Happy July 4th!

Finally got back from the Jersey Shore (How New Jerseyites call the beach) celebrating Independence Day. Here is my best shot of the fireworks display there. Happy birthday to the United States of America! My home sweet home!

Barn Swallow

It took me a while to identify this bird. I did not want to guess it to be an Eastern Bluebird with a black mask. I'm glad I finally found the sources to help me do so. I highly recommend these sites.

http://www.whatbird.com/

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189

Well I think I should take a break on birds. But it has become instinctive lately; birds are such magnificent creatures. As for the American Robin family under my balcony, the chicks have grown and the nest has been abandoned. Although I will miss them, now I can finally cut my grass in peace; not that I like to cut my grass in the first place. In fact, I HATE CUTTING MY GRASS!

Robin's Nest Below my Balcony (Update)

So I decided to do a follow up or "behind the scenes" of the recently discovered nest under my balcony including the exact setup.

This shows the location of the nest bellow my balcony. Note that there is little head room; just enough for a bird to fly and maneuver in.

Here is the "peep hole" for us humans to get a look at the nest.

I decided to get involved an help out. I took a nightcrawler from our worm keeper (we are outdoors people and therefore go fishing), and tossed it under the balcony. The mother took notice and "accepted" my gift.

Gummy worms anyone?

It is often reported that parenting birds can and will attack suspected intruders including people who come too close. So far I have been spared of any attacks, but they have yet to get used to my presence when I do my yard work duties and get too close. They flee when I come near or start the lawnmower. 

Robin's Nest Below my Balcony

I noticed a robin or two flying out from bellow my balcony every time I mowed by lawn lately. I looked up and noticed a nest. The nest was positioned on top of one of my air conditioning pipe making little head room from above. This makes excellent defense against birds of prey (I once witnessed a Red Tailed Hawk eat chicks right out of two nests that were made the open. I did not have my camera at the time). Viewing the nest is impossible without its removal; something I did not want to do even though the nest was only seven feet above the ground. However on top of the balcony, the nest was viewable through one of the segments on the deck. You have to peek through with one eye, but you are just mere inches away from the miracle of life in the bird's world. Photographing is of coarse also difficult, but I got my macro lens, placed it as close to the opening as possible, then manually focused. This is what I got, though perhaps the next time, I will photograph the nest overall, though UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL I EVER TOUCH THE NEST. Stay tuned......

Picking up the camera again....

Finally for the first time in 2012, I am posting something. I have been busy with work and shooting on demand, that I have had no time shooting on a leisure basis. But finally on a day in May, I had my 100mm macro lens and ring flash attached while hunting for butterflies or dragon flies. Frustrated, I began to look down upon the flowers and stumbled upon this creature. I instinctively photographed it since there was nothing else to capture. If there is one thing this find did, it motivated me to look forward to 2012, a year of great photographs to take and memorably objects that deserve preservation. Hunting season has started for me and my weapon of choice; the camera!

Happy 2012!!!

Happy New Year everyone! What a spectacular firework show here in Philadelphia! I surely hope 2012 will be a promising year and that we all accomplish our resolutions. For this year, I must travel extensively and take more photos. That's my resolution to fulfill. I was glad to open the new year shooting my camera.

Passaic Falls

I consider this place as New Jersey's Niagara Falls. It is known as the Great Passaic Falls of the Passaic River located in Paterson, New Jersey. This area is generally out of the way for me, but since its recent designation as Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park in November of this year, my fascination has grown. It is a 77 ft (23m) high waterfall that has also lead to the growth of the City of Paterson through industry. It has always been an iconic New Jersey landmark and one of the best places to see in the northern section of the state. Lately it has not been as popular as it deserves to be. Few visitors frequent the area and benches nearby are usually empty. But hopefully the involvement of National Park Service will change that. The water was low when I came over, so it was more exciting to photograph the top of the falls as opposed to the base of it. I plan to hopefully come more often as it is about a hour or less away from the Delaware Water Gap, one of my all time favorite places.