“A House Finch sings of joy, resilience, and the beauty of community — a reminder to stay hopeful, connect deeply, and express your truth.” – unknown
Until next time,
~donna
Sunday Vibes – Love is in the Air
birds
Hide and Seek – American Goldfinch
I don’t know if he was intentionally trying to hide from the other birds or not, but this little guy sure did give it a good try. So much so, I had a really hard time keeping the lens focused on him. You can tell because these photos aren’t as sharp as I would like.
This is one (1) of three (3) American Goldfinches we have visiting our yard this year.
Did you know the American Goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa, New Jersey and Washington?
They are also strict vegetarians in the bird world, eating an entirely vegetable diet albeit swallowing an occasional insect.
A breeding male Goldfinch can be identified by their bright yellow and black foreheads, black wings and white markings. They also breed later than most North American birds and wait to nest until June or July. This is the optimal time when milkweed, thistle, and other plants have produced their fibrous seeds, which goldfinches build into their nests and to feed their young.
I’m hoping to capture more of these little birds this summer. They always brighten my day.
Until next time,
~donna
Species Information Source: Cornell Lab – All About Birds
Shall we Dance?
Spring is finally here and time to begin the afternoon birdwatching. Our backyard is full of all kinds of birds, especially house finches and we’ve made it very attractive for them with our new bird feeders.
I started to caption this “dinner for 2,” but they looked more like they were dancing (probably more like fighting) for their space at the dinner table.
Until next time,
~donna
Out Like a Lion
As I sit here writing this post, most of the U.S. is buried beneath snow.
Our daughter, son-in-law and grandkids, who live in South Carolina have already received 8″ of snow and are expecting more throughout the night. Our son and daughter-in-law who are loyal parents to our oldest granddaughter’s traveling volleyball club are also knee-deep in snow somewhere in the middle of Tennessee. For us, we dodged winter storm “Gianna” with just a few snow flurries and frigid temps. January is definitely going “out like a lion” in 2026.
But the birds certainly didn’t mind the snow flurries and cold weather. The feeders were very active this morning.
This cardinal pretty much sums up how I feel right now with 22 degrees and wind howling outside my door……brrrr.
As pretty and cleansing as snow is, I’m finding the older I get, the only “white stuff” I want to see, is the sandy, beachy kind, where the weather is warmer and I can run around in flip flops. I guess for now, until I can find that “one particular harbor” I’ll stay nestled indoors by a warm cozy fire watching the birds forage for food in between the snowflakes.
Until next time,
~donna
31 Days of July – Photography Challenge Day 8
Day 8 – What was I thinking when I started a personal photography challenge in July, in Georgia? The temps are hot, and the humidity is worse. But here I am doing the best I can shooting photos from inside the house. Hopefully, this heat will break soon, and I’ll be able to venture out to find more interesting subjects. So, bear with me on this journey, you may be seeing a few more bird, squirrels or macro photos.😉
Today’s photo is of one our frequent mourning dove visitors. At any given time, there could be one, two or upwards to five of them hanging out around the bird feeders or on this limb waiting their turn. The complexity of this shot came from shooting it through a window screen. Fortunately, the bird didn’t move too much, and with an ISO of 1250 I was able to maintain focus and achieve somewhat of a crisp photo. Editing comprised of cropping and level adjustments in both lighting and color to achieve the depth and detail. I also applied a vignette outline.
Field Notes: Focal Length: 400mm; Exposure: 1/125 sec, f/9 ISO 1250
Until next time,
~donna
31 Days of July – Photography Challenge – Day 1
I’ve been feeling a void in taking pictures lately. I don’t know why, but somehow, I haven’t felt very inspired. My camera has sat in the cabinet for over a month and the only pictures I have taken have been with my cell phone. It’s “ok” but I knew I needed to push myself and pull out the “real” camera. So, what better way to challenge myself than to start a 30-Day Photography Challenge. Since July has 31 days, let’s just call it a 31-Day Photography Challenge. 😉
Here’s to Day 1, a Gray House Finch hanging out on the bird feeder.
Wish me luck.
~donna
Lens Artist Challenge 197 – Rule of Thirds
Ok, so this is my third week joining the “Lens Artist Challenge” and it’s official. I’m hooked! Not only with the challenges but seeing and reading all of the other wonderful posts! It’s truly one of the highlights of my week to participate in the challenges.
