More Bloopers

Posted by dkrashb on April 10, 2013

I actually kind of like this one

Who doesn’t love bloopers? I felt like it was time to pull out some of my favorite bloopers again (aka, I didn’t have any new photos for today’s post). As always, there are recurring themes amongst my bloopers.

Let’s start with the “Oops! Did I press the shutter button?” theme. This occurs in two distinct ways, dependent on whether I’m shooting with my iPhone or my DSLR. With my iPhone, different screen-tapping behaviors often get me.

For example, when you double-tap the “viewfinder” in Hipstamatic, it becomes full screen, making it easier to see what you’re shooting. In the Camera! app, if you touch the screen with one finger, it sets the focus and if you touch the screen with a second finger, it sets the exposure. To confound it all, most apps also take a picture when you single-tap the screen.

Nice keyboard

This was the article (on the left side) that got me started with the Hipstamatic app

You can probably guess what happens. Curiously, I seem to be mostly likely to mis-tap when I have my laptop in my lap. I don’t know why I would be tapping my iPhone screen while I’m working at my laptop, but I have a surprising number of random shots of my laptop. My second favorite mis-fire subject seems to be the ground.

I might be able to get away with pretending I took this one on purpose

Carpet

More carpet

By comparison, I have happy shutter finger issues when carrying my DSLR. This results in strange shots of the ground (usually out of focus) or other random objects in the frame when I accidentally depress the shutter button. Of course, these are more fun than when the lens cap is still on.

The next common blooper theme, which I will spare you a deluge of photos of, but I have plenty, is the “Oops, there’s a stranger in my frame!” theme. When we’re at a popular place for tourists, it’s a little hard to manipulate every scene to eliminate all people. But, I get a little frustrated sometimes when I actually forget I’m in a public place and I take so much time getting ready to take my shot that I fail to notice people walking into my shot until the shutter has gone off.

Where did the cyclists come from?

The next theme we’ll call “Oh shoot! The lighting was terrible!” While lighting is often terrible, a lot of time exposing for the thing you most want to be visible will solve at least the major issue of ending up with a too-dark subject that looks like a silhouette. Then there’s the approach of lighting a too-dark subject by using a handy-dandy tool like a flash light. Sometimes this works OK, but probably not when the subject is too far away for the focal length you have to shoot with and the flashlight is donned by a young tour guide who has little photography experience.

I know Pat is in this photo somewhere

With a macro lens and some better lighting, this would have been a cool shot

Finally, we have the “Darn it, hold still!” theme where uncooperative subjects decide to leave at inopportune moments, hide behind less interesting subjects, or move faster than expected and the camera’s autofocus can’t keep up.

Momma goat is not quite as long as her tiny rear legs suggest

Tisen doesn’t really like it when I try to play with his toys

Cody out flew my autofocus

Fishing Along the Riverfront

Posted by dkrashb on April 9, 2013

Tisen looks so happy rolling in the grass

If I am guilty of getting carried away with my new fisheye lens for my iPhone camera, please forgive me. It’s pretty darn fun. And combining fisheye with Hipstamatic is particularly fun–the square format works well with the round shape of the image created by the fisheye attachment. However, I do like the increased bulging effect of the fisheye lens in the rectangular format.

Tisen rolling Hipstamatic Tintype Style

The biggest problem with the rectangular format is that the lens must be perfectly centered over the built-in lens or I get uneven roundness and even wide black edges in some cases when the fisheye attachment gets bumped off center (which seems to happen frequently).

This problem is compounded by the inability to see the screen to tell that the lens attachment isn’t centered. This results in images like this one:

Oops–the fisheye adapter got bumped

By comparison, the Hipstamatic version (which is really the equivalent of a cropped image) is zoomed in far enough that the curved edges do not show. Even when the lens is well off-center like the one above:

Same shot with Hipstamatic

Of course, cropping the first image would eliminate the issue. For some reason, I just really like the bubble effect. I guess if I’m going to go fisheye, I want it to be obvious.

I really like the fisheye effect for putting Tisen into an image that includes local landmarks across the horizon. While I had fun with this in the images posted yesterday, I especially like the images of Tisen rolling in the grass in the foreground with the Market Street Bridge (and glimpses of Walnut Street Bridge) in the background.

Tisen on the steps is also cute, but then, I have a hard time not loving any picture of Tisen.

