Minneapolis Photography Photo Blog » Wildlife

Geese Nibbling

Mitchster — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:15:07 +0000

The new 2008 geese are out!

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dendroica coronata

Mitchster — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:15:39 +0000

I just love these guys, they are so cheerful and cute. My friend Karen pointed out that warblers hop around a lot and it's true. They can be very frustrating with a long lens (focused, theres that branch... now where did he go?). One of the fun things about photographing all the birds with a big lens is that you realize the amazing diversity of birds. They were all sparrows, crows and robins to me before I started shooting. I never noticed these guys before. I still don't recognized them with the naked eye, the lens let's me identify them — though I am getting to know their chirp.

Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor

Mitchster — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:59:46 +0000

An encore to bird week, I had to add this little guy that I managed to catch on Friday afternoon. He was standing on a nesting box and chatting away. They return to the nest 10 to 20 times per hour, so if you find a nest, usually in a dead tree (thus the name), or a birdhouse, camp out and you'll get the shot! Tree swallows have iridescent feathers on their back, and I was wondering if that looks different in infrared? I'll have to go back and find out.

Got Goat?

Mitchster — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:59:17 +0000

Everybody needs a goat. This kid was in the red barn in yesterday's photo. What does it mean when someone's "got your goat"? Horses are nervous creatures, goats are very calm. If you put a goat in the barn with a horse, the horse would calm down. Take the goat, the horse gets agitated. Which is the same reason dalmations are associated with firemen. Fire engines used to be pulled by horses and if you can imagine, a fire is pretty terrifying for a horse, so the dalmation could keep up with the horses and help to calm them down.

Farm Fresh

Mitchster — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:15:11 +0000

Good morning and welcome to the Minnesota Zoo! My name is George, I'll be your sheep today. Nothing's more fun than wide-angle photos of critters. I took this at the Family Farm at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MN. For a good wide-angle of a critter, you have to get real close — I was shooting at arm's length. This is also a case where an investment in a protective filter pays off. I wouldn't have been so cavalier with my camera if I was afraid of sheep drool on my expensive lens. Do you know where lanolin oil comes from? Yup, that's why sheep are so sticky — check all the hay stuck to the sides of this guy. I really wanted to pet every one of these fuzzy lil' guys, but I knew I'd spend the rest of the day cleaning my camera. Aw heck, a scratch behind the ears with my knuckles will do. Who can say no to that face?

Change is in the Air

Mitchster — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:58:54 +0000

Spring is in the air, the woodpeckers are on the wing, snow is trying to melt, and mitchster.com has a new theme! I am working on changing the look of mitchster so that I can add a lot of new stuff, like the recent comments and posts on the right, and articles about other things besides photography. I was having fun with the old look, but this one is bigger and gives me more flexibility. I have plans to bring back the glow-in-the-dark duck (that's him in regular light above), but I needed to make this layout work first. Let me know what you think! This Downy Woodpecker was singing and fluttering around Lake of The Isles with a friend of a feather. Can't tell if they are mates, I haven't figured out the difference between the males and females. Good thing I'm not a Downy Woodpecker eh? I found a neat factoid on WhatBird.com — A group of woodpeckers has many collective nouns, including "a descent of woodpeckers", "a drumming of woodpeckers", and a "gatling of woodpeckers." I have a big list of animal group names, I'll have to find it and post it soon. I'm pretty excited to be working on Mitchster.com a little more now, I just completed a few websites and have some more time during the day. If you are curious, here's the three jobs I just finished:

Eating Crow

Mitchster — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:37:32 +0000

The most complicated exposure yet. Black crow on white snow in flight. Got it!

Leopards and Tigers and Sharks, Oh My!

Mitchster — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:12:59 +0000

Minnesota? Yeah, the Minnesota Zoo. This guy was in the aquarium with the puffer fish. The fishies at the Minnesota Zoo are much more tame than the ones at the Mall of America Underwater World. A month ago the tiger shark there got a hold of another shark, here's the video. I should warn you that it's a little disturbing, but the other shark survived. It's not an attack, it's just one shark hanging out of the mouth of another.

Your Saturday Moment of Zen

Mitchster — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:43:26 +0000

One Shot in a Million

Mitchster — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:05:49 +0000