29 Monday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography
We yawn, and so do birds and other animals. Here’s a Great Black-Backed Gull that I caught in the act near the Barnegat Lighthouse this past Saturday.
Breat Black-Backed Gull yawning
Note that it was standing on only one leg. After the soundless yawn, it laid down, looking bored as it watched humans walking by it.
Great Black-Backed Gull resting
26 Friday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
For this challenge, I am submitting a photo of New York City’s waterfront as seen a mile away from Liberty State Park in New Jersey. This was taken at sunset, on a cold and cloudy day, a week ago. The Empire State Building, for many years the tallest skyscraper in the city, is slightly to the left of the picture center.
New York City waterfront
http://ceenphotography.com/2014/12/23/cees-fun-foto-challenge-cities-and-city-structures/
25 Thursday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography
More odds and ends, this time of some coreopsis that I encountered during a walk last October at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. These images should bring some colors to those of us in the Northern hemisphere where winter has now officially started.
Coreopsis, against a strong wind gust
Coreopsis and bee
22 Monday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography
Tags
Yesterday, on the shortest day of the year, I went to Liberty State Park in New Jersey across the Hudson river from New York City. My goal was to take photos of the Big Apple as it was lit up at night. The only problem was the near freezing temperature, and my camera battery started complaining after 45 minutes of shooting. I also had to keep taking my gloves off to adjust the camera settings and change lenses.
Here are the photos, starting at sunset, even though the sun was in hiding.
New York City skyline. Building at center is the new One World Trade Center, the 4th tallest in the world.
Downtown Manhattan, viewed from New Jersey.
Closer look at Downtown Manhattan
New York City, midtown and downtown. The Empire State Building is to the left side.
Midtown Manhattan at night, with Empire State Building in center
21 Sunday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography
Tags
Because it looks like a Japanese mural painting, I selected the following photo, taken at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge this past October.
Blue Heron
and had it imprinted on a mug, after some cropping.
Blue Heron mug
For some reason, the blue color is intensified in the above photo. In real life, the mug image is much closer to the original photo.
20 Saturday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
For this challenge, I am submitting a photo taken in Brigantine, NJ of a beautiful sunset we were lucky to stumble upon. In late November 2011, as we left the beach to drive home, the sky suddenly became ablaze with red, and I raced to the back bay to find a parking spot, set up my tripod and begin shooting.
Sunset over Brigantine, NJ
Some who have viewed other shots of this particular sunset have said that the images were photoshopped. Well, for one thing I don’t have Photoshop on my computer. I used Canon Digital Photo Professional, the free software that came with my camera, to make some minor adjustments: straightening and cropping, increasing color saturation by a notch, and some lens aberration correction. The results are as close to what I remember of the sunset as possible, at least I hope so.
http://ceenphotography.com/2014/12/16/cees-fun-foto-challenge-landscapes-or-seascapes/
19 Friday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
I took the following photos earlier this year and will now submit them for this challenge.
Daffodils
Goldfinch
Sunflower
Yellow Magnolia
18 Thursday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography
Last September, flocks of red-winged blackbirds were swooping up and down around me at the Abbott Marshlands. A few landed close by and I took the following shot of a juvenile blackbird. Note the more mature bird with more brilliant coloring beyond it.
Juvenile red-winged blackbird
Many mourning doves live in our area, and here are two examples.
Mourning dove
Mourning dove gathering materials for nest
In early October, I was hiking at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge when a skunk crossed the road and scurried toward me, coming as close as 30 ft. Uh, oh! I stopped and squeezed a few shots, including the one below. Fortunately, the skunk went back into the bushes and did not spray anything. However, it was an omen. The following day, I was told that my job had been eliminated.
Skunk
17 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography
This morning I went back to the Barnegat Lighthouse jetty to try and photograph the Harlequin ducks that are known for showing up there at this time of the year. After about an hour of fruitless searching, I was on my way back when I spotted a female Harlequin duck swimming in the fast moving water that these ducks seem to like. She was by herself, with no male suitors in sight.
