Critique Connie's (Clix Pix) 52 Week Project 2020 ------ AND IT'S A WRAP!!!! 53 WEEKS DONE!!!!

[Clix Pix]

....And here we go with Week 19! A couple more flowers, but more exciting to me was, finally, what I've been waiting for this spring: goslings!!

I looked out the window and saw the family gently paddling their way along one side of the lake. YAY!!! Grabbed the camera, grabbed the long lens and got them assembled, then rushed out to the deck to get a few shots. Mom was keeping a sharp eye on her brood:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Proudly posing as they pause for a moment. Dad was eyeing that strange big long thing pointed at them from across the water, probably figuring that as long as it didn't go "Bang-bang!" or "BOOM!" they were safe....

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Unfortunately I haven't seen this family of geese again since that one day. However, a few days later while walking around the boardwalk I did encounter a solitary goose and I suspect that it was the male partner of a pair I've seen swimming around together; the female was nowhere in sight, but I'll bet she was on a nest somewhere not far away.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Tired of looking at geese already? Time for some more flowers!

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Palouse]

So spring-ish. Lovely! Glad your goslings showed up.

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Nick! Me, too, as I sure haven't seen them since..... VERY few geese or ducks on the lake right now, which is disappointing. Not sure if it is due to weather conditions or to something else -- possibly someone has put something into the water that is inhospitable or maybe even toxic to wildlife, but if that is the case, that is really a shame -- a crime, actually. My long lens is just itching to get more use and yet there are very few critters at which to aim her right now! In the meantime, thank goodness for flowers, eh? I've got my eye on some which are going to be bursting into bloom in the next few days or so, weather permitting.....

 

[BLX]

Lovely shots of the goose family - hopefully they're all safe
Beautiful flower shots as well

 

[Clix Pix]

Thank you, Morten! Unfortunately I have not seen those goslings since, and I have the strong suspicion that they fell victim to predators around the lake. It's a darned shame, but it happens just about every year that at least some goslings are snatched away..... There were seven of these guys so it is surprising if they are ALL gone now, though. I'm hoping that maybe the parents found a good, safe place to shelter them and that at least most of them are still alive and well.

 

[Clix Pix]

A milestone! Week 20 already!! Time is moving right along..... I was able to do a bit more shooting this past week, weather and my time being more cooperative, so there's a mix of this-and-that as Spring continues on towards Summer.

Beginning of the week was rainy, so it was back to abstracts again:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

To my delight, there is a little section of Bearded Irises near where I walk to get my mail at the kiosk each day, so I've been keeping an eye on them throughout their development:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

The other day I was sitting at the computer working on editing some images, with the sliding door to the deck open so I could feel the lovely fresh spring breeze and listen to the sounds of nature. I was startled when suddenly I heard a loud "CAW! CAW!" and when I looked over, there was a blackbird perched on the deck railing! Even though the camera was sitting on the dining table still mounted to the Bazooka (200-600mm) since I'd been using it earlier in the day, I knew that if I moved too suddenly or too noisily or attempted to go over to grab the camera that the bird would immediately take off, so instead I reached for the iPhone sitting near me and slowly stood up to capture him, then moved cautiously and slowly towards the sliding door so I could shoot through it rather than the screen.....

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

One of the shots I captured with the Bazooka -- even at that, the turtle was quite a distance away and I still had to do some serious cropping. And, no, that white stuff isn't snow, nor do I need to do a major sensor cleaning or cleaning off of the lens, it's blossoms that have blown off and fallen from the nearby trees around that area. Makes a mess in the water!

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Bonus shot this week! These two geese were not happy with each other and started getting aggressive, with one chasing the other....

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Gordo]

18 - love the close-ups of the cookware.

19 - nice goslings shots!

20 - love the turtle shot, I've tried to get closer to get better shots and it always amazes me how fast they can drop into the water when you get just a bit too close.

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Gordon! I am sad that I haven't seen the goslings since that one day I was able to shoot them.....I fear that they have met an unpleasant fate, even though I am still hoping against hope that maybe they are still safe somewhere.....

The turtle was a fair distance from me so he would've had no idea that I was taking his picture, as I was up above him, way beyond his range of awareness, aiming at him from my position on my deck. Even at that, using the Bazooka at 600mm, I still had to crop significantly. However, yes, if I'd been down on the boardwalk walking towards him, he would've sooner or later sensed me and promptly dived into the water before I could even get the camera to my eyes.

