Friday, June 29, 2012

Backyard and Pleasanton Trail Birds

As the title suggests, today I have bird photos I took in my backyard and on Pleasanton Trail (Arroyo Del Valle Trail). Well it was actually the Pleasanton Sports Park, but I'm going to call it Pleasanton Trail anyways because it was kind of the border between the trail and the park. LOL So anyways, if you are new here, the trail is located in Pleasanton, CA. (Duh!) So here are the photos! I'm going to start off with my backyard photos.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best bird photos of 2012, use this link. To view my best 2012 backyard photos, use this link. To see all of my at home and backyard photography shots of 2012, use this link. To see my best photos of Pleasanton in 2012, use this link. To see all of my photos from Pleasanton in 2012, use this link.

Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)

The black phoebe really loved to perch on my bird cage (the one I'm not using). There are a lot of bird poop on the top... If you are new here, I used to have a lot of pet birds. 2 died and 1 flew away. Now I only have 2 parakeets left, which I keep in my smaller cage now, which I can bring indoors easily. I don't use my big cage now. My big cage is located near the nest, and the black phoebe enjoys using it as a perch before flying up to its nest. 

Nom nom nom... HAHA It caught a bug...

Well anyways, here is the story of this family of black phoebes. The family nested in my backyard and had baby birds. Now they flew away because the babies hatched. I enjoyed their company though. I got some great photos! :D

That looks like a dragonfly in its mouth. Nom nom nom... 

 Another photo of it perched on top of my bird cage. My big bird cage had a small bird play gym at the top. 

 Fence post got in the way of this shot... That's the thing in the bottom right corner. I was taking these photos indoors to not startle the bird. I temporarily removed my window's mesh screen to get these photos. 


The bird standing on my wire vine crawler thingy I stuck in my flower pot.  

You know what bugs me... How a bird can grip such a thin round piece of wire and not flip upside down. LOL

The black phoebe was from my backyard. The rest of the robin photos are from the Pleasanton Trail/Pleasanton Sports Park border...

Looks like it found a worm. 

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

This is all the photos for this post! I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Next time, I will have some bird and squirrel photos from Pleasanton Sports Park. After that post, I will begin my Monterey photos! :) I know all of you have been looking forward to those, so 1 more post before I start! Please don't forget to share the blog posts with your friends! Also, if you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Augustin Bernal Park (HDR, Flowers, and Moon)

Today I have photos of landscape (HDR), flowers, and the moon taken at Augustin Bernal Park. Augustin Bernal Park is located in Pleasanton, CA. The hiking trail I was on is only open to Pleasanton residents and their guests.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link. To see all of my Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link.

Low angle landscape photography of the pond near the trail. This is almost at the peak of the mountain. There are tiny fishes in the pond. 


Here is a HDR low angle shot of the trail. This took me quite a while to fix up in Photoshop as the shady part of the photo was too dark. Took me half an hour to mask and fix. 

Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus)
This type of flower is pretty common in the SF Bay Area and along California cost (I'm guessing). You will see more of this flower in my upcoming post on Point Lobos State Reserve. 

A photo of the moon to finish off the day that day. It wasn't full yet, but almost!

Thank you for looking! I hope you have enjoyed the photos. Please share the blog post with your friends! Also, if you didn't, please read about the new changes to my blog here! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

New Twitter and Google+ Pages/Buttons

The newly added Social Networking buttons.

If you are a returning visitor, you may or may not have noticed I have added 3 new buttons right under my Facebook Widget on the top of the right side bar. You may also have noticed I added the title "SUBSCRIBE ME FOR UPDATES" right above the Facebook Widget. I have created a new Twitter page and a new Google+ page dedicated to this blog to better connect with all my fans! So if you have a Twitter or Google+, please follow me on my new pages too.

Another reason I made these 2 new pages is due to the recent changes to Facebook Fan Pages. It's either due to Facebook not selling enough ads or they are just being greedy. Anyways, Facebook decided to not spread your new Fan Page status updates to all of your fans' Facebook feeds. They are only spreading it to some of your fans, and they also made it a lot less noticeable than before. In other words, if you only "liked" me on Facebook, you may not be getting all the updates from me. Facebook thinks by doing this, it will force their Fan Page users to purchase ad space from them. They are wrong! I will just ask my fans to go ahead and follow me on Twitter and Google+. :) I hope you do! (Keep scrolling down there is more updates.)

My new Twitter widget for my new Twitter dedicated to this blog. 