Looking through the railing

For those of you who are Tisen fans, you may notice that he is not carrying any of his beloved toys in these images. However, if you happen to look back at yesterday’s post very carefully, you might notice that Tisen has his armadillo/opossum toy with him in those images. Those images were shot on the same walk as today’s.

Tisen on the steps old style

This is a sign of SPRING! Finally!

As the weather gets warmer, Tisen’s interest in walking around with a furry toy stuck to his tongue decreases. He still insists on grabbing a toy before we go out the door, but by the time we get less than halfway through the walk, he’s ready for me to take over carrying it.

I, however, do not employ the same method of carrying his toy that he does. I feel foolish enough walking around the park with a stuffed animal. I’m fairly certain people who only see us in warm weather think I have some sort of phobia that causes me to carry stuffed animals everywhere I go–one more thing to blame on the dog.

No Tisen in this one, but I like the extra curve of the sculpture

Perhaps I should shoot Tisen’s toys with the fisheye? Why do I suddenly see a future of retaking every shot I’ve ever taken with a fisheye lens now?

And, yes, I shot it with Hipstamatic as well

Fisheye

Posted by dkrashb on April 8, 2013

Multiplying the effects–Hipstamatic Tintype with Fisheye lens attachment!

I have been on a new mission: to learn how to get better photos out of my iPhone. As those of you who visit my blog often have undoubtedly seen, this led to getting addicted to the Tintype-like settings in Hipstamatic followed by a shooting spree of many of the same landmarks I’ve already shot far too many times before.

Similar to first image, but shot with the Camera! app instead of Hipstamatic

Well, now I have a new toy. So, I’m on a whole new spree. I succumbed to the temptation of taking a simple, no-need-to-carry-anything-extra device for photography, and added stuff that complicates it and requires carrying more stuff. However, this is the stuff:

The three-lens set

Perhaps it’s not obvious from this image, but the size of these little lenses are about the diameter of a quarter. One acts like a 2x teleconverter for the iPhone (or any smart phone) camera lens, making images appear 2x closer than they appear through the phone lens by itself. A second provides both wide angle views and (by unscrewing part of it) macro capabilities. The third creates a fisheye effect.

Fisheye Tisen using Camera! app on iPhone

Nearly the same image but with Hipstamatic app and Tintype effects

I have often wanted to try a fisheye lens. There are just times when fisheye looks so darn cool. However, no matter how much I wanted to give it a try, with prices ranging from $600-$1600, I just felt like it was more than I wanted to spend for something I wasn’t likely to use all that frequently.

In contrast, the fisheye attachment for the iPhone would have been $20 if I’d bought it by itself and was closer to $15 because I bought the 3-lens kit. Now, of course, I’m not going to get the same quality of images shooting with an iPhone with a $15 attachment stuck over the lens, but playing with what fisheye will do allows me to find out whether it is something I will use regularly or not with very little expense.

Tisen heading down the path

The lens attaches to the phone by sticking a magnetized washer that fits around the built-in lens. Once the magnet is adhered, the lens itself sticks to the magnet. Or, it could be the other way around–the magnet might be in the lens. In any case, it’s a simple but not foolproof way to attach the lens. The magnet is not strong enough to keep the lens from moving around when bumped. Because the screen is hard to see in bright sunlight, it’s hard to tell if the lens is no longer properly centered. Other than that, it’s a pretty ingenious system.

I am really digging how much of the foreground and background can be fit into a single image with the fisheye effect. I love being able to put Tisen in the foreground (at the end of a 4 ft leash) and still have the skyline in the background. The only problem with the extreme wide angle of fisheye is the tendency to end up with your feet in the image.

Looking down into a courtyard

Caverns and Tripods

Posted by dkrashb on April 7, 2013

One of my favorite shots of formations in the cave

Caves are dark. Really dark. In fact, the darkest places on earth. They are one of the few places you can go where no light penetrates. Of course, most cave tours don’t let you experience total darkness. This would be a problem trying to make your way through the narrow, rocky path with slippery spots, tripping hazards, and so many places to hit your head that the guide has special names for the worst of them.

Sabre Tooth Tiger–definitely could have used a tripod

But, some cave tours do turn off the lights for a moment so you can experience what total darkness is really like. The expression “can’t see your hand in front of your face” came from cavers. It is absolutely true when you are in total darkness–you have to imagine your hand is where you think it is because there is no visual confirmation.

