This is for the birds

 It's freezing outside as perhaps the most massive winter weather perhaps ever has hit the US.  That resulted in snow all across the Southern US in amounts that hasn't been seen in a very long time and near record lows.

That has also resulted in birds being unable to find food.

Snow covered / snow filled bird feeder - I cleaned the feeder off so birds could access the seed.

I usually only put out maybe a pint of bird seed a day to feed the wild birds.  But since the snow came late on Sunday night, there have been hundreds of birds coming to the feeders.  I have been refilling feeders several times a day.

The smaller bird breeds are not as shy as the larger species.  These little ones will come feed even as you are standing there which creates a great albeit cold opportunity to get some nice photographs.  The two photos above were taken with my XiaoMi 9 phone literally inches from the birds.

So take the opportunity to kill 2 birds with one stone (metaphorically, not literally).  Help the wild birds by providing them with much needed nourishment in this super cold weather and use that food to get some great photos.

Once upon a time I knew a lot of different birds but it has been years since I took that biology class.  Today I am posting photos asking people who are "birders" to help identify the birds I am feeding.  Here are a few photos:

Robin and Cedar Waxwings - they avoid the feeder but were eating these berries which I thought were poisonous.

Common Grackle

Speckled Starling

not sure

Eastern Bluebird? 

Introduction - welcome to a New World of photos

 I started taking photos as a hobby when I was maybe 11 or 12 years old.  I started with an Olympus viewfinder film camera which I still have.  It was completely manual which forced me to learn some basics on setting shutter and aperture.

Later I used a variety of cameras before I started trying to take existing light concert photos at CCM concerts.  I discovered I was really bad since my existing light photos were always blurred.  I decided to invest in a high end camera.  I bought a Nikon F5 - top of the line at the time and some 2.8 aperture Nikkor Lenses.  The Camera knew what it was doing even though I didn't.

I also picked up a couple of books by John Shaw - Nature Photography and Landscape Photography.

Then I practiced and learned from my mistakes.  I was fortunate to be able at the time to attend a lot of concerts including the same tour multiple times such as Point of Grace, Avalon and Jaci Velasquez.

 In 2007, I bought my first digital camera - a Nikon D80 which I choose because it was full frame and could use my existing lenses. 

In 2012, I bought the Nikon D800 and that is what I am still using today.  Maybe if I can saved some money I can upgrade again.

As my introduction says - I enjoy taking natural photos rather than staged / posed photos.  I enjoy capturing the moment.  I hope to use this blog to share a few of my photos from my life going back 10 years or more.  With the photos, I'll also share teh background story.

I hope you enjoy it.

I am also in the process of monetizing my photography.  You can visit my picfair store - https://timnew.picfair.com and I also have stock photos uploaded on Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com/g/timnew and Dreamtime (can't figure out a way to link my Dreamtime account).
You can also contact me directly if there are any photos you'd like to buy.