Mischief Managed
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I finally managed to sneak down the Kukui Trail and found some nice clouds here at Waimea Canyon. Then the sun broke through clouds and cast some cool and interesting light over the landscape. After reviewing this photo, I wished I had taken out the 70-200 to pick the landscape apart piece by piece, but alas, Live and learn. :)
Thank you for taking the time to take a look at my photos and as always, your views, comments, faves, and support are greatly appreciated!! Have a great day :)
If you have any questions about this photo or about photography in general, I will do my best to help, just post a comment or send me a Flickr mail and I will respond as quickly as possible.
Managed to get nice and close with the 2x on! Slightly cropped to straighten the image. Abberton reservoir.
Managed to get this magpie that came to take advantage of a free feed !!
Please do not use my images in any way without my permission they are copyright protected !!
Please take A look in Large !! press L
Thanks to everyone that takes the time and makes the effort to comment and fave my pics its very much appreciated
Regards Clive
Tessin
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
Whole PHOTO SERIES about my garden on my blog: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/post/western-green-lizard-lacer...
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI
AUDIO (if you want to hear the sounds of my garden in the early morning): www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoCTqdAVCE
ABOUT THIS PHOTO:
Partly out of fear to bore the Flickr community with too many lizard photos, I thought it would make for a nice change - yet in keeping with the main theme of my gallery - to give interested nature and reptile fans the opportunity to get a sense of the lacerta bilineata habitat where I photographed all the animals on this page.
So this is the second of a (as yet planned) series of pictures (if people like them there will be more) that will show you where all the reptile "action" took place: my garden in the beautiful community of Monteggio in the Malcantone region of the Ticino, Switzerland.
The pictures were taken over a period of over a decade, so there were obviously some changes in the garden during that time, but If you focus on the palm tree - which has grown considerably over the years but is visible in all the photos I plan to upload - you get a sense of the geography of the place.
In summer, which is when this photo was taken, the micro-climate in this particular area of the Ticino can be almost tropical in the sense that it's hot and very humid with frequent thunderstorms and heavy rain, and I often refer to my garden (half-)jokingly as my "little Swiss rainforest". I guess you can see how animals - particularly lacerta bilineata and other lizards - would feel at home in this "tropical paradise" of mine :-)
Apparently - as I learned in the comments here on Flickr - the occurrence of this particular lizard species is a very good indicator that an ecosystem is intact, and my family and I always took great care not to interfere too much in our garden and let nature roam as free as possible.
In return, over the years we were rewarded for this "calculated inaction" with a wide variety of species of plants, insects, lizards and snakes visiting - or by now residing permanently in - our little nature refuge, some of which I managed to capture on camera.
As mentioned before, if people like these photos or are interested in other flora and fauna from my private jungle, I'll upload one every once in a while between lizards, so let me know in the comments if you're interested in seeing more of these or if I should stick to just reptiles ;-)
As always, thank you so much for your interest and feedback, stay safe - and have a great week everyone!
Lacerta
I managed to visit Kangaroo Island during my trip to Adelaide for the opening of the ANZANG exhibition at the SA Museum which includes my "Stormlight & Stardust" image. This is from a bay on the island being belted by storms over the Southern Ocean. Next stop from the edge here is Antarctica! It's been a long while since I've been able to shoot any seascapes, a conscious effort to expand the portfolio in other areas.
Canon 1DsMkIII, 16-35mm 2.8L, GND filter, single exposure.
Finally Managed to upload this pic!!
It is always the most fun to take pictures with You... Thank you my Friend for being You ..... Love you!!
This part of the Pucks Glen path takes the walker towards a rocky outcrop that contains what looks like a face ... can you see it?.
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More scenes from the walk can be seen here:.
No one needs the lifebuoy ring
I finally managed to escape down to the coast for a much needed fix
I'd set the alarm for sunrise as waves were forecast up at Seaham.
Having had not an awful lot of sleep, partly due to our little visitor, the clock was switched off and I descended back into the land of Zzzzzzzzzzz's
Gutted I'd missed out when I saw the great image posted by a fellow Flickr contact (Malc)
I looked up when the next tide was due and hoped the wind wouldn't subside
We got there at four and I was amazed how high the waves already were. Yeah you guessed, the Benny Hill moment yet again
I really wish it was in my nature, to slow down a bit.
Many, many hours later, four in fact, we decided to head home
After all I'd only told Ken "One last image" a multitude of times.
