Snow Snow Snow and Birds, Birds, Birds

On Sunday/ Monday I was at my sister's house in Beach Lake Pa and we got over a foot of snow. I took lots of pictures of the snow and birds at my sister's feeder -- here are some of my favorite that I took from the day.

Marley, my sister's dog could not wait to go out in the snow. She always digs in the snow . I loved the contrast of black against white -- plus the snow on the nose .... 

The view from the top of the hill to the bottom of the main road below. So pretty and peaceful 

the trees on the hill -- just loved how the snow coated them 

little sheds at the neighbor's house. I just love how pretty the blue looks in the snow and they have some pretty nice pine trees 

The frost on the door at my sister's house. I loved the pattern it made 

The twin's tire swing. So pretty and made me feel like a kid again -- plus I love the shadow the tire made in the snow and the lines created by the trees 

burdocks in the snow across the road . I loved the texture and how the snow sparkled on them 

This one is about the light and the colors and the shapes -- the best of all three -- again reminds me of childhood and what playing in the snow is all about 

the moon on Saturday night before all the snow. I took a bunch but chose this one because if you look closely it looks like there is a smile on the moon... 

Sunday evening as the snow was falling. I love the color of the sky -- and having the snowflakes out of focus really gives an idea of how much was falling. It was pretty -- I shot this from the doorway to protect my camera ... 

Snow falling and blowing -- this was Monday morning and again I was inside -- this time looking through the window. My sister has such a beautiful back yard, its pretty easy to capture a beautiful shot like this. 

Looking at my mom's house and deck from the back door. I love all the lines created by the trees and then the liles of snow on the deck and roof -- plus you can see the flakes falling... 

And the front of my mom's house -- you can see from her car and the jeep that is covered in the foreground just how much snow we got -- I think it was about 8 inches at that point... 

And now for my bird shots -- My sister has a bird feeder in the back yard -- I took these shots through the window with my telephoto lens. I bet I spent over an hour looking at out the window and taking pictures of the birds swarming the feeder. 

I'm so happy I got this shot -- I love that you can see the wings -- I snapped at exactly the right moment -- using a shutter speed of 1/500 of a second ( A year ago I would not have known how to get this shot) 

I took a ton of shots of the cardinal. I love this one because he is looking right at me -- and the little gold finches are not even phased by him .... 

This is a shot of the cardinal waiting in the tree that is behind the feeder. I really love how the snow almost sparkles in the tree and he is right in the middle of the branches commanding attention. I had the lens zoomed out to the 200 focal length 

These birds looked like they were kissing. I can't remember now if I saw that before I took the shot or if I just got lucky to catch the perfect second. I also love how the chicadee on the right is peeking at them. 

I love the way that the wings are spread and angled on the bird on the left -- and if you look closely you can see the seed in its mouth --

The cardinal again -- I chose this one because it looks like he is yelling at the birds on the left -- almost telling them don't you land here -- and they do any way 

Again its all about the wings on the left -- and I just love the placement of all the birds -- such nice symmetry -- and so pretty with the snow falling 

This one for me is all about the bird in the middle of the roof and the way its diving -- so fun

And last but not least -- I love how the birds on the left are flying up to the feeder -- and then the 2 on the right seem like they are talking . 

I really had a lot of fun practicing and capturing the snow and the birds. I took probably 200 shots to get all of these but I could not stop watching them -- and I am so excited that I understand enough about shutter speed to be able to get moments like these -- its not easy and it takes patience and timing. I might have to get a bird feeder of my own so I can continue to practice. Always learning and growing and so happy to get this kind of results ... 

Thanks as always for sharing my photos with me. 

Snowy Saturday

So yesterday was a beautiful snowy day here in PA. My sister and nieces sent me a picture of a snow family that they made and it inspired me to go out and play in the snow also. Of course my playing was with my camera to see what I could capture. I took a short walk (only about an hour and a half) around my neighborhood and to a park that was close by. Here are some of the  things I found

This bush is right outside my door -- I loved how the snow clung to the branches and the way the light made it sparkle

again this is right around my apartment. I loved how the beams of light were hitting the fence - such a beatiful scene

same scene just a touch different, I love how the chimney peaks up behind the tree

this big crane caught my attention and I love how the little bit of smoke is in the bottom

this crow was high above my head but it was so cool against the blue sky and the way the branch is made it look like the perfect perch

the way the light was capturing this snow made it almost look translucent

the red and white was awesome together

one of the side streets, I loved the tree on the left and just the framing of the trees over head

This house looked so nice with the snow, the trees and the sky. 

