The apple tree in the foreground looked kind of interesting in the fog so we decided to stop and take some photos. Sometimes you get lucky, what started as a gray flat sky turned into what you see above, the clouds thinned out a little and the sun brightened the area just above the trees and made for a more interesting photograph. It only lasted for a few minutes and then it got dreary again.

I'd like thank Klaus over at Virtua Gallery and Helen at Wings n Things for passing on the award "5 Blogs That Make My Day." When I started this blog it was just a way for me to share my photos with others but knowing that people look forward to viewing my blog everyday is quite an honor. Thanks to everyone for the nice comments each day and I look forward to viewing your blogs also.

Backyard Blooms....

These bluet shots are from the back yard, this is pretty close to where I took the photo of the white violet. It was kinda cool so the bug in the second picture was moving in slow motion.

Columbine Close-Up....

I noticed yesterday that my columbines are almost ready to bloom so I think I should have blossoms by next week. I took this photo last year, of course I'll be posting new photos once the flowers are out this season.

The Scourge of Gardeners...

The scourge of gardeners everywhere but you have to admit the red and green metallic is pretty on this Japanese Beatle. I photographed this guy on my honeysuckle bush last year right after a rain storm.

Turkeys, Geese and Deer....

These two photos were taken on the same morning I photographed the deer a week and a half ago. It was a productive morning, within half an hour I photographed the deer, the turkeys and these geese all in the same area. I couldn't get any closer to the turkeys because they were on the far edge of the field and they have eyesight like a hawk so I just hid behind a tree where I was and grabbed a few shots. After 5 or 6 pictures I left to let them do what turkeys do.

Sweet White Violet....

I have a damp area in my backyard and these white violets grow there every year. I took this photo yesterday morning, the blossom itself is less than half an inch from top to bottom. I had to lie right on the ground so I could see into my viewfinder because of the low angle and I had a plastic tarp underneathe me so I wouldn't get wet. My foil fill was propped up to the right of the camera bouncing extra light into the little blossom.

Maine State Bird....

I took a little walk in the neighborhood on Tuesday morning and photographed this chickadee searching for insects among the branches of the alder trees.

Thinking Pink....

About a month and a half ago I posted some photos like these that I took last year. I went back to the same spot this morning at 5:30 before the sun came up and took some more. I like the way the pink stands out against the purple azaleas.

Here's Looking at You....

Here's a photo I took on Saturday of one of two sparrows that have been hanging around my yard, I think they're building a nest. This shot was taken about seven feet from the road and I think I could've gotten even closer but a car went by and scared it off.

Wood Frog in the Woods...

The wood frogs are finished breeding and have moved back into the woods. I was exploring a little bit yesterday when this guy hopped by my feet. I think frogs have real interesting eyes, this one looks like it has gold metallic flake around its pupil.