And by this time we were both feeling the cold
I'm elated at what I came away with, as it was made all the more special, having not been out for so long
I'll post the usual lighthouse images a little later but for now, here is something a little different and a break in my Curvacious series for the time being
We both managed to get out together today, first time in 2 weeks that Daniel has left the house, which was great, really good to see it lifted his spirits. Hopefully do it more often. We met with a friend and had a coffee at Hardwick park and fed the birds, then went to Fishburn airfield and sat outside plane watching. Had a mini-shoot while we were there. Have a wonderful evening all. ❤️
Managed to get this shot of the iconic gate when there was almost no one around. It pays to get up early!!!
I took this photo last year in Tenero at the Lago Maggiore, just a few minutes after this one. The colours had already changed from golden to a pink glow and the sun set behind the mountains but still managed to shine a bit over the lake.
This is a shot of the south end of Loch Eck taken from a hilltop overlooking Stratheck. From this viewpoint I can see 2 forest tracks that I regularly walk/cycle and also one of my favourite roads to drive :)
I managed to capture the entire courting and mating even in 115 frames. The cooing, preening, and kissing was pure bliss to see.
Have a lovely weekend!
Finally I managed to find and photograph my nemesis in the open for a few split seconds! These are among my favourite birds, that necklace is absolutely stunning!
Managed to stop the car without the hawk immediately flying away - - a rare occurrence. Sun was pretty bright so a lot more dark shadows than you would like but otherwise a clear shot even after some cropping - - I'm glad my lens is finally sharp again after another round of micro-adjustments.
Red Tailed Hawk ((I believe)) - Minesing Swamp - Ontario
Managed a quick shot of the male Chaffinch that's been visiting our garden over the last couple of days. It only stays at the far back of the garden though. It’s perched on the shallow water trough. Taken through the window.
Many thanks to all who take the time to view, comment or fave my images.
We have been in Norfolk again visiting friends and I managed to catch a cracking sunset last night with some interesting clouds.
This was taken about 15 minutes before sunset as the last rays cast some good light over the moored boats.
© This photograph is copyrighted. Under no circumstances can it be reproduced, distributed, modified, copied, posted to websites or printed or published in media or other medium or used for commercial or other uses without the prior written consent and permission of the photographer
Managed to get out with the camera yesterday as I saw some misty goodness sat on top of the woods, although it was cut short as the heavens opened! Anyway, found some foxgloves adding a splash of colour in Hillock Wood, Buckinghamshire.
It was a lovely frosty morning yesterday and I managed 10 minutes out in the garden at work with my camera (shh...don't tell my boss!! 😉 )
Haven't managed to get out with my camera for a couple of months for various reasons, this morning I went out with the intention of using my newly acquired Olympus OM2n film camera but I took the wrong tripod mount with me, so ended up using the EM10 instead.
I managed to capture this Fulmar as it flew to its nest in a shady gorge which provided this lovely dark background.
Taken on the Isle of Lunga, Scotland.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving any comments or faves, they are very much appreciated.
I managed to get myself out the door and around the corner in time to catch this amazing light show in the sky. Pretty lovely indeed. Happy Friday everyone!
This is two photos stitched.
A trip to Northumberland will always yield something interesting to point the camera at! When I first turned up I was a bit unsure with what to do as there was no clouds… and i usually prefer high tide here… thankfully being there before the sun rose worked well… those of you who know my photography will know I shy away from having the sun directly in my shots… especially sunrises! The patterns of light and dark of the wet sand jumped out at me and I managed this and another couple of compositions before the fire ball turned up!
Managing a nest is challenging and the parents are regularly making flights to catch more insects and food. Here one of them fed some food to its chicks in the nest and is back another round. They are such efficient creatures that it appears that they don't take any rest at all. I still don't know if there are any differentiating marks that can help in identifying each swift uniquely.
The shot was incredibly challenging though due to the birds highly unpredictable flight pattern. I finally managed to get a decent shot. I shot this while it flew out of its nest under the bridge.
Thanks for all your views and feedback.
The Great Blue Heron now had the battle nearly won. It had managed to catch the huge fish, recapture it so it was edible and now began the process of having this little snack.
For Smile on Saturday's #fancy fabrics theme
A christmas tree made from padded panels of christmas fabrics. Illuminated by my christmas tree
[...and my mind is so befuddled with christmassyness i managed to forget to add it to the group... :-( ]
Finally managed last years new years resolution.
FIrst shot taken in black dragon and with the new head and skin i've spent christmas working on.
I haven't been able to post any pics on flick'r for a couple of weeks or more ... my pc's hard drive died a death and literally had no life in it, I just couldn't access anything. I'm sure I must have overloaded it!
I could have lost everything, but my genius son in law came to the rescue. He eventually managed to get into it and had to uninstall everything.