The Iguana formation

Obviously, just about anything that contains the root “photo” in it doesn’t work in total darkness–photosynthesis, a photodiode, photoreactions, and certainly not photography.

After all, “photo” means light and when we’re talking about total darkness, we’re talking about rendering anything based on light useless. Our own eyes as well as our cameras are unable to see anything in total darkness.

Mini-stalagtites growing from the ceiling

That said, I wasn’t trying to shoot in total darkness. I was trying to shoot in the dim lights provided on the tour. This isn’t much light. There are a few choices to make in these conditions:

Crank up the ISO setting as high as is tolerable.
Sacrifice depth of field for a larger aperture opening to allow more light in.
Use a flash.
Use long exposures and set the camera on a tripod for sharpness.

Waterfall formation

I decided against choice 4. While I could have asked to see if bringing along a tripod would be a problem, I felt there was too much risk of damaging formations and/or tripping over them if I were trying to carry my big, bulky tripod through the cave.

I brought a flash unit, but decided against using it because, in part, of the un-predictability of flash bouncing off strange shapes and formations. Plus, I only had one flash and it was going to have to be on my camera. I was confident I would not get the kind of lighting I needed from that.

Big room view

I did open up the aperture a bit (from f/22 to f/16) to get a slightly faster shutter speed even if meant slightly less depth of field. I definitely cranked up the ISO setting. However, I drew the line at 8000 ISO. Higher ISO settings get too noisy for my tastes, especially when the scene is quite dark.

This meant shutter speeds as slow as ⅖ of a second. That may sound like barely an instant, but it’s actually quite challenging to hold a camera perfectly still that long. In the end, I was mostly pleased with the images I got, but all would have benefitted from a tripod.

Raccoon Mountain Caverns

Posted by dkrashb on April 6, 2013

A highly reflective pool below cave formations

As unbelievable as this may seem, there is a place within 15 minutes of Chattanooga that we haven’t been to before. It’s called Raccoon Mountain. There is the Raccoon Mountain Caverns part of Raccoon Mountain, a tourist attraction advertised by a multitude of billboards.

Outside the gift shop, an old cable car did not instill confidence

Then, there is the Raccoon Mountain Reservoir part of Raccoon Mountain. While I’m anxious to hike in the Reservoir part of the mountain, it was a rainy Sunday and my husband is still struggling with stress injuries in his feet, so, it was a good day to go discover the caverns part of the mountain.

A city of stalagmites

We headed out with the Tom-Tom app running on my iPhone since we weren’t sure how to get there. However, given that we knew we needed to take interstate 24 towards Nashville and once on 24, there was a billboard telling us where to turn every 100 yards or so, using the GPS was probably overkill.

We made it there without a single wrong turn. When we pulled into the drive, there were two directions to go: one was to the campgrounds while the other was toward the gift shop. The “campgrounds” reminded me of my very first “camping” trip as an adult. I went with a group of friends who had to explain to me, first of all, that we would be parking next to the tent. I had visions of us backpacking into the woods, so this notion of sleeping where we would park was somewhat disappointing. However, I still pictured us with a secluded camping site next to our parking spot. When they started loading up their truck with coolers and junk food and cases of beer, I grew suspicious that we were not going to enjoy the outdoors at all.

In fact, we paid for a tiny little campsite that had just enough space for the truck and two tents next to a fire ring and a picnic table. The site was so narrow, there was less than 3 feet between our tent and our neighbors’ tents on either side. There was little shade, no privacy, and I really thought we would have had a better time camping out in our friends’ backyard where we’d have had far more privacy and indoor plumbing much more conveniently located.

While the campgrounds made me worry about what the caverns were going to be like, there was no need to panic. The caverns were well maintained, respected as a natural artifact, and lighted with natural lights (I don’t know why, but I’m just not a fan of colored lights in natural caves).

Stalagmites in silhouette loom in the background

The 45 minute tour we took covered only about ⅓ of a mile in the largest open area. They also offer “wild” cave tours that involve dragging oneself through mud and tunnels and the like. I’ve done that once in my life, but that’s a long story. Maybe some other day we’ll come back to experience the less traveled part of the caves.

