[Deep Dene Steve]

Hello Everyone


Just a quickie to introduce myself. I'm very much an enthusiastic beginner, yet to discover my own place. I first bought a "modern" camera, a simple compact, with a view to getting images of British birds - never mind the quality, just look at the ticks in the bird book. For a while now and since getting a K-r and now a K II, I have expanded my interests to more general photography and I have not yet established a proper Deep Dene Steve style. Portraits, landscape and macro-life are my focus at the moment. Having said that, any time lurking in the depths of the New Forest, cloaked up and silent, is always a huge draw to me - always waiting for a migrant dodo to stagger across my field of view.


Be well and enjoy all of it


DD Steve

[kchamber4]

hi DD Steve

Welcome to the forum. I don't know if you were aware, but Dene in Navajo means "The people"

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome aboard, give me the heads up when you get your first Dodo shot, so I can immediately say I knew that man the took that picture.

[wtlwdwgn]

Welcome to the forum Steve! Looking forward to seeing some of your images (including the dodo!).

[TER-OR]

Welcome to the clubhouse!

[Deep Dene Steve]

Many thanks to you all for your welcome. kchamber4: "Dene" is from the Old English for "steep, wooded valley" and the village I live in - Dibden Purlieu - is a contraction of Old English "deep dene by the forest". The dene in question runs near my house and on down to the sea, half a mile away. I'm delighted to learn its Navajo meaning as well. Thanks.

[TER-OR]

Very cool you have some natural areas to explore with the camera. We live along the Fox River in Dundee, IL - a great migration pathway. The warblers are moving through. So far, no species I didn't see in the spring - and some of those probably nested here, but they're hard to spot when all the trees are fully leafed. Of course, I'm not out often enough to really get a good idea of what's here.

[Deep Dene Steve]

Hi Ter-or. Yes, the little ones are difficult to spot once the leaves grow but I have had some success in spring, while the blossom is out, sometimes obviously fluffed up and shivering in the cold and wondering what on earth was wrong with Africa. This time of year my favourites are brent geese, which always for me are the signal that winter is just a few weeks behind. Oddly, I find such starkly monochrome birds look better in colour ?!? I was surprised to see several swallows last Sunday, mostly heading south; I don't remember ever seeing them this late in the year but we have had a very long summer, for a change. You might not get the same species in the US but you will no doubt have your own equivalent. I wasn't at the time well-tuned to my camera and instead just got a few shots of the cattle that graze the old salt pans near here. I've just bought a 50mm f1.4 but it hadn't been delivered by then. Next weekend, the local semi-wild cattle are my target and if you read anything about a UK photographer being impaled on the horns of a dilemma, that will be me.

[TER-OR]

Yes, several species of swallows hunt along the river and through the neighborhood. Mostly Cliff Swallows now, and some Barn Swallows. I haven't seen Bank Swallows in a few years. I think our river banks have changed or the increased numbers of Cliff Swallows have pushed them out. We have a few bats, too, though they're a lot more difficult to photograph!
I have yet to see a tree swallow in the neighborhood but we do get bluebirds and hummingbirds, who are hilarious.

We also get nighthawks, but they usually hunt so high in the air they're not great subjects. Cool to watch them swoop, though. The nighthawks have migrated south, we often see flocks of up to 50 move through. It's surreal, and I never seem to have the camera when those flocks move through - and I think our residents join the flock as it heads south. Cool birds with "invasion stripes" on their wings they're hard to miss.

[Deep Dene Steve]

Yes, several species of swallows hunt along the river and through the neighborhood. Mostly Cliff Swallows now, and some Barn Swallows. I haven't seen Bank Swallows in a few years. I think our river banks have changed or the increased numbers of Cliff Swallows have pushed them out. We have a few bats, too, though they're a lot more difficult to photograph!
I have yet to see a tree swallow in the neighborhood but we do get bluebirds and hummingbirds, who are hilarious.

We also get nighthawks, but they usually hunt so high in the air they're not great subjects. Cool to watch them swoop, though. The nighthawks have migrated south, we often see flocks of up to 50 move through. It's surreal, and I never seem to have the camera when those flocks move through - and I think our residents join the flock as it heads south. Cool birds with "invasion stripes" on their wings they're hard to miss.

Hirundo rustica is our only swallow - you seem to be spoilt for choice in the States. We also have house martins and sand martins, which are similar birds but spend our winters further south, down in South Africa I think, whereas our swallows just go to central Africa. The only other bird of this type is the swift, which from fledging to maturity can spend two or more years on the wing, without ever perching. Amazingly, I have a few shots of them but they are not sharp and no way would I make them public. I am trying to concentrate my efforts on more static stuff at the moment - bricks and concrete, dozy insects, friends and family who don't yet realise what damage I can do to their self-image.

[Jean Poitiers]

Bonjour DD Steve and welcome to PF. Hope to see some images soon. Salut, J

[TER-OR]

Hirundo rustica is our only swallow - you seem to be spoilt for choice in the States. We also have house martins and sand martins, which are similar birds but spend our winters further south, down in South Africa I think, whereas our swallows just go to central Africa. The only other bird of this type is the swift, which from fledging to maturity can spend two or more years on the wing, without ever perching. Amazingly, I have a few shots of them but they are not sharp and no way would I make them public. I am trying to concentrate my efforts on more static stuff at the moment - bricks and concrete, dozy insects, friends and family who don't yet realise what damage I can do to their self-image.

We can attract purple martins here, but they're very picky. Our neighbor used to have a martin house, but he's too old to maintain it and the family took it down. We do have chimney swifts, I forgot about those. They unfortunately try to nest in chimneys and this can be deadly. One got stuck in our furnace intake a few years ago. Twice, to be accurate. After that we had the chimney repaired with a new liner and exterior bricks (which looks great). The swifts are cool birds, and will perch on the power lines in the yard. I think your swifts are bigger, ours is the size of a swallow and uniform brown. Of course, when I had the injured one in my hand I never thought to have my wife take a picture, we were both too concerned with the bird.

No question, this is a good area along the river. I've noticed the recovery of a few species as people plant more friendly foliage - fruits like crab apples and hawthornes for the waxwings, and native plants for the little native sparrows etc. I have lots of pictures on my Flickr site, though you'll have to look for the proper albums.

If you want to have fun with your family, get a fisheye lens!

[Deep Dene Steve]

Bonjour DD Steve and welcome to PF. Hope to see some images soon. Salut, J

Je vous merci Jean pour votre accueil. As a newbie, I may not have got the hang of albums and galleries. Could you confirm for me please that my single album, "Just a few for now", is visible?


Thanks

[TER-OR]

All visible, nice shots.

[Jean Poitiers]

Je vous merci Jean pour votre accueil. As a newbie, I may not have got the hang of albums and galleries. Could you confirm for me please that my single album, "Just a few for now", is visible?


Thanks

Yes. Visible and very nice! J