Sparrow in the firethorn

HOUSE SPARROW IN NARROWLEAF FIRETHORN, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 27, 2013

Pentax K-5
90mm f2.8 Tamron macro
1/320 sec. f13
ISO 400

I was innocently photographing an intricate bonsai example of Pyracantha angustifola during my first visit to the Botanic Garden this fall when a sparrow suddenly alighted in the berries. How considerate of him to photobomb me.

Last nuthatch of the season

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 12, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/400 sec. f7.1
ISO 3200

It was late afternoon and growing dark, and I needed a reasonably fast shutter speed to capture a good portrait of this quicksilver snatch-and-grab artist. Raising the ISO to 3200 gave enough speed, and denoising the image later in Lightroom 5 yielded an acceptable result.

Chickie and nutch

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE AND RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 12, 2013

Both photos:
Pentax K-5
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/125 sec. f8
ISO 1600

Filling the feeder with nothing but sunflower seeds brought in swarms of chickadees and nuthatches all afternoon. This is our last week at the Writer's Lair in upper Michigan before heading to winter quarters in Illinois, so I was grateful for the chance to capture the lively little birds in the fading autumn day.

Daybreak No. 5

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 9, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 28mm
1/2500 sec. f8
ISO 800

This is a faux high-dynamic-range photo created with Lightroom 5.0. One simply racks the highlights slider all the way to the left and the shadows slider all the way to the right, then lightens the photo by half a stop or so. Next, one adds a bit of contrast with the Clarity slider, then deepens the blue with that color's Saturation and Luminance sliders. Last, one sharpens the photo slightly and smooths out the noise.

Fall colors

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 4, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 36mm
1/800 sec. f9
ISO 800

Even at midafternoon on a cold and overcast day, there are good shots to be found at the Lake of the Clouds when the fall color season is only about a week away from its peak.

Daybreak No. 4

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 1, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 21mm
1/125 sec. f8
ISO 1600

"Fire in the sky" would have been a more appropriate title for this shot of the Lake of the Clouds. It was 8:04 a.m. EDT when the sun finally peeked above the ridge line. Deborah Abbott captured the image.