During the winter months, we spend quite a bit of time on weekend mornings watching birds through a window and from the comfort of our home.
I make it a point to keep several feeders and water (heated bird bath) available for the birds that continue to make Virginia their home during this time of the year. It's a dedicated task because it seems that the birds come to depend on the feeding "stations." I'm sure that they would find somewhere else to gather food if I stopped, but I like the idea that they know they can come to our yard, find food, eat and build energy to get them through the winter.
I started capturing shots of the different birds as they perched on the tree closest to our window. Grab shots, snap shots really. Through the window, no less. Most were captured with an 80-200mm f/2.8 lens and hand held.
I really have just started processing them. I filed them away in one of my external hard drives and have just begun to revisit them. Looking at them brings back those mornings in winter and, for me, I see personality in each one. They endured the winter and some have gone on to find food (and mates) elsewhere. Others stay close by and visit daily. I maintain the feeders and bath year round.
I add a hummingbird feeder starting in spring and we now have several that not only drain the feeder but also find the nectar (and insects) from the flowers I have planted around the home a part of their daily diet.
I will publish the Winter Window images periodically as I get to them.
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2 comments:
Hi Mike, a nice black and white here where the strong vignette really adds to the mood and makes us concentrate on the bird entirely. Well, we are still staying in an apartment but do have some lorikeets (small parrots) visiting and feed them occassionally. They seem to visit quite a few balconies cheeky little ones. I can relate to the fact that you might be able to see little personalities in these animals. Look forward to more shots...
Thomas,
Thanks. The B/W conversion was done in Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro using the "Holga" filter. It adds a great deal of grain and I actually backed it off a bit. Lorikeets in the wild is a wonderful thing. I have spent some time in Central America and the colorful tropical wild birds are a treat to see. We have some colorful ones here in the States as well. One must be sure not to take them for granted. Thanks again.
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