Dude, There's A Bird On Your Head

 

"He never forgot anything, 

but he never bothered to arrange his memories."

 

~John Steinbeck

Cannery Row

 

Yep, that's John Steinbeck with a seagull on his head. The statue is in Monterey, California, in the Cannery Row district of the town. I photographed this duo, October 17th, 2018, but this is the first time posting it on my blog... I think. I may have posted it previously, but not in this context. The context I am referring to here, is working with one photograph, different styles, such as black and white, color and sepia. In this case I liked the black and white style a lot more than the others. Steinbeck looks more realistic, just weathered. Like an old man sitting very still with a bird on his head, but the color version gives all of the photograph's secrets away. The sepia was nice, but made the picture feel depressing somehow, rather than quirky. I think I have would rather not dwell too much in sad images. I am still learning to not be stressed out constantly and it's getting better, so why mess with things? Right? The last couple weeks have felt like they were a couple weeks, with is a strange feeling in and of itself. It's almost as if time is righting itself.

 

 

~Carly

The Birds Of Monterey Bay

"When the autumn meets the tranquility,

 there you can see the King of the Sceneries!"

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

As much as I love an autumn landscape, with nothing but red, yellow, orange and brown leaves floating from here to there, it isn't the only thing to appreciate about my favorite season, sometimes it's just the amazing color of the sun, and the way it makes everything around seem so tranquil. As you know from my previous post, Alan and I spent a day this past week, in beautiful Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel. I love it there, I really do, but since moving to the Central Valley, I don't spend nearly enough time along the coast. In fact, this was our first visit back, since we moved here in 2015, so it was an especially nice journey back! While I didn't see as many different sea birds as on previous visits, the ones I did see were quite spectacular, and if I didn't know better, I would think they were posing for the camera!

October 17th, 2018 was a wonderful autumn day!

#30 Leaf Of The Day

October 20th, 2018

Pacific Grove, California

Photographed October 17th 2018

~Mood: Happy

~Me

Late Summer Birds And The Leaf Of The Day

"Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought

 of which the sea would not be a part."

~Hermann Broch

Seagulls, Pelicans and Cormorants

Davenport, California

September 2nd 2018

Nikon

 For my whole life, whenever I just couldn't stand another moment of the real world, Alan and I would hop in the car and head to the beach, or for a ride down the coast. I love the smell of ocean air. I love sitting at the lighthouses that dot HWY 1, and I love the sea sounds of the birds! There are so many, and together they make such a beautiful noise! On this particular day, September 2nd of this year, it was clear that summer was on it's way out early, and that thought made me very happy! I was also delighted to discover among the Seagulls, Cormorants, and Pelicans, where some Blue Buntings, and I was lucky enough to be able to photograph both a male and female.

I posted the two males on Twitter, just after my trip to Davenport, but this is the first time I have posted the female. Lovely in her own right, I was thrilled to add both of them to my birding file! I have been astoundingly lucky this year to find several new birds on my outings. I am going to do my very best on vacation to try to set a couple days aside, specifically for searching for new birds. Perhaps visiting the Delta, the Sierra or maybe the North Bay. There are lots of shore birds I haven't photographed yet, so I think it will be fun, and very therapeutic, to search them out. There is a lot to look forward to on this vacation, and any excuse to be near the Delta or the Pacific, makes me very happy. It's all good! 

But I do miss living by the Ocean.

Male Blue Bunting

Davenport, California

September 2nd, 2018

Nikon

 Female Blue Bunting

Davenport, California

September 2nd 2018

Nikon

And Now The Leaf Of The Day

#14 Leaf Of The Day

October 5th, 2018

 Cull Canyon, California

Samsung 

~Mood: Excited

~Me  :)

Along For The Ride

"I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth. Then I ask myself the same question."

~Harun Yahya



This bird was so much fun! It flew along side the eco-tour I was on last weekend. When we first left the dock, there were no birds in sight, then suddenly as we were about sail under the Golden Gate there it was! I am not always a big fan of seagulls, they can be quite rude as birds go, but they can also be entertaining as well, and this one was no exception. As it flew just over my head, the gull and I made eye contact. It seemed to say... "I am not here to poop on you, I am just along for the ride." Okay... as long as we understand each other! LOL. And everything went fine. The bird behaved. I behaved. Just two bird brains with an understanding between us! LOL. And it even posed for me, so what more could I ask for?

:)

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Buffet In Half Moon Bay

"Such days of autumnal decline hold a strange mystery which adds to the gravity of all our moods. Every step that Time takes imprints upon the fields as they grow bare and brown."

~Charles Nodier, Trilby, ou le lutin d'Argail/Trilby: The Fairy of Argyle, 1822

 

The birds were amazing in Half Moon Bay yesterday. There was an estimated 600 birds, and I counted at least 5 different species, maybe more! They were flying about in all kinds of mania, feeding on anchovies I think. All I could see was a million tiny sparkles in the water. It was a bit spooky, and a bit magical all at the same time!

 

Is it possible for something to be magical and spooky at the same time?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Your Monday Photo Shoot: In Flight

"When you get to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly."

~Edward Teller

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Capture something in flight. Birds, insects, planes,bats, whatever - if it's getting around in the skies, it's fair game for this shoot.

~John Scalzi (By The Way)

Birdies. I chose three of my favorite seagull photos from my archive of winged creatures to share with you. :) The large photo above was taken in Monterey, along the 17 Mile drive. The second photo in this entry, of the brown seagull, was taken in San Francisco, at Ocean Beach, just outside the Golden Gate. It is also one of the first few photos I took with my digital camera. It was a beautiful, clear and unusually warm January morning in 2005. I know I have shown that particular photo before, but it really is one of my better photographs of a creature in flight. :) And the last photo, the one of the group of seagulls in flight, was taken here in Berkeley, at the marina. It is the view looking toward Richmond, California. I took that photo just a few months back. I like photographing seagulls, they make very agreeable subjects. :)

~OndineMonet
Monterey, Ocean Beach, Berkeley
2006 2005 2007