This year we had a record number of irises flowering in the garden. Before budding started, I estimated that there were over 40 plants that would flower — I stopped counting stalks at 29. For a couple of weeks every year, near the end of May, these flowers create a welcome addition to out garden in spring.
Iris No 1.
It is always difficult to make images of irises, especially macro shots like these. I like to get the “beard” in focus. However, it is easy to miss focus, especially when a breeze is present. Also, the depth of field at close focus is really narrow, so the entire beard cannot be sharp.
Iris buds are really interesting to photograph, before the flower emerges. There are greens, oranges and yellows with plenty of details in the veins. In this image there is a hint of the color of the flower — a deep blue/purple in this example.
Iris Bud.
This year, flower stalks from two adjacent plants were really close. I made this image of the pair flowers the day before both flowers opened — almost symmetrical!
Pair Of Iris Buds, No 1,
Iris stalks typically have several flowers — one or more at the tip and several growing out of the stalk lower down. In this image, this plant had two flowers, one at tip and the second just behind, lower down on the stalk.
Pair Of Iris Buds, No 2.
The iris leaves also make for some interesting images. In this image, we just have a forest of leaves! Each leaf seems to have an edge that is a paler yellow/green color that the rest of the leaf.
Iris Leaves, In Green.
I made a second image, that I rendered as a monochrome black and white image. Here one can see the pale edges of the leaves.
Iris Leaves.
Recently, I made a few images with the Lensbaby Velvet lens. At wide apertures, the iris flower has a soft focus glow that is very pleasing.
Iris Flower, Velvet.
All our iris flowers have now willowed away. Every year, it becomes a challenge to make some interesting images of these wonderful plants.
A couple of weeks ago, I heard that a whole lot of birds had returned, or passed through, during the Spring migration. So I decided to head out to Cherry Creek State Park. soon after arriving, I walked along the shoreline and was able to get reasonably close to the birds. The first birds that were encountered was this pair of California Gulls. Even, though I had seen these gulls before, this was the first time I attempted to capture an image.
California Gull Pair, Cherry Creek SP.
One of the next shorebirds that I had not seen before was the Greater Yellowlegs. There were several birds in the vicinity, but I did not need to wait long until they came in front of me.
Greater Yellowlegs, Cherry Creek SP.
Here this bird is just taking a walk through the water.
Greater Yellowlegs Walking No 1.
This bird is distinctive with those big yellow legs.
Greater Yellowlegs Walking No 2.
I had heard that several Avocets had arrived at Cherry Creek — this was the hook that caused me to visit. I had made some images of Avocet in a previous year. But this time there were a dozen or more at this location at Cherry Creek. I like this image because I managed to capture a frame with the open bill.
Avocet In The Foam, Cherry Creek SP.
There were some small still pools close to the shore. As the Avocet was working along the shore line, I manged to capture a couple of images that included a reflection of the Avocet in the still water.
Avocet And Reflection No 1, Cherry Creek SP.
Here is the another image.
Avocet And Reflection No 2, Cherry Creek SP.
Finally, along came three yellowlegs, walking through the deeper water. The earlier images were of single birds. This was the first time that a group of birds approached me.
Three Greater Yellowlegs, Cherry Creek SP.
After leaving the shoreline, I hiked along one of the trials. Often I get to see Magpies — I used to see them every day walking to work. However, this time managed to capture an image of a Magpie as it was perched on a cat-tail.
Black-Billed Magpie, Cherry Creek SP.
A few minutes later, I noticed that a Coyote was walking through the long grass, but it was too far away.
A few weekends ago, I was rode along the Platte River bike path. When passing the Overland Pond, several Cormorants were perched on logs around the pond. After completing the bike ride, I returned with camera. By this time, only one Cormorant remained. This bird was perched on a log close to the center of the pond.
Cormorant, Overland Pond, No 1.
I spent about hour at the edge of the pond, making several images. This cormorant has a striking orange chin.
Cormorant, Overland Pond, No 2.
While perched, the cormorant pooped several times. Often birds will poop before taking flight. However, this time the bird remained on the perch.
Cormorant, Overland Pond, No 3.
This is a Double-Crested Cormorant. These birds have two crests, that look like long eye brows. In the image above, these “crests” are really visible when looking away.
