Don't Forget.......

[John H]

......To Be Awesome.

I saw that on a bus on the way home from fishing. The front message board on the bus said Don't Forget. I waited for it to change so I could see what it was that was so important they thought I needed to be reminded. I was expecting it to say get your Real ID or get your flu shot or pay your taxes or some depressing crap like that. I was pleasantly surprised by the uplifting reminder to be awesome and thought it would make a good post title.

I was also pleasantly surprised by today's bass bite. Who knows why they bite but today they did. I fished the shadiest shoreline on the lake and stretched the bite out until noon. After that nada so I went home. Still no bait balls seen. Maybe all the shad died in some sort of unfortunate famine. I hope not. I fished Oroville last week. I thought it was going to be great, and I would get some cool fish pics and make a nifty post but that did not happen. I might try it again in a couple of weeks. I will have to give up my Berryessa seal to go there so I will need to sure that is a good move. I don't want to trade my Berryessa seal for a skunk at Oroville

I have a couple of fish pictures from today and some wildlife shots I got at Putah Creek a couple of weeks ago. That is the story. Be awesome!



Mallard Dunking his head.


Mallard stretching out.


Beautiful tree swallow squawking at me. I am not sure what the name for that blue color is, but I like it.


Fawn hiding in the grass. I had seen him in the area on a prior trip and was walking around slowly looking for him. I was five feet from him and did not see him. He held his spot until I was that close then jumped up and ran to hide in some other grass where I took this picture.


While I was taking the fawn picture, I heard this otter coming. I had seen him a couple of times on other trips but had not gotten a picture. One trip he swam by me and did not see me, so I called him in with a squeaking noise. He turned around, came back and swam to the bank 10 feet from me before he spotted me. I think they have bad eyesight.


Ash throated flycatcher I called in with my phone.


Pretty good early morning spotted bass.


I took this for the view across the lake. Beautiful day with spring clouds and glassy water.

[Vaughn Willett]

John,

Great color in those photos. And super sharp. Very nice!

Vaughn

[Rich Morrison]

I’m continually in awe of your photos John. Just so fantastic. Keep them coming.

[DLJeff]

Along those same lines I saw this bumper sticker years ago and it's stuck with me ever since. It said "Don't die wondering." So essentially, don't let life pass you by wondering about something.

Nice ash throated flycatcher photo. It's not easy to get that clear "throat" color and as you know, there are so many flycatchers that look so similar. Almost as bad as the vireos.

A buddy and I got out on a little local lake in the Ochoco's last week and found a few eating leeches and then in the afternoon they switch on to caddis. The only bad part was the gate to the campground was still locked so we had to schlep all our gear down the hill to the lake and then back UP the hill after paddling around all day.

[John H]

Vaughn - I love color. When I am editing the photos it is kind of like adding sugar to get the taste just right. A little tastes good but too much and it gets over sweet. Most important is you want it to look real, like what you saw, but also pleasing colors.

Thanks, Rich. I am glad you like them.

DL - That looks like fun small lake. Around here the only flycatcher I have seen is the ash throated so that makes it easy. Without my Merlin sound ID I would have a hard time figuring out any of the birds. I am in Oregon now. Maybe a tufted puffin or a sanderling?

[RoosterHunter]

What mm lense are you using on what camera body. I thought about charging up my old Canon or maybe buying a Sony Since I'm not doing Baja anymore I have more time to do some photography. My daughter is big into photography, she said it rubbed off me. She's has freelance for the SF paper and do portrait photography along with landscape and wildlife photography. Now she's into shooting food setups with all the flood and strobe lighting.
Back when I attended the School of Photography in SB, before I got drafted I learned mainly film and developing. I also used a 8x10 bellows camera and took the Ansel Adams Yosemite classes. I shot weddings and developed all my film in color, printed on a Besler 20C color printer. I was really into it back them. I resisted the the digital age for a long time. I still shot B&W film every now and then. Looking at your photography makes me want to get back too it

[John H]

I have had a lightweight 500 for a few years. In March I got a 600 with a built in teleconverter that can take it up to 840. It is heavy and a lot of work to haul around but gets good pictures. In a year or so I will know if it was a smart upgrade for me. So far I like the pictures but I may decide it is not worth the extra effort. We’ll see. It is interesting to hear about your photo experience and what your daughter is doing. My photo skills are not great but I am getting good at sneaking up on my subjects which is at least half the game.