Friday, May 20, 2016

Assorted Critters and Cameras

I've accumulated a few critter photos, which mostly happen by chance with me, but will enable me to participate in 'Saturday's Critters'.  It happens that they were taken on 2 different cameras, and my iphone.

So I did pick up a small pocket camera for back-up and travel, and situations where the big camera is just awkward, like while paddling.   And I was outside taking my first few pictures on it when this tiny Chipmunk popped up over a rock just 6 feet away, and looked at me.

I had to be quick, trying out the zoom to get these, but it seemed to work well before the chippie disappeared behind another rock.

I'm certainly pleased with both the zoom and the focus on this shot.

Driving home from town I pass this farm almost daily, and today there was a large group of Holstein heifers out relaxing in the sun.  I couldn't resist a few pictures, even if I had to use my iphone for them.

At least one cow noticed me stopping, but the rest seemed pretty oblivious.

This farm raises dairy heifers which are sold as replacement cows for dairy herds.  A heifer is simply a cow that hasn't had her first calf yet, and therefore isn't ready for milking - the 'teenagers' of dairy herds.  I understand this farm used to be a dairy farm, but now specializes in raising heifers (and no longer has to rise at dawn to do the milking!).

And these last two shots were taken with my regular camera.  I noticed these two friends on my drive home from London the other day, just one sheep and one horse, both in their own field, but they were standing right beside each other as if they'd been talking.

And one little bird pictures, a male Goldfinch in summer plumage.  I was lucky enough to snap it quickly, and get good focus (as long as I didn't crop it any more than I did!)

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I did end up purchasing a small back-up camera, and chose a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50.  The deciding factors were a small pocket size, and a viewfinder.  There isn't a lot of choice if you want a viewfinder today, but for outdoor photography I think it's essential!  Thanks for all the advice the other day when I mentioned this.

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14 comments:

  1. Great animal shots, especially the chipmunk.

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  2. ooooh i didn't chime in, i must have missed that entry. i have been a little inconsistent recently. i'm glad you were able to find something that met your needs and that you are happy with!! mr. cheeks is adorable (and the images are crystal clear) and i LOVED mr. goldfinch, new jersey's state bird!!!

    all of your images were so enjoyable, have a wonderful weekend!!!

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  3. Lovely photos . You were in London ? we are just an hour south east from there . I to have a small point and shoot that takes good photos so much easier on some trips then lugging around the big camera and lens lol . Thanks for sharing , Have a good weekend !

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  4. I'm going to go over and take a look at that camera. It sure does have a GREAT zoom! :-)

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  5. I like using a viewfinder too! I often use my cell phone to take photos but the zoom is not as good as the one you used to get these wonderful shots.

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  6. great zoom, lovely furry fellow, and B&W girls, they remind me somewhat of when I grew up with Friesians, slightly different to the Holsteins, but good all year round milkers and calf producers.

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  7. Hello, great critter post. Nice variety, with the cute chipper, the cattle and the pretty goldfinch. Congrats on your new camera. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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  8. Great photos! I love the chipmunk!
    Have a wonderful week-end!

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  9. Awww....what a cute little chipmunk. Lucky you were fast on the focus!

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  10. Fantastic shots here, especially those first three.

    Have a good weekend

    All the best Jan

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  11. The chippie's a cutie. My favourite shot though is the sheep and the horse.

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  12. Gorgeous little Chipmunk. You were lucky it sat still long enough for the photos. I like the wide angle view of the farm too, great shot

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  13. On very rare occasions we will see a chipmunk at the cabin along the granite cliff. Usually it is the gray squirrel. I caught him crossing the bridge from shore on my critter cam. I thought our recent visitor might be a woodrat, but was relieved to find it was a squirrel. - Margy

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  14. Wonderful critters! The chipmunk is so cute and I love the cattle.

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