Winter Birdwatching!

January and February are months here in New England where there is nothing much happening other than occasional weather freakouts and bread and milk stock-ups. It's a time for me when I find it hard to leave the house sometimes, nevermind find photograph opportunities! So I headed to a place where I knew nature wasn't taking a break, Trustom Pond Wildlife Refuge, located in Charlestown, Rhode Island.


I love chubby little chickadees, but they are very hard to photograph! Hardly ever staying in place long enough to click the shutter, they fly and move so fast.


And here comes the sneaky little nuthatch. His feet and huge, perfect for climbing quietly down tree trunks and even hanging upside down.


A fuzzy little woodpecker was making a racket, and that's the only reason I even knew he was hiding here. That, and his bright red hat.


Above is the adorable little titmouse.


And here's another chickadee with a giant sunflower seed, perched on the edge of a birdfeeder near the station.

Phoneography Aerials of the Western U.S.

On our last flight from Los Angeles back to Rhode Island, I was able to sneak some pretty cool photos out the window with my new 'droid. At first, I was a little iffy about "phoneography", thinking it was silly to be taking photos with this phone when I had a digital SLR sitting at home. But it's not always practical to have it handy, and this is truly the next best thing. I don't think photography has to be digitally perfected and have a high megapixel count to be beautiful.


Above, part of the desert and canyon landscape I saw about 20 minutes after leaving LAX. I jokingly refer to it as "Area 51".


More gorgeous, reddish canyons cut by fluffy clouds.


I looked off in the distance of the airplane window to see snow-capped mountains.



And soon we were flying right over them. I am not sure what these were- Rockies? the Sierra Nevada is too far North. Maybe someone out there knows and can tell me. Aren't they beautiful?? I have never seen the Rockies, and our mountains in New England are so entirely different- rounded and slightly faded, golden, blue and green depending on season.


A sunset from 30 thousand feet is quite stunning! It looks like an ocean of sky and clouds with thin ribbons of slowly fading colors....


The last few months for me have been a whirlwind. A lot has happened, wonderful, and terrible, things...things I can't put into words quite yet. But I hope in the near future putting some of the events online might help me get through some of it. I have been blog lurking, and not really commenting, and not feeling like myself lately, so please understand my bloggy friends. I appreciate all of you, and have been touched by your messages on facebook, for my birthday on the fifth! Leaving again- this time for Florida- today, and I can't wait to get the camera out again once I get there. :))

My Own Magical Snow Scene...

I was on my way to an exam today (yay, finals week...) when I thought I saw snow falling outside my car. It must have lasted about ten seconds and then....turned to sprinkles again. Oh well! I made my own magical snow scene so I could enjoy it anyway. I simply used an older photo I had taken of snow during a blizzard and overlayed it on top of the photo of this giant tree, adjusted the blend modes, and dramatized the clouds with some extra color.


Happy week before Christmas...everything during this week just seems to get insane, the shopping, the cooking, the studying for finals...in fact, I'm stalling on studying right now. I hope to see many of your creative and beautiful photos after your own holiday celebration. I've been missing my photography and editing over the last few weeks because of school, but hope to get back to it soon...:)  

Happy Holidays friends. ;)))

Venice Beach in a softer light.

Venice Beach...according to my Frommer's guide some place I had to visit while in L.A., if for no other reason than to people watch the zany surfers, skaters, rollerbladers and salespeople along this stretch of shoreline. But on the day I visited, it was foggy and not so warm, and the crowd was thinned just enough to take some photographs of the softer side of this beautiful length of beach.

Artistic trompe l'oeil on the side of a building.

Looking North down the beach...

Day of the Dead skulls, hand painted, for sale along the boardwalk.

Looking South toward the pier...a slight fog and some extra waves meant the surfers were out.

Lots and lots of friendly pigeons.

Funky sunglasses for sale.

Happy Face kitesurfer and row of seagulls.

Hope you enjoyed visiting Venice Beach with me...you can read more about the Beach and various neighborhoods of Venice, as well as its history, here. :)

To get you in that Christmas mood....


Japanese Maple leaf floating in  a pool....Los Angeles, California


A red dory in the waters of Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts


Apple Tree outside the elementary school... Abbot, Maine, Moosehead Lake region


Make a wish....Chepachet, Rhode Island


The very last colors of the season.....Lee, in the breathtaking Berkshires of Massachusetts

That's it for now....lots of twinkling lights and bokeh and warm socks and fires to come. I'm determined to try to slow down and enjoy December as much as possible. Bought some wool socks, brought in the old java logs for the fireplace, strung some colored lights on the mantel.

Also I bought some awesome lowfat Eggnog from Trader Joe's that is to die for!  I can't even believe it's lowfat, I am very suspicious..hah. (if you go to their website, they actually have some great foodie gift ideas!) What's everyone else doing to savor the season? Please share... xo..M