A few nights later, here’s a shot centered on the Northern star with a little more interesting foreground. This is a 42 minute exposure.

In post-processing, I’ve upped both the exposure and saturation a little to bring out the quantity of stars. A more color-realistic image is here.

BTW, can you spot the satellite ???             Hint: If you can’t …  try again with this larger pic.

Very clear sky tonight with no wind, so I thought I’d try a long exposure shot from our driveway.

If the weather cooperates again tomorrow I’ll try to get the Northern star more centered…

Exposure time was just over 31 minutes.

Going through photos from last year that I haven’t seen in a while.

I just like to colors in this one, as I managed to get this guy in front of a nice background.

Taken in New Mexico, USA.

A slightly morbid image, but nevertheless a nice illustration of teamwork – a small group of ants killed, dismembered  and carried off this wasp. This particular adventure lasted about an hour and they showed amazing perseverance and organization in dragging the head (pictured here) up a vertical wall about 1.5 meters high.

Taken in Elba, Italy.

Click here for a video on defensive ants.

Wow, It’s been a while since my last post. Very, very busy with both my day job and cabin-building these days.

OK, I’m not a huge fan of zoos, but I can’t help but take a camera when I go along as they make for good practice. I was hoping for a shot of the new Snow Leopards ” Milla & Altaï “, but the Arctic Wolfs were much closer than usual. This was best of a small series (cropped).

Taken at the Servion Zoo near Lausanne with four small kids in tow.

Very little time to get in the field so I’ve been going through some older pics that merit a second round of sorting. Dragonflies are a favorite subject of mine (and many other nature photographers). Taken in Gletterens last summer.

I rarely see ravens (mostly common crows around Switzerland), so when I saw this one preening its nest I was quite impressed with its size.

Taken near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Still on the China theme… although I haven’t had a chance to examine most of the pics from that trip last month, this image grabbed my attention as I was scanning through them. Taken at the Forbidden City in Beijing – at the end of the 3-hour tour in 30 degree C heat – I was on an opposing bench enjoying an ice cream when I realized the interesting mix of people sitting just across from me. The red wall of the Forbidden City is a strong color but in my opinion increases the quality of the image, providing a striking and symbolic background.

I hope to have more images from this trip posted in the next few days.

A HDR pic of a section of the Wall, taken about 150 km to the north of Beijing near Jinshanling.

And no, you cannot see it from the moon. Although perhaps possible from low earth orbit, aka the shuttle (I don’t claim to have done either – see above wiki article).

I hadn’t taken out the macro lens yet this year, so I did so the other day in the place I know best – our garden. I got the idea in my head that I’d post a photo of the first image that I took. La voilà - the common blowfly.

Yes, that’s the Matterhorn – the beginning of the most popular route up the north-east ridge. It’s not the view we’re accustomed to seeing of the most recognizable mountain in the world. But sometimes a different perspective can provide a better sense of scale.

Actually, now that I see on this web page the low resolution photo does not do it justice. Have a look at a 10 MB full-size pic from the D7000 here.

I’ve been pretty busy lately, but in the little spare time that I do have I’ve been trying to get some decent captures of the kites and falcons around our area. Unfortunately they don’t feel like cooperating with my work schedule…  :-(

Anyway, here’s another piccy of a red kite.

These guys often circle the fields around our house, but usually at fairly high altitudes. They tend to come closer when the farmers turn their fields (all-you-can-eat mice-arama).

wiki: red kite

My first pic of a Kingfisher, well-known for their fishing abilities and colorful plumage.

Taken from a blind at the nature reserve La Sauge, near Neuchâtel. In this pic he’s quite far away from me (heavy crop here), and the background is a little “busy”. Nevertheless, a first is a first.

Magical mist on the Canal de la Sauge just before sunrise.

This guy has been hanging around our garden lately. Talk about quick.

Want to see an incredible video about a weasel…?  Have a look here.

One of the countless photogenic corners of Copenhagen.

I’ve been trying to sort through some travel pics lately and thought I’d post a few of my faves. This one is from 2009.

There’s always someone, somewhere, who is worse off than you.

Taken at Venice Beach, California in June 2010.

Moonset of the “Supermoon”, taken near Chasseral, Neuchâtel. 6:21am on March 20, 2011.

The wind was so cold on this morning I could barely operate the dials on the camera. The deformation is a known phenomenon caused by refraction.

Thanks to a viscously (cold) north wind, it cleared off during the evening and the supermoon showed itself.

Effective focal length of  about 760mm, on tripod, mirror lock-up, etc. A little contrast added to bring out the features. Taken in Le Côty (see GPS link below).

A typical cormorant pose: drying his wings.

