2. Daily shots for the dailies forum on Dgrin

Dailies

These images are ones shot to post in the daily community on smugmug. I've been participating in this community for about twelve years. For the first few years, I tried to always post a shot taken either that day or the day before. Now, although I try to shoot everyday, I don't necessarily post the images on the same day they are shot.
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A hummingbird feeds one of its babies; best viewed in the largest sizes.<br /> <br /> Thank you to those of you who commented on my photo of the female cardinal today. I don't think too many of you even saw it, but I am especially grateful to those of you who did find it and comment. It was a gorgeous day in the Phoenix area. After doing some laundry this morning, we spent the afternoon visiting a bunch of galleries in Scottsdale and looking at some terrific art. Enjoy your Sunday!
1925 / 1959

A hummingbird feeds one of its babies; best viewed in the largest sizes.

Thank you to those of you who commented on my photo of the female cardinal today. I don't think too many of you even saw it, but I am especially grateful to those of you who did find it and comment. It was a gorgeous day in the Phoenix area. After doing some laundry this morning, we spent the afternoon visiting a bunch of galleries in Scottsdale and looking at some terrific art. Enjoy your Sunday!

hummingbirdhummerbirdwildlifefowlanimalnaturedesert botanical gardenphoenixarizona

  • Buckeye butterfly photographed at the butterfly house at the Desert Botanical Garden outside Scottsdale, Arizona. I've been in quite a few butterfly houses in different places and this one was the very best in terms of providing really nice photo ops. This is best viewed in the largest sizes.<br /> <br /> Thanks to those of you who commented on my sunset shot at Fool's Hollow Lake. I worked all day on processing a single folder from my trip and still am not quite finished with it. Hope to get it uploaded tomorrow. Hope you have a wonderful Easter Sunday!
  • Fool's Hollow Lake near Show Low, Arizona, at sunset. I took lots of shots of this sunset from different places along the lakeshore. The color started out nice but ended up as the most "fire in the sky" sunset I think I've ever seen. And the colors of the light reflected in the water were the most wonderful pastels. I usually don't post shots of sunsets I take because I think there are so many outstanding sunsets posted on smugmug and mine often don't measure up. Hope you like this one, though.<br /> <br /> Thanks so much for the nice comments on the shot of the restaurant with the umbrellas. Someone asked if it was an HDR. No, it was just a single image. I did apply quite a few effects but I have to admit I don't remember exactly what I did. It probably included some tone mapping and possibly a run through Topaz Adjust. I may have also applied some other filter effects but I'm just not sure. Anyway, hope you enjoy your day.
  • Under the umbrellas in Sedona - shot at Tlaquepaque shopping center.<br /> <br /> We're back home. I've got tons of shots to process, so I'll be at it for days, I expect. Lots of wonderful shots on smugmug today...really enjoyed them!
  • A Russian blue cat; best viewed in the larger sizes. This beautiful cat belongs to one of our fellow campers at the RV park in Ft. McDowell. She was lying in her basket outside...on a leash, of course.<br /> <br /> I was amazed at the response to the hummingbird feeding her babies. I thought it was a pretty nice shot but had no idea it would generate such a response, which I think may be the most comments I've ever gotten in a single day on a daily. Thanks so much to all of you. It made me feel really good to know that so many enjoyed seeing the photo. Some of you asked how I found the nest. Actually, I thought there might be a hummingbird nest at the Desert Botanical Garden, since I saw one there a couple of years ago. So, when I got there, I asked the person selling the tickets if they had any hummer nests around and she pointed this one out...in the tree just behind the booth. It was difficult to photograph because there were many branches around the nest area which tended to block the shot of the birds and nest, but I finally managed to find a spot that wasn't too bad. I used my 400mm lens with a tripod and took quite a lot of shots as the mother came and went several times. The nest was about four or five feet higher than my head and sat right on top of a small branch. The nest was about the size of a fifty cent piece. We have lots of hummers at home but they seem to nest high up in the ponderosas and I've never been able to spot a nest there. I did feel very privileged and excited to be able to shoot the mother and babies.<br /> <br /> Tomorrow we leave the Phoenix area and go to Globe where there is another wonderful botanical garden. I probably won't have internet access from tomorrow until we get home on Thursday, so I hope you all have a great week.
  • A hummingbird feeds one of its babies; best viewed in the largest sizes.<br /> <br /> Thank you to those of you who commented on my photo of the female cardinal today. I don't think too many of you even saw it, but I am especially grateful to those of you who did find it and comment. It was a gorgeous day in the Phoenix area. After doing some laundry this morning, we spent the afternoon visiting a bunch of galleries in Scottsdale and looking at some terrific art. Enjoy your Sunday!
