Violet-green Swallows were swarming over the river catching insects. They were also flying close to the water splashing in it as they skimmed the surface. I was not able to get still shots of them splashing.
Mary flew over to the tree with Paul last night. She was really proud of herself this morning perched in the shade with her chest up and out like “See what I did?”
Paul and Mary. Daddy Owl was sitting in a cottonwood in the bosque where he could see both of them in their new tree between the ditches. It will be interesting to see how long it is before they fly into the bosque.
Click on the galleries to see the photos enlarged in slide shows.
I was going to buy a ultra-wide-angle lens for my Fuji XE-1 that I used to use as a carry camera. But the 10-24mm zoom lens is quite large, which makes it not as desirable to carry when I’m also carrying the Bazooka on a 7D Mark II body, and the 70-200mm zoom lens a 5Ds body. I have been using my iPhone XE for all street photography and wide-angle photos, stitching together panoramas for ultra-wide-angle shots. I finally decided that since an iPhone 12 Mini was the same price as a Fuji 10-24mm lens, I might as well upgrade my iPhone to the iPhone 12 Mini. The 12 Mini is the same form factor as the old iPhone 5, which is my favorite style of iPhone case, and the camera has wide-angle and super-wide-angle. The iPhone 12 Pro has telephoto, also, but I have the Bazooka and the iPhone 12 is bigger than I like.
What’s really nice with the iPhone 12 Mini is the “Portrait” setting works for any abject or critter as you can see in the photos of the kitties and the America Rose above. The “Portrait” setting on my iPhone SE only worked on human faces. When I tried using it on the cats, or anything else, it said “No faces recognized” and would not take a photo. I’m really happy with the camera on the iPhone 12 Mini.
Not a cloud in the sky at sunset. The ultra-wide-angle setting is 120º field of view.
Tangle Heart Tree under a clear blue sky in the early morning light. Sandias and Rio Grande in the early morning light (iPhone SE). The moon at sunset shot with the Bazooka 400mm lens.
All photos below were shot with the Bazooka 400mm lens on a Canon 7D Mark II body.
For the birds.
Snowy Egret in the clear water ditch.
Cormorant flyby
Tiny butterfly.
Mama Owl, Sleepy, Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers. Mama, Mona Lisa and Major Tom were in a tree between the irrigation ditch and the clear water ditch. Sleepy was still in the tree with the nest. I think he will probably fly over to the tree with the other owls tonight.
Under dark, cloudy skies threatening a storm, a snowy egret was foraging in the clearwater ditch. It didn’t pay attention to me until I got close enough to get a clearer shot, then it flew. Even in the murky light from from the dark cloud cover, the egret is so white, that the camera could not get detail in the whiteness of the egret from above. After the egret flew, we walked back to the house. No sooner than we walked in the house the storm commenced with a downpour. There was a pinkish/orange glow from the sun trying to peek through the clouds on the horizon. I walked out onto the deck and could see a rainbow through the rain, but it was raining too hard to walk out and see the full extent of the rainbow.