Female Harlequin duck at Barnegat Lighthouse jetty
A little bit later, she jumped ashore and posed for me! As with most birds or ducks, a female Harlequin duck is somewhat dull compared to her male counterpart, but the unmistakable signs are the white circle behind the ears and white patches on her face. For photos of the more colorful male Harlequin ducks, please visit my post last year.
Female Harlequin duck
16 Tuesday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography
Between now and the end of the year, I will post some of the photos I took in 2014 that did not make it, for one reason or another, into any of this year’s posts. I thought you may like them, even though there is no common theme to them.
Cormorants
Chicadee
Cardinal
Clematis
14 Sunday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography
Tags
The weather forecast was for a warm and sunny Sunday, but the sun made its appearance for about half an hour at best, and the wind was blowing non-stop at the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. I went there looking Harlequin ducks and snowy owls. The owls were nowhere to be seen and four Harlequin ducks were too far out on the ocean.
Only Common Eider ducks were in abundance as they now have migrated from their Artic breeding grounds to warmer (for them) climates. They were perhaps 100 ft away from the shore, and the following shot is as close as I could get with my lens. By the way, I did not know the name of these ducks before today, and I had to ask a birder who was observing the ducks at the same time.
Common Eider ducks. The males are black and white, and the females brownish. These are the largest duck species in the northern hemisphere.
Turning back from the ocean, I saw the following view of the lighthouse framed by beach grass and scraggly plants. The colors of the bleak sky, lighthouse, plants, and sand complement one another.
Barnegat lighthouse
12 Friday Dec 2014
Posted in Weekly Photo Challenge
I hope this posting answers the Twinkle challenge. It is a shot of Carnegie Lake in Princeton, NJ at 7 AM in late October four years ago.The rising sun created a long row of twinkles duly reflected on the calm surface of the lake.
11 Thursday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
The Natural Bridges National Monument is a relatively unknown gem in the southeast corner of Utah, about 45 miles away from the nearest town, Blanding. We were there last year in June during our tour of red rock country. The monument has three natural bridges, of which Owachomo is the smallest but most accessible. We walked down all the way to the bottom and, since there was a drought, the river bed was dry.
Owachomo Natural Bridge
Owachomo Natural Bridge
http://ceenphotography.com/2014/12/09/cees-fun-foto-challenge-bridges/
07 Sunday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
For Cee’s weekly odd ball challenge, I thought this photo may do. It shows a young woodpecker pounding away at a sunflower seed that he snatched from our bird feeder.
Woodpecker trying to eat sunflower seed
He was so fast that his head was just a blur. After at least two minutes, he stopped and I took the following shot.
Woodpecker after head pounding
06 Saturday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
Amy’s response to this week’s challenge inspired me to dig up the following photos of Monarch butterflies feasting on goldenrods. I took them four years ago at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. Monarch butterflies seem to be disappearing, and they need all the help we can give them.
Monarch butterflies
Monarch butterfly on goldenrod flowers
Monarch feasting on goldenrods
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/gone-but-not-forgotten/
02 Tuesday Dec 2014
Posted in Weekly Photo Challenge
Tags
Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, cunningham cabin, grand teton national park, moulton barn, photography, postaday
For this challenge, I submit the following photos taken in the fall of 2011. The first two are famous but abandoned barns built by the Moulton brothers along Mormon Row north of Jackson, WY.
John Moulton barn
Thomas Alma Moulton barn
This next photo is of a cabin built by John Pierce Cunningham in 1888.
Cunningham Cabin
If you go visit Grand Teton National park, make it a point to stop by these abandoned barns and cabin and snap a few photos.
http://ceenphotography.com/2014/12/02/cees-fun-foto-challenge-abandoned-buildings-or-barns/
neihtn 