For some reason it is a bit blurry when I upload it here...

An ad for the pixpro?

SassyBloomer said: An ad for the pixpro?

No, I have nothing to do with Kodak. I was just showing off one of the pictures I took.

Whenever I see gorgeous photos, I always wonder what camera was used and have to stop myself from asking too often!

Murky said: Whenever I see gorgeous photos, I always wonder what camera was used and have to stop myself from asking too often!

Me too lol.

I used my Kodak Pixpro AZ401 40x zoom. I got it for only $100 on sale and it takes some amazing pictures.

That's a super price for a big zoom camera, nice find!

Thought you might enjoy:

Chicadees are by far my favorite bird. Sadly I don't get them too often at my feeders here near Chicago. I used to have lots of them visiting when I had feeders in Wisconsin, I miss them.

I have to go up in the mountains to see them. Fun to watch!

Chickadees and gray jays are easiest of the birds I know to train to the hand. In most cases, when there are no near neighbors with feeders, the chickadee will take only a few minutes to come to the hand once it discovers you have sunflower seeds - about the same for the camp robber gray jays. Nuthatches are interesting birds. They will not land on you if you're in the open. Typically, they'll land above you on a tree you're leaning on, then hop down the tree onto your hat or shoulder looking for treats in pockets.

I have pinched sunflower seeds too tightly for chickadees and nuthatches to fly away with, and watched then peal the hull and eat the seed inches before my eyes. I had MI Conservation Officer drop in on our group at the front of some acreage I have in N MI. As I walked over to greet him, he noticed the birds on my shoulders waiting for their turn to take seeds from a small hollow on top of 'my bird feeding hat', even though I was walking about and talking to people. He laughed and said no need to check you guys, you're all right.

I have old photos of chickadees, nuthatches, and tits giving me kisses. I put a sunflower seed between my lip and hold my palm flat under my chin. The birds land on the palm and take the sunflower from between my lips, which looks like a kiss if the camera is far enough away that the sunflower seed can't be seen.

Didn't mean to drag the conversation too far off topic, Hanna. It's just soo hard for me to deny myself the pleasure of sharing bird stories and images.


Al

tapla said: Thought you might enjoy:

That is adorable. They are such cool birds!

Love those stories! The most I got to eat out of my hand were some flying squirrels when up in Wisconsin. They got so used to my schedule when they'd see the headlights coming into the driveway at night, I could see them all jumping to the big oak where I had the feeders under, they knew the good stuff was coming out. I know they're also around where I am now, but I've never seen any come to the feeders at night. I really need a big solid oak tree right outside the windows again, best place for feeders that gave birds and everything else security while eating.

My son lives on a wooded parcel in a geodesic home, so he has a deck that encircles about 3/4 of the home about 20 feet above grade. My wife and I often visit him in the afternoon to cook out, then hand feed whatever birds will trust us, and right after the cardinals leave, the flying squirrels come gliding in to put on the feedbag. Before he bought his home, and given the many thousands of hours I've spent in the woods, I'd seen only 1 flying squirrel, an accident. I cut down a rotten (hazardous) tree which broke in two when it hit the ground. There was a blur of movement as a squirrel exited his hole, climbed about 2 jumps up one tree, then glided to the base of another tree before climbing up out of sight. Never having seen one, it took some thinking to figure out what it was.

Good memories.

Al

I'd be out there every night feeding them, they are just adorable with huge black eyes, and so tiny they fit on just the palm of your hand while eating. Here's 3 of them waiting for me to refill the peanut butter suet in a log I made. That's how I first found them, something at night was swinging that log like mad and it wasn't wind. I was really surprised when I finally found what was causing it.

Murky said: I'd be out there every night feeding them, they are just adorable with huge black eyes, and so tiny they fit on just the palm of your hand while eating. Here's 3 of them waiting for me to refill the peanut butter suet in a log I made. That's how I first found them, something at night was swinging that log like mad and it wasn't wind. I was really surprised when I finally found what was causing it.

Man, those things are adorable lol. They sure are interesting little creatures.

Murky said: Whenever I see gorgeous photos, I always wonder what camera was used and have to stop myself from asking too often!

I am one of those people that is fascinated by the subject matter. Any camera can take great pics. Would you agree?

There is a thread about that somewhere, very fascinating. You should conduct a search to find it. Photo forum, perhaps.

Yes, subject matter and composition trumps all. But when you can get distance shots that are sharp and in focus, a lot of that has to do with the lens.

Here's a few more of the flying squirrels from that night when they were being their usual nosy selves and cooperating for photos. These were taken with regular film, and because it was dark I had to just guess at the focus range by how far I was from them, and used a very minimal fill flash to not scare them off. Lost the photos for over 10 years, the negatives were ruined when the basement flooded one year. I was so happy when I found them again, immediately scanned them and cleaned up as best as possible at that point before they got lost again in a move.

Murky said: Yes, subject matter and composition trumps all. But when you can get distance shots that are sharp and in focus, a lot of that has to do with the lens.

Here's a few more of the flying squirrels from that night when they were being their usual nosy selves and cooperating for photos. These were taken with regular film, and because it was dark I had to just guess at the focus range by how far I was from them, and used a very minimal fill flash to not scare them off. Lost the photos for over 10 years, the negatives were ruined when the basement flooded one year. I was so happy when I found them again, immediately scanned them and cleaned up as best as possible at that point before they got lost again in a move.

Wow, that is so amazing!

A good camera lets you take good pics on purpose. With anything else, it's just luck. We have a good camera, but unfortunately, I have no idea how to use it. DH take great pics and has the patience to sit still and watch birds. I'm too fidgety.