The lower right area is just big enough for a raccoon den

Hip Art

Posted by dkrashb on April 5, 2013

We arrived after the yoga class had already started

One of the unintended consequences of playing more with my iPhone photo capabilities is that I sometimes lose track of what photos I’ve taken. Take today’s selection, for example. When I shoot with my DSLR, I have to pull out my CF card, put it into a card reader, and plug it into the computer to download the images. By comparison, photos on my iPhone just magically appear on my computer without me doing anything. It’s so magical that I don’t always remember to go look for the photos.

Not everyone participated in yoga–or maybe they did?

So, today, when I discovered these Hipstomatic images from two weekends ago when my brother and sister-in-law were visiting, it was like finding a gift hidden in the back of a closet.

The continuation of the sculptures down the hillside

The continuation of the garden down the hillside

The Bluff View Art District is a lovely little area on top of the bluff across the Tennessee River. It’s a collection of historical houses turned into bed and breakfasts, restaurants, and a bakery and coffee roasting company. The entire district is rumored to be owned by one person. Although, the district is only one small square, we’re talking at least 6 or so large mansions that have been renovated and turned into successful businesses.

View down the hillside overlooking Veteran’s Bridge

The first time Pat and I came to Chattanooga, we stayed in one of the bed and breakfasts. The one we were in looks over the cliff and offers spectacular views from the patio and bocci courts.

It’s a good thing this hang glider can never take off–that wing won’t get him very far

However, it was January, so we didn’t really spend a lot of time on the courtyard. The other part of the Bluff View Art District we missed was the sculpture garden. It’s a beautiful garden that’s deceptive in size–from the street, you assume it is only a strip of grass. But once you enter the garden, you see that it rolls down the hill further than is visible from the road.

The sculpture of fish normally has water flowing over it, but it was cool looking with the water off, too

While I probably wouldn’t drive hours out of my way to see the sculpture garden, I thought it was worth taking my brother and sister-in-law across the bridge to check it out before they headed home. Given the weather was rainy and dreary, we decided to drive over.

Another view of the physics-challenged hang glider–if this is Icarus, it explains a lot

We made our way slowly through the garden, me exercising my Histamatic app thoroughly along the way. Many sculptures had been added since the last time I’d been in the sculpture garden. It was really nice.

Sometimes, Hipstamatic randomly changes the lens/film on me–I kind of liked this though

As we turned a corner to enter a stone patio area, a smiling young woman looked at us and said, “I just got engaged!!!” She was so excited, I almost laughed out loud. I realized she probably wouldn’t understand the humor. I don’t mean to sound jaded, but let’s face it, getting engaged is the easiest part of being married.

My brother and sister-in-law–looking as happy as ever

We got caught in her enthusiasm and took pictures of the two of them together with their camera. The boyfriend had managed to pull off the engagement as a big surprise. It seemed like they were going to get off to a great start.

Tisen doesn’t quite fit in the frame when I attempt an aerial view

Another Turn for Cayce

Posted by dkrashb on April 4, 2013

A split second of stillness while Cayce nibbles at the glove

The last, but not least, bird we exercised on Saturday was Cayce. Cayce the wonder vulture. I got to witness a new side to Cayce. Cayce’s next door neighbors, a pair of Peregrine Falcons, are currently nesting. Wings to Soar is hoping to have their first fledglings to release to the wild as a result. This is an exciting extension of their program from education to restoration. Peregrine Falcons were a critically endangered species that has, through captive breeding and release programs, been removed from the endangered list.

However, during nesting, the falcons are fed through a hatch in the side of their enclosure that opens into a shelf up where the birds nest. To reach the hatch, John and Dale have a ladder set up outside the enclosure. When we took Cayce around the Peregrine Falcon’s enclosure, Cayce clearly thought that ladder was the boogie man. Or whatever Black Vultures might be terrified of. She jumped straight up in the air when she saw the ladder and refused to go past it.

Checking out the surroundings, Cayce is still nervous about where the ladder was

Checking out the surroundings, Cayce seems more relaxed with all her neck feathers fluffed

I tried taking Cayce back around the corner while Dale moved the ladder. Then we tried to come back around. I thought Cayce was following me, but as soon as I got passed the corner, she jumped straight up in the air again and made an attempt to land on a tree.

Fortunately, as soon as Dale came back into sight, she hopped back down and seemed a little more relaxed. We ended up not being able to fly Cayce, but she did hop up and down from our gloves and run along the ground between us. She just wasn’t up for flying.