The same guy from the previous post, just a few minutes later. I moved about 20 metres to get him square with his wings open against the colorful sunrise.

There’s no way I could have exposed for both the bird and orange sunrise, so I opted for the latter… and the sillouette.

Taken on a morning when my youngest son Liam (2 yrs) woke me up at 4:23 am…

I figured I may as well get up and go for a walk with the camera before heading to work. I had seen this guy perched here many time before during the day so I figured I’d go have a look. He wasn’t there, but after 10 minutes he kindly made an appearance. This also happened to be the only time this day when the light was decent. Thanks for getting me up Liam.

Taken near the University de Neuchâtel.

Wiki entry on Cormorants here ( I haven’t identified this one yet).

Although I didn’t get to see them do their full courtship dance (I had to get back to work!), they still make a photogenic pair.

Taken in Neuchâtel, near the main port.

See earlier post from 2010 here.

YouTube video here.

[ Thought I'd move away from the wildlife for a shot or two  ]

Handheld shot of the colorful bridge in Tokyo Bay. Who said the 105mm Micro was only for Macro shots ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Bridge_(Tokyo)

More shots from Japan, including panos of this area, here.

Just one of many pics I took of the Brown Pelicans that swoop along the beaches of Cancun. Great practice for Birds-in-Flight shots.

[ See related BIF ePhotozine article here ]

[ See full gallery here ]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Pelican

An otherwise boring beach shot, given a little colour punch with Aperture.

Taken in Cancun, Mexico.

With all the snow melting so early the foxes are starting to come out of the forest to hunt for mice and moles in the fields. This one was taken from our bedroom window. They’re pretty fun to watch as they do their vertical pounce. Maybe not from the mice’s perspective, I guess…

He/she’s pretty far from the camera (~100 meters), and in the shade. Not great conditions – plus I’ve got a 1.7 tele-convertor on the lens so the sharpness is definitely a notch down, as you can see from this cropped image.

UPDATE: Full gallery now available here.

—
A portrait shot of the same woodpecker as the November 28th post. Not very often I see her perched like this. Indeed, I was ready, and waiting…

I’ve since noticed that there’s also a male that comes around, though I have yet to capture both in the same frame.

UPDATE: Full gallery now available here.

—

I realise that I’m a little stuck on the bird theme lately, but the winter snow somewhat limits wildlife choices at times-

The Blue Tit (had to look that one up) is another photogenic fellow who battles for the winter feeders in our garden.

Once you get past their nuisances – namely the early morning cawing and garbage destruction – you have to admit that the crow is a work of art. One of my favorite birds – adaptable, intelligent and photogenic – much like his cousins the Jays and Magpies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crow

Caught this fellow half-napping in Geneva on Sunday while on a family walk. The contrast with the water and the yellow eyes was too good to pass up.

I believe that this is a species of Diving Duck, but as I couldn’t see the bill I can’t be 100% sure.

UPDATE: Full gallery now available here.

—

The Dendrocopos woodpecker, female version. AKA, Great Spotted Woodpecker.
We know her as The Birdseed Bully of our garden.

They may be jays but they’re like hawks around the feeders in the winter. That is, until the woodpeckers decide to show them who’s the boss… (see next post, in a few days…)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_jay

Taken near Chasseral, Neuchâtel.

Lac de Tanay, July 2010.

Taken at the Cabane de Susanfe, Switzerland.

During a recent trip to Albuquerque, there was a hummingbird garden just outside my hotel room. As we don’t have any hummingbirds in Switzerland (that I know of), I could have stayed for hours photographing these guys. Are they ever fun to watch.

See a full gallery here.

I was able to get fairly close to this guy, pretty much standing directly under the tree he was in for about 10 minutes. I think that this is a red-tailed hawk.

See a few more here.

Up close, this little sparrow looks a lot meaner than he really is.
Taken in Neuchâtel.

Always good to have the Macro in the bag – you never know what may drop in.
While visiting a medieval village festival I spotted this fellow.

Taken with the Nikon 1.7x teleconverter on the 105mm AF-S Micro. While not supposed to work with this lens (AF suffers a little in low light), it does a pretty good job of extending the reach to 180mm (DX) when the light is decent. This shot is hand-held.

I think that this is a Yellow-winged darter.

Side view of the same damselfly in the previous post.

Definitely one of my favorite subjects to photograph. Taken close to Topsail Beach, near St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.

I was so busy watching the elaborate ritual that I almost forgot to snap a few photos. Apparently, amid wildly gyrating neck movements (necking?), they offer each other weed(s).

Taken in Neuchâtel.

During my lunch break today, I made a quick first visit to the Le centre-nature ASPO de La Sauge, located just across the lake from where I work.

