One of Those Days

Ever had one of “those days”? I had one this week. I normally associate one of “those days” with a negative mindset. My day had started out with several unexpected calls and needs from my work which quickly turned manic as everyone needed their issue right then. It had turned into a “squishy” day basically squishing everything into a short time frame of needs.

By late afternoon it had finally calmed down enough to take a quick break. I work from home so my breaks are normally outback this time of year cleaning up signs of winter. Just wanting to relax I’m not even sure what prompted me to grab the camera on the way out the door. The rough day made these captures all the sweeter. Enjoy.

Fierce

 

When I started using the birds in my neighborhood and learning tools for photography I had no idea how unique some were. I never thought of sparrows as anything except little brown/gray drab birds. As I started with capturing them while they sat still I started to notice the contrast and crispness of the colors in their feather patterns. They started to become individual birds.

I put up a bird feeder to encourage more birds to come to the yard giving me more opportunities to capture more birds. I started to notice how the males seemed to stand watch while the little gray females ate at the feeder.

As my technique improved at capturing crisp focus I moved to attempting to capture them in flight. As I culled each session I my impression of sparrows as cute little birds They are actually quite fierce. I think of them as little warriors now.

Enjoy some of the captures.

Using actions & presets

As I improved in my post processing I began to think how to speed up the steps I followed to allow more time with my photography outside instead of in front of the computer. I work 40-60hrs per week outside of photography. When you have limited time you look for ways to speed everything up.

I came across MCP Actions on Facebook one day and opened another phase to my learning journey. Actions and Presets. They have several freebies you can download and start to see if they fit within your workflow. I like to freshen my Facebook covers on a regular basis. The free timeline covers allow me to quickly change pictures to whatever I am working on that week. A couple of examples here.

 

A Fresh Start

I realized this weekend as I was sharing a photograph on Facebook chronicling my journey to improve my photography I seem to have put my blog aside. Time to dust the keyboard off and bring my blog back to life.

While dog sports are my number one photography focus I embarked on a Learning Journey aimed at improving my skills. I read a comment this week from a photographer I respect which struck a chord. “..owning a camera does not make you a photographer. Education is what makes you a photographer…”.

Figuring trying to capture small, fast moving creatures would help my dog sport photography I started practicing on birds. It has taken on a life of its own. I never had any idea the detailed beauty I have found in some, the personalities of some, the fierceness in some. It has been a grand journey I started which I expect to go on for years.

Enjoy.