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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Red & White (and out of focus)


Two lovely sights today but the camera rebelled. I bring them to you anyway.

Red
red-headed woodpecker
First is a red-headed woodpecker. Technically, they aren't rare here, but are certainly not often seen. I had work assignments today, and I saw this one about 30 miles east of where I live. I had one chance at a picture, and the camera focused behind the bird. I love their bold colors.

White
full moon
Tonight, coming home from my writers' support group meeting the moon was rising. It isn't full till tomorrow night according to the calendar, but it's sure hard to tell. For some reason, the camera couldn't seem to focus on either the moon or the grass.

I guess it was just one of those unfocused days!



16 comments:

Julia said...

Oh the moon was stunning tonight. *sigh*

Karen and Gerard said...

Too bad your camera didn't know to focus on the woodpecker. At least you tried!

Unknown said...

I have a point and shoot that often rebels but once in awhile it rewards me nicely so we continue our relationship. :-)

I loved your comeback for my microfiction. Thanks for visiting. Take care and God bless!

Akelamalu said...

Nice pictures, did you get one of the woodpecker in focus, that would have been awesome. Thanks for visiting me and taking the time to comment. :)

Secondary Roads said...

I think we all have days like that. Also, I agree that we don't often see that species, but I enjoy the times that I do.

Duxbury Ramblers said...

I call them record shots, they will do until I get a better one.

RNSANE said...

I still like your pictures - though it does go to show that manual override is, sometimes, a good thing. I remember the incredible shots I used to get in the "old days" with my 35mm Kodak
film camera. Of course, I never knew if they turned out till I developed the film!

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

I have never seen a Red headed woodpecker and would treasure that photo even if it is blurry. I like the caption of your entry.
nellie.

Ann said...

I hate that when I can't get the camera to focus on the right thing. You can still tell what that is though so they work :)
I saw that moon last night and had to run for the camera. It looked full to me and it looked huge

jeanlivingsimple said...

I don't care if your camera didn't focus on the RH Woody. It is a fabulous photo! They are on the "Concern List" so this is a great sighting. Thanks for sharing!!!
Happy Full Moon!

Rebecca Mecomber said...

Woohoo! You've got a great shot of bark in that first photo! :-p I hate it when cameras do that!

Rick (Ratty) said...

I like the colors on the woodpecker. This is only the second time I've seen this type.

Unknown said...

I always think that there is something quite special about woodpeckers. The fact that they have there own tool perfectly honed for the job and they patiently peck like a man with a pick digging a hole. Shaping it like a carpenter with the precision of a sculpturer ... it is truly magnificent. They have this as instinct as they do not stay with their parents long enough to be taught the skill. It is just wonderful.

This is the first time that I have ever seen such a woodpecker and although it is not sharp - thank you for putting it onto your blog.

betchai said...

i do have several of those "unfocused" days, both literally and figuratively. i believe the images wanted to send us some messages :)

Ferd said...

As a taker of bird pictures, I can relate to the difficulty focusing on the subject. I have taken a lot of pictures with branches and leaves in perfect focus! LOL
There are many times I have to turn off the autofocus, but then it's easy to miss the shot as birds are flighty!

Still, how cool to see a red-headed, and the moon/sky/branch photo was a lovely composition. I hope you have the opportunity to take that same shot again.

Sharkbytes said...

Julia- it was SO bright. I think that was part of the camera's problem. Of course tonight it's all cloudy.

Karen- at least this pic has the bird actually in it. I have a lot of "empty" shots.

Judy- thanks for visiting. I also did a microfiction on my author blog

Akelamalu- maybe I'll get another chance some time.

Chuck- I saw a lot of them as a child, maybe it was a regional thing

Carol- yup... at least I'll know when I saw it.

Carmen- I haven't really gotten the hang of the manual settings on this camera. It usually gets what I want if the background isn't too busy. I think I just had to click this off too quickly.

Hi Nellie- I do treasure seeing them. They are just gorgeous.

Ann- we are still getting some effect from the moon being a little closer to earth. I'm hopeful that tomorrow night will be clear.

Jean- not sure they are on any lists here in MI, but the seem to me to be seen less often

Rebecca- I have many great shots of bark, grass, branches I don't want or rocks when I want the branches!

Ratty- and that is a testimony to the frequency of spotting this one... they are around, but even people like you and I who are outside a lot don't see them often.

Polly- I sure hope that I'll be able to get a good picture one of these days. That would be great to share!

betchai- Hopefully it just wanted to get out of my system.

Ferd- I love that grass/moon combo, so I too really hope I can try it again. It's cloudy tonight, but tomorrow might be clear.