Weekender, Oct 3-4, 2026

[Don]

Since we haven't had much activity lately, I just made this one for Saturday in the likely event that there will not be one for Sunday.

This is an image that I played with this morning where I took a rather plain Jane sunrise image and converted to B&W. Now it sort of appears to be a night shot.

[Rich]

Well done Don! It does look like a night shot!

We had our early October Fest the end of September. Nice car show. Here is one that caught my eye! 
A 1930 Model A. Henry Ford would be rolling over in his grave if he could see the color! I heard somewhere that he once said the customer cam have any color they want as long as it's black! Check the license plate!

[Dave]

Interesting that your conversion turned it into a night scene, Don. Looks real good.

Following your lead, I went to an old (2005-03-26) shot: a great egret at a small local park. All I did was cropping and amping up the saturation of the yellow bill a bit.

   

Hi Rich. That gorgeous orange Model A would catch anyone's eye. Well done. And yes, Henry probably wouldn't approve.

The annual Pacific Air Show started yesterday and goes through Sunday. I usually stand in my front yard, catching distant shots of planes flying information, then dispersing. And If I'm lucky, I get close shots of the jets after they leave the beach and loop north, which often takes them over my  house. But it's been too darn hot here (forecast to reach 90 (36 C) around noon).

[Rich]

Beautiful egret Dave in his/her natural habitat. Well done!

[Dave]

Thanks Rich.

I did some research on the Great Egret.

It seems to be among the most widespread birds on Earth - found on all continents except Antarctica. Its diet varies depending on its location, but includes fish, crustaceans, small invertebrates and amphibians, marine or coastal worms, insects, small mammals such as rats and ground squirrels, small lizards, other birds such as songbirds, small turtles, and probably a lot more.

And they have a variety of feeding methods: standing still then striking quickly when it spots something, slow walking, and even capturing prey (usually fish) while in flight.

With this varied diet and their ability to learn and use different hunting techniques tailored to different types of prey, it's no wonder that their range is so widespread (other than the cold regions of both hemispheres and isolated islands).

[Don]

I can't even imagine how much $$$ is tied up in the car Rich. Beautiful automobile though.

Nice capture of the Great Egret Dave. Your comment about what they eat reminded me of this photo of a Great Blue Heron I took down in Florida about 5 years ago.

[Dave]

You captured both the action and some very nice light!

I'm remembering 2 or 3 more older photos of Great Egrets that I'd like to post, but haven't located them yet.

---

I found one that seems to in keeping with Don's Great Blue Heron. (May be a repost; if so, please forgive me)...

   

[Man From Ironbark]

Love all the beautiful photos. So good to see a little more activity here. Love how Don turned the day into night. That Ford, if black would seem to be something Al Capone would get around in.

Haven't got any current photos of egrets great or small.

I have some hoverflies though.




Then there is these whisting ducks.

[Dave]

Hi MFI.

I'm impressed with how perfectly sharp your photos are.

[Man From Ironbark]

Dave, you should think of the ones that aren't sharp that I didn't show. Digital allows a lot of failures without having to pay for film and developing.
My shots are all hand held and apart from my movement, the wind blows and the insect leaves mid shot, etc.
Yes I am trying for the eventual good result but there's a lot of brow slapping.