Yep, on those days when the weather is sucky or I don't feel motivated to go out and shoot, I look around the house for something, anything, which might serve as an interesting subject, and it's really rather surprising to realize how many ordinary everyday objects that we see, use and take for granted can look entirely different when a macro lens is focused on them or part(s) of them......

 

[BLX]

Fantastic mix for week 20 Connie All really great but I love the iPhone photo of the blackbird and the bazooka shot of the turtle.
Sometimes it is not about equipment but subject other times it couldn't have been done without it

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Morten! So, so true, about the equipment and what you happen to have available at the time an intriguing subject pops up. I wouldn't have been able to have gotten either of those two shots without the iPhone in the one case and the Bazooka in the other situation. Also, the A7R IV, with its 61 MP resolution, is pretty amazing with the great latitude it provides in being able to crop more heavily in the occasional situations that is needed.

Gosh, it's Saturday already! Almost time to pull together the shots I did throughout this week....

 

[Clix Pix]

Week 21 ready to share! A mixed bag this time....

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

On yet another rainy, dreary day, I played around with something and came up with this:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

After the rain, the sun came out so I rushed outside, camera in hand:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

One day I was sitting here at the computer and looked out across the lake, where I could see something large and bright blue in front of one of the townhouses over there. Curious, I got up and looked for my binoculars, couldn't find them, so then picked up the RX10 M4, which can work nicely as a way of viewing things at a distance with its 600mm (equiv) lens. (Quicker to grab it than to take the time to assemble the interchangeable lens camera and the Bazooka.) Things had changed a little while I was getting the gear; the big blue thing was now on the ground and I was treated to a most intriguing scene:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[urbanflyer]

Good to see things that make me smile! Thanks!

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks! Yes, this last scene made me smile, too..... I'm not a parent or grandparent but I can imagine that this image would bring back memories to those who are! I especially got a kick out of Mom being the one to do the work while Dad read the instruction pamphlet and Baby plotted his escape......

 

[Pa]

Week 21 ready to share! A mixed bag this time....

View attachment 1661999

View attachment 1662000

On yet another rainy, dreary day, I played around with something and came up with this:

View attachment 1662001

After the rain, the sun came out so I rushed outside, camera in hand:

View attachment 1662002


One day I was sitting here at the computer and looked out across the lake, where I could see something large and bright blue in front of one of the townhouses over there. Curious, I got up and looked for my binoculars, couldn't find them, so then picked up the RX10 M4, which can work nicely as a way of viewing things at a distance with its 600mm (equiv) lens. (Quicker to grab it than to take the time to assemble the interchangeable lens camera and the Bazooka.) Things had changed a little while I was getting the gear; the big blue thing was now on the ground and I was treated to a most intriguing scene:

View attachment 1662004

Impressive detail in the whites of the iris blossom.

 

[Clix Pix]

Thank you, Jim! I am really loving the DXO PhotoLab 3 editing software and also of course the camera with its many megapixels and great resolution, and the combination of these two elements does seem to bring out remarkable detail in a lot of images.

 

[Palouse]

Love the first Iris shot, and the mysterious "alien". Always nice to have entertaining neighbors!

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Nick! I love Bearded Iris and it was fun shooting them! The mysterious "alien" / i.e., "gearhead", was fun to shoot, too, as one of my "I wonder what would happen if I did....this? That?" experiments.

Haven't seen the neighbors since that one time, but they sure did provide some entertainment that afternoon!

 

[Clix Pix]

Week 22 in the house! Still mostly playing with flowers -- hey, it's Spring!

Actually, this first image is the outlier in the bunch, since obviously the subjects here are not flowers. On MacRumors in the photography subforum the weekly competition's topic had just been announced as "Sound," and for me, no need to think about a possible subject -- just reached up and touched one of the two BAHAs (bone-anchored hearing aids) on my head! Set things up on the dining table, removed my subjects from each side of my head and positioned them in various ways to get an interesting and also somewhat informative angle, then fired away..... I tried different strategies and different surfaces as well as fiddling with the lighting (which still isn't quite right, which if this were a professional product shot would be absolutely necessary) before deciding that this worked the best in terms of conveying the message of what they are and what they do.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

OK, back to the flowers....


Not quite flowers yet, but on their way to being so in just a couple more days:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Another view, shot with a different lens, with the buds attached to the one lily that had already bloomed:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Roses are starting to come out now, too:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[BLX]

Wow again - excellent sets for week 21+22. Especially your macro work is stunning

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Morten! I love macro and closeup work; even when I'm using a different kind of lens I still find myself trying to get close to the subject in one way or another!