I'm very fortunate that his job is in IT and he took my computer home with him and fitted another hard drive for me.
It was a long haul, but now everything's working, except I'm having to go on different routes to access what I want sometimes because everything is updating - which is probably a good thing!
I've missed it so much ....
Meanwhile, I accumulated a lot of photos in my Olympus camera and this one is from a set I took of colourful flowers from my little garden.
I like to bring them indoors to photograph because it means I can take my time and try out different things.
The flowers are really strong colours and I thought they went well together with the rose as the star. I added a dark vignette. I used one of my craft cards for the base/background.
Have a great day everyone!
Finally managed to get out and about and take a few photos to start this 100x project. My son liked this iPhone processed shot better than all the others and yes, for those of you who put up with my 100x last year, it's those bridges again!
Finally managed to get close up to our rather large visitor to Attenborough in the lovely afternoon winter sun, it's been several years since I have had the chance to photograph a Great White Egret and the size of the these birds still amazes me, when standing upright they actually look down on the passing swans not many birds can do that, lets hope it stays around for much longer.
I just managed to squeezed both of them in at prime focus on my C11 telescope. However, I found wrestling with trying to remove the light pollution gradients quite a challenge on this occasion.
Canon EOS 6D @ ISO 6400.
150x15 sec unguided subs with calibration frames added.
Celestron C11 at f10.
Tracked on a Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 mount.
Imaged from suburbia.
Processed in APP and finished off in LR.
A Male Bluethroat, photographed during a recent visit to the Netherlands.
The sight & sound of these beautiful little song birds, perched high up on a reed stem, is quite special. That is if you manage to time your visit for when they are at their most active.
Once territories have been established & breeding begins, the birds quieten & become more secretive.
April 2019.
Wingardium Leviosa. It was the first spell she learned and, as it turns out, is one of her best spells. At first she could barely lift anything, or everything would backfire. Now? Now she could pull a person up by their clothing or move an object from across the room. Still, this didn’t mean she didn’t have to practice.
“Wingardium Leviosa,” she said quietly to herself and smiled as her books and papers lifted up around her.
Managed a quick trip to the beach in order to see if California is OPEN yet. Most coastal access remains closed, with all parking areas blocked.
But I found this Guy racing around a rest stop, and managed to get a shot before he raced off.
For a generation of viewers, the familiar “beep, beep” of Warner Brothers’ cartoon Roadrunner was the background sound of Saturday mornings.
(Although commonly quoted as "meep meep", Warner Brothers, the current owner of all trademarks relating to the duo, lists "beep, beep" as the Road Runner's sound, along with "meep, meep." )
Despite the cartoon character’s perennial victories over Wile E. Coyote, real-life coyotes present a real danger to Roadrunners; Coyotes can reach a top speed of 43 miles an hour—more than twice as fast as roadrunners.
Roadrunner can outrace a human, kill a rattlesnake, and thrive in the harsh landscapes of the Desert Southwest. Roadrunners reach two feet from sturdy bill to white tail tip, with a bushy blue-black crest and mottled plumage that blends well with dusty shrubs. As they run, they hold their lean frames nearly parallel to the ground and rudder with their long tails.
Roadrunners have evolved a range of adaptations to deal with the extremes of desert living. Like seabirds, they secrete a solution of highly concentrated salt through a gland just in front of each eye, which uses less water than excreting it via their kidneys and urinary tract. Moisture-rich prey including mammals and reptiles supply them otherwise-scarce water in their diet. Both chicks and adults flutter the un-feathered area beneath the chin (gular fluttering) to dissipate heat.
Roadrunners eat poisonous prey, including venomous lizards and scorpions, with no ill effect, although they’re careful to swallow horned lizards head-first with the horns pointed away from vital organs. Roadrunners can also kill and eat rattlesnakes, often in tandem with another roadrunner: as one distracts the snake by jumping and flapping, the other sneaks up and pins its head, then bashes the snake against a rock. If it’s is too long to swallow all at once, a roadrunner will walk around with a length of snake still protruding from its bill, swallowing it a little at a time as the snake digests.
Based on banding records, the oldest roadrunner was at least 7 years old.
- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
(600 mm, 1/2000 @ f/9.0, ISO 1000)
Managed a trip to the Yorkshire Dales for these Turtle Doves before I disappear for a few days. They kept there distance, so unfortunately they are large crops.
Many thanks as always for your comments and faves.
We managed to see a bit of sunshine on our last Norfolk trip and did a short walk from Morston Quay to Blakeney Quay.