This week Tina brings us back to the basics and challenges us with the “Rule of Thirds.” You can read her post here. I must say, I have taken a photography course (or two) many moons ago but had completely forgotten what the 10 Rules of Photography Composition were so this was a fun challenge to revisit rule #1.
The “Rule of Thirds” says your image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines and you should position the most important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect.
Landscape photography lends itself well to this rule because you’re trying to capture and recreate in your camera what you see in real life. The rule of thirds can help you determine the focal point and how to incorporate everything else you see.
Take for instance this photo from The Pacific Coast Highway. The anchor (where your eye is drawn) is the carved out wooden stool on the lower left corner. As soon as your eye catches the seat you follow it outward to the road in the background with the coastline running parallel. Funny story behind this photo. My husband and I had passed this spot and he pulled off the road for me to take the photo. I had to turn around in the passenger seat (fortunately we had rented a convertible) to take the shot!
The next photo (also taken on the Pacific Coast Highway) may not quite follow the rule. If you were to put a grid over the photo the lighthouse is pretty much in the center, not on one of the vertical axis (like Tina says, rules are made to be broken). However, your eye is pulled from the lower right-hand corner (the rocky cliff) to the lighthouse. In my perspective the photo would not have told the story about the lighthouse being out on a point, had the rocky ledge in the lower right-hand corner pointed you to it.
When it comes to nature shots, that’s a completely different story. I’m always focused on capturing the subject first and come back to the “Rule of Thirds” when I’m cropping and editing the photos.
For instance, my bird shots. I like to use them for my weekly quotes so it’s important to me to get the shot of the bird and then worry about composition later. This week’s quote about bluebirds is a great example of the process I go through.
When you look at the original photo on the left it needs a lot of cropping to get to the main subject, the bluebird and the feeder (the second photo). I would rather the bird face the other direction, but I had to go with where it landed (trust me I took several shots to get this one). But what I like with the end result is the quote actually anchors/balances the photo. What do you think?
Similar to landscapes, gardening photography lends itself well to the rule of thirds, too.
Like these daylilies and black lantern. The daylilies may first catch your eye first, but because they face in the direction of the lantern, it becomes the anchor.
Or this pink hydrangea cluster. It starts at the lower left quadrant and your eye follows the clusters from left to upper middle to the right side of the image.
As Tina reminded us, rules are made to be broken. Nothing really lines up on any particular axis with this knock-out rose, but it’s obvious the bud is the focal point, accented by the Boka image of the open bloom in the background.
As a closing thought, the “Rule of Thirds” is a good tool if you find it difficult to get balance in your images.
Thank you, Tina for the refresher on the rule of thirds. I’m confident I’ll keep an eye out more when taking photos.
~Donna
P.S. –Interested in joining Lens-Artists? Click here for more information
It is Still Best to be Honest and Truthful…
For some reason quotes by Laura Ingalls Wilder have been popping up in my feed, lately. I’m glad. They have a way of grounding me when life seems to be spinning out of control.
How about you? Do you have a favorite writer or quotes to help keep you grounded?
~donna
“It’s the Sweet, Simple Things…..”
I couldn’t agree more. Don’t stress over the complicated things in life. Keep it sweet and simple.
Are you treasuring the sweet and simple things in life?
~donna
Bird Watcher or Watcher of Birds?
I’m not a “bird watcher” per se. I don’t run around in the park chasing birds with binoculars in tow, stretching my neck around trying to catch a glimpse of that unique, rare species which can only be found in the wetlands of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Actually, I find myself a little perplexed when I see the bird watchers because all they seem to be doing is looking, pointing and scribbling notes but not taking any photos of what they see. But, hey. I’m sure I look a little goofy at times running around with my camera gear hanging off my shoulders, squatting or standing on a ledge to get just that right perspective for the shot.
Having said all of this I do like to sit in our backyard and watch the birds………with my glass of wine and camera armed and ready. It’s something Michael and I enjoy during the warmer evenings of the year. And, if I’m honest with myself these “bird watching” sessions have provided some wonderful photo ops like these from the other evening:
It’s both relaxing and challenging at the same time. I’m always perched on the edge of my chair, constantly checking my camera settings with the ever-changing bird activity and lighting.
So, I guess you could say I fall into the “bird watching” category. Maybe it’s time I brushed up on the different bird species in the area and join up with a bird watching group. Nah, I’ll just hang out with our backyard wildlife.
So, what about you? Are you a “bird watcher” or “watcher of birds?”
Until next time,
~donna
Donna Robinson Photography 