Cormorant, Overland Pond, No 4.
Wow. How wide can bird open its mouth! They swallow fish whole.
Cormorant, Overland Pond, No 5.
Looking carefully, these cormorants have blue eyes. However, this was the first time that I noticed the the inside of their mouth is also blue.
Cormorant, Overland Pond, No 6.
Cormorants often drape their wings while perched out of water. They spend much time swimming on or below water; they spread their wings to allow water to drip off before taking flight.
Cormorant, Overland Pond, No 8.
In the above image, the bird made some unusual poses. I’m not sure what the above pose is about; there were no other cormorants in the vicinity. After spending an hour or so, the cormorant had left the perch and continued swim around the pond. On the other side of the pond, three Painted Turtles were perched on a log.
Painted Turtles On Log, Overland Pond.
This was the first time that I had seen these turtles. I moved around to alter the angle of the log to a diagonal.
Painted Turtles Perched On Log.
Finally, just before leaving the pond, one squirrel had found something to munch. He had been sitting on a knob of the tree, eating in the the afternoon sunlight.
Squirrel, Overland Pond.
Soon after making this image, the cormorant took flight and left the area.
The second morning in Monte Vista, we made sure to arrive at the ponds in the wildlife refuge well before sunrise. I made this image just before the sun rose.
Sunrise Over Sangre De Cristo Mountains.
During this visit, I attempted to make several images of cranes in flight. I managed to track this single crane from the time that it left the water.
Sandhill Crane, In Flight, No 2.
I made several images of this crane. In the following image, the rising sun lit up the underside of the wings.
Sandhill Crane, In Flight, No 3.
We spent more time at the ponds later in the morning to watch the coots and other birds. Periodically, the coots started chasing one another across the water. Perhaps this was a territorial dispute? Or a courting ritual? As they scoot across the water, the coots leave a trail of water spray behind them.
Coots Chasing, Monte Vista NWR.
The calls of the Red-Winged Blackbirds rang out across the ponds. In this image, four males were perched in a nearby tree.
Red-Winged Blackbirds In Tree, Monte Vista NWR.
The ponds are lined with plenty of cat tails, so I had to make some images and included here.
Cat Tails Alongside The Pond.
The Red-Winged Blackbirds typically perch on cat tails. From here they make their distinctive calls. Most of the birds were males; the female birds had not arrived at the ponds.
Red-Winged Blackbird On Cat Tail.
Here is another image of the sunrise above the ponds. Luckily there were Canada Geese flying past at the same time.
Sunrise Over The Ponds, Monte Vista NWR.
The sun was obscured by clouds soon after this. There was less light when the last of the cranes flew out. This required a slower shutter speed that blurred the movement of the flying birds.
Cranes In Flight.
We made our way back to the hotel, checked out, and headed back home after a welcome break.
A couple of weeks ago, we spent a few days in Monte Vista to do some birding in the National Wildlife Refuge. It was great to go out to this great location. This was the last location where I stayed a few nights just before the Covid lockdown started!
View Towards Blanco Peak, Monte Vista NWR.
Soon after arrival, we spent a few hours near one of the ponds in the wildlife refuge. This muskrat was spotted swimming up one of the channels adjacent to the main pond.
Muskrat Swimming, Monte Vista NWR.
We counted about a dozen Cinnamon Teals, mostly male, farther down the channel. I managed to capture this male bird as he was spreading wings.
Cinnamon Teal Spreading Wings.
There were two mating pairs swimming along the same channel. In this image, the female was swimming ahead of the male.
Cinnamon Teal Female, Monte Vista NWR.
Soon the male came into view…
Cinnamon Teal Male, Monte Vista NWR.
This was a great location to capture these teal ducks. We were really lucky to get really close, capturing some great images as well.
Cinnamon Teal Pair.
The following morning we headed back to the ponds just before sunrise. The Sandhill Cranes were bathed in the dawn sunlight. This pond was a location where the cranes often spent the night to avoid predators.
Sandhill Cranes Waiting At Sunrise.
In the distance, water had frozen during the night. But in the foreground, the cranes were contemplating flying out for the day.
Sandhill Cranes At Sunrise.
