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The eye! Get the eye!
As I get more comfortable with layers and masks in Photoshop CS6 (meaning that I don’t need alcohol to get me through a Photoshop session), I can go back to many of my bird pictures to see if I can make something decent out of them.
Here are four that I worked with this morning using adjustment layers and masks:
Unknown bird
Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
One thing that I have learned since January when I started birding again, after a 35-year sabbatical, is to focus on the eye of the bird.
Previously I thought that if you just focus on the bird’s body, everything else will turn out alright. I mean, the eye and the body are just inches apart, so what’s the problem?
The problem is that these cameras really do know what they are doing, but it still takes a human being to tell them what to do. Look at the second picture, the one of the rock pigeon. Can you tell where I focused? It should be easy to see that it wasn’t the eye.
I would really have loved that picture if the eye had been the focal point. As it is, well, it’s a picture of a rock pigeon for my collection, reminding me that I still need a great picture of a rock pigeon eating, drinking, or flying.
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San Diego shorebird diversity
After completing my home inspection report this morning, I went out to the shoreline to see what birds were waking up with the dawn. Following is what I found.
California gulls fighting for food
Brown pelican off to chase the fishing boats
Gull diving for breakfast
Geese waiting for SeaWorld to open
Great egret fishing for breakfast
Great blue heron scouring the docks for leftover fish
Black-crowned night heron wondering where the night’s going 
Close-up of the black-crowned night heron
Juvenile black-crowned night heron practicing flying
(one of the parents is in the two pictures above)
Red-shouldered hawk (?) on a light pole 
Osprey watching over his territory
Nesting osprey (young in nest at far right)
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Santa Catalina Island — Synchronized birding
This post is dedicated to Erika Rogers, a real estate agent with Stout & Associates Realty in St. George, Utah. I have known Erika for several years through a real estate professional networking site and highly recommend her for anyone buying or selling a home in the St. George, Utah, area. If she can’t help you with your specific real estate needs, I know she can refer you to someone (almost) as good as she is.
Dedications are my way of trying to provide a little extra Google juice for people I have come to know and respect over the years.
Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos
On my birthday trip last Sunday to Santa Catalina Island, my main goal was to see some American bison, more popularly known as buffalo. They are on Santa Catalina Island courtesy of William Wrigley Sr. of chewing gum and Chicago Cubs fame.
I failed.
However, I did see a lot of wildlife which I’ll share in my next few posts.
Today I’ll introduce you to synchronized birding. First….
Synchronized sitting, presented by two California gulls:
Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos
Synchronized standing, presented by the same two California gulls:
Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos
Synchronized swimming, presented by two brown pelicans:
Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos
I tried to get two California gulls swimming together but had to settle for the brown pelican substitutes.
By the way, the California gull is the state bird of Utah, but I’m pretty sure Erika Rogers, to whom this post is dedicated, knows that.
Pictures copyright 2010 by Russel Ray Photos
