THE BABIES ARE HERE!

Our baby deer have finally arrived!  Brace yourself for cuteness overload!!!

Little One and both of her babies--we think a boy and a girl.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f/5.6; 1/30sec

Little One and baby girl.  Baby boy is getting his shots.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f/5.6; 1/40sec

Baby boy.  He just got his shots and took it like a champ!

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f/5.6; 1/40sec

Baby boy.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f/5.6; 1/50sec

Baby boy.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f/5.6; 1/40sec

Baby girl.  She just fell while she was trying to figure out how to walk.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f/5.6; 1/60sec

Baby girl.  So tiny!!!

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f/5.6; 1/40sec

Baby girl.  She cuddled right up to Pat!

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f/5.6; 1/30sec

Baby girl.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 18mm; f/3.5; 1/100sec

Old Momma helping out with Baby girl's clean up.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 42.5mm; f/4.5; 1/60sec

Old Momma and Baby girl.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 18mm; f/5.6; 1/40sec

Old Momma and Baby girl.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 42.5mm; f/4.5; 1/60sec

Baby boy after getting his shots.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 23.13mm; f/4.0; 1/100sec

Baby girl trying to figure out how to walk.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 18mm; f/3.5; 1/80sec

Baby boy....a little perspective concerning size.

Taken May 31, 2015; ISO800; 18mm; f/5.0; 1/50sec

Various goodies....

So, this is just a mixture of different photos.  Most are just for fun.  

This first one is one of the chicks.  She's a product of a white easter egger chicken and a black rooster.  The shot is not in focus because she would not stand still.  But, I still liked the shot.  I like the "ears" and how she looks wobbly.  I guess the shot is really a "turd," but I still liked it and decided to keep it.  

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f5.6; 0.5sec

Here, I was trying to get a shot of Little One eating peanuts.  Old Momma was making it very difficult for me.

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 18mm; f4.5; 1/200 sec

This is Butterscotch....or Caramel....or Tiger....we're not really sure what her name is in the end.  Basically, she'll end up being called Momma because she's the one with kittens right now.  She had four and they are cute as could be.  I haven't been able to get pics of them yet and she is still pregnant in this shot.  She was the most skittish growing up.  But, she's warmed up now.

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f5.6; 1/125sec

This is Old Momma.  I love taking close up shots of her.  She's really so beautiful and sweet.  I warm up all of my pics and this one I cropped down a bit and then added some vignetting.

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f7.1; 1/80sec

I had to include this shot because it's almost as if Old Momma was turning around and telling me to come on!  That was my thought when I shot it.  She is so cooperative.

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f5.6; 1/100sec

This is Tom.  He's our tom cat and we can't believe he's still around.  He really should have left this spring.  But, I think he's figured out that he has a good thing going on here and he's decided to stay.  He's pretty cool.  And, I'm of the opinion that so long as they are killing mice and moles, they can stay as long as they want!!

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f7.1; 1/250sec

Prince.  Not a lot to say about him.  I think he was trying to get me to throw the ball for him and I just caught him resting for a moment.

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f5.6; 1/100sec

This is one of the many pieces of farm equipment that we own now and I'm still not really sure that we need.  When I snapped this shot, I got this weird reflection from the sun.  This probably should be thrown out as a "turn" photo, but I really liked it.  So, I decided to keep it.  I cropped it a little, warmed it up, sharpened it just a tad, and called it good.  I really like the reflection.

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 35mm; f6.3; 1/60sec

This is sweet Sophie.  I have been trying for weeks to get a good shot of her with no success.  Finally, I was reading in one of the photo books that it's okay to cut parts off--such as the top of the head, ear, etc.  So, I finally got a good shot and then I cropped it to just this.  I warmed it up and sharpened it a bit.  I increased the contrast to bring out the black in her fur.  I think it turned out pretty good.

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f7.1; 1/200sec

Sharing a meal

Old Momma and Little One generally are not good at sharing.  One is always pushing the other one out of the way.  This bucket is big enough for both of them, but one was constantly pushing the other out of the way the entire time.  This is also the only time that I can sneak up and pet Little One.  Sometimes, she'll tolerate a couple soft pets.  But, most times, she will jump startled and take a few steps away.

Taken May 23, 2015; ISO 800; 35mm; f5.0; 1/160sec

Old Momma is at it again!

I've discovered that Old Momma is a bit of a jerk.  She likes to be pushy and when she doesn't get her way, she won't hesitate to head butt you or stand on your foot.  Yesterday, my intention was to use my tripod and new long lens to practice taking "tack sharp" shots of the deer.  Well, Old Momma was a little leary of the tripod at first.  But, she figured out that it wasn't something to be scared of.....

Taken May 23, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f5.6; 1/250sec

 I was in the shade of the trees and that made it easy to expose correctly.

Taken May 23, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f5.6; 1/250sec

 I think tasting things is just part of her process for determining if something is okay to be around.  I guess she figured this could be some new kind of tree.

Taken May 23, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f4.0; 1/100sec

The lighting in this one was a little more difficult because I had such nice shade on the left side of the shot and glaring sunlight on the right side of the shot.  I tried to remedy the glaring light on the right side while I was in LR.  It was difficult, but I think I was able to tone it down and find the detail of the grass.  Momma's face isn't very sharp in this shot.  She is a bit soft around the edges.

May 23, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f4.0; 1/160sec

And, here is where Momma seems to have decided that the tripod is not a threat to her and that it might just be some new kind of tree that she could eat.  You will notice that Momma is not completely in focus.  She was constantly moving while she was chewing on the leg.  I was trying to be fast about things.  I'm not quick enough yet to adjust the shutter speed in order to freeze the motion.  So, I was still had the camera on auto.  Otherwise, I think the lighting was pretty good and the grass is very detailed.

Ribbit....

This is what Prince is obsessed with now.  He likes to catch them along the edges of the lake and then he throws them around.  I saved this guy.  But, I made him pose for a few pictures before I set him free.  I told him he owed at least that much!!!

Taken May 14, 2015; ISO800; 55mm; f7.1; 1/60sec

Back to basics....

Years ago, I took a basic photography class at BAC (now SWIC).  I remember one of our assignments was to take a self-portrait.  I've been looking around for another photography class and not having any luck finding one.  But, I did find my book from that first class.  So, I thought I'd try to follow along all over again.

This is what I would definitely call a lucky shot.  I was sitting on the couch in the living room and just turned the camera around and shot.  I ended up with two usable shots.  This is one of them.

Taken May 14, 2015.  ISO800; 55mm; f7.1; 1/320sec

I warmed this up and then increased saturation and vibrance.  I cropped a bit of the left side off just so I didn't have to vignette the photo.  I had one stray hair on my forehead and I was able to make that go away.  I think it turned out pretty good considering I didn't expect to get anything at all.

Who's the Boss?

This guy of course.....

Before:

ISO400; 135mm; f/4.5; 1/15sec taken 05/06/2015

After:

Temp +33; Exposure +.48; Contrast +48; Clarity +48; Vibrance +24 

The after shot looks much better in LR.  I'm guessing this is an issue between programs/monitors.  I'm not sure.