Sunday, May 10, 2009

My Personal Best...

Hannibal, of hannibals animals, has asked us to try and choose a picture that would represent our personal best. My birding library continues to grow but I have a looong way to go to try and emulate photos taken by many of my bird-blogger friends. I am always so amazed at what unbelievable subject matter, quality, detail and color my blogger friends acquire in their photos and I hope that some day I , too, will reach such a level of craftsmanship with my photos.....
...so here goes, I took this picture on December 18, 2008 from inside my office window. It is a Nashville Warbler who must have strayed from its flight path trying to get to its winter destination and some how landed in my backyard. It was eating larvae from my Azalea bushes. Such a wonderful surprise for me and according to the many bird experts who saw my picture, a very rare find in December. This is the original photo......and this is the cropped version I posted back in December. I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to photograph this bird and only hope it survived our winter weather. :(
Thanks Hannibal for creating this meme and if you want to see more "personal best" please visit Hannibal's blog at... http://hannibalsanimals.blogspotcom

17 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

That's a wonderful photo! Look at all the textures in thw Nashville's feathers.

Dawn Fine said...

OMGoodness Tina..
That photo is awesome! I haven't yet been able to photograph a Warbler...I tried several times today to get a photo of a Magnolia Warbler...Geeze..I will keep trying!
I dont have an SLR...but now a decent point and shoot with xtra zoom.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

That is a gorgeous picture,add to that the fact that the bird is out of range,makes it even more special.

Blessings,Ruth

Chris said...

It's a wonderful shot Tina. I love it too, and I can see why it is your favorite. Gosh I forgot about that after the week end. I have to do that too :-)

Unknown said...

I like the close crop Tina, it should have been an incredible find

Shelley said...

Congrats to you on this photo! You must've been thrilled!!!! I love it!

FAB said...

A rarity & so well captured thro' the window. Well done Tina.

Neal said...

Don't sell yourself short Tina. You have some great photos. The one pictured here is great along with a LOT of previous ones.

CountryDreaming said...

Just lovely and so poetic, this winter warbler among the azalea leaves.

Kim said...

Love the picture of the Nashville. You picked up all of the lovely detail in its gorgoues plumage.

Eve said...

I remember this Tina and it is a wonderful shot! I'm sure we'll be treated to many more "bests" in the future!

Anonymous said...

That's a beautiful bird. I really like the colors.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

That one (both of them) are truly great, Tina. Love that Nashville Warbler.

Love your new feeder(s). Where did you order them???

Hugs,
Betsy

Dave's Bird Watching Blog said...

Tina, I remember when you posted this originally, and it's as amazing a picture now as it was then! Still one of my all-time favorites! Of course, by the date you gave us, you technically haven't shot it yet. Maybe you are anticipating another good one this coming December! :-)

jalynn01 said...

That is so beautiful...no wonder it is the best of the best! Wow! I love the colors and how they all blend together...wonderful!

Tina said...

Picky Picky Picky, Dave.. lol! Its funny I didn't notice that b/c when I was typing the date I had taken this photo.. I had trouble with my computer auto checking the date and switching it to 2009! I changed it back and never thought to go back and make sure the date was correct.
So, I corrected my mistake..and will do better next time!!

Peggy said...

This is an AWESOME "Personal Best!" Fantastic! Thanks for playing along and your entry is very fitting!

(Sorry for commenting so late, I was on vacation last wek!"

would like to hear your thoughts..