One of the challenges of shooting Cayce in flight is the length of her wings. She has such a long wingspan that the tips of her wings are always a blur in flying shots. While I don’t mind having some motion showing in the photos, I’d like to have more of her wings still. Regardless of what I want, on this day I don’t have the opportunity to try.

Shooting Cayce on the glove is a lot like trying to take portraits of a 2 year old. She squirms and wiggles and moves her head. She flaps and jumps and basically makes it almost impossible to get a good shot. This is complicated by her black feathers and black face, which suck up light and often leave her as a dark shadow.

In spite of these challenges, I think at least one image I came home with gives a good idea of Cayce’s personality:

I like to think of this as Cayce’s “Hey, what are you doing?” look

I don’t know if vultures have a sense of humor, but when I look at Cayce, I have to think they do. There’s just something about the way she tilts her head like she really wants to know if you’re paying attention. I suppose she could just be looking for food, but it makes me happier to think she at least find us entertaining.

Tisen via Hipstamatic–he’s all up for lounging on the couch these days

Eskimo Kisses

Posted by dkrashb on April 3, 2013

Theo shows off his impressive wing span

Each of the birds at Wings to Soar has a distinct personality. Yet, all of them seem to have a special bond with Dale. I don’t know exactly how to describe what a bond looks like when it comes to these mighty hunters, but there’s a level of trust and calm that the birds have with Dale.

Using his ridiculously long wings, Theo looks like he could glide forever

I suspect the birds would be far more agitated being handled by me if Dale weren’t nearby.

Whatever the effect Dale has on the birds and vise versa, there are times when I’ve noticed her expressing what can only be described as a motherly affection for the birds. For example, once during an educational program in an open field, a train came through blowing its whistle and scaring the bejesus out of Theo. Theo was flying with a light line hooked to his jesses to prevent him from flying far, but he did take off and fly as far towards the trees as possible.

Theo with arced wings mid-flap

Dale had to go retrieve him from the middle of the field. I swung the camera around and followed Dale for a bit. When she retrieved Theo, the two of them bent their heads towards one another in some form of secret greeting. It was like they were reconnecting after a fright. Theo immediately appeared to relax.

Theo reaching for the glove

On Saturday, when it was Theo’s turn to fly, that affection came through loud and clear. Theo didn’t seem particularly motivated to fly. After flying to me a couple of times, he wasn’t into modeling for my camera, probably because he had a full belly.

Theo making a mid-flight adjustment in response to Dale moving

To coax him into flying, Dale stood close to his perch and then backed away so Theo would get a longer flight in. This didn’t work so well the first attempt–Theo was obviously confused as to why Dale was running away and tried to land on her glove at her side. The only thing to do when a raptor is trying to land on you is to give them the glove–you sure don’t want them to land anywhere else!

Theo gets lined up with the glove an come in for the approach

The second time Dale tried this approach, she started running away sooner and ran faster. As she approached the distance Theo normally flies, she turned back towards Theo, but kept backing away. Theo performed some impressive maneuvers in his attempts to avoid colliding with Dale as she changed speed and direction. I wish I’d been set on video–I swear I saw Theo fly backwards at least twice.

Theo looks like he’s all set for a landing, but Dale is still in motion

In the end, they did a graceful mid-air eskimo kiss just before Theo readjusted one more time to land on Dale’s glove. The amount of effort Theo made to get to Dale’s glove spoke volumes about what this owl feels about his momma. The smile (just visible through the feathers of Theo’s wings) on Dale’s face as she nearly collides beak-to-beak with a Barn Owl speaks volumes about Dale’s own feelings.

Theo and Dale rub noses before Theo manages to back up and land safely on the glove

It’s hard not to smile when you see Dale working with these magnificent birds.

Back home, Tisen hung out with Twiggy, making themselves comfortable on the couch

That Hawk Don’t Hunt

Posted by dkrashb on April 2, 2013

Screeching to a mid-air halt, Cody prepares to land gently on the glove

While training Cody on Saturday, one of the things I realized was that I had lost my healthy respect for the fierceness of his talons. I was holding Cody on my glove when it suddenly struck me, “Oh yeah! He has incredibly strong grip strength and really sharp talons on those feet!” It was as if I had completely forgotten that raptors can accidentally injure their handlers pretty easily if said handler isn’t paying attention.