I also updated my past Twitter Update widget to the official one from Twitter. I also changed it to the Twitter account I'm dedicating to this blog. This box is located right under the Popular Posts section in the right sidebar. This way, you can view all my latest updates without even leaving this blog! :)

Which ever Social Networking service you choose to use, I will keep you updated on new posts and other things on all of them. Well, thank you for reading this! Thank you for your support! Also, as always, please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends, family, and co-workers! :) See you guys next time! New blog post coming soon!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Augustin Bernal Park Birds

Today I will be posting the bird photos I took at Augustine Bernal Park. Augustin Bernal Park is located in Pleasanton, CA. The hiking trail I was on is only open to Pleasanton residents and their guests. I sometimes go there for exercise as it is near my house and the whole trail is pretty shady due to the trees. It is very good place to go during the summer. (And yes, I did copy the intro I wrote in the last blog post. I changed 1 word.)

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link. To see my best bird photos of 2012, use this link. To see all of my Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link.

Hummingbird on a branch. Doesn't this look like one of those Chinese watercolor paintings?

This photo of the American Robin (Turdus migratorius) was taken after sunset in a shady area. I had to use a tripod. No flash was used. Here are the settings used:
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/2 second
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 275 mm

 Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)


 Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)

As I was hiking, I saw a group of acorn woodpeckers flying around and climbing the trees.  

I'm sorry the birds look so tiny in the photos. They were too high up for my camera to get. You can click the photo to view the full size.  

One of them flew down just a bit. Slightly better photo. :D


Not too sure what bird this is due to the motion blur. :/ If you have a guess, please leave me a comment below. 

Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)

Thank you for looking at my photos! I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family! More photos are to come. In my vault of photos, I still have a few more Augustin Bernal photos (scenery, flowers, etc...), some front yard photos, Pleasanton Sports Park photos, and my Monterey, Big Sur, and Point Lobus photos! So please check back often for more beautiful photos! I think the one you will be looking forward to is my Monterey, Big Sur, and Point Lobos photos because those places are a bit more famous than my nearby regional parks. I will be posting those once I finish posting my other photos. Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Augustin Bernal Park Deers

Today I will be posting the deer photos I took at Augustin Bernal Park. Augustine Bernal Park is located in Pleasanton, CA. The hiking trail I was on is only open to Pleasanton residents and their guests. I sometimes go there for exercise as it is near my house and the whole trail is pretty shady due to the trees. It is very good place to go during the summer.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link. To see my best dear photos, use this link. To see all of my Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link.

Note from blog owner (author/photographer): Just an update from me. I would like to say, I am taking a few summer classes at college, and this will continue for a few more weeks. (This also means college is starting for me.) My blog posts may slow down a bit as I have a lot of work to do. I hope you understand and I apologize for any inconveniences caused. Please continue your support by checking back often and spreading the word about this blog. :) I am NOT abandoning my photography/blogging hobby, it's just I will post less often. Also, if you haven't already done so, you can get updates on your Facebook now whenever I post something new up. All you have to do is "Like" this blog on Facebook. You can also do this in the Facebook box on the top of the right sidebar. Thank you for your support!

I know there are a lot of noise in the photo. As I mentioned, the trail is pretty shady, I had to kick the ISO pretty high up for the shots to not blur. The shots looks slightly out of focus because of Canon's high ISO noise removal. Might as well use it, because I'd have to do noise removal in Photoshop later anyways... Here are the photos:



Deer butt! LOL

That is all the photos for today. I will have more Augustin Bernal Park photos up soon! Also don't forget to check back for my Monterey, Point Lobos, and Big Sur photos! I recently took a trip there. I am still in the process of looking through and processing the photos (I took them in RAW). Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar. See you next time! (Also, again, I'm sorry I have to slow things down here. There is nothing I can do about it. :/) 

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Arroyo Del Valle Trail HDR Landscapes

These are HDR landscape shots of the (partially dried) stream on the Arroyo Del Valle Trail (the one I usually call Pleasanton Trail). Arroyo Del Valle Trail is located in Pleasanton, CA. It is a very long trail, and one of the entrances is near my house. I exercise and take photos there often. The photos were combined and touched up using Photoshop. The photos were taken at f/22.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link. To see all of my Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link.

View from the bridge towards the direction of Hopyard Road.
This was my best photo that day. the sun was not blocked by a cloud when I took this photo. 

View from the bridge toward Highway 680.


 View from Highway 680 towards Hopyard. You can see the bridge in the distance. 
The lighting in this photo was the worst. :/ The darker area in this photo were really really dark before. That is the power of Photoshop! HAHA Took me an hour to mask and adjusting the lighting to get this result. 

