It's Raining Beads

On the upside, the new camera is here. It's here...it's here...it's here!  Happy Dance!!!!

On the downside...it is raining buckets so no playing with the new toy.  In fact, I was lucky that I alerted a neighbor to keep an eye out for the Fed Ex guy for me while I was at work so that my new toy didn't get left on my front steps in the rain!  I guess I can't complain too much, though, because we SO need the rain.  In February and March, when we usually get our rains, we had weeks of 90+ degree temps.  Now that it's May...we're getting rain.  Probably not enough to make a serious dent in the drought, but we'll take what we can get and hope it prevents us from having a disastrous fire season later this year.

So, since no camera play for me today, I thought I'd post some beady goodness:

 

 

Perfectly fitting for my new obsession...a bronze focal with a bird design from Eden Art Glass.

 

 

 

 

Verdigris spikes from Linden Avenue.

 

 

 

 

Mykonos ceramic spikes in black...

 

 

 

...and copper and...

 

 

 

...wavy, patinated spikes from Naos Glass.

 

 

 

 

Wavy, patinated two-hole disks from Fab Beads.

 

 

 

 

Czech glass teardrops in soft lavender and...

 

 

 

...mint green with a Picasso finish and...

 

 

 

...candy-colored Czech glass rondelles from Dream Girl Beads.

 

 

Cute little tribal birdies and...

 

 

 

...daisy charms both from Tree Wings Studio.

 

 

 

 

Delicate white porcelain butterfly with blue floral design and...

 

 

 

 

...matching beads from Springwood Porcelain.

 

 

 

 

Aqua/white ceramic bead set from Pajego Art House.

 

 

 

 

Beautifully colored lampwork glass from Sue Beads.

 

Just the way to spend a rainy day...creating with beautiful materials!

 

KJ

Camera Play

While pacing the floors patiently waiting for my new SX50 to arrive, I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about improving my photography skills and have been putting lots of "shutter clicks" on my existing point and shoot trying to hone my beginner skills.

Hopefully, I've gotten to the point where the graininess/blur is MOSTLY the fault of the inadequate zoom capability and not my cluelessness (camera manual?  what's that?  and more importantly...where is it since I never read it when I first got the camera years ago and promptly lost it).

I'd welcome some feedback if anyone sees anything that IS the result of using the wrong setting for the job (most everything was taken using Aperture Priority, f5.5 which is all my camera will allow when at full 16x zoom, ISO 80), hand shake (I'm planning to get a monopod once the camera arrives - got some tips from a fellow birder at the San Joaquin monthly bird walk this last weekend on the one she was using). 

This is not just about the cameras, though.  There's been fascinating bird activity at a couple of places I never expected:  outside my office on my lunch hour and at my son's school during afternoon pick-up time).  I had to try to record it - even with blur!

 

 

Even though my office is in a fully built-up industrial area and right next to a freeway, there are an amazing number of birds around.  This area used to be a vineyard and there are still a few (and I mean a very few - like 5) rows of vines that remain as sort of a decorative area.  I discovered that this Cassin's Kingbird likes to hang out on the fencepost at the end of one of the rows and is usually so fixated on catching bugs that he will let me get quite close to take photos so I don't have to use my piddly zoom too much.  However, on this day, he was very flitty and wouldn't sit still.  I finally realized why...look in the upper right corner of the photo...

 

 

 

Raptor of some sort circling over head.  This little kingbird was fully aware of it WAY before the stoopid human with the camera!

 

 

 

Right after this shot, the raptor got inside the kingbird's safe zone and he took off for good.  Didn't see him for the rest of my lunch hour

 

 

 

 

The raptor didn't give up, though, and kept circling. 

 

 

 

I'm thinking that 50x zoom on the new camera woulda come in handy right here!  Darn it!

 

 

 

Any guesses on species?  I'm guessing Red-Tailed Hawk.  I've seen a Cooper's Hawk in the area before, but it had noticeable bands on the underside of its tail and was smaller than this.

 

 

 

 

At the end of the day, it was time to pick up Ryan from the YMCA after-school program he attends on campus.  He likes to hang out with his friends until the very end so I knew he wouldn't mind if I dawdled on my way in and stopped to take a few shots.  Found this Bushtit in a tree next to one of the classrooms.  I have to say - they have rapidly become one of my favorite birds to see.  Not colorful, but so darned cute!

 

 

 

However, he has had enough of the Crazy Camera Lady and is OUT OF HERE!

 

 

 

 

And then...as Ryan and were walking to the car...we looked up and...a whole tree full of Cedar Waxwings!!!  I have lived in this general area about 45 years and have NEVER seen this bird around here.  I know the bird guide books say we have them, but I had thought they'd be found more in the mountain areas (forest areas with berries, etc.).  Who would have guessed they like hanging out at the local elementary school??? 

 

 

Okay, seriously, why isn't my new camera here yet???!!! 

 

 

These birds are beautiful anyway...even when out of focus LOL!

 

 

 

This was probably the best shot I got...never could get close enough to get off that 16x zoom.  Too many branches in the way and lots of people coming and going while picking up their kids.  

 

 

I think this House Finch realized it was in the wrong tree. 

 

 

It couldn't escape Crazy Camera Lady, though, LOL!  I like that this is a closer shot, but I think it's overexposed? 

 

 

No, not birds, but I did want to show that I can take a photo that's not grainy/blurry as long as I don't have to zoom.  These are the leftovers of a raised garden that some of the younger kids planted...it has been a favorite hangout for a pair of Lesser Goldfinches for the past week or so.  Only saw the male high up in a tree on this day and all my photos of him were totally unusable. 

 

 

Another part of the garden - I wish that ugly pole wasn't in the background, but these pink flowers were so colorful that I couldn't resist them.

 

 

 

 

I know the background is kind of dark, but I actually like it that way in this shot...makes it look like the sun is only shining on the daisies.

 

Again, any constructive feedback is heartily welcome - I'd love to eliminate any obvious things I'm doing wrong before the new camera gets here so I can take full advantage of what it has to offer.

 

KJ

San Joaquin - Wild Bird Wednesday

As novice birders, I thought it would be helpful for Ryan and I to visit some birding hotspots.  Not only to have the best opportunity to see more birds, but also to hook into the local birding community and find out about clubs, classes, activities, etc.  So, a couple of weeks ago, we visited the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary for the first time.  I came away with a plethora of information on upcoming bird photography classes as well as summer bird camp for Ryan.  We've also been back since to participate in their monthly bird walk (more on that in a future post).

But we had a great time on this first visit and saw some wonderful birds:

 

 

This Snowy Egret took a break from fishing to glare at us.  No matter how much I moved around, I could not get a shot without that reed in the way, but at least it's not blurry.  And, if you look closely, you can see his yellow feet in the water - it always looks to me like they are wearing a special pair of neon bright scuba fins! 

 

 

This Great Blue Heron gave us quite a surprise.  We were standing right in the middle of a path when it flew in so low over our heads that I could feel the wind from its wings and then it landed right on the path in front of us only a few feet away.

 

 

 

Tree Swallows were everywhere!  This site has nest boxes built about every few hundred yards or so and they were all occupied as near as I could tell.

 

 

 

These guys are very fast and mostly in the air, so I was lucky to get a few shots of them sitting still.

 

 

 

This one is sitting on top of one of the nest boxes.  A couple of other birders who were slightly down the path ahead of us actually found a baby on the ground and scooped it back into its next box. 

 

 

Anna's Hummingbird perched in a tree right on the trail. 

 

 

 

 

Bushtit sitting on reeds at the water's edge.

 

 

Other than being buzzed by the heron, this was probably the most interesting thing I saw all day.  This bird...which I'm not quite expert enough to identify although my best guess is maybe Lesser Goldfinch...sat and pulled apart the fluff from this plant for a good ten minutes.  I kept thinking it would take off with some in its mouth for nesting material, but it just kept throwing bits onto its back almost like bathing behavior.

 

 

The sun was brutally bright by this point - I couldn't see my camera display at all so just had to hope I was getting any shots.  This is probably the best one.

 

 

 

Here you can see it leaning over to grab another beak full of fluff. 

 

 

I didn't even realize until I got home and looked at the shots on the computer that there was a second bird on a nearby branch.  Would love to know what these are if anyone can tell from these not-so-great photos.

 

 

 

 

This bird I did see watching from yet another nearby branch and thought it was perhaps the male to the one that was pulling the fluff apart.  It seems to be yellow with a black cap which is what made me think Goldfinch.  Of course, that was before I had seen the shot above with the second bird in it.

 

And, so we left San Joaquin having had a great first visit...and with a bit of a mystery to solve!

 

 

 

 

KJ

A Little Clarification Is Good For The Blog

It has come to my attention that since I've started to merge some of my new hobby (bird watching/photography) onto this blog that was formerly dedicated almost entirely to my old hobby (bead buying ...er... I mean jewelry making), that I should clarify a couple of things.

I didn't realize how into the bird/photo thing I was going to get...it just sort of happened (1 backyard bird feeder apparently = crack cocaine).  When I first started mentioning it here on the blog it was in the same vein that I mention any non-bead/jewelry-related topic:  insight into the life of the artist.  That's always been why I read fellow jewelry/bead artist's blogs - I think it's fascinating to learn more about the people behind the art.

Now that it's becoming a bigger portion of my posts, I'm starting to think that perhaps it should have its own space (The Misadventures of a Novice Birder...or something).  But then I think: who am I kidding?  I barely can keep one blog going LOL! 

I may still do this in the future, but for the time being, both birds and jewelry are going to have to co-exist here (and how psychic of me to have named my business and blog with a bird-related reference right in the title all those years ago - Go me!)

To that end, I want to be clear that the bird photos and the photos of MY finished jewelry and resin or clay or metal beads/charms/components are taken by me (see the windows on the right blog margin for my Etsy shops). 

Photos of various materials I've purchased (the "bead porn" posts) all come from the Etsy sites of the vendors I purchased from and I always include their shop name and link to give credit as well as, hopefully, steer some purchases their way.  I think it's important to support all of the artists in the bead community who supply us with all our amazing materials (some might say I've made this my life's mission...and, if you look at the size of my bead hoard...there might be some truth to that LOL).

Whew!  Okay, boring explanificlarication over with. 

And now for the exciting (well, to me anyway) update:  After much thought and research, I finally pulled the trigger on a new camera purchase.  A Canon SX50 HS is on its way to my house even as I type this.  I decided to go this route for a couple of reasons: 

The first being the rave reviews (and amazing photos) I've seen that have all been credited to this device.  In some cases, experienced photographers are even putting down their DSLRs in favor of the SX50 in certain situations (less weight to carry, less equipment to juggle, etc.) 

The second reason is simplicity.  After a lot of reading and practicing, I feel that I am getting a handle on Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed, ISO and even a little bit about composition and post-processing.  What I'm missing is the ability to get better shots from a distance (obviously important for bird photos).  However, being such a novice, I was a little apprehensive about going full bore into a DSLR with (potentially) multiple lenses, tripod, etc.  After all, I'm not going to be selling photos to National Geographic or whatever.  My initial goal is nice, clean, pretty shots to share on my blog.  Plus, I have enough to still learn/practice without the extra equipment just yet - I've signed up for two classes to help improve my skills along with getting the new camera. 

The final reason is price - this camera is available NEW for less than $400.  Hopefully, it will be enough to get me where I am looking to go.  If not, then I didn't totally break the bank and can still go "whole hog" on a DSLR in the future after I've mastered some of the basics.  And, on the flip side, if my photos are still terrible...then I'll know that it's me and that maybe this is not the hobby for me...and I won't have wasted a lot of money learning that and I'll still have a decent camera for vacation photos, etc.  My existing point and shoot was over 5 years old and, while it takes GREAT jewelry (and macro) photos, it's way behind in terms of number of megapixels and some other functionality so it was time to upgrade anyway.

Can't wait until it gets here and I can start playing with it!

KJ

Slightly Delayed Friday Bead Porn

So, I'm a little late getting this post up...doesn't anticipation just add spice?  I say YES...and that's the story I'm sticking to.

 

 

Gorgeous green apple Czech glass and... 

 

 

...tiny Czech turquoise rounds both from Bead and Ribbon. 

 

 

More items from my "clasp-a-palooza" spree.  Copper hook clasp from Fab Beads. 

 

 

 

Copper Bali-style "S" clasps from Supply Your Soul.   

 

 

 

 

Yummy colored patina on these metal "melon" beads from Eden Art Glass.

 

 

 

 

Aqua patinated rings from Supply Your Soul.

 

 

 

 

Kristi Bowman's wonderful copper pieces.

 

 

 

Verdigris ball charms and...

 

 

 

...and bumpy charms...

 

 

 

 

...and tribal disks from Naos Glass.

 

 

 

 

Wonderful burned/colored leather from Tree Wings Studio.

 

 

 

 

Berry-colored polymer clay beads...

 

 

 

 

...and coordinating feather...

 

 

 

 

...and peacock feather bracelet focal are all from Humblebeads.  These last three were inspired by my recent bird fascination...I see a lot of birdy-related jewelry in my future!

 

 

 

 

Teal ceramic teardrop charms from Bo Hulley.

 

 

 

 

Ceramic sunflower pendant and...

 

 

 

...ceramic bead set both from Thea Elements.

 

 

 

 

These lampwork headpins reminded me of Easter eggs.

 

 

 

Yep - I think it was definitely Easter.  Both of these sets are from Eden Art Glass.

 

 

 

Gorgeous aqua lampwork tulips and...

 

 

 

 

...sweet pink lampwork bell flowers are both from Serena Smith.

 

Happy advanced Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there.  I'm hoping my Mother's Day weekend includes some jewelry-making time.  Sadly, I'm already suspecting that it won't - we have a birthday party to attend on Saturday afternoon which means earlier in the day will be taken up with getting the present put together as will as picking up Mother's Day goodies for my mom.  Sunday morning Ryan and I will be attending our first ever "bird walk" with the Sea and Sage Audubon Society at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary.  We went there last weekend to check it out on our own and saw a lot of amazing birds - I can only imagine it will be even better with a tour guide who knows what they are doing.  Ryan and I actually got lost (well, I knew where we were, but he wanted to be "map master" and determine the directions so I let him do it and it resulted in a 3 hour walk that he is now referring to as the "death march."). 

 

After our bird walk, we are supposed to have a late brunch with my Mom.

 

That pretty much takes care of the entire weekend...guess these goodies will just have to wait until later in the month.

 

Sigh.

 

KJ