Weaverbirds

 

A Weaverbird-shot on Ilford Delta 3200 film

Wow. It's been a little bit since I've posted anything here, two years to be exact. Things happen and I don't feel like I need to go into it all, but I thought I'd start posting here again. 

My first somewhat normal outing since the beginning of the pandemic was to the San Diego Zoo a few weeks ago. While there I came across these incredible birds called weavers. 

They are small sociable birds related to finches and the vast majority of them live in Africa. What's incredible is that they actually weave and knot their nests one blade of grass at a time. They hold the blade of grass with their foot and tie the knot with their beak. The result is a highly complex hanging woven chamber.

The male builds the nest as a way to attract a female. The better the builder, the more likely he is to find a mate. There are a lot of YouTube videos showing these crafty little birds at work. I recommend watching one and if you get a chance seeing them in person at the zoo. 

It was fascinating to watch the weaverbirds busy at work making their nests. These images are some of my favorites. All were made with Ilford Delta 3200 film.  

 

  

   

  Thanks for stopping by.

The Gorgeous Spring of 2019

Wildflowers-Ilford Delta film

Southern California got a lot of rain this winter. Haven't seen that much rain in many years and I must say that I enjoyed every single drop of it. When spring rolled around the dry brown hills turned a lush green and wildflowers started blooming everywhere. It was insanely gorgeous and I found myself out in that beauty with my camera frequently. As many of you know, I primarily shoot using black and white film these days but I broke out some color film in an attempt to try to capture some of the amazing color. 
The Painted Lady Butterflies had a record number that migrated this year. Apparently there were millions of butterflies that migrated and that many haven't been seen since 2005. If you went outside you could see them flying about everywhere. Such a beautiful sight. All the flowers attracted all the butterflies. 
It hasn't rained in over a month and the lush green hills are starting to take on a brownish hue. BUT boy-oh-boy it was  beautiful and colorful out there while it lasted. I enjoyed every bit of it and hope you enjoy my interpretation of it. The black and white images were shot on Ilford Delta film, the color on Fuji Velvia 100 film.

Wildflowers-Fuji Velvia 100 Film

  

Painted Lady Butterfly

Wild Lupine

So many wildflowers

Quail Hill

Macro

Hillside of wildflowers

Wildflowers on El Moro Canyon Trail

Quail Hill

Thanks for viewing.

Dark Sky

We had a rainy week here in Southern California not too long ago. It was great to finally get some decent rainfall. We sure can use it!
I went out for a walk late one rainy afternoon during that week and the sky seemed to be particularly dark. It was oh so eerie but beautiful at the same time. It was creepy but exhilarating. I came across this scene of trees that stopped me in my tracks. I knew this was the scene that I was suppose to be out there photographing on that day. I was using Ilford Delta 400 film and added a 23A red filter.
The result is exactly how as I envisioned it. I love how the winter trees are void of leaves. I'll not say anymore and let you get your own feeling of it. 
Hope you all enjoy it.

  

Alabama Hills

Mount Whitney and The Alabama Hills at sunrise.

35mm image on Ilford Delta Film

I recently spent two days in the Alabama Hills located by the town of Lone Pine in the Eastern Sierras. It was my first visit there, but it definitely won't be my last. Sometimes there are just no words to describe such a place so beautiful as these hills. Honestly, I could go back right now. 

There are incredible massive rock formations that make you feel like the size of an ant in every direction. Elevation is about 5400 ft with Mount Whitney towering in the backdrop at 14,500 ft.
I took pictures from sunrise to sunset those two days. It's really easy to lose track of time when out in such beauty. It was incredibly quiet there. And so many stars at night.

I'm only posting this one image in this post. I think it best embodies the incredible layers of rocks from the valley to Mount Whitney. You can view the other images from this trip at the "new work gallery". All were taken with my trusty 35mm camera on Ilford Delta film.

Hope you all are able to get out and spend sometime in nature with your families during the holiday season.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cypress Trees at Point Lobos

Point Lobos on Ilford Delta Film

I recently took a week long road trip. Destination Monterey. It was a GREAT trip met with nice cool temps and beautiful scenery everywhere. One of my favorite places to visit while there is Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.
You'll see amazing ocean views with cliffs covered with cypress trees.
You'll hear the ocean waves crashing against rocks and the barking of sea lions. 

I spent one morning photographing Cypress Grove Trail and Allen Memorial Grove.

I hope I have conveyed the beauty of these amazing trees with my photographs. 

Morning Light

Found this tree at Pinnacles Cove. Such a cool twisted old tree.

Hummingbirds

Hummingbird on Ilford Delta 35mm film

I recently had a bunch of hummingbirds in my yard. They were very friendly, letting me get within inches of them. I've always wanted to catch them in flight on black and white film.

And I finally did. I love my interactions with wildlife. Animals always bring me a lot of joy and a sense of awe and wonder. The following photos are my favorites from about two hours of chasing these little creatures around my yard one summer afternoon. 

CROWS ON BLACK & WHITE FILM

Crow on 35mm Ilford Delta Film

NOTE: All crows that are silhouetted in my images are done so because the crows wished to remain anonymous.



Okay, I'm sort of kidding with the above statement but I'll explain that a bit later.

Crows get a bad rap. Folks think of them as pests and the curse of death. But actually crows are one of the smartest animals out there. They are capable of making and using tools and are great problem solvers. They can recognize a face and hold a grudge, which kind of scares me a bit since I saw so many of them and they saw me. 

I recently went on a late afternoon walk at a nearby wildlife sanctuary. Crows roost there in the late afternoon. You can see rivers of crows overhead streaming into the tree tops sometimes by the thousands. All headed to their night roost, a giant avian slumber party. They roost for warmth and safety in numbers. On that particular evening there had to have been several thousand crows flying about. It was an amazing sight! And the sounds...CAW, CAW, CAW by thousands of crows was insane.
The next four images are from that experience. All images are 35mm on Ilford Delta film.

I've never seen this many crows anywhere before. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I loved the sheer raw wildness of all these birds flying about and cawing. Felt like a scene out of a Alfred Hitchcock movie. And yes, it was a bit scary. But in a good exciting gets your adrenaline going way.

I was so inspired by this show that the crows put on I decided to make a little project of taking photos of the crows. It wasn't easy. As I mentioned crows are super smart animals and they knew I was out there trying to photograph them, I just know it. They would all gather up high in the tree tops and as soon as I approached them they would start CAWING, to warn their friends of my presence. Then they would fly off to the next tree and we would start the process all over again going all about the wildlife sanctuary continuing this pattern. Crows being all black birds make it difficult to photograph them showing detail unless the light is perfect, which it wasn't most of the time. So I settled for silhouettes of them, which I really ended up liking a lot. Besides I'm sure that the crows wished to remain anonymous and only posed in bad light, except for a few occasions. Haha! 

I ended up taking A LOT of photographs of these special birds. So many that they now have their own gallery on my website, so check it out. I'm including just a few photos with this post.
This project was so much fun! Just me and hundreds of crows. I gained a new appreciation for crows after following them around for a few afternoons. I just hope that the crows aren't holding a grudge against me. I have seen more that the normal amount of them hanging around outside my house recently.

Be sure to check out the new gallery "CROWS ON B&W FILM" here on my website.