Category: Uncategorized
Good-bye, 2021
by Susan
And not a moment too soon! The year was a bad one for me. I missed the entire spring-and-summer photography season due to poor health and was sick for most of the year. I had 6 surgeries, spent some time on life support in the ICU, wore an ostomy for most of the year, and had a course of both chemo and radiation treatment, … Read More Good-bye, 2021
Frequent Rain, Heavy at Times
by Susan
Yay for the rain! Because it’s the rain — not the marsh managers — that is re-establishing the fish habitat at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. . .so keep it coming, Mother Nature! Oh, the rains aren’t enough to fill up the main pool, which was drained into mud flats way back in the spring and is now an overgrown grassland. But it’s enough to … Read More Frequent Rain, Heavy at Times
Marsh Wrens
by Susan
You can hear them in the cattails, but they are very hard to see. That’s because they don’t sit at the top, like the song sparrows do; they much prefer to hide at mid-level, where the greenery is at its thickest. So, get familiar with manual focus, because autofocus will fail miserably. That’s because autofocus will struggle for a while and then settle on … Read More Marsh Wrens
The Oly 100-400 f5-6.3
by Susan
I love this lens! Just over half the cost of the Canon L series 100-400, it gets an impressive 800mm equivalent view, something that the Canon can’t do without an extender. And, again like the Canon, it’s versatile with a selection of distance ranges, as close as 1.3m to 6m to infinity. So, for less money (and less weight!) you get some pretty good … Read More The Oly 100-400 f5-6.3
Sterling Nature Center
by Susan
It was supposed to be a butterfly hunt, led by SNC Director Jim D’Angelo, but despite all good intentions it was upstaged by The Bullfrog Chorus, which put on quite a show. I’m surprised I arrived on time, given the distractions presented to me along the Rt 104 drive. . .distractions that were just too beautiful and intriguing to ignore. But I didn’t dally … Read More Sterling Nature Center
+ Andrea van Beausichem, Andrea van Beusichem, Birds, Coots, Ducks, eagles, egret, Fish, Geese, heron, Migration, Montezuma, natural, osprey, sludge, swans, Uncategorized
Montezuma Waterfowl Refuge?
by Susan
Unfortunately, current practices would indicate that this is an appropriate name change for the (former?) Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. For the past three years each of its marsh pools have been sequentially groomed to promote a plant-based ecosystem to encourage the waterfowl population — ducks, geese, and swans, but primarily ducks. This strategy, however, has decimated the fish habitat upon which water waders … Read More Montezuma Waterfowl Refuge?
Feeding the Waterfowl, An Update
by Susan
Well, this blog has definitely been seen, because Ms. van Beusichem has now issued a brochure, Draining the Main Pool, Feeding the Waterfowl, which is available without charge at the MNWR Visitor’s Center. Nice try, but in my opinion it warrants no cigar. She merely repeats the glib arguments that we have already heard, albeit with a bit more cheerfulness. “The Montezuma National Wildlife … Read More Feeding the Waterfowl, An Update
Wildlife Dried
by Susan
Writing on Joseph Karpinksi’s Facebook Page, Birds of Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, MNWR spokesperson Andrea van Beusichem advised visitors that Wildlife Drive will be “challenging” this year. I’m not sure if that is the best way to describe it. . .pathetic is more like it. There just isn’t much to see on the grasslands situated where the marshes used to be. But hey, at … Read More Wildlife Dried
Spot On!
by Susan
How? With spot metering, of course. I never had to bother with it before, but in retrospect I really should have. Oh, I know how much the camera meter likes 18% gray, but I didn’t think much of it. Matrix metering — a/k/a evaluative a/k/a zone metering — is the default setting on most cameras — and for a reason. It (generally) works. Olympus … Read More Spot On!
Two Home Sites for Sale!
by Susan
Buy one, get one free! That’s right, folks, you get TWO home sites for the price of one, both with an expansive and expensive waterfront view. And one already has a home built on it! But not for long. Because that already-built home is an active and well-established bald eagle nest. . .and it will not last long once home construction starts within 330′ … Read More Two Home Sites for Sale!
+ Birds, bridge camera, Caspian Tern, Fish, gear, heron, mirrorless, osprey, Uncategorized
Losing My Fear of ISO
by Susan
What newbie wouldn’t be scared of ISO? On one hand, it promises you brighter, better photos. . . . . .but the other hand takes them away with great big blobs of grain. Up to now, I simply ignored this third leg of the exposure triangle. I figured that by keeping the ISO low (200 or below), I wouldn’t have to worry about grain. … Read More Losing My Fear of ISO
Seen by Susan: Fun with Flora and Fauna 
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