The eye! Get the eye!

 

As I get more comfortable with layers and masks in Photoshop CS6 (meaning that I don’t need alcohol to get me through a Photoshop session), I can go back to many of my bird pictures to see if I can make something decent out of them.

Here are four that I worked with this morning using adjustment layers and masks:

Unknown bird

 

Rock pigeon (Columba livia)

 

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

 

One thing that I have learned since January when I started birding again, after a 35-year sabbatical, is to focus on the eye of the bird.

Previously I thought that if you just focus on the bird’s body, everything else will turn out alright. I mean, the eye and the body are just inches apart, so what’s the problem?

The problem is that these cameras really do know what they are doing, but it still takes a human being to tell them what to do. Look at the second picture, the one of the rock pigeon. Can you tell where I focused? It should be easy to see that it wasn’t the eye.

I would really have loved that picture if the eye had been the focal point. As it is, well, it’s a picture of a rock pigeon for my collection, reminding me that I still need a great picture of a rock pigeon eating, drinking, or flying.

 

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San Diego shorebird diversity

 

After completing my home inspection report this morning, I went out to the shoreline to see what birds were waking up with the dawn. Following is what I found.

California gulls fighting for food

 

Brown pelican off to chase the fishing boats

 

Gull diving for breakfast

 

Geese waiting for SeaWorld to open

 

Great egret fishing for breakfast

 

Great blue heron scouring the docks for leftover fish

 

Black-crowned night heron wondering where the night’s going 

 

Close-up of the black-crowned night heron

 

Juvenile black-crowned night heron practicing flying
(one of the parents is in the two pictures above)

 

Red-shouldered hawk (?) on a light pole 

 

Osprey watching over his territory

 

Nesting osprey (young in nest at far right)

 

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Santa Catalina Island — Synchronized birding

This post is dedicated to Erika Rogers, a real estate agent with Stout & Associates Realty in St. George, Utah. I have known Erika for several years through a real estate professional networking site and highly recommend her for anyone buying or selling a home in the St. George, Utah, area. If she can’t help you with your specific real estate needs, I know she can refer you to someone (almost) as good as she is.

Dedications are my way of trying to provide a little extra Google juice for people I have come to know and respect over the years.

Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos

On my birthday trip last Sunday to Santa Catalina Island, my main goal was to see some American bison, more popularly known as buffalo. They are on Santa Catalina Island courtesy of William Wrigley Sr. of chewing gum and Chicago Cubs fame.

I failed.

However, I did see a lot of wildlife which I’ll share in my next few posts.

Today I’ll introduce you to synchronized birding. First….

Synchronized sitting, presented by two California gulls:

Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos

Synchronized standing, presented by the same two California gulls:

Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos

Synchronized swimming, presented by two brown pelicans:

Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos

I tried to get two California gulls swimming together but had to settle for the brown pelican substitutes.

By the way, the California gull is the state bird of Utah, but I’m pretty sure Erika Rogers, to whom this post is dedicated, knows that.

Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos