Holiday Season on the Central Coast of California

We are finally getting some overdue rain and the hills are starting to green up nicely.  Jill and I hung out this vacation but were able to play Santa to the grandchildren, which was a blast, if not completely exhausting!!  Here are some shots from the holidays; a wet hike in Harmony Highlands, Morro Bay State Park, two panos from Black Hill (the ultrawides wouldn't load here unfortunately), and some wintering birds at Tony's place, as well as MBSP and HH.  I hope you enjoy them.  Peace and prosperity in 2016.

400mm; f/8; 1/1000 second; ISO 200

100mm; f/8; 1/800 second; ISO 400

107mm; f/7.1; 1/800 second; ISO 400

220mm; f/6.3; 1/800 second; ISO 400

400mm; f/8; 1/2500 second; ISO 800

400mm; f/8/ 1/2500 second; ISO 800

100mm Pano; f/8; 1/1000 second; ISO 200

400mm; f/8; 1/1000 second; ISO 200

400mm; f/6.3; 1/1000 second; ISO 800

400mm; f/7.1; 1/1250 second; ISO 400

400mm; f/5.6; 1/1000 second; ISO 400

263mm; f/8; 1/1000 second; ISO 200

106mm Pano; f/9; 1/1000 second; ISO 320

Hawks at the Ranch

I'm so lucky to have a great group of beer drinking friends with a tennis habit.  We meet every week at The Ranch and play tennis, raise hell, and have a great time.  Another benefit of the ranch is its great wildlife and vistas.  I have photographed bobcats, hawks, many birds, turtles, and organically grazed steers.  Here are some shots of the resident Red-Tailed Hawk, a chick, and some pesky Kingbirds.  Obviously, these are cropped images, but it just shows what a great camera the 6D is.  Not to mention the 100-400mm L IS lens.  All of the shots were taken at 400mm, ISO 800, f/8, and varying shutter speeds from 1/1600 to 1/4000.