© This photograph is copyrighted. Under no circumstances can it be reproduced, distributed, modified, copied, posted to websites or printed or published in media or other medium or used for commercial or other uses without the prior written consent and permission of the photographer
Managed to take a few snaps in the early morning when this little guy wasn't all that active yet and stayed still long enough for me to frame it up nicely.
On this trek I managed to break both my 14-24mm and my D700 camera so that I was stuck with only using f2.8. However I thought I would use this shallow depth-of-field to my advantage for this shot :)
What was the Presbyterian Campgrounds ( now managed by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy .... the folks who have TWO photo enforced stop signs in the park, and recently raised the parking fee from $8 to $10. Parking was free before they took over) has been a pretty good place to bird watch. There is a creek that has water year round.
W9 and I had a lot of fun trying to photograph a few Wrentits. They are known for their "bouncing ball" call. At times they rattle. I think we are getting better at making the ID of a bird, even if the call is only a rattle.
I managed to get amongst the wild flowers/beautiful weeds in a part of the garden yesterday and took some photos. They're mainly these yellow dandelion-like flowers collectively known as "false dandelions" and they have names such as Catsear, Meadow Hawkweed and Bristly Hawkbit. I think these particular ones are Catsear. There are so many of them and they give a beautiful display.
I moved overseas a couple of times with work - sometimes you strike lucky, and sometimes you strike very lucky.
We managed to bag the rental of this just-refurbished 100 year old apartment in the Champel district of Geneva which came with original parquet floors, French-style doors, and what I seem to remember as a 12 foot curtain drop. The lift too was in the old open French style. We were lucky because plenty of Swiss were hankering after it, but the owner clearly decided the company I worked for had deeper pockets and would be a better credit risk.
This was taken in 2005 - not too long before we would up sticks again and move to the US Deep South. So out went the smart suits and ties, and in came the short sleeves and khaki slacks - much more my style.
Inevitably you adapt your lifestyle to a new environment and I did miss a lot of things about Switzerland, yet oddly the most enduring one was my daily commute on the number 3 trolley bus.
All credit to Mrs H for dressing the room.
Sorry, no trains in this one.
Taken with a borrowed Canon EOS 350D
8th May 2005
Bruges, such a beautiful city. I admit I rarely went to it, although it's not that far from my home. The reason is, I'm not such a big fan of medieval architecture, I prefer modernism. How could I be so wrong. I managed to make some incredible long exposure shots, definitely will go again.
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili...
If you're interested, you'll find a more detailed closeup here (it's the 8th photo from the top): www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (it's very brief but pretty unusual: a tiny wall lizard attacks two young great tits): www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQqkSsyrm7E
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: MY LONG AND ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
If you've set yourself the challenge of exclusively shooting the wildlife in your own back yard, you might find - as I did - that bird photography is really, really hard.
It's not that reptiles are easy to photograph either, mind - but at least the ones in my garden stay (for the most part) on the ground, and one can learn how to carefully approach them with a camera. They're also clearly egoists, which from a photographer's point of view is is a great character trait: if a lizard detects a human in its vicinity, it's only interested in saving its own skin, and it won't alarm its buddies.
But birds... oh man. Over the years, my feathered friends and I have developed a lovely routine that now defines our peaceful co-existence. As soon as I as much as open a window (let alone the door), I'm instantly greeted by an eruption of panicky fluttering and hysterical shouts from my garden: "SAVE YOUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND FLY FOR YOUR LIVES: THE HAIRLESS, PINK MONSTER IS COMING!!! (Yes, I speak bird, and I know that this is exactly what they are shouting 😉).
Needless to say, with the exception of the redstart I already showed here, all my efforts to get the kind of detailed shots I usually strive for with my nature photography ended in complete failure and utter disillusionment. I was ready to give up on stalking the winged misanthropes in my garden altogether, but then winter came - and changed everything.
One day this past January I observed my neighbor Signora P - a kind, elderly Italian lady - putting something on the low garden wall in front of my house. At first I thought she was just putting some treat there for her cat Romeo; the young tom patrols that wall constantly (it's his favorite spot in the garden, and during the warmer months he usually lurks in the thick foliage next to it to prey on lizards).
But once I detected a lot of movement on that wall through my window, I understood she had put a little pile of bread crumbs there; she was feeding the birds who soon arrived in flocks. This was certainly well-intended on my neighbor's part, but her noble action came with a catch, and I'm afraid quite literally.
When I took a stroll through my garden the next day I discovered a suspicious amount of feathers on the ground next to the wall. Romeo had apparently switched from his low-calorie summer diet (lizard) to more energy-rich meals consisting of "fowl" (it was winter after all, so from a nutritionist's point of view this made sense).
