Winter sunset

Absolutely spectacular sunset this evening here in Vermont. These first two pics are from my iPhone:

Then I pulled out the good camera for a few more shots:

A slightly closer look from the same perspective:

 And one final shot as the light faded:

Kauai 2011 day 14: Wailua Falls

You'd think that by the end of my vacation I'd have been taking fewer pictures, not more. I may ask my folks to put a shock collar on me this year... At any rate, it was a busy day that resulted in a ton of photos, so once again I'll get right to it.

A couple of sunrise photos:





A Myna stopped by to grab some breakfast:



As did this Red-crested Cardinal, which I was photographing between the legs of the chairs out on the porch:



Love the head tilt:



A cardinal that came almost right up to the sliding-glass door:



On my next-to-last day, we took a trip out to Wailua Falls, one of the most picturesque spots on the island. It's a gorgeous double waterfall, and I was eager to try my hand at photographing it. This first shot is one I took with my camera on its usual setting:



And this is one I took with a much slower shutter speed, producing the silky water effect:



A wider shot of the waterfall and pool:



Again, the same view with the shutter slowed down:



With all the mist produced by the falling water, it's pretty much a guarantee that when the sun is out, you're going to see a rainbow. On this visit, we were lucky enough to see a double rainbow:





On the other side of the pool, someone used a bunch of white rocks to leave a message for visitors:



While we were there, we noticed quite a few White-tailed Tropicbirds flying around. Then we realized that when some of the birds approached the rock face, they disappeared. Turns out they like to nest in cliffs:









We stopped for lunch at Puka Dog, where I ended up getting some of the best bird closeups of my vacation. First up, some Myna pics:



Very pleased with how this one came out:







An early model for Angry Birds, perhaps?



And some shots of a Red-crested Cardinal that came fairly close to grab some of the bread we'd scattered around:







A Zebra Dove taking a dust bath in the parking lot where we were staying:



Finally, some shots I took before and during sunset at Ke'e Beach:

Sunset trees

There's not much of a story behind today's pictures, I'm afraid. Basically, I arrived at Mom and Dad's right around sunset (since my brother Greg's home for the weekend, we wanted to get together for dinner), noticed the clouds behind the trees lining their property, and decided to take some photos—there's just something about the combination of the dark trees, blue skies, and red and orange clouds that really appeals to me.

I liked how the curve of the cloud in the upper corner of the frame paralleled the treeline in this one:



And just a pair of shots I thought came out pretty well:

Red skies at night

Although it was a sunny day that bordered on being downright balmy, there was very little activity at my feeder to speak of. So when I noticed that tonight's sunset appeared to be a particularly colorful one, I headed on outside with my camera. I'm right in the middle of town, so getting shots that didn't have any cables or telephone lines in the frame required slightly more brain power than I usually employ on a Sunday. But I think the results ended up being worth taxing my neurons a bit:







Finally, although it was a tough call I think this one ended up being my favorite of the bunch:

More fall colors

When I stopped by the house last night, Mom mentioned that she'd seen a particularly striking maple tree while driving through town recently. So I went and checked it out after I left work for the day. Once I saw the tree, I totally agreed with her—I just wish there'd been a way to take a clean picture of it, so to speak. Or at least one that didn't involve depriving the neighborhood of electricity and cable television:



And a closer look at some of the leaves:



As I drove home, I couldn't help but notice that the sunset was shaping up to be a very colorful one. As the color of the clouds slowly deepened, I considered my options, knowing I needed a spot where I could both get off the road safely and have a relatively unobstructed view of the mountains. And it had to be one I'd reach in the next few minutes, or else the light would be gone. Luckily for me, I was just coming upon the one section of my route home that fit all three criteria—it has a very wide shoulder that runs along part of a field (in fact, it's the same spot I photographed a group of sheep on my first day with my new camera), and once I got past the power lines there was nothing standing between me, my camera, and the southern horizon:



Better still, because of the rain we've had recently the field across the road was partially flooded, giving me the chance to get a couple of nifty reflection shots as well:

More action on the wing

Like yesterday, all of today's pics are of birds in motion. I was at Mom and Dad's this time around, so I wasn't nearly as close to my subjects as yesterday. But there is a bit more variety in terms of the birds featured, and at times there's more than one in motion in the same shot. Hopefully it's a decent trade-off.

A Titmouse coming in while a female Junco sits and eats:



That's a White-breasted Nuthatch heading for the mesh feeder:



No idea what this Junco was doing, but I'm grateful she was doing it:



A Chickadee finding an open spot to land:



The female Junco on the suet cage does not look happy with the prospect of sharing it with the Chickadee:



I love how the Hairy Woodpecker on the mesh feeder was completely unperturbed by the comings and goings of the littler birds:



A Titmouse getting some take-out:



Okay, technically this Nuthatch isn't moving. But I liked the shot too much to leave it out:



Luckily, there was a bit of movement in this one, thanks to the Chickadee:



Another Titmouse:



Love how the Chickadee on the left and the Junco at the top both look like missiles bearing down on a target:





A Junco trying to get its balance after landing:



One Junco settles in while another approaches from the right:



Watch that first step...



Yup, the roof was definitely the happening place to be today:



Of course, you didn't think I'd leave Mom and Dad's without a Kaylee shot or two, did you?





And just to shake things up a bit, I'll close today's post with something other than a Kaylee pic. I know, I know—try not to faint: