Wednesday, February 28, 2007

A Bird's Story

Ok, the move is officially over.  We had the final walk-through at the old place today and were praised for our cleaning efforts.  A Marine Inspector General would have found no dust on his white gloves had he checked it out. The owner was very pleased.  Later, the leasing agent, who was there, too, made a comment that it really only had to be “swept clean” for them to give us back the full deposit.  I did not want to hear it, LOL!  Back to life as I once knew it.

 

Many commented on my last post that they would like to see pictures of the new house and I promise to post them.  Next time!  Tonight I want to share some pictures that I am quite proud of taken with my new camera that I got for Christmas.

 

I did nothing on Christmas day except to charge the battery that it came with and read the manual cover to cover.  The next day I turned it on and experimented in the house with it. 

 

The camera is a Kodak P712.  You could not buy these in stores before Christmas and it was ordered online for me.  This camera is not an SLR, but has all the features of an SLR and comes with a 12X optical zoom lens.

 

I took it with me to work my first day back after the holiday and found an excuse to launch one of the Marina boats.  I had a mission and I wanted to see if the new camera was up to the task.

 

There is an island nearby that hosts a huge nest high up in an old dead tree. The tree is on the back side of the island away from the boating traffic on the river and is very hard to see if you do not know it is there.  Even on the back side of the island, it is a great distance inland from the bank.

 

 

This nest has hosted osprey families as well as a family of eagles over the years.  This year’s resident is an osprey and I was dying to get a good shot of the nest.  I did not dare think I would be lucky enough to even see the bird on this trip.

 

 

I had tried to get a shot of the nest from the back side of the island, but the sun was in the wrong position, so I motored to the front of the island on the main river.  After I shot the above picture, I looked to my right down the shoreline and something in a tree on the bank caught my eye. 

 

 

I could not tell what was in the tree, but I shot this picture and then tried to get closer at a better angle to check it out.  Applying the great zoom feature, I was able to make out that is was, indeed, the osprey.

 

 

I had to try and get a better shot of the bird.  I wanted a solid background behind it and I wanted to be as close as I could.  I would start the motor and get a little speed, then shut it off and drift towards the bird’s position.  Then I would take a shot and repeat the process. 

 

The osprey kept its eye on me but let me approach much closer than I had any right to expect and that is when I snapped this picture.  I was in a rocking boat and had no tripod with me.  There is no editing except for sizing on any of the pictures shown here… no cropping or anything.

 

 

Shortly after I shot this picture the osprey decided that I had gotten a little too close and flew away.  I sat there in the boat with my heart pounding from the excitement of the experience.  I thought I had taken a good shot but did not realize until later just how good it really would turn out to be.

 

Looking around while I sat there and composed myself, I saw two interesting features on the shoreline that I captured as well.  The first was a fallen tree that caught my eye.

 

 

<FONTFACE=ARIAL size="4" color="#0000a0">The second was a system of roots from a tree long ago fallen and not apparent anymore.

 

 

I just thought it looked interesting and shot it.  Next time I’m back at this location, I’ll try and get into a position where I can shoot the root system without the houses in the background.  The houses, by the way, are a lot farther away than they appear to be in this photo and are not on the island at all.

 

It was a fun little excursion for me and exciting, too.  I’ve had occasion to shoot a few more things on the river since then that I’ll share some of those in future posts.  I’ll also throw in some pictures of the new house next time.  I hope you enjoyed some of these pictures, because I had a blast getting them.  Until next time, take care and be safe!

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had a blast viewing them.  LOL!  Thanks for sharing.  Come back soon with more!

Anonymous said...

cool pics...I think that is the camera I am hoping to get soon.....

Take care,
Tracie

Anonymous said...

cool pics...I think that is the camera I am hoping to get soon.....

Take care,
Tracie

Anonymous said...

awesome job Sam... your camera will bring delight to you and....... well... us!  LOL thanks for sharing
hugs
d

Anonymous said...

love the pictures.  If I saw an osprey, I would not have the composure to get a picture.  Imagine my Mom in that situation!  Love you, Lynn

Anonymous said...

what beautiful photos I have never seen an Osprey have no idea if they visit our shores but it is a magnificent bird, and love the tree and root pics.
Debbie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/drb1064/whatever

Anonymous said...

Your photos are always so interesting Sam, I can tell you love to hunt out great subjects, sounds like the camera was the perfect Christmas gift for you!  The osprey is a gorgeous bird, we have them over here too. Well done on your house cleaning before you moved! Wanna come do mine?! Lol! I'm glad you're settling in to your new home, can't wait to see your pics of that! I love the shot of the tree roots, I took some of the same in Borneo, they'd been bleached by the sun and were so convoluted and fascinating to look at! Take care, it's March now so I can say .... see you next month!! Jeannette xx  http://journals.aol.co.uk/jlocorriere05/Welcometomytravels/

Anonymous said...