Slides in the park -- its all about the snow 

another view, highlighting the twists and the shadows and of course the snow

a view from below -- loved the combination of shapes and colors 

the light just seemed to emphasize the twisty branch and I loved the knot on the right

red, green, white and blue and I loved the patterns of the branches

close up of pine branches in the snow -- its all about the textures

lines and colors -- again an over head shot

just felt like a winter wonderland and I loved all the lines ...

lighing and lines (are we seeing a pattern here? ) 

this was just too fun not to take. I think it would pretty fun in black and white too

since it was so warn and sunny yesterday afternoon, some of the snow was dripping -- I caught a few of the drops and really like the reflections in the windows

I loved the layers of roof tops and the tree shadows in the snow, plus the blue sky 

this is the tree with the branch that looked like the snake, covered in show and so pretty 

It was so beautiful outside yesterday and I am really glad I went out. I just can't help drinking in the amazingness that is mother nature. For the camera savy, I use a Nikon D3200 in manual mode, I use my favorite 55-200 lens and took most of these shots with an f/8 and ISO 100. My shutter speed and focal length varied based on the light and of course how far away from my subject I was. Thanks as always for sharing my photos with me. 

Cold and snowy scenes

Its been a way too long since my last post, but the end of the fall semster and the holidays were pretty busy times for me and I was not on the computer a lot during most of it. I have also been working on a professional portfolio video that took a lot of time and which I am happy to say is finally finished. Click the link below to check it out: 

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4Pep7fMcd1-QmFLbS0xY1JFY1k/view?usp=sharing 

This semester I am taking a narrative photography class where we really will be learning about story telling in our photography. Before that begins to take up all my time, I thought I would post some of the winter and snowy scenes that I have taken over the last few weeks

I took this photo while looking out the 5th floor window at work. I loved the texture of the clouds, the fact that their are a few crows in it and a small streak on the left -- I think from a plane

This one is one of the walls by the library. I loved how even though it has been really cold, we still have some color with the ivy and the berries and I loved that the branches make an arch 

Some ice on the sidewalk. I loved the shapes that it made

Again this is all about the color and I loved the way the bright sun made the shadows on the fence ... 

Found this leaf hanging out on the blacktop -- it reminded me of a four leaf clover and it was one of those right place right time moments, a gust of wind blew it away right after I got my shot ... 

Some pinecones in the yard by my place. I loved the contrast of the brown and green and the little bit of snow ... 

A little stone walk way, again by my apartment. The afternoon light on the bushes to the left made me have to take this shot. 

Believe it or not this is a branch in a tree that is crazily twisted. It reminded me of a snake and the light just seemed to draw my focus ti it even more. 

Taken on my walk home Tuesday night. there was just enough snow to make everything look frosted. I used the street lights which made it look a smidge pink, but I like the effect 

Again it looks like the branches were frosted and I love the messy pattern... 

Close up of the branches. I really love the depth the faded background gives this 

Again using the available street lighting. It was just enough that the background just drops off and I love the effect ...

This one is all about the shape and of course the light-- 

The next 3 photos are some I have been looking at and planning for a bit. I walk by these bikes all the time and notice the reflection. Having the snow there made them even more fun.

I took this one using the natural street lights -- however, I had my camera on auto white balance and it came out with really yellow tones. I was going to try and convert it but the more I look at it, the more I like the mood the yellow creates

I took more and converted this one to black and white and really love what it does for the contrast 

A little closer and a different angle -- I love how I captured not only the shadows from the bike, but also  the footprints in the snow

I really enjoyed taking some of these snowy photos and especially playing with the ones at night. Thanks as always for sharing my photos with me.