A Really Exciting "Got-The-Shot"

I Got the Shot. It is unbelievable. With the skittish couple this Spring, I didn’t think the photograph would be had… but I Got the Shot!

There is a little background you should be aware of to understand the importance of this “Got The Shot.” A few years ago, I met and became friends with two wonderful people, Joe Ann and Norm. At the Mother-Daughter Tea event at church one year, I was taking pictures/portraits. Joe Ann and her family asked to have a family portrait. What made their’s quite different was the five generations present for the portrait. This family portrait turned out so well I asked Joe Ann if it would be alright to enter the picture in the County Fair. It won second place for portrait. After the Mother-Daughter Tea, Joe Ann began to take more interest in my photography, especially photographing cardinals. She always had an encouraging word when we met.

The day Joe Ann died, the cardinals seemed to be quite active around the yard. I had been trying for sometime to get a close up photograph of a female cardinal. Not 5 feet from my window a female cardinal landed and stayed on the same limb for over 15 minutes. She could see me as I moved around the window frantically taking pictures. I expected any minute for her to fly away. She did not budge from the limb. And then what must have been her mate landed on a nearby branch. He too, did not move for several minutes and put on a show of fluffing his feathers. It was a cold day, and we were getting the first snowflakes of winter.

In the middle of this “photo shoot” with the cardinals, the phone rang. It was my husband who is the pastor of Greenwood United Methodist Church. He told me Joe Ann had just passed away and asked for the prayer line to be activated.

It seemed as though the female cardinal had taken the spirit of Joe Ann. It made sense that Joe Ann would have willed that cardinal to be there for me to get the picture she knew I’d wanted so much.

A few weeks later I shared this thought and experience with the family. Each grown child received a photograph of the female cardinal taken the day Joe Ann died. Norm received the female cardinal photograph but also a photograph of the male.

This Spring the “Kissing Cardinals” as I refer to them, have been coming to the back yard many times throughout the day. And there are many more cardinals coming into the yard to feed. I have been trying for years to take an up close picture that is crisp and in focus of this pair as they “kiss.” They are not actually kissing, they are passing seeds to one another as an expression of affection. Each time I would slowly, cautiously, sneak up to the window with camera in hand, they would fly away.
A couple of days ago, I got a photograph of them kissing but when I looked at the picture on the computer screen, the female was bald and the male’s plumage was discolored and some spots were bare. True love is blind to the outward appearances and this pair did not see their imperfections.

But today, I took the picture of another couple within ten feet from the window and in perfect focus. It appears there are more than one pair of “Kissing Cardinals” this year. That is a real blessing.

This year the “Kissing Cardinals” picture was extra important to me. My dear friend, Norm, passed away a couple of weeks ago. Is that why the cardinals have been plentiful this Spring? And now to have at least two pair of “Kissing Cardinals” has been very meaningful in understanding and coping with Norm’s death.

Norm and Joe Ann are once again together. And as they did on earth with their family and friends, they are now sharing their seeds of faith with one another. That, to me is why the “Kissing Cardinal” picture was so important this year. The family will have that picture to complete their set.

A Tongue Lashing

There are many times I've looked out my window and seen a squirrel sprawled out on a limb. The first time I saw such a sight, it appeared the squirrel had fallen out of the tree and hit the limb and was unconscious. People who have "habitated" with squirrels said they frequently take naps on tree limbs. The first picture I took of a squirrel "sleeping" on a tree limb was published in a calendar (the photo is in the "Published" Gallery on my website). Since the 1st photograph, I've seen many squirrels napping on many limbs on many trees in the yard. Would a squirrel ever fall off the limb while sleeping?

The past couple of days we have unseasonably warm days that have registered over 80 degrees on the thermometer. The leaves are just beginning to appear on the trees which makes it easy to spot all the little furry bodies draped across the limbs. This little fellow pictured below was "zoning in and out." You could see in his eyes that he was spacing it.

I was watching him to try and get a photo with his eyes closed when a bird flew up.

SIDEBAR: The best photo you take may not be the one you planned. When taking pictures with a digital camera, continue to take photos beyond what shot you want and you may get a "diamond in the rough." (I will share some of those in a later blog). Some of the most precious children's pictures were taken after the smile--many a grandma/grandpa will attest to that.

There is a soft place in my heart for birds, so I kept the camera "rolling." The next photo is the result of not putting the camera down too early.

The cardinal is looking directly at the squirrel who is glaring back at the cardinal. What makes it humorous is the squirrel has been startled awake by the bird landing right by him (notice the uplifted back leg of the squirrel). Next, the bird must be chirping quite loudly, which has caught the full attention of the squirrel. This sure could have a storyline, "Wake up you lazy squirrel."

There is a photograph hanging in my office which was taken after the photograph I planned to shoot. That photograph has placed 1st in a number of competitions. It also has received special recognition ribbons besides 1st place. The camera continued to "roll" after the planned shot. If you have a digital camera, you have the luxury of taking photos, reviewing what you have taken and deleting what you don't want... right on the spot. Since you can delete what you don't want, it is not costing you anything to shoot a few extra frames beyond the planned picture... who knows... you may have a photo of a lifetime... or at least that is what the rest of the family would say.

Peek-A-Boo 2 U

Some of you have seen the photo I've taken of the squirrel peeking around the stump of a tree. It looks as though he is playing a game of “Peek-a-boo.”

Yesterday’s photo day in the yard was very rewarding… another peek-a-boo photo was captured digitally… but the subject was not a squirrel. Of all subjects to be playing peek-a-boo—it was a bird; and of all the birds it was one of the bully birds—A Blue jay…



And in yesterday’s Humor Boomer I mentioned a hilarious photo of a squirrel in a precarious position…

I’m not sure what he was looking at but it sure had his interest. We will see that later yesterday, the squirrel got a good talking to because he just is too lazy… all he does is eats and sleeps and chases my dog… Susie. Stay tuned to see who gave him the “tongue lashing.”

A "Got-The-Shot" Day!

All the creatures in the backyard were a bit squirrelly this morning (even the squirrel—you gotta see the squirrel picture—it’s outrageous). I decided to check out the “south 40” and survey what was going on.

I was following Daddy (sparrow) around because he too was acting a little strange. While taking pictures this is one of the pictures that happened.

Honestly… you can’t have a bee come into a picture on cue and you can’t get a bird to look at the bee coming into the picture even if you could cue the bee.

This will go on the website as a GOT-THE-SHOT:

Oh, I found out why Daddy is acting strange…

Many new changes on the website. “Travel and Transportation” under “Stock Photography” is now “Candy for the eye” making that gallery not so dry anymore… check it out…