nature

by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Spent part of last week on vacation at the beach, Depoe Bay, Oregon, one of my favorite spots on the planet. In the quest to get there we ended up in two traffic jams, so a stop at the Oregon State Park Van Duzer Corridor rest stop in the Coast Range was a great idea and a necessity.

: Photo 1 – scene setting shot. Photojournalism rule – always make sure you get an overview picture.

I love to visit the stream which runs through the trees by the picnic tables, away from the rest stop building. The sound of the gurgling water is so relaxing. Even with low water at this time of year.

There are two rest stops, one North and on South. On on the way back we always check the river on the South side too, since it runs deeper than the North side stream.

I’ve been travelling this road for 35 plus years so I must have hundreds of photos of this stream. Thought it might be fun to show you the series of photos I took that day, in order. Kinda.

Photography, like writing, requires practice. What better fun for us shutter bugs than to take pictures outside by a forest brook? It was late in the afternoon so the light was still bright, so the green in the left side of photo one fades by being bleached out by the sun.

Next up I decided to zoom in and focus on the larger rock in the stream bed in photo three. Normally the water is deep here any other time of the year, so this was an opportunity to use the rock as a focal point in the lower left of the photo.

Photo 3 - yes I skipped two. I put the rock in the upper third on pic 2, then changed my mind and put it in the lower third to draw in the eye. Better. — Photo 3 – yes I skipped two. I put the rock in the upper third on pic 2, then changed my mind and put it in the lower third to draw in the eye. Better.

Close ups are good, but I also wanted to see what a mid-range photo would look like so I pulled back the zoom and framed shot five. Liked the filtered light coming through the trees and into the water and the better contrast between the water, rocks and trees.

So the last picture is my favorite of the five I shot in this series. I checked the times on the photos and I shot them all in two minutes.

The great thing about digital cameras is you’ve always got pixels to spare; as long as you carry an extra charged battery and memory card.

Spent part of the trip trying to use my new Canon PowerShot Elph 340 HS camera. Somehow managed to shoot video when I hadn’t planned on it, so more time is needed with that camera. It has a much longer zoom and greater pixels, the better to get harbor seal close-ups!

These stream photos were shot with my trusty old Canon PowerShot Elph SD800 IS. It’s so hard to give up an old reliable and move onto the next one. I’m talking about cameras here, by the way, just to be clear.

Have you played with your camera today?

: Picture 5 and my favorite. I can count, I just skipped one more photo in between.

by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Spent Sunday putting up a few holiday decorations and getting the Christmas tree up. Each year I decide whether to go all out or pace myself. This year is a simple but classy holiday decorating agenda. In the process of putting up the three fake wreaths on my front porch, I spied an industrious woodpecker getting snacks from the tree across from my porch bannister.

Mr. red feathered woodpecker on the left side of the tree. See, he's only a couple feet off the ground! — Mr. red feathered woodpecker on the left side of the tree. See, he’s only a couple feet off the ground!

This tenacious little bird, all decked out in his holiday red-head feathers, did not leave the tree. When a car came flying by, he scurried to the other side of the tree trunk.

When the boy walking his dog strolled by, the bird circled again so he was hidden from view. I got the camera and began taking pictures of him to see how long he would last. Then I went back to work.

I put up the other two wreaths, which involves me climbing up on my three-step stool and then getting on my railing and popping the wire backs of the wreaths into the hooks.

Still able to do it and haven’t fallen in the bushes, yet. When I finished Mr. Red Bird was still eating and enjoying his obviously tasty finds on the tree.

Digging in for snacks on the right side of the tree.

For all I know he’s still out there, since he never went away and kept pecking for insects.

Seems to me this is a perfect plan for getting through the holidays; focus on food and ignore the rest of the distractions or move out of the area if things get too noisy or bothersome.

Several people walked by the tree with the bird and never saw him, right there in front of them.

Take time during the holidays to enjoy the simple things. Slow down and see if you find a holiday decorated visitor in your yard or area park. Who knows who might be Santa’s helper this time of year.

Happy Holidays!

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