Remember the bridge photos I took last time? You can see them in this blog post. Anyways, I thought it would be nice to experiment with HDR photography, and the scenery on the trail is great. So this is all the photos for today. Please share the blog post with your friends and family! I'll see you guys next time.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Unboxing The Rainbow Imaging Wireless Shutter Release (Video)


This is the unboxing video for the Rainbow Imaging 100 Meter 2.4 GHZ Wireless Shutter Release for cameras and DSLRs. The kit comes with the transmitter, receiver, batteries, a certification, and a badly translated instruction manual. XD The product unboxed was the shutter release for the "3 pin" Canon EOS cameras. The same company also makes other shutter released for other brand cameras like Canon (other type of connector), Pentax, Panasonic, Nikon, Sony, FujiFilm, and Samsung.

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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Augustin Bernal Park HDR Landscapes

This was my first time trying out HDR photography, and I know some of the results are not that good. :) But I hope you enjoy the photos! The photos were taken in RAW and later combined using Photoshop. In the photos you will be looking at an overhead view of Pleasanton/Dublin. Augustin Bernal Park is located in Pleasanton, California.

I hiked all the way up to the peak of the mountain to take photos of this. It's good exercise. LOL But it was so windy that day! There were like 30 MPH winds on the peak. :/ And I stayed there for 10 minutes taking photos. I got a slight cold afterwards. Oh well, I hope you enjoy the photos.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link. To see all of my Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link.

Almost up on the peak, there is a giant flat area filled with weed and trees.  

A tree and a picnic bench on the peak of the mountain. There are some what I believe is cell towers on the higher peak.

Just as a reminder, if you love my blog, you can also "Like" us on Facebook. You can also do that in the Facebook box at the top of the right sidebar. This will give you updates on your Facebook feed as I post more photos.

Another view of the flat area. (Heading down due to the wind.)


Landscape of Pleasanton/Dublin. Pleasanton is closer, Dublin is off in the distance (I think). 

Another landscape shot from a different angle.  

This photo took me the most time in Photoshop as the trees in the foreground did not turn out so well. Took me a long time to mask and brighten it up. :/ I went hiking a bit late that day so the lighting was not that good either. 

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar. Thanks for looking! See you next time!

Friday, June 8, 2012

Photive RC-6 Wireless Shutter Release Review (Video)


The Photive RC-6 Wireless Shutter Release is a great cheap replacement to the Canon RC-5 and RC-6 remotes. This infrared shutter release is compatible with the Canon T2i, T1i, XT, XTi, 7D, 5D, 60D, and most of the other similar Canon DSLRs compatible with the RC-5 and RC-6 remotes!

Features:
- Uses Infrared.
- Instant or 2 second delay for shutter release.
- Works up to 16 feet away.
- Has "keychain/wristband hole".
- Lasts up to 2 years or 10,000 exposures.
- 1 year limited warranty.

Dimensions (Approximate): 2 in. X 2.5 in. X 0.3 in.

Follow me on Youtube here.

Products Shown or Compared in video.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Butterflies, Birds, Trees, and Airplanes

I know what you are thinking. What kind of combination is butterflies, birds, trees, and airplanes? Well yes, I agree it is random, and it is! I had a bunch of random pictures I took and I wasn't sure how to group them into blog posts. So I thought, hey why not a blog post of a little bit of everything that doesn't really relate? So here I am! Random combination of photos. LOL

The butterfly and leaves (tree) photo was taken at Shadow Cliffs Park in Pleasanton, California. The Black Phoebe (bird) photos were taken in my front yard. The airplane photos were taken on the Arroyo Del Valle Trail located in Pleasanton, California.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link. To see all of my Pleasanton photos of 2012, use this link. To see my best bird photos of 2012, use this link. To view my best 2012 backyard photos, use this link. To see all of my at home and backyard photography shots of 2012, use this link.

I saw a butterfly land on the grass as I was taking photos of the solar eclipse a few weeks back. So I adjusted the camera settings and took a photo of the butterfly. If you missed my solar eclipse post, you can find it here.

Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
So the other day I was bored, so I decided to set up my tripod in my front yard and get some bird photos. I get a lot of birds coming to my front yard as I have 2 parakeets and they spill a lot of food. LOL The wild birds around my house never gets hungry. XD If you want to see the other photos I took in my front yard, check out this blog post (of the Northern Mockingbird) and this blog post (of the American Robin).

Fingerprint Reader and Camera Accessories.

The new leaves of spring. This was taken at Shadow Cliff Park.

 So we were looking after a family friend's kid for the afternoon. She was all like, there is an airplane in the sky, take a photo of it! So I did. :P Turned out better than I thought!

I hope you have enjoyed these photos! Next time I will probably continue with Augustin Bernal Park photos. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar. Thanks for looking! See you next time!