I would find fresh traces of Romeo's victims (mostly feathers, but also the odd wing) in my garden over the following days; so my first intuition that my neighbor was feeding her cat hadn't been that far off after all, as Romeo was now clearly being "served" fresh birds on a daily basis. And although the hungry visitors seemed to be aware of the danger and became slightly more prudent, they just couldn't resist the tasty snacks Signora P put on that wall - and neither could Romeo.
It was obvious that I had to act, but talking to my neighbor - who is as stubborn as she is kind - would have been futile, I knew that much. I pondered the matter long and hard - until a light bulb went off in my head. The idea was genius. If successful, what I had in mind would not only increase the birds' chances of surviving Romeo's appetite, but also greatly benefit my own photographic endeavors.
I started to enact my master plan the very next day by buying a giant bag of bird feed (consisting mainly of sunflower seeds) from the store. Then I dragged a huge piece of a tree trunk (approx. 120 cm in height) that we normally chop firewood on from the shed out into the garden and emptied almost half of the bag's content on top of it. Signora P's buffet for birds (and cats) was about to get some serious competition 😊.
My reasoning was as follows: not only would the birds be lured away from the fatally low garden wall to a place where they were safe from the cat - there was nothing around that tree trunk that provided cover for a predator, and the birds had a nice 360° view around it at all times - but I was also able to photograph them while hiding in the shed.
However, in order for my plan to work there was one little extra measure I had to take, and it was one that risked lowering my own life expectancy considerably once the owner of the property - my mom - discovered it. You see, our shed is completely windowless, so if I wanted to use it as a blind, I had no choice but to cut a hole into one of its wooden walls... which I promptly did (I figured all's fair in love - and photography 😉).
Granted, I have absolutely zero carpentering skills, and it showed. That hole was an ugly mess: the shed's wall seemed to have had an encounter with Jack Nicholson's ax-wielding lunatic character from the film 'The Shining'. Needless to say, I was incredibly proud of my work (I mean, come on: there now was a hole where before there wasn't a hole, and it was big enough for the lens of my camera to peek through, so it was mission accomplished as far as I was concerned).
Now all I had to do was wait for the birds to discover the tree trunk. In the meantime I started to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable confrontation with my mom and go through possible explanations for that splintering hole in the wall (it was either gonna be a rabid woodpecker attack or an emergency rescue mission with a feeding tube for a little kid that had accidentally locked himself inside the shed - both seemed valid options, though I slightly preferred the locked-in kid due to the involved drama and heroism 😉).
A whole day went by, and not a single bird visited the sunflower seeds. I had expected that it might take a few hours until the first of the ever curious great tits or blue tits would show up, but given how tiny my garden is, an entire day seemed excessive. Then another day came and went: the birds kept flocking to the bread crumbs on the wall, and my tree trunk kept collecting dust. To add injury to insult, a few fresh feathers on the ground were proof that Romeo was still feasting.
It was incredibly frustrating: I provided my winged guests with a much better view - plus a higher chance of surviving the cuisine - than Signora P's place; I risked (almost) certain death at the hands of my own mother (OK, the act of vandalism on the shed I had committed for my own benefit, but still), yet the birds kept ignoring me.
Then, after three days, just before sunset, I spotted a single blue tit on the tree trunk picking away at the sunflower seeds.
When I got up the next morning I immediately realized that the loud noise that accompanies each and every tit activity had shifted from the wall to the shed. At last the dam had broken: there was a flurry of movement around the tree trunk, and I counted at least 5 different species of birds feasting on the sunflower seeds.
From day 4 onward my plan worked beautifully: the birds now indeed mostly ignored Romeo's "snack wall" and kept to the tree trunk. And yes, I was able to play peeping tom from behind the shed's wall and photograph them!! 😊
Thus, dear readers, I finally managed to produce some acceptable bird photos, and I had even saved my feathered friends from a deadly foe in the process. All through winter and spring I took advantage of my new bird hide, and in late May I started mixing some cherries with the sunflower seeds. The idea was to attract a Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), and as you can see, it worked!
It took me almost three weeks and more than a few tricks to capture that clever fella, but given how long I've been rambling here already, that's a story for another day. As for my mom, she still doesn't know about the hole in the wall, so please don't snitch! 😉.
I hope you like the photo and wish you all a wonderful weekend! Many greetings from Switzerland, and as always: let me know what you think in the comments 🙏 😊 ❤!
P.S. if anyone has their own funny tale about the obstacles we photographers are prepared to overcome for a desired photo, please write it in the comments: I love such stories 😊