  • Cactus; best viewed in the largest sizes.<br /> <br /> I'm still having difficulty getting my daily featured. I've sent some trouble tickets to smugmug but so far have not gotten a satisfactory explanation. We're having a good time in Phoenix. Went to the Desert Botanical Garden today, where I got some closeup shots of a hummingbird feeding her babies in the nest. Hope to get them processed by tomorrow. I hope some of you actually SEE this shot, but I'm not too confident that you will. Anyway, hope you all enjoy your day and get some great photos --- as you always do!
  • This pair of great blue herons is mating, which began with the male jumping onto the female's back. As he adjusts his position, he flaps his wings (I think, to help maintain his balance). In this shot he is reaching to grab the female's neck in his beak. He will continue to flap his wings all during the process. The female has her wings slightly raised. This shot is best viewed in the largest sizes.<br /> <br /> Thanks for the comments on the macro of the spider and the ant. For the last couple of days, I've experienced the same problem some of the others of you have referred to: difficulty getting my posting to show up in the dailies. Going into the gallery settings and changing the community sharing to "none" and then back to "daily community" seems to have fixed it (I hope).
  • A glimpse into a shop selling glassware. The shop is in the Tlaquepaque shopping center in Sedona, Arizona. The shot is best viewed in the largest sizes. Thought I'd give you a bit of a break from the great blue heron pics. <br /> <br /> Thanks once again for all the comments on the most recent blue heron photo. I'm humbled by all the nice comments. Clearly, I had a wonderful time watching and photographing these birds...or I would not have spent so much time doing it. I sure enjoyed all your photos today, folks. I did not do a lot of processing today. Actually, I spent quite a bit of time lounging by the pool, trying to get some tan on my ugly, white legs. Hope you find a way to enjoy yourself today!
  • A male great blue heron brings a branch for the nest to his mate; best viewed in the largest sizes. I don't know if this was an experienced pair or not. The first two days I watched them, the male had a much tougher time breaking a branch off the tree. By the third day, he was bringing branches much more quickly. The herons do not make the nest out of branches that have fallen. They fly to another treetop and pull and tug until they are able to break a branch off. I watched one heron work for an hour without successfully managing to break a branch. By the third day, this fella had learned that smaller branches were easier to break off and was regularly bringing his mate these smaller branches. The first two days I watched them, he tended to bring larger branches that were usually forked. Then they would have a tough time incorporating those bigger ones into the nest. It seemed to me that the male learned a lot the first couple of days.<br /> <br /> While the male was gone from the nest, the female would stand on the nest, work on the nest or simply nap. However, each time, just before he would return, she would suddenly extend her neck feathers and stretch out her neck looking at something I could not see and, then, there he would be. I learned to get ready to take a shot of him whenever she started assuming that pose. Here, she still has the neck feathers stuck out. Several folks have asked about the crop. The image is cropped but it is not a really big crop. I just cropped out other branches in the tree on both sides. I used a 400mm lens which brings the birds in pretty close. It is an f4.0 lens and I've found I need really good light in order to avoid noise at high shutter speeds, which I use to accommodate the rapid movement of birds. All of the days I photographed these birds (about six - eight hours over three days) were quite bright. On the day this was shot, it was sort of overcast and the sky was whitish-blue. On other days the sky was bright blue --- such as with the shot yesterday. I used this lens all the time except when I was trying to capture flying birds and for that, I found I needed to be further back from the birds in order to deal with their rapid speed. I shot a lot of these at 1/320th of a second. I still have hundreds of these shots to process, but, as I do so I am putting them into a gallery called "Great Blue Herons" which is under the category of "Animals."<br /> <br /> Boy, I just noticed that my other blue heron shot is #1. That sure makes my day. Thanks, everyone, who commented on the shot. And, have a great Sunday!
  • Crystal goblets at the Crate and Barrel; best viewed in the largest sizes. I liked the golden reflections in the glasses that almost look as if they have wine in them.<br /> <br /> We are off this morning for three weeks --- to the Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, Sedona, Phoenix, Globe, and other assorted spots in Arizona and New Mexico. We're hoping to get an early dose of spring and I hope to get lots of photo ops. We won't have any internet access until after March 19, so I won't be able to post or comment. Hopefully, I'll be able to get on after that for a bit. Hope all of you are well and happy while we're gone!
  • Still LIfe with Sunflowers and Apples - I like this shot, but I think the composition may be a bit too static --- the bowl lined up too evenly with the sunflowers. Oh, well.<br /> <br /> Thanks for the many nice comments on the shot from Arches National Park. We went up to Cherry Creek to do a bit of shopping and I took quite a few pics but haven't finished processing them all yet. Hope to have them done tomorrow. Went to my daughter's for dinner and then we all played poker, a humbling experience as everyone won my games than I did, including my nine year old grandson. Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!
