Yesterday was a gentle farmy day. Queenie who spent most of the day on her string down the back in the long grass by the creek, and who protested loudly when she was brought back into the Corner Paddock, was in a high spirited mood.
And started to race TonTon around. See her tail up just enjoying the joy of the spring and the space to play.
It was only after I began to prcess the days shots that I realised that Ton was in almost every one of them.
Maybe he just throws himself into the view of the camera. Is he becoming vain? And Yes, you do see three hens who should be in the chook house, Son of Neanderthol Man staged a break out!
Mama had visitors most of yesterday. In the morning I was ready to pack her bag for the maternity wing, she was behaving most unusually. But then she settled back down and started chewing her cud again. Later in the day I led her and Mia to the rat house paddock for some green grass and she chomped away until I led them back out. So maybe a few days yet. She still has a wee bit of room in there maybe. 
I told John I was not leaving the property until these lambs are born. Well not unless my sheep babysitter is on alert. There is nothing but a mile of flat dry dirt between her house and mine so she can keep an eye on Mama using her binoculars!
Now, I received many comments on the bee bombers yesterday. And questions too. So I shall share with you how I capture my little shots of bees, insects, butterflies, roosters, birds and other fast moving objects with no special lenses or gear. Remember I have a very basic old camera.
1.Study your subject. Where has he been and where is he going? This makes a big difference. Anticipating where they will go next is enormous. And by no means a science, so get ready to be patient. However if you are aware of what is happening in your garden you are a step ahead already.
2. Set up and focus in their favorite spot. In this case with the bees I focused on a flower that was heavy with pollen and close to where they were working. Water is my other favourite shooting spot.
3. Use a fast shutter speed. With settings for speed your depth of field is going to be very narrow. So note where this little channel of focus is.
4. Then get comfortable and wait. Shoot everything that comes into your chosen range. Let the bee come to you. Anticipate where they are going to be and wait.
To put it in a different way. Focus first, then shoot what walks or flies into your field of focus as opposed to running around and around the bush as though You are the bee trying to chase a frantic target.
If you have spent some time studying your subject and your environment it will pay off. Often insects are not as random as you think. There is a lot of waiting, absolutely still, with your finger partially depressed on that button. Sometimes this does not work either. No-one comes.
The same applies for a dog chasing a frisbee or jumping a fence. Focus on the fence then call the dog. Throw the frisbee into your field of focus and start shooting when your dog hits that point. Hope that helps.
Good morning.
Though it is still dark outside it really is morning. Mama is sleeping Roundly in her little field. The roosters are crowing from their beds. The first of the birds are making tentative peeps. Yesterday John installed a very solid gate that Pat gave him, into Pats Little Paddock from the Yards (no need to jump the fence), so I am going to give Mama and Mia (her handmaiden) a treat of a little munch in the clover today. It is growing fast, but it is also important not to let them gorge for too long as their bellies are not used to that much green. Feed has to be changed slowly. So everyone will get a short munch each, on a strict rotation. Except for Queenie who will be outside the fence on her leash. She walks with me like an enormous dog. Leaning her head into my hip. I think she is trying to steer me.
Have a fabulous day. We will be home all day. There is weather talk of scattered thunderstorms.
I dreamt last night that clouds had nebulous ghostly strings and if you were lucky and found a cloud with a string, very slowly, you could very gently pull on the string and walk the cloud like a tethered zepellin behind you. Thus leading the benevolent rain cloud to your own thirsty fields. Sometimes you have to walk a long way so it is a good idea to pack a lunch and wear strong shoes before going out to search for a cloud with an unclaimed string. You have to tow them back slowly and carefully and talk sweetly to your cloud lest he gains too much momentum and over shoots your field and floats away before raining. Clouds do not tow backwards. Once you have him positioned above your field and still holding onto your cloud, you can don your long coat and rain hat and wait for the rain. The other difficulty is of course getting into your raincoat while still holding on to the bobbing string. Life is difficult sometimes.
I hear the cardinals, time to go to work.
Good morning
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
74 responses to “Racing Cow and How to take photos of bees”
This makes up for the lack of TonTon pictures the other day. I love seeing cows run too!
When i let Daisy out into the field there will be some high kicks, i must remember to take my camera.. c
All the best to Mama…sounds like it will be any day now. Very exciting! Love your dream too. Especially how you have to take your cloud by a string and “tow them back slowly and carefully and talk sweetly to your cloud lest he gains too much momentum and over shoots your field and floats away before raining”. Sounds like the cloud dream incorporated other ideas like proper positioning, holding on to a balloon and/or walking your animals through the pastures. Wonder what the symboilsm there represents! We are off to vote for the by-election in our riding. I wish I had a rain cloud I could direct too. Have a great day 🙂
Imagine driving through the country and seeing a small person gently towing a cloud home! morning Lotus.. c
Wonderful post to start the day, C. The photo of Queenie and the rooster just POPS off the screen!
Sweet Cleo is a camera-hog, too…she works herself into at least half of my outdoor shots.
