Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bucephala albeola, bufflehead, Canon 50D, male bufflehead, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 18, 2018| 3 Comments »
For the first time in a while, a male Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) ventured close enough for me to get some shots yesterday when I was exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I have posted some photos of buffleheads fairly recently, but they have all been of females (or possibly immature males).
The shape and colors of these little water birds, especially the males, always strike me as cartoonish—like they were drawn by Disney artists.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel, Winter, tagged Canon SX50, Christmas 2018, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Stephansdom, Vienna Austria on December 15, 2018| 9 Comments »
Last night, my final night in Vienna this trip, I had a chance to walk by Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), an incredible building in the center of the city.
The beauty of Vienna is magnified at this time of the year by wonderful decorations and lights everywhere.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel, tagged Canon SX50, Christmas 2018, Christmas market, Rathaus, Vienna Austria on December 14, 2018| 3 Comments »
My short trip to Vienna, Austria is rapidly coming to a close and I want to leave you with this image of the entrance to the outdoor Christmas market at the Rathaus (City Hall), the tall building in the background.
My busy work schedule and the rainy weather this year have conspired against me and kept me from getting new photos. I decided to reprise a photo from a similar posting that I did in 2016. I did have a chance earlier in the week to visit this Christmas market and, as always, it was amazingly beautiful, despite the bustling crowds and often commercialized decorations and merchandise.
Best wishes to all for a “Frohe Weihnachten,” German for “Merry Christmas.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Landscape, Photography, Travel, tagged architecture, Canon SX50, hotel, morning light, Vienna Austria on December 12, 2018| 8 Comments »
Sometimes the most mundane scenes capture my eye and prompt me to photograph them. On Monday morning, I looked out of my hotel window and was captivated by the way that the early sunlight was falling on the dome of a building in the distance. As I started exploring the scene I saw lots of wonderful details, a wonderful juxtaposition of elements of the old and the new, of historical buildings and new construction.
This is not my normal style of photography, but I thought it would be fun to share with you a couple of images that give you a sense of the feel of that early morning in Vienna, Austria. I had hoped to take some additional photos of the city, but the last couple of days have been cold, wet, and windy. With a little luck I will be able to take a few photos of the Christmas markets to share with you before I depart this beautiful old city.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, tagged Anas platyrhynchos, Canon SX50, mallard, mallard duck, odd duck, Stadtpark, Vienna Austria on December 11, 2018| 13 Comments »
Whenever I am traveling for work I try to find some local wildlife to photograph. I am currently in Vienna, Austria and yesterday morning I went for a short walk in the Stadtpark, a park in central Vienna that is not far from my hotel. In the small pond there I found mostly mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), a species with which I am quite familiar. One duck, however, really stood out because it had such unusual markings.
I focused my attention and my camera on this particular duck. Its shape looked to be similar to that of normal mallards and I wonder if this might be some kind of hybrid. I suppose that it could be another species altogether, though it did not look like any of the species in the photographic list I found on-line of the birds of Austria.
Whatever the case, this bird struck me as being a bit of an odd duck.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged birds in flight, Buteo jamaicensis, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-tailed Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 10, 2018| 10 Comments »
Over the past few months I have repeatedly heard the screaming of hawks in the distance, but it has been rare for me to actually catch sight of one. I was thrilled therefore when I spotted this Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The hawk soared almost directly over me, providing me with a wonderful view of its fully extended wings and red tail.
This was one of the few cases when it was not an advantage to have my camera attached to a monopod. I ended up taking this shot with the camera held at a high angle with monopod sticking straight out, almost parallel to the ground.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bucephala albeola, bufflehead, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 9, 2018| Leave a Comment »
When I am watching water birds, it is hard for me to predict when they will decide to take to the air. Often they give no visible warning. Some species, though, need to dance across the water to gain momentum before they can lift off, like this pair of female Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola) that I observed last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The one in the back had already started its takeoff maneuvers when I captured this image and a second later the second bufflehead was also skipping across the water.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
