A lil' fish snack

Pt Aransas Nature Reserve

Am taking a break from emptying the house and am now in Port Aransas, north of Padre Island in south east Texas on the coast. Am giving my new lens a tryout. Mentioned in an earlier post, this is the first time i've given it a try on birds which is the major reason i purchased it. A Tamron 150-600mm lens (with lotsa other letters i don't remember). For the price, it is an outstanding lens as one of such size from Canon, which my camera is, or Nikon, etc., would be many thousands of dollars. The secret is to find the sweet or sharp spot at each of the different extensions. Full out, 600mm, it will be a bit soft but for certain photos that won't really matter. Below are some of the first bird shots with the Tamron:

Tricolored Heron

 American Coot

Common Moorhen

And to add spice to the photos ... an alligator, the locals call him Pepe, swam into view just as we were getting ready to leave. We were up in the lookout, about 30 feet above ground and he could easily be seen. The second photo shows his right rear leg lifted as though he were walking on the bottom as it could have only been inches deep where he was. He was really large.

If you double-click on the photo, it'll grow to full screen.

Memphis Park Gate

Memphis Dog Park

Been in TX a week emptying out my parents house and helping my brother to move his stuff next door, the house which he's in the process of purchasing.

So, i've not done much photography since arriving here - well, none come to think of it. Oh, this morning i liked the sun beams shinning on the clay masks at the house we are staying in ... but i've not processed them and don't know when i shall.

In the meantime, on the way to TX, we meet my sister and a cousin in Memphis and visited a dog park which i think was maybe 20-30 acres with three ponds. Was a Blue Huron land at one of the ponds and tracked it down and shot the photo below. The interesting thing is i didn't know about the creatures in the final shot until i was processing them and cropping for a better look at the GBH ... and then i say them:

Waaay over there—

And then i was them:

Yup, sitting in the sun, having a sunny time.

Remember the film BlowUp? Always remember to take a closer look at the items in your image after you process, might be surprised at what you find.

Ahh, mushrooms

A few more mushrooms from a few years ago.

 These mushrooms grew from the ground cover the park crew put on the ground where they had redwood trees planted and other new items. For two years hundreds of different mushrooms grow up in that ground cover. The orange mushrooms at the top start out as round grey balls that you can see on the left which then break open and the orange ribs grow. The two images above are equally amazing. They start out as umbrella style mushrooms which degenerate into the slimy stalks you see in the last image.

The stench was almost overpowering and the park crew sprayed herbicides on the ground cover so the muchrooms would not grow the third year. Despite the stench, i loved seeing them grow in their many different forms.

Mushroom Forest

After the heavy rains earlier in the week i was putting out the garbage bins and down the hillside 'tween the house and hill was a village of mushrooms.

Its not a very good photo as the light was in extreme of bright sunlight and deep shade. Now, three days later, they are dried and falling over. Still, i was able to get some nice shots of small groups:

There is something i like about mushrooms although i'm not so sure what that is. They never last very long and when fresh, new they seem so alive in a rather static manner. And no two are ever alike. And they live underground as spores and then ever so often pop up for a breath of fresh air and then they are gone and a few days later there is no sign they were ever there.

I've been shooting mushrooms for years but only at a low lever of capture; i have met photographers who bring with them to shoot, light, light boxes, reflectors, etc. I sorta like keeping it simple and each has its own distinct outcome. Here are few earlier shots:

 'Nuff mushrooms for now.

Tamron 150-600mm lens - an update

Today i return the Tamaron lens i have had for the past week. Wasn't able to do as much with it as i'd hope, still, it was enough that i decided to purchase the lens. Heavy and cumbersome, it is still the lightest lens on the market for what it does and also the least expensive. Went out this morning searching for the birds we could hear -they were surrounding us - but mostly not really viewable. A few more photos from that lens:

Towhee

House Finch

Everyday birds; a Towhee and House Finch - both males singing to attract mates.

They came out pretty well considering the light was very blah and i'm not a fan of shooting upwards but that is where most of the birds are. I look forward to visiting a bird preserve where birds are plentiful.

O.K., now to pack up the lens and get it to Fed Ex.

UPDATE: I bought the lens as a result of the photos above; see Pt. Aransas Nature Preserve for its first use.