Picture-A-Week 2021 - Week 43

[pierces]

Pictures taken between Monday, October 18 and Sunday, October 24.

 

I know it's football season, but you need to get out and take some pictures!

 

Rules: See above

That's it. This isn't a contest.

All photos taken this week are welcome (not just cruising).

Prizes will not be awarded. Discovering the joy of photography is the prize.

The idea is to get folks out using their cameras for more than vacations and toddler birthdays.

Post one. Post many. Up to you.

Have fun with your camera and share your fun with others!

[Oviedo32765]

They are coming for you!

 

 

 

 

 

[Docker123]

Perhaps mine will have a relationship with Oviedo32765's offering.

 

There is a style of housing architecture in Australia from the early 20th called Federation Style. Australia's Federation was 1/1/1901.

 

A feature of the houses is the use of gargoyles on the roof. This house has been undergoing a big renovation, with new gargoyles added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pierces]

Grandchild number seven actually arrived last Saturday, but some complications and Covid rules at the hospital delayed our introduction until this week. The hour and a half drive through LA traffic was a grim reminder of how wonderful telecommuting is, but totally worth it. Little Mr. Kai was, well...little. 7 lbs. 14 oz and 20” long isn’t a small baby, but it’s been five years since the last one and I had forgotten the impact of seeing an actual human that is the size and weight of a miniature dachshund. He isn’t a fussy baby and despite the typical physical signs of his forcible entry into the outside world, he is quite a handsome young man. Of course, I did my Grandfather-with-a-camera thing and recorded our meeting. Well met, young Kai. Well met.

 

Hello, Kai!

 

 

 

 

Dave

[ski ww]

Congratulation on grand child #7. As a grand father of 6 and a great grand father of 5 I know the feeling well, enjoy many years of happiness.

[PurpleHays]

Grandparenting is the best thing ever! I have two bio and five step grands for a total of seven wonderful offspring. Enjoy him!

[boeckli]

[zackiedawg]

This past weekend, I was faced with a forecast on Saturday of 80% chance of rain, likely 2-4 inches...and Sunday 80% chance of rain with flood watches up.  I was thinking the chances of getting out to the wetlands were thin - since I normally go in the afternoon when the rains were predicted to be at their heaviest.  I told myself if I randomly woke up sometime early in the morning (as I sometimes do), I'd glance at the weather forecast and see where the rains were - if there was a hole, I'd run out early to try to get some shooting in - if not, I'd just go back to sleep.  Well I woke around 6:15am, still dark out, and the weather radar showed there was no large-scale storm pending - just some light drifting showers...I decided I'd actually head out for a morning shoot, which I do about once every 3 years.  I drove out to the wetlands in darkness, went walking out in darkness (a new experience, hearing animals but not seeing them...a little creepy to be honest!).  The sunrise was due around 7:25am, but storms to the east were keeping the sun completely hidden - just a hint of grey light illuminating heavy have and fog, while light rain drizzled down...making me wonder just why I decided to do this.

 

A very good answer was provided to me right at sunrise, when I spotted this bobcat emerging onto the levee about 360 feet away:

 

I rarely see bobcats, let alone getting to photograph them - my last shots were in 2013.  So I was excited despite the poor light, rain, and ISO 6400...plus extreme distance.  The cat disappeared into the grasses, and I waited a bit to see if it returned...20 minutes later, it popped out of the grasses 100 feet closer to me, about 250 feet away - much clearer at ISO 4,000 with 100 feet less rain and haze to shoot through:

 

That was a good encounter - if it ended there, I'd have still been happy.  But then 5 minutes later, the cat started walking up the left side of the levee, right towards me.  And it kept walking, stalking low, and I got one more shot when the cat was just 20 feet away and closing, heading directly at me:

 

 

I wasn't able to get another shot as she ran right past me, 5 feet away, darting quickly past and running off down the levee in the opposite direction.  Great encounter!  10 minutes later, the skies opened and Noah's-Ark-floating rains came down.  Not a light shower or a steady rain, but an epic, 5-inch-an-hour downpour.  I had a rain sleeve for the camera and lens, and it was getting a workout...I had a tiny compact umbrella for myself, but it was pointless - it was too small to cover the rains coming sideways, and the rain was so hard it drenched the umbrella fabric to the point it was raining INSIDE the umbrella.  I managed to walk 1/2 mile to the nature center building near the entrance, and tried to dry off on the back deck while photographing this anhinga with his fish catch - the anhinga didn't mind the rain one bit:

 

Sitting on the deck of the nature center, I was joined by this ribbon snake who also wanted to get out of the rain.  He decided to nestle up right beside me, 5 feet away, and sit on the rail I was leaning on - he really didn't seem to be bothered by my presence at all:

 

I headed home when the rains lightened enough to get to my car - running through knee deep water to get to the parking lot.  That day was done.  Or not...that afternoon, when the rains were supposed to be the worst...the skies seemed to clear.  I had changed and dried off, and decided I'd head back to the wetlands for one more walkaround.  No bobcats on the second run, but I was rewarded by the lovely barred owl, who was sitting surprisingly out in the open just chilling:

 

He was sitting just 10 feet away from me, and didn't seem to care at all.  He was casually looking around for potential prey:

 

A big flash of motion made me think he was about to fly off - but it was just a nice big stretch of the wings, to stay limber after sitting still so long:

 

Ended up being a heck of a day!