Whitetail Fawn

Whitetail Fawn.

 

I am going to warn you now, the next few days are going to be cuteness overload. Yesterday morning I met up with my teaching partner, Cecil Holmes, and a couple of longtime friends at Berry College in Rome, Georgia to photograph the fawns. When I arrived I watched as 7 fawns ran with boundless energy around adults in a field. Running and jumping, burning energy like any other kid. Trying to capture an image of this energy in low light is impossible, but when the energy dies down and they eat, then nap, that is when you can capture really cute images. We finally found a group of 5 fawns that settled into an area that we were able to just sit or kneel down low to the ground and let them relax as we photographed. Most of the fawns we saw were between 3 and 4 weeks old, but we did see one fawn that was just born, still wet and being groomed by its mother. We kept a much greater distance from this pair not to stress either of them. Some of the older fawns would walk within 25 feet or so from you as they are used to seeing people since they are on a college campus. They tend to stay close to the dorms and buildings because the coyotes tend to not come in close to the people.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-750, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 1100, shutter speed of 1/125th of a second, Sirui N3204X tripod and PH20 Gimbal Head, MindShift Gear TrailScape 18L backpack, processed in Lightroom CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronProfessional, #SiruiUSA, #SiruiProfessional, #MindShiftGear

Blue Sky!

Blue Sky!

 

For the first time in many days, we had blue skies last night at sunset. Beautiful storm clouds were blowing out as the sun was dropping over the horizon. Now, hopefully, we will have a few days of sunshine so I can cut the grass that has grown out of control with the rain!

 

Sony RX-100 M3, Manual Exposure mode, f4, ISO 400, shutter speed of 1/125th second, handheld, processed in Lightroom CC. #The3Chairs

Siam

Siam.

During our stay at the Lazy L&B Ranch, a frequent visitor was a Donkey and Siam. Siam had really great patterns on his side and was really cool for a mule. When it was going to rain Siam and Donkey would stand under these cottonwood trees facing the same direction, and sure enough it would rain within about 10 minutes. I thought Siam was very interesting and asked someone to tell me “the story of Siam”. They said years ago, one of the mares on the ranch was pregnant and there was lots of excitement when she was going to give birth. When the time came, the owner of the ranch waited and when the foal appeared, the owner thinking he was going to have a pretty new horse looked in amazement at the foal, realizing the father was none other than the donkey, he declared “shit, its a mule”, thus the name S.I.A.M. 🙂

Tamron SP 70-200mm f2.8 Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 5600, shutter speed 1/250th of a second, Sirui N3204X tripod and PH20 Gimbal head, MindShift Gear FirstLight 30L backpack, processed in Lightroom CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #SiruiUSA, #SiruiProfessional, #MindShiftGear, #LazyLBRanch

Bird Feeding Bonus!

Bird Feeding Bonus!

 

I have my bird feeders over an area we use as a vegetable garden and this year Evelyn decided it would be a sunflower garden. All the seeds that fell to the ground sprouted and have grown, some are now beginning to bloom! It is going to make a great background as well as an area to attract more birds. This morning as I took mealworms out to the feeders several warblers flew from the middle of the sunflower patch. In the image I wanted to have some of the flower in focus while keeping the background “suggestive” and lacking sharp detail. To do this I chose f5.6 and focus on the tip of the flower pedal.

 

Tamron SP 90mm f2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 Macro lens on a Canon 5Diii, Aperture Priority mode, f5.6, ISO 100, +.7 stops of exposure compensation, shutter speed of 1/30th of a second, Sirui W2204X tripod and K20X ballhead, MindShift Gear TrailScape 18L backpack, processed in Lightroom CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #SiruiUSA, #SiruiProfessional, #MindShiftGear

Coneflowers

Coneflowers.

 

When we returned from Wyoming, I was amazed at how many flowers had opened up in the gardens. It seems the number of flowers have more than tripled since last year. I am thinking our bees have something to do with a greater number as well as the rain we have had this year. We have 3 hives this year and all the wildflowers and sourwood trees blooming should fill the hives with honey. I love doing shallow depth of field images of a coneflower in the foreground with others in the background. I think I will have lots and lots of opportunities this summer!

 

Tamron SP 90mm f2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 Macro lens on a Canon 5Diii, Aperture Priority mode, f2.8, ISO 100, +1 stop of exposure compensation, shutter speed of 1/800th of a second, Sirui W2204X tripod and K20X ballhead, MindShift Gear TrailScape 18L backpack, processed in Lightroom CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronImageMaster, #TamronUSA, #SiruiUSA, #SiruiProfessional, #MindShiftGear

Need Boots Dude?

Need Boots Dude?

 

If you show up at the Lazy L and B Ranch and you forgot your boots, they have about 40 pairs for the Dudes to choose from during your stay. I always enjoy visiting the Tack Rooms at Ranches to see the saddles, reins, boots, hats and everything else they have inside. There are so many stories sitting on those selves just waiting to be told, waiting to be recorded, wanting to be shared. For me, its not always about the horses, but the stories around the folks that ride them as well.

 

Tamron SP 24-70mm f2.8 Di VC USD lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f2.8, ISO 450, shutter speed of 1/30th of a second, handheld utilizing the Vibration Compensation feature of the lens due to space limitations, MindShift Gear FirstLight 30L, processed in Lightroom CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #SiruiProfessional, #MindShiftGear

“Knock, Knock”

“Knock, Knock”

 

Every time I see a Pronghorn Antelope I think of this joke…sorry. “Knock, knock. Who’s there? Cantelope. Cantelope who? Cantelope tonight, Dad’s got the car.”

 

As I drove across the valley floor up to the Shonshone National Forest, I would see the occasional Pronghorn, this one stood close to the road and actually allowed me to get out and set up the gear! He trotted off as I got back in the car as it knew the shoot was over.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 250, shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, Sirui N3204X tripod and K30X ballhead, MindShift Gear FirstLight 30L backpack, processed in Lightroom CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #SiruiUSA, #SiruiProfessional, #MindShiftGear