  • Orchid buds - shot in my kitchen with a phalenopsis orchid that I've had for several years and which is currently in bloom.<br /> <br /> Lots of inspiration for me today as I looked through the images on smugmug. I've said it before, but the talent here never ceases to amaze me. You all come up with some of the most amazing images. Well, the week is nearly over and I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to resolve problems with my hubby's PC. I think we're giving up tomorrow and getting him a new one --- much as we really hate to spend that much money right now, but he really has to have a PC. Bummer! Hope you have NO computer problems today!
  • A sculpture of a frog made from some type of plastic sits on the windowsill.<br /> <br /> Thanks for your comments on my photo....much appreciated. Hope you enjoy your day!
  • One scene at the Denver Botanic Garden; detail in this shot is best viewed in the largest sizes because there is a lot to see. Can you find the woman painting a picture of the garden? I tried to give this one a sort of impressionistic look. This is one of the recently discovered unprocessed shots from last summer.<br /> <br /> Thanks for the comments on my shot of the snowstorm at the service station. Sieze the joy today!
  • A starling, best viewed in the original size, as it has been severely cropped. After taking the photos at the Rodeo Hall of Fame, we stopped at McDonald's for lunch. This little fella was chirping away in the tree near our car. Although I did not have the best lens on the camera for the job, I snapped a shot anyway and was surprised with the detail I got in such a severely cropped image.<br /> <br /> Thanks to all of you for your wonderful response to my shot of the cowboy on the bucking bronco. I liked the shot, but didn't anticipate so many of you would like it, too. I have to get up early tomorrow to go to some sort of martial dance exercise class. My hubby and I take pilates several times a week, but I've never done anything like this. I'm afraid it may wear me out. It is snowing again a bit this evening. We've had over 22 inches of snow so far this winter, but only a few inches at a time, so we never have a lot on the ground. We have not even shoveled our driveway this year...knock on wood. Hope you have a chance to do something enjoyable and relaxing this weekend!<br /> Incidentally, the Apple store did give me a new mouse. I did not have to be pushy or anything. As soon as they realized it did not work, they said they would replace it.
  • Ride 'em cowboy! - This statue, which is lifesize, or even bigger than lifesize, stands in front of the Rodeo Hall of Fame here in Colorado Springs. I shot this with my 24 - 70mm lens, shooting from ground level. I did not actually have to lie down to get this angle.<br /> <br /> Thanks for your support of my shot of the freestyler. I processed new photos all afternoon until my mouse quit working. This is the third wireless mouse in a year that has quit working with my mac and I cannot really work with the track pad for very long. So, tomorrow, I guess I'll have to go in and get another mouse, unless I can convince the Apple store to replace it for free. It is snowing here a bit and we have to get out really early tomorrow, as Phil has a doctor's exam (just a checkup). Hopefully, the roads won't be too bad. Hope your Friday is a good one!
  • A statue dedicated to firefighters.<br /> <br /> Wow, I was astonished at all the comments on the shot of the horse statue with the starburst. Thanks so much. Enjoy your day!
  • Larger than lifesize sculpture of horses near the Briargate Shopping Center in Colorado Spring; shot lying on the ground looking up with a fish eye lens.<br /> <br /> Thanks for all the comments on the shot at the skateboarding park. It was a busy day and I didn't get around to commenting until late at night, but, as usual, there was lots to inspire and admire. Hope your week gets off to a great start!
  • The moon rises over PF Chang's.<br /> <br /> Thanks to those of you who commented on my snow scene shot. Given there were so many excellent images on smugmug, I feel very appreciative.
  • This is actually one of the horses outside PF Chang's restaurant. It was dusk and the light just turned out really well, I think. The shot was hand held.<br /> <br /> Just finished looking at all the shots on the "most popular" for today and I have to say that Stephen Lee's invisible man is a truly amazing image! Hope your week begins in a grand way!

  • Paul Coco

    on June 2, 2021

    Just wonderful as all the previous comments can attest to. A great find and amazing capture. Memorable image.

  • Calazone's Flics

    on December 14, 2020

    Wonderful tender moment, excellent capture!

  • RBlackburn

    on May 27, 2019

    What a beautiful moment you captured. Nicely done!

  • Greg&Rose Photography

    on October 27, 2018

    Wondeful capture

  • David Holland

    on October 24, 2018

    Great image--makes one wonder--how did you get in position for this shot? WOW!!

  • Izaak Slagt

    on August 15, 2018

    WOW, amazingly beautiful!

  • Ed Genaux's Photography

    on July 23, 2018

    A highly prized capture, to say the least!! A great eye to find them.

  • jimholmquist

    on July 7, 2018

    Fantastic shot and timing!

  • Donna McCommon

    on July 7, 2018

    Outstanding capture.

  • Photoarts

    on July 6, 2018

    Super wild shot.

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