Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

I like to take photos of things in nature while I go out for walks and hikes and adventure. I mostly take photographs of birds, but also other critters, trees and plants, too!

I got started with bird photos in 2014 and when my extreme-zoom point and shoot died last year, I decided to go for my first DSLR. I'm still quite new to world of "real" photography and my favorite way to learn is by experimenting. But if you are a more experienced photographer and have any pointers for me, I am open to your suggestions but I don't promise to remember them when I'm out in the field.

Here is my little corner space to share some photos with you all.

I'll start with this one. It was taken recently and I shared it on the discord, but I liked it so much I thought I would open my thread with it.

Oooh @Lailorn this is gorgeous! Is this near where you live? If so, I'm mighty jealous!

I'm by no means a pro with DSLRs (there are others on here who are, though!) but I've used a few over the years. The biggest tip I have from my own beginner's perspective is learning the basics of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (if you haven't already!), then messing around with those settings on your camera when you're out shooting photos. You'll find you get a wide variety of results with different settings for each of those in the same situation. Or if you like using the different preset modes on your camera, focusing in on composition is a good one, too!

These days I can't seem to look at a photo without thinking "could that work for an Ages or Arda banner??" Which is to say, @Lailorn, this is a lovely photo and I wonder if I might borrow it for a banner sometime (with credit of course!)?

I'm using Unsplash a lot right now in an effort to not steal Random Internet Art but of course it's more interesting to use material from Plaza members. In fact, this gives me an idea for a thread...you're very inspirational today Lail.

In keeping with the forest theme, here is the forest at a different scale. Instead of looking up, now we look down at what's close at hand and that is...a lot of lovely ferns.

I am *insanely jealous* of your easy access to a real forest. I love the way the sunlight plays through the upper branches of the trees in that first photo, and the perspective just makes you feel so *small* looking at it.

And the ferns are just lovely. But I love plant photos, LOL.

Ooo this leafy shot is delightful! I am in love with this vibrant shade of green - reminds me of springtime and new beginnings. Nice work with depth of field here, too! The foreground is delightfully crisp against the blurry background.

I absolutely love that tree shot! I'll echo Taeth in saying I'm jealous you have such easy access to a forest with real trees. I get a real sense of vertigo as I follow the line of the tree trunks all the way up from the bottom. I feels like I'm really in that forest looking up. You picked a magnificent angle and the sun peaking out from behind the tree is just icing on the cake!

Trust me, I am very, very grateful for my proximity to such lovely forests! I am happy to share more of them with you here, if that's the least I can do to bring it closer to you. Thank you for stopping by, all three of you.

I am glad the first photo evoked the feeling of small because that is sure how I felt taking it! I wonder how old some of those trees are and what things they have "seen" in their time.

Well, since I promised bird photos in my opening post but haven't put any up here, here are two because I couldn't choose between them!

First up is a male Common Yellowthroat, a species of warbler. I think they are quite beautiful! They are delightful little birds that make wee "tch-tch"ing sounds and call out "witchity-witchity-witchity!"! The sound is very distinct and is often heard in marshes and near streams and tend to hide among lower vegetation.


Next is a Barred Owl. This shot was so difficult with the lighting and the vegetation, so I am pretty proud of how this one turned out. I experimented with the exposure and took dozens of shots to get this one that turned out the best of the bunch. I'm certain it could have been better if I had more knowledge and more time. I didn't want to linger too long as this owl had a nest nearby.
Barred Owl numbers have been increasing in western North America, which is great for them, but they out-compete Northern Spotted Owls for resources. They also have a distinct call: "who cooks for you? who cooks for you all?"

Aw Lail these are just lovely! It took me a moment to find the warbler but I see it now! Such cute, round lil birds.

I think you made nice use of depth of field in the owl shot! The bird is crisp against the blurred vegetation. It's always so satisfying to take several shots and find one you like.

Oh also, I love your descriptions of their calls so much!

Oooh I love the warbler! That's such a lovely shot!

I've become obsessed with barred owls the last few years! You should look up the Barred Owls of Midtown Tulsa channel on YouTube. It's local to me (though not in my part of the city), and an established habitat of over a decade. We had our first Barred Owl chicks in two years this spring! It was so amazing to watch them!

*is attracted by nature piccies* Oooh, Lail, these are beautiful!

I just noticed your thread. You have taken some gorgeous nature shots and I love how green everything is in them! It took me forever to spot the warbler as I hadn't realised just how tiny they are.

Birbs! While I am partial to nature shots, I go bananas over birds shots. I don’t know why exactly, but there’s something about how their movement or their stance is caught that amazes me every time I see one.

I think your barred owl shot is nigh perfection. You put a ton of work and patience into finding the right light. It’s my new favorite Lail shot! :D

Thanks, Tara! It certainly is satisfying, and especially when I am trying something new. I haven't done much work with adjusting the exposure before.
Taeth - I really love owls. I think besides Osprey they are my favourite raptors. There is something so mystical and wonderful about them, isn't there?
Thank you, Tari - I seem to only photograph nature and not much else. I'd like to branch out and experiment with other things, but nature is just what calls to my heart. I'm glad you enjoyed the forest shot.
Pele -
Dim - I am quite partial to green. I find it very soothing and calming and hopefully the green-ness of photos bring some of the same feeling to you, too.
Frost - Thank you! I hope you'll like this next one, then, as its a banana-y bird!

Since lil' Yellowthroat was hard to spot in the above photo, here's one taken with my old point & shoot (which had ridiculous level of zoom for its compact size) where I don't think you can miss him in his full golden glory! I'm saving pennies for a long telephoto lens so I can get zoomier bird shots again someday.

Oh oh oh! This is such a lovely shot, Lail. You've done so well with depth of field in this one, and the composition of the shot is lovely. Nice work getting such a crisp photo of this birb in action!

Oooh, such a lovely bird! I always love seeing what birds people have around them. There can be so much unexpected variety!

And re: the owls, yes! They are such majestic, mythical birds! On that note, here's a beautiful shot of a barn owl that a volunteer got at a local-to-me wildlife rehab I follow. I think you'll love it!

Oh! I missed some things in here. I love owls but have only glimpsed a few in the wild. I'm jealous!

The little yellowthroat came out beautifully too. I almost missed him in the first shot too, he's so tiny! It's great to find him hiding in there.

Ohhh Taeth - look at that barn owl!!! So gorgeous!
It is hard to believe...that point and shoot was a miniature beast and I loved that I could take it everywhere with me and never miss a photo op. But I really like my DSLR, too!
Aerlinn I hope you get to see an owl someday!

I just got a used tripod for $4 a few weeks ago and immediately went out to experiment with it. I think this is the best shot I managed.

Tripod for the win!! What a steal, too!

This is a lovely shot. I adore the bright green moss on the rocks contrasted with the foamy water. It's so exciting to get a smooth, long exposure of little waterfalls!

@Lailorn I am so torn between investing in a decent point and shoot or figuring out how to manage even a cheap DSLR. I get so much wildlife in my yard that I just can't get decent pictures of with my phone, no matter how amazing the camera is on it. *sigh*

And YAY for a tripod! I love this picture. I can almost hear the water in it. It reminds me of a ranch my writing group and I stayed on for a few days in Arkansas. There was a lovely creek that wandered through the middle of it, and it had lots of little waterfalls like this.

Yay for good deals and new photos! I have exactly zero experience with long exposures so running water shots are just cool, mysterious magic to me. Nice to get all that detail on the moss, and the green under the water too--those rocks would be slippery! Enjoy your new toy.

This picture makes me want to go out adventuring by that stream! Lovely shot, Lail!

Thanks all! I'm looking forward to trying the tripod more on some waterfalls this fall/winter when we get more rain.

@Taethowen, I struggled with the same choice when my old camera died... the best thing about a point and shoot (that I miss) is that its small enough to carry so I never missed a photo op because I almost always had it in my bag/pocket/whatever. Whereas with my DSLR I have missed photo ops due to not having it/the right lenses with me.

@Aerlinn - I have zero experience with long exposures, so I'll be doing lots of experimenting now. Yes the rocks are slippery and I did actually trip and skin my knee while I was out shooting that photo.

To add some blue to this thread, here's the view from where I camped on my backpacking trip a couple weeks ago. It was utterly spectacular and now its covered in smoke and fire...

I absolutely love these photos! The grandeur of the first one is amazing the angle and the lighting is amazing. I also love the bird photos the first one it took me a moment for me to find the little bugger but I did. Also amazed at the zoom on your point and shoot that looks great!

Also I love the extended exposure of the water fall on the tripod looks excellent at least that is my first guess on it that's what it looks to me)

How surreal it must be to have that photo and know that the landscape is so changed now! I am envious of that crystal clear lake. We don't have those in Oklahoma, they're all red from the clay soil.

I'm loving the symmetry from the reflections - that water must have been so still that day! I'm glad to hear you got to get enjoy this beautiful scene before things got so bad out west, and I hope that it won't be too long before you can safely go backpacking again. <3

What can I say... simply beautiful!

Thanks all - glad you are enjoying my little slices of nature. The good news is the lake in the photo somehow managed to escape the fires relatively unscathed but so much of the surrounding area did not.

Dusting this thread off with some watery pictures...

First up - I am terribly spoiled with waterfalls in the PNW and this was my first go at trying tripod waterfall shots. The ironic part was when I got to this one, you view it from a wood platform with railings/fencing which were in the way of my tripod so I wound up just using the fencing to steady my camera and take the shot!

And because it is winter and winter = ducks, here is my favorite duck - the Bufflehead! These are all males and though they look black and white, their feathers are actually very beautifully iridescent though it is not really captured in my photo below, you can see what I mean here.

Fun fact: the Bufflehead is the smallest diving sea duck in North America!

The water fall shot is absolutely gorgeous I've seen a few great shots taken using annoying fences that are in the way of the shot and you've certainly done a great job of being steady with this. It kind of looks like it was a slow shutter speed on this one?

Also the ducks are super cute! We don't have too many types of ducks where I am (mallards only that I've seen ever). Also super glad to hear the lake managed to survive the fires.

Lail, these are gorgeous! I love it when fences (or rocks... or the ground... ) provide makeshift tripods! Nice long exposure on the waterfall - clearly this worked well! I love the birbs' reflections shimmering on the water. Composition-wise, I also really love the way the solid blue of the water is broken up by the ducks' stark colors. Beautifully done! (Also, today I learned that Buffleheads exist and have gorgeous plumage!) Hope we get to see some more nature photography from you soon. :)

@Lailthoron I can't help but feel a bit envious at seeing that waterfall! Very, very beautiful. And the ducks are rather cute!

I'm such a sucker for waterfalls and that shot is awesome, Lail! Wish we had any waterfalls at all near where I live. We don't really at all, which I think is why I love seeing them so much.

I also am really enjoying the duck that decided to glance in the direction of your camera for the shot .

I looove waterfalls! And trees! Man I wish we had waterfalls around here :( Awesome pics, Lail! <3

Lail... the Buffleheads! They're amazing! I know lots of folks have been talking about how good the waterfall shot is (and they should, it's incredible) but I love those ducks!

Great photos, Lail! The water in the waterfall photos reminds me of cotton candy, for some reason. Beautiful! And an owl!!! Wow! I have never seen an owl in the wild - cool photo!

Thanks you are all too kind! <3
Fuin, sometimes annoying fences are the best when they make good camera holders! Yes the shutter speed was 1/4 so slow but not super slow.
Thanks, Tara, its hard to sometimes think about composition when I'm trying to shoot birds before they fly away/move/dive on me so its nice when it just works out.
Pele, come to the PNW someday (you know that faraway someday we're all dreaming of) we have lots of waterfalls to go around! Same to you, Windy and Nia!
Nia - I took a sequence of the buffleheads and I liked that one best because the one bird looked at me.
I am personally quite partial to the buffleheads myself, Andro.
Drifa, ooo it does, doesn't it? That's a very neat observation!

Sorry, no more waterfalls today just more birds ... and a furry critter.

First we have a female Bufflehead so you can compare the two -

Ooo, I quite like these bird pictures. Although I'm not sure what kind of bird that is in the 3rd one. Some sort of flightless, fur-covered species? But that one of the sparrow is really cool looking.

Birbs and a skwirrel! You continue to share such wonderful nature shots. I have to say, I think the sparrow is my favorite of this most recent group. The depth of field works so well with the bird and wire crisp and the rest a lovely blur.

Ack, someday indeed. How do you even manage to catch those lovely critters?