Occasional birds and groups of birds slowly took off to reach the daytime feeding grounds. I managed to make several images of this crane as it left for the day.
Sandhill Crane Take Off, No 2.
In this image, one of the cranes was spreading its wings. Again I made several images until the crane had retracted its wings.
Sandhill Cranes And Spreading Wings.
This was the first time that we had spent a night in a hotel for over a year. Also, we got to have dinner in a restaurant, practicing safe distancing.
We had another big storm this week — some 15-inches of snow fell. It was close to sunset on my usual walk through our neighborhood. Passing one house, the tree and grasses in the front yard made some interesting shadows on the snow and siding.
Shadows On Siding And Snow.
As I reached Harvard Gulch Park, I noticed the tracks in the snow. During the day, many kids had brought their sleds to the park to slide down the slopes. By the time I got there, the sunset had created long shadows on the snow.
Fence At Sunset, Harvard Gulch Park.
This location had construction work during the last few months. The snow covered all the earth works, except for the one flag below.
Shadows On The Snow, Harvard Gulch Park.
This tree had been surrounded be a fence, probably to create construction traffic from backing into tree.
Fenced Tree In The Snow, Harvard Gulch Park.
There is a tall chimney at one of the buildings in the park. As I walked past, I noticed the almost-full moon hanging in the sky above the chimney. One lady was climbing the slope with her dog.
Chimney and Moon, Harvard Gulch Park.
The Rosedale School is located close to the park. Earlier in the week, I had noticed the detailed stone work on the building. This evening the setting sun had cast an orange glow onto the stone and brick work.
Rosedale School At Sunset.
By the time I reached Kunming Park, the sun had set behind the front range, leaving some traces of shadows in the sky. Also, the condensing steam from one of the nearby buildings had created some interesting foreground.
2547-0032-Front-Range-After-The-Sunset
With the clear skies at the end of the day, that night also had another night of below freezing temperatures.
During the last couple of weeks, we have had a couple of snow storms and some frigid temperatures. As usual, I take a walk through the neighborhood on a daily basis during the work week. After one snowy day, I found these shadows on the fence.
Shadows On The Fence, After The Snow.
In the shaded areas of the park, the deep blue sky lit up the snow with shades of blue. I found these tracks in the blue show.
Tracks In The Snow, Bates Logan Park.
Along the sidewalk, were frozen puddles that had entrapped unsuspecting air bubbles.
Frozen Bubbles Along Sidewalk, No 2.
On reaching Harvard Gulch, I followed the gulch downstream. There was some foam carried along the gulch. At one spot, the foam had accumulated behind some rocks in the water. At the point, the foam had started to freeze, creating interesting patterns.
Frozen Foam, Harvard Gulch.
Further along the creek, I found some more frozen foam.
Frozen Foam, Harvard Gulch, No 2.
After leaving the park, I was back on the street. Here I found plenty of frozen puddles in the shaded areas. The smooth surface of the ice allowed some reflections to show.
Reflections In The Ice Puddle.
We still have plenty of snowy cold days ahead of us.
Now that we are in the winter months, I have been making (daily!) nightly walks through the neighborhood instead of bike rides in the dark! Often, if there is enough light, one of the cameras accompany me. The is a park a few minutes from the house, where there is a colorful basketball court.
Basketball Court, Bates-Logan Park.
The sun was reflected in a puddle of water on the court.
Reflection In Basketball Court.
A few days earlier, it had snowed, forming ice in the streets. On this particular day, there were puddles of water remaining from the ice melt.
Sidewalk Reflections.
There were several patches of ice along the sidewalk. These are fun to photograph to capture the air bubbles trapped in the ice.
Frozen Bubbles Along Sidewalk.
In this image there are some leaves and other detritus trapped in the ice.
Trapped In The Ice Along Sidewalk.
Walking along Harvard Gulch, the setting sun lit up a mural/graffiti reflected in the water flowing along the gulch.
Mural Reflections In The Gulch.
In this final image, I arrived at Kunming Park just before sunset. There was a haze hanging over the Front Range. One can just make out the alternating peaks and valleys along the range.
Haze Over Front Range At Sunset.
Since making these images, there has been another snow storm. Maybe some more images later?