Sam I can imagine your delight at the osprey picture ,and the fun you are having with your new camaera ,Iam looking forward to more pictures ,So pleased the move went well ..love Jan xx

Anonymous said...

I was on the edge of my seat reading this.  The excitement of getting so close to the Osprey must have been overwhelming.  Awesome pictures.  :)
http://journals.aol.com/mrsm711/LatteDah/      Tracy

Anonymous said...

Aren't new cameras the best fun?? I didn't get a new camera, but G got me a new lens for V-day... it is a 70-300 and I couldn't wait for a good chance to try it out. Luckily they had a benefit event at the rodeo grounds here last weekend with a bunch of people roping and healing, so I got to put the new lens thru it's paces and.... I like it <LOL>.

Looking forward to all the wonderful pictures I know we will be seeing now that you have a new 'toy'!
http://journals.aol.com/astaryth/AdventuresofanEclecticMind/
http://adventuresofaneclecticmind.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I got chills just reading this and delighting in your photos..  Thank you for sharing this rare experience!

Michelle

Anonymous said...

Very nice! Tammy

Anonymous said...

The pictures are great! Did you do adjustments on camera before taking the pictures? Other than the zoom? Or are these just point and shoot with the camera on auto settings? I need to take a look at this camera. The pictures in the raw format here are great! How does it do on zooming and cropping? What is mega pixels?
O yes. The bird shot is wonderful!  

Anonymous said...

Hi Sam, What a delightful entry this is. I especially loved it because of a book I read that contained characters that loved these birds. Your pictures are awesome. I'm so happy your move is over and that you and your wife can finally settle down in YOUR place. Looking forward to pictures of your new home. Till then, my best to the two of you.
Love and always, my prayers,
Barb- http://journals.aol.com/barbpinion/THERESTOFTHESTORY

Anonymous said...

Great photos, especially the osprey, nice capture.  The smooth dead tree trunk was nice too!  I love old naked trees...Ü
Marie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mariebm56/PhotographsMemoriesToo

Anonymous said...

Sam I am glad the move is officially over ~ did you feel a little pang of sadness on your last walk~through at your old place ~ thanks for sharing those pictures with us I love the one of the Osprey it is brilliant ~ and the fallen tree ~ that is certainly some camera you had for Christmas and we will benefit from it as well as we shall see lots more pictures I look forward to that ~ Hope you are enjoying you new home and wish you lots of happiness there ~ Ally

Anonymous said...

Well done on the osprey pics, Sam. And home sweet home!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Sam! you must feel greatly pleased!
thank you for the beautiful pictures of the osprey bird! what an interesting bird!
I am veyr glad that you got all of that hard work behind you.
hugs,natalie

Anonymous said...

Awesome pictures.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/acoward15/andy-the-bastard/

Anonymous said...

Hey!  Awesome pictures...  you've evoked some memories.  My mother-in-law wanted her ashes spread beneath the osprey nest @ Oconee, but in the end, it wasn't done.  Makes me sad...  BUT I'm smiling right now in spite of that.  Thanks for sharing those photos.  They're wonderful!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Sam ..... I love the pictures.  I'm sure you are having a great time  photgraphing any and everything with your new 'toy'.  Looks as though you figured out how to use it in good time.  ( It usually takes me a while to get the hang of anything new or technical )  Thanks for sharing, and please keep showing us your latest subjects.  Oh, and yes, I would love to see the new house.  Glad to hear that you are settling in well.  Take care, Tina

Anonymous said...

Thanks for giving us the bird!!  Great pictures.  

Mrs. L

Anonymous said...

Hi Sam,
I recently got the Kodak 612...am enjoying it!  You got some wonderful shots there....very cool!  Looking forward to more.

Nancy

Anonymous said...

The pictures are really neat, and I'm glad you're enjoying the new camera. Never having heard of an osprey, I was forced to look it up (heck, I might be in Texas, but I'm still a city boy at heart). The nest is fantastic- the kind of isolated place I'd like to live (IF I were an osprey, of course.....)       Jon

Anonymous said...

Wow.  Look at him (assuming) perched there, all regal looking :)  A fabulous shot, Sam!  You have the eye....

Me~I am more fascinated by the fallen trees.  I love old trees, they have so much character... leaves me wondering what they 'saw' in their lifetime.... and what caused them to fall.  Weather or old age?

Happy the move is over.  Probably not nearly as happy as you are, lol, but happy just the same ;)

Can't wait to see more pics from your new toy.  I know boating season is beginning, so I'll be waiting....

Til then, take care!

Cat

Anonymous said...

Amazing pictures...the osprey is just beautiful, perfect picture, esp with no tripod! The old dead trees have a beauty all their own don't they.  Looking forward to hearing more about you and your life. :) Thanks for stopping by my journal and leaving a nice comment.  I talk about my chickens a lot, but sometimes other things actually crop up, like the mosaic house.