Mid-air ascent–after riding the ground effect, Cody rises to the height of the glove

Fortunately for me, Cody and the other raptors I get to work with are accommodating and don’t intentionally try to harm people. Perhaps even more fortunately, the realization struck me as Cody was working his way up my arm, but in time for me to adjust so he headed back out toward my hand and away from the end of my glove. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have one stray talon sink into the soft part of my arm–I’d like to keep it that way.

Ground effect–Cody floats on the bubble of air close to the ground

Having recalled the inherent danger in handling raptors, I stayed a bit more on my toes as we flew Cody. Cody is about as sweet as it gets for a Red-tailed Hawk. He ended up in captivity after being found starving. He was taken to a falconer for rehabilitation. The falconer attempted to teach him to hunt, but no matter what prey he encountered, he wasn’t interested in hunting.

Coming in for a landing–Cody touches down

Cody’s story reminds me of a story from my childhood about a bull named Ferdinand. Ferdinand wanted to sit in the pasture enjoying butterflies and flowers rather than fight with bull fighters. I don’t remember how the story ended exactly, but given that it was a favorite of mine, I would guess Ferdinand ended up happily wiling away the days in a pasture where he could be his gentle self.

Another float into the finish–I love the way Cody flares to a stop before landing on the glove

This also parallels Cody’s story. While Cody may not be interested in killing rodents, he’s happy to hang with the people who care for him. He watches attentively as we work with him. He seems curious–he clearly knows his usual training routine has been changed. I suspect he remembers me, but I can’t offer any evidence that this is true. He looks at me like he finds me interesting, but he doesn’t seem upset by my participation in the training process.

This is a back-view of Cody flaring to a stop

We fly Cody for a while and then Dale flies him without me so I can see if I can get some good shots of Cody in flight. Cody is naturally photogenic. Of all the birds, he’s the one I always end up with a bunch of great shots each time I shoot the birds. However, he’s looking slightly less well groomed on this particular day. He seems to have molted one of his tail feathers. Almost like a missing tooth in the middle of a bright white, well cared for smile, the gap is hard to miss.

After the flare, Cody uses any remaining momentum to float gently to the glove

We try not to stare–no point in making Cody feel self-conscious.

This is Tisen’s idea of “flare”

Spring Lessons

Posted by dkrashb on April 1, 2013

Open Arms–does this not make you smile?

With each passing day, the enthusiasm of the birds increases. The volume and variety of their songs grows in direct proportion to the temperature–or perhaps it’s with the lengthening of the days? Their songs remind me that it’s time to come out of hibernation and sing a song or two myself.

I, however, try to limit my singing to the shower as a favor to the rest of the world.

Besides the desire to sing, spring invariably increases my need to be outdoors. The feeling of bouncing off the walls after too much indoor time has struck home and I am looking for outdoor pursuits. Fortunately for me, my friend Dale is willing to help me pursue my growing interest in raptors. We made a play date.

Periwinkle

This is not really play, it just feels like it. In reality, I’m learning how to train and care for birds of prey. I’m not quite sure where this is going, but I can at least learn how to care for the birds for John and Dale when they are out of town.

So, off I go to the Wings to Soar (new name) facility for some lessons in bird training. I and the birds get to learn together.

Before we get started, Dale has a new project underway. She’s come up with an adorable prototype design that she plans to create in a smaller form as a necklace. It’s called Open Arms–embracing everyone for who and what they are without judgment. If you knew Dale, you would understand just how appropriate it is that she came up with this design. It’s the kind of thing that just makes you smile–this is the effect Dale has on people.

Mystery flowers

I have fun trying to get a few shots of it in front of some Forsythia. The Forsythia–a legendary foreteller of spring in the north–adds to the overall cheerfulness of the day. A colorful character reminding us to be open to each others’ differences, blooming shrubs telling us spring really is here, and a fun friend who makes time to teach me. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

Dale and Billy

John asks me to take a few shots of the Periwinkle in bloom as well. It’s a beautiful color, although it’s one of those plants that’s considered an invasive back home, so I can’t say it’s my favorite. I’ve spend a few too many hours trying to pull out its difficult roots.

While I was on a flower kick, I found this interesting vine with yellow blooms that Dale had never been able to identify. I don’t know what it is either, but it was fascinating to watch the yellow blooms bounce and sway in the wind.

Finally, when Dale got out the Harris’s Hawks to get their daily outdoor time, I switched from flowers to birds and took a few shots of Billy on the glove.

It was a great way to kick off a training session.

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Monthly Archives: April 2013