ChipzQuipz - Year in Review

Hard to believe it was a year ago today that ChipzQuipz got its start. Had it not been for that near fatal toothpaste choking incident (subject of the first blog post), ChipzQuipz may still be just another flighty idea spinning in my head. As a thank you, to all of you for reading this past year, I have assembled a collection of some of my favorite and some of your favorite photos from the year. I hope you enjoy them just as much the second time around. 1 year and 12,000 page views. Wow! I swear only 11,999 of them are my own page views (wink). Thanks for a fun year!

Arisaig Lighthouse, Northumberland Shore, Nova Scotia.

A bee extracting pollen from Russian Sage.

Queue dashes thru the weave poles during a show at the Indianapolis Zoo.

A Northern Flicker stops at my feeder for a snack (back yard). 

A lighthouse on Prince Edward Island.

Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia.

A female Cardinal and Blue Jay (back yard).

Flamingo, Indianapolis Zoo.

Sea urchin shell on the rocks in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.

Sunset at Goose Pond, Linton, Indiana.

A Northern Flicker, Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick.

Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia.

A Red Fox, Prince Edward Island.

American Goldfinch in field (back yard).

A male (left) and female(right) pair of Pileated Woodpeckers (back yard).

Garfield Park Conservatory and Sunken Garden.

Giraffe kisses, Indianapolis Zoo.

A Bananaquit (Chibichibi), Lac Bay, Bonaire.

A snow covered Mt. Evans - Idaho Springs, Colorado.

Tulips, Chicago, Illinois.

An Eastern Fox Squirrel (back yard).

Northern Mocking Bird (back yard).

Gilbert's Cove Lighthouse, Nova Scotia.

A view from the lighthouse cliffs at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.

Fall colors, Route 8 north of Titusville, Pennsylvania. 

Bay of Fundy low tide at Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia.

A Dragonfly at Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary, Connersville, Indiana.

Bubble Pond, Acadia National Park, Maine.

Nyxy, best friend and guardian angel.

Wharf at Cape St. Marys, Nova Scotia.

Hopewell Rocks, Cape Hopewell, New Brunswick.

Northern Cardinals (back yard).

View of Niagara Falls, New York from Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Wild Turkey, Beech Forest, Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Orchid, White River Gardens, Indianapolis.

Cattle in pasture near Scots Bay, Nova Scotia.

Snail tracks, New River Beach, New Brunswick.

Sunrise at Digby, Nova Scotia.

White-crowned Sparrows - Juvenile/Adult

One of the most enjoyable birds to observe, amongst the many back yard sparrows in the winter months, is the White-crowned Sparrow. These photos are of a juvenile and adult pair that frequented my feeders this past winter. The juvenile's head slowly transitions from the tan and brown stripes to the adults white and black stripes. 

Baby Carolina Wrens

Three little baby Carolina Wrens cuddled up together in my barn. 

Nikon D300 | Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IF-ED

Spanish Lavender

Spanish Lavender at Chicago Botanic Garden, May 2013.

This story has nothing to do with Lavender or Chicago but I know some of you can relate and will enjoy. I Went to the grocery store yesterday with a friend and as we exited the grocery my friend realized she had forgotten eggs and ran back into the store leaving me with a full cart of groceries and her car keys. So, I amble out into the parking lot with wobbly wheeled cart in tow, walk right up to my friends car, push the unlock button and nothing! Push unlock button again, nothing! So, I step back, look at the car - Yep! Got the right car! Push button again, jiggle car handle several times....nothing! Push the button again, wiggle, wiggle, jiggle ...... Nothing! Wiggle, wiggle, jiggle! ...... Nothing! As I was standing there totally befuddled, scratching my head, watching my ice-cream melt in the sweltering heat and pondering why the key wasn't working I look up and notice...... the exact same color car, same make, same model, with same tinted windows just on the other side of the car I've been wiggle, wiggle, jiggling for the last three and a half minutes.......the only difference between the two?  Any guess? Yep - you guessed it! The other car was unlocked!!

Canon EOS 50D| Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro.

Belted Kingfisher

A Belted Kingfisher resting on my fence.

(And you thought you were having a bad hair day).

Nikon D300 | Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IF-ED

Blue Heron - "The Streak"

"Here he comes Boogity, Boogity"

"Don't look Ethel"

This photo makes me think of Ray Steven's 1974 hit, 'The Streak'.

The following link will take you to the Youtube music video. Pretty funny!

The Streak Music Video

Mute Swan

I've been looking for this Mute Swan for 2-1/2 months. I remembered seeing swans one afternoon while driving and didn't have my camera with me. I searched unsuccessfully many times, knowing nothing more than it was on an east-west running road, south of Indianapolis. Suddenly last week, I spotted the swans again. Having my camera on board, I made a quick U-turn for photos. 

Nikon D300 | Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IF-ED

Red-Headed Woodpecker

A Red-Headed Woodpecker at my feeder. A very rare event. The Red-Headed Woodpecker, as a species, is declining due to habitat loss and is no longer breeding in the northeast where they are now considered rare. But who really cares about the birds when we can have a big box store, selling cheap crap and paying shit wages on every corner instead, right? It truly is just heart breaking when you consider what the trade-off  really is. At any rate, I was very happy to see this bird at my feeder last month considering it may have been the first and last time I will ever see one in my life. 

Nikon D5100 | Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm  f/3.5-5.6G ED VRII 

4th of July - Indianapolis

July 4th, 2013 Indianapolis, Indiana.

I have never successfully photographed fireworks before, though I have tried exactly twice (once by land and once by sea and I doubt you could tell the difference between those photographed on land and those shot from that heaving boat). So today I read a "How To" article on the web and set out to accomplish a couple nice photos for you guys. Here they are. Enjoy! For those of you who might like to read that wonderful article on how to photograph fireworks - this link's for you! Photograph Fireworks.

Nikon D300 | Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IF-ED

Photos shot at ISO L1.0 (equiv ISO 100),  f/6.3,  focal length 95-100mm (142-150mm equiv), exposure time 4-5 seconds, manual focus (set to infinity and fine focused), tripod mounted, wireless remote shutter release and VR (vibration reduction) off. 

Macro Fun

Waited patiently as the gnats, flies and mosquitoes treated me like an all you can eat buffet trying to get both of these micro-bugs in the frame and in focus. I had no idea a macro lens would be this much fun!

Nikon D300|Tamron SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di Macro Lens