Merganserlings

COMMON MERGANSER WITH YOUNG, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 11, 2015

Pentax K-5
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 plus Pentax HD 1.4x converter (420mm)
1/1250 sec. f9
ISO 640

Through the kitchen window I spotted this feathered flotilla chugging west on the lake shore. I grabbed the nearest camera and dashed out the door and around the cabin, creeping up on the tree line just in time to capture the babies as they spotted me and tried to crawl atop Mama. It was the first time this spring that we've seen them.

Hummer No. 4

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 16, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5
1/6400 sec. f8
ISO 1600

Here's an unusual angle on a hummer that was overlooked when I first captured the bird in the summer of 2013. I found the shot while looking in my photo archive for something else.

Hummers No. 2 and 3

MALE RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 2, 2015

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 plus Pentax HD 1.4x converter (420mm)
Top: 1/640 f8  Bottom: 1/200 f8
ISO 1600

Hummer No. 1

FEMALE RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 30, 2015

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 plus Pentax HD 1.4x teleconverter (420mm)
1/180 f8 with on-board flash
ISO 400

This one was captured through the front window with flash on a gray, rainy day—not the best conditions, but acceptable.

Sunset 5/27/15

SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 27, 2015

Pentax K-5
Sigma 18-250 at 18mm
1/80 sec. f8
ISO 400

The best of the sunsets won't be here until August, when summer storm cloud formations in the evening add considerable moodiness to the sky, but this late May lakescape isn't bad.

Birch owl

OWL FACE IN CUT BIRCH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 21, 2015

Pentax K-5

Sigma 18-250 at 31mm

1/500 sec. f8

ISO 6400

Deborah Abbott was walking through a neighbor's yard when she spotted the likeness of an owl in the stump of a freshly cut birch log. The camera, preset at f8 and 1/500th of a second, automatically raised the ISO to compensate for the deep shade in which the stump lay. This setting enables the photographer to concentrate on composition without worrying about the technicals.