Most times when I go out with my 80-400 I come back disappointed with the results near the 400 end. This frog is one that didn’t turn out too badly.

I’m hiding under a large tree here, about 20 metres from the burrow.

These guys were obviously checking me out. They’re probably wondering what guy in his right mind would wait 2 hours in 30 degree heat for a picture of two marmots.
In my defense, they were pretty entertaining.

Corny title – subject to modification until I can properly classify !

Taken in our garden.

I consider myself pretty lucky to have spotted this weasel (a.k.a.  stoat, or ermine). They’re quite evasive.

Taken near Chasseral, NE.

I believe that this is a finch, or a sparrow. Anyone ?

Taken near the port of Neuchâtel.

If these things were a few feet long they’d be pretty scary.

Taken in our garden. I am continually trying to practice capturing images of flying insects (with little preparation).

Judging from its light colour, I believe that it’s a common fly, young adult stage. Corrections are welcome.

Not a whisper of wind and nobody else is up.

This fellow came all the way across the lake to check up on us.

I believe that this is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, but I’m not 100% sure. Taken near Tanay, in the Chablais Alps, CH.

Spotted a few of these guys on the way up to the summit of Le Grammont, near Tanay (CH).

Yet another “browse-around-the-garden-looking-for-stuff-to-shoot” photo.

Another garden shot. “Fly-on-Nettles”.

Cricket on a blade of grass.

Tranquil sunrises in the mountains are among nature’s most inspiring moments…

A few more from the same morning are here.

I believe that this is an Eastern Tent caterpillar.

A few more of him here.

At least that’s what I believe this guy to be.

More shots of him here.

Capturing this is an exercise in patience.

A rainy day on the rugby pitch in Fribourg, Switzerland.

A few chamois, taken near the ski station Savagnières, on the trail up to Chasseral, NE.

Telsa just loves the camera. Taken on a perfect winter morning for photography.

Any excuse to get outside with the camera!

And the dogs are always up for it too.

Tesla is always expecting food.

Teasing Telsa with a stick is always a bit of risk in the best of conditions. You’ve got to time the stick-teasing retraction with the timing of the shutter release,. Well … let’s just say that she almost got my arm with this shot.

I really should know my Animalia classification better.

My son, Liam at about 14 months. His expression reminds me of a Dr. Seuss character.

The infamous Nikon “Mecca” in Ginza, Tokyo. Lots of eye-candy, but no deals here. Had a quick look and moved on…  If you’re looking for a better deal, stick to Hong Kong.

From a pedway near Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Merchant in Stanley Market, Hong Kong Island

Posing with her parents outside a temple in Suwa, Japan.

Just a nice object that I first mistook for a fire hydrant!

Suwa, Japan.

Magpies are very wary birds, and they’re almost impossible to approach in rural areas (such as near our house).

In Copenhagen, however, they were landing only 10 metres aways… and I pounced !  (photographically-speaking, of course).

The light was so nice this evening in Copenhagen. I just placed the camera on the table and took a few shots with the timer before supper was served.

The meal was nice too !

Entrance to the beautiful park in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Frederiksberg Haven, Denmark

The colorful row of buildings of Nyhavn.

Copenhagen, Denmark.

My daughter Sophia trying her hand at a pottery wheel for the first time at a local country fair.

Cernier, Fête de la terre.

View from our garden on a dewy, hazy, summer morning.

Not a great shot technically (the eyes should be better focused), but I still like the composition.

Endless desert road, taken during a quick pit stop Near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Although I’ve hiked several times to the base hut, this is probably the closest I’ll ever get the summit of this majestic and dangerous mountain (4477m).

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels, Belgium.

Taken looking down one of the tubes connecting the spheres.

This is about as close that I come to being in front of my own camera.

Thanks to Sylvia for providing the mirror.

A quiet morning. The streets are so well restored that you almost feel transported back to another time.

Typical coastline near Sorrento, Italy. Rugged and beautiful with inspiring colours.

Taken from Sorrento, across the Bay of Napoli.

The early morning was quite cloudy. Just as I was about to pack it in and go to work, the sun broke just where it was needed.

Zoo of le Bois du Petit-Château, La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Honestly, I’m not sure of the exact species of duck.

A fallen column at the Temple of Zeus.

Athens, Greece.

A massive corner column at the Temple of Zeus.

Athens, Greece.

Hand-held shot with the 105mm Micro.

A garden spider in our (what else?) garden.

Taken at the Fête de la Forge (Blacksmith’s festival), in Le Pâquier (NE) Switzerland. This fellow was taking a break from “the crowd” after a shoeing demonstration.