Happy Monday, and Hurry Up, Mama!
morning marie, this lamb waiting is wearing on the nerves! And she is getting too heavy for herself now, she does not stand up for long. c
Queenie running around looks quite funny – she does seem like a dog 😉
Morning Mad! She is very like a dog this cow, a big heavy dog.. c
Ton Ton is adorable! He just can’t help wanting to be the center of all the shots! That’s how he knows you are watching and paying attention to him! Your dream is amazing!!! Seems like it shows how we, as farmers think almost constantly of rain (even in our sleep!) and the thirst quenching life it brings. How cool would it be if we could actually go get our clouds and gently bring them back to our gardens and fields!!! Have a fabulous day Celi…hopefully with rain!!! Di
Morning Diane, oh i meant to ask you, do you feed your pigs eggs? I am going to uut am not sure whether to chuck them in raw or boil them first.. it seems they can eat the shells too which is a bonus.. I am surrounded in black clouds right now and not one of them has a string, they are just floating on past!! c
Yeah, I know what you mean about the clouds not having a string! We have had rain forecast for several days and nothing yet. At least today the clouds are darker than the past couple of days. I have been looking for strings all morning since reading your post, but haven’t seen one yet! I’m gonna keep on looking!!!
We feed the pigs 4 to 6 eggs a day. We just break it into the vegetable remains we have after we juice in the morning and give that to them with their other feed. They love it! We haven’t included the eggshells, but if they would eat them, why not???
I’m wondering if the goats would like eggs? Do you have any idea? Do your sheep eat eats? Or your cows? We have plenty of eggs to go around, so I’m thinking that maybe every animal should be eating them??? Our dogs and kitties love them! What do you think?
My cows eat eggs up to 8 a day in beet shreds, but not the sheep, Too much protein for them I guess and they got the runny bottom. I only start on one egg a time and build up from there. Evidently the pigs can have the shells, some people boil the eggs and throw them in, other people just the raw eggs, evidently they grow SO much faster with eggs and milk.. I am hoping to get my piggies soon.. c
Thanks for sharing your technique and it sounds like you have rain on the brain! 🙂
yes, it is grass growing season!! Have a great day today .. c
Thank you for the bee-photo lesson. I really must rig up a tripod of some sorts. If I have to wait with button half-pressed, my hand invariably shakes, thus missing the point of waiting.
I think Mad Dog has hit on the answer – your animals are so domesticated that they all think they are dogs. Mama looks like any day now.
I put some spring photos on my blog today, with a Spring poem.
Oh excellent thanks for telling me, i would love to see some of your spring! maybe you and Mad are right, they are all dogs and pups, hence daisy just jumping a fence that is in the way.. c
Sigh….I love your life, will you adopt me?
Good morning, hope you have a wonderful day and that “we” get to see lambs soon!
~April
Anytime April this is a busy time of year, i could do with a few adopted sisters! c
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a cow run! And I really like Ton Ton – he reminds me of Miss A trying to get into every shot. Thank you for the bee tutorial. I’m going to try that sometime this summer. 🙂
And miss A is so beautiful too, you can tell her i said so, and it sounds like she is already a marvellous cook.. c
TonTon… so funny he is in every photo. I don’t doubt he understands and likes the attention. I don’t doubt that Queenie is nudging you as well.. my dog nudges me to the back where his food bowl is. I loved your cloud on a string story, it sounded almost Winnie the Poohish:) A skiff of snow here today… but sun is on its way!
SNOW!! But you wanted rain too, it was probably your poem that was drifting through my mind as i slept! c
What is it pooh sings?.. I’m a little rain cloud… or some such thing.. oh bother!
I love to see Queenie kicking up her heels! And how exciting, to be on lamb-watch. I think of Mama often during the day, and can’t wait for the next update.
Much more and we will all be pulling our hair out, today she looks lighter and more energetic.. sigh.. last time she waited ’til april, but can WE wait that long.. c
Patience and ability to anticipate are definite attributes for any photographer. And I must say that you possess both in large quantities given the excellent quality of your photos. I especially enjoyed the romping Queenie as this captures a certain joyful spirit and mood. And the hens in a row is just plain humorous.
I thought the hens all in a row were funny too. I showed it to john and he said, what, what am i looking at?! I guess he sees it every day! c
G’mornin, Celi! That TonTon! I look for him in all of your pics, kinda like Where’s Waldo. The pic of Daisy is a good one, she & TonTon creating quite the little stampede. Thanks for the photography tips and feel free to do so anytime!
Morning John, did you get that rain that i just saw sailing past, catch that cloud and circle it back here, as long as you keep going forwards you are fine! c
Got a chuckle out of that Waldo remark – it’s so true. Great connection
Morning Mouse, the comments are my favourite section of the blog! c
Good Morning Celi
Brilliant – fantastic photo tips, thank you! Now to head off and find some bees to photograph.
🙂 Mandy
Or peacocks!! morning mandy.. c
Hi Celi! Looks like spring fever already. (Glad you are watching the amount clover grazing). Calves at play are always funny. Your farm bunch certainly keeps you in laughs with their happy antics
there is something so wonderful about standing by myself in a field laughing out loud with an animal! c
I know – it just seems so right….fits that “all’s right with the world” feeling.