Thursday, March 16, 2006

A walk in the park

It's Spring Break

We went walking in Agua Caliente Park (the place to go for all Rheumatic, Scrofulous, or Humorous Diseases).


After our walk, I tried out a new lens (Canon 70-300 mm, f/4-5.6 IS USM). I need a lot of practice with it, but I do like the lens. It will be great to take on trips.

Agua Caliente Spring
















9 comments:

robin andrea said...

Wow, Pam. That's quite a lens, and you've got quite an eye. Fantastic and beautiful. I recognize the mallard and the coot, but there a few other birds I have no idea. Looks like a great place for a walk.

Cyn Bagley said...

Oh wow. I seem to be saying that a lot on your blog. My hubby and I enjoy walking in the park.. in the spring and summer. Not so much in the winter.

sonia a. mascaro said...

What a nice walk in the park, Pam!
Sounds you had a lovely day.
Love all photos.
Palm tree photos are gorgeous. One of them looks like with my palm tree in my garden. Isn't?

Endment said...

Are those all with your new lens?

I have been practicing with mine... You are getting some lovely shots I especially enjoy the reflection

T. Beth said...

Nice Pipevine Swallowtail photo! I've been seeing quite a few of these butterflies this year, mostly at cultivated Parry's Penstemon flowers.

Pam in Tucson said...

RD - I was looking for a compromise travel lens and this seemed to be a good one. endment led me to it. The little bird on the branch, I believe, is a verdin, although it doesn't have quite the same markings as the verdin I photographed [Beth - please correct if I'm wrong]. t.beth wrote recently about the other water birds: the black and white one is a male ring-necked duck, the brown one below him is the female (see Firefly Forest 1/22/06). She also wrote about the butterfly: Pipevine Swallowtail on 3/7/06. I'm learning most of my desert wildlife and flowers from her web sites. That park is a lovely oasis in this dry world we live in.

cynthia - We're enjoying walking again. For the last couple of years either my husband or I have had injuries that have prevented us from walking, so we're really enjoying the time walking together while it's still cool enough to be out in the desert.

Sonia - I thought of your trees when I was taking the photos of the palm trees. You have such fascinating trees in your garden. I hope you'll be posting more photos of plants, flowers, etc.

endment - Yes, these few - all with the new lens. I'm very happy with it, although I'm still not used to a DSLR and keep forgetting about all the controls that can be set in a digital camera. And you should see how many photos I discarded from yesterday's session! I do appreciate the recommendation of this lens and I'll keep trying. Let's compare notes.

Pam in Tucson said...

Beth - You must have been writing at the same time I was responding to the others. That butterfly was moving around so fast I could barely see its markings. Found out what I had when I looked at the images and then compared with your blog. BTW, please, please correct me when I misidentify something or say something that's not correct about it. I'm learning natural history as much as I'm learning photography these days and I rely on you (and everyone else) to keep me honest.

Anonymous said...

pam, you continue to amaze me with your eye for color, texture, and composition. time to get that business up and running! i'm always willing to move back to tucson and make it happen with you. wouldn't that be wild - a family business! tortoise trail and son. greta could head up the delivery service.

love,
thor

Pam in Tucson said...

thor - I'd love to have you back here, but I'm afraid we'd all starve. We might make enough to keep Greta in dog food ;)