Feeding frenzy

HOUSE SPARROWS ON FEEDER, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 27, 2009

Pentax K20D
SMC Pentax FA-J 75-300 at 170mm
1/60 sec. f8
ISO 800

It took more than a week, but the cloud of sparrows that inhabits the bush behind my backyard deck finally discovered the feeder scarcely six feet above their heads and invited themselves to supper. Their combined weight couldn't trigger the "squirrel twirler" that spins marauding tree rats off the feeder.

A bushful of sparrows

HOUSE SPARROWS, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 22, 2009

Pentax K20D
SMC Pentax-FA J 75-300 at 158mm
1/250 sec. f8
ISO 800

All winter a flock of a dozen or so hardy house sparrows flits madly between a bush in my back yard and one in the neighbors'. I brought out a old cheapie zoom lens just to see how it did shooting through the back window, and discovered it does OK so long as it is stopped down and not racked out to the full 300 mm, where it becomes rather soft.

Squirrel No. 12

GRAY SQUIRREL IN THE SNOW, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 22, 2009

Pentax K20D
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 200mm
1/125 sec. f8
ISO 800

I've started baiting our backyard deck railing every day with a small pile of birdseed about eight feet away from the back room window, and the scheme is working. Every day a squirrel (I think it's the same one) arrives, chases away the sparrows, and feasts on the bribe while I snap his photo from inside the window. The inexpensive Pentax kit short telephoto zoom lens does a fine job if stopped down sufficiently.

Tiny light

HOLIDAY TREE MINIATURE LAMP, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 20, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
Tamron 90mm f2.8 DI macro
1/45 sec. f5.6
ISO 1600

Looks like an artillery shell or space vehicle, doesn't it? I put the camera and lens on a tripod, boosted the ISO, got real close to the tree in our living room, and pressed the shutter. If I had managed a smaller f-stop (at f16, there was just too much shake at 1/8 second, even with the tripod) the image would have been sharper throughout the range.

His Eminence

NORTHERN CARDINAL, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 17, 2009

Pentax K20D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/90 sec. f6.7
ISO 400

Gray and gloomy the day might have been, but this cardinal dropped by to inject a little color into it. They are gorgeous birds, but I find them difficult to photograph because they don't drop by very often, and when they do, they don't hang around long. Fortunately I had my rig ready, aiming to capture a few squirrels, when he landed.

Gingerbread scene

DETAIL OF GINGERBREAD SCENE, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 6, 2009

Pentax K20D
Tamron 90mm f2.8 DI macro
1/750 sec. f8
ISO 1600

Stopping by Tag's Bakery on Central Street on a wintry day yielded this photograph of the baker's art. Having to shoot hand-held through a shopfront window on an overcast day forced me to kick up the ISO to 1600, which introduced considerable noise into the image, but I was able to smooth out most of it in post processing with Noise Ninja.

Totem

DETAIL OF TOTEM POLE, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 6, 2009

Pentax K20D
Tamron 90mm f2.8 DI
1/1000 f8
ISO 1600

Outside a folk art shop on Central Street in Evanston called The Urban Totem sits a ten-foot eponymous example, carved from cedar and well weathered. I'd passed it many times and never noticed until today, when I took the camera on an outing hoping for interesting holiday shots. This fellow doesn't look like Santa, but he'll do.