Christmas Vacation...

Hello and welcome back, or if this is your first time here, thanks for visiting. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and was able to share time with their families and friends as I did.

I wanted to post a few photos taken over the past few days. Lots of hawk sightings around noon time, ( I took the whole week off from desk work so that I could paint, hike, take photos and do yoga) I was also able to get some close shots of a Great Blue Heron. It seems to be the same one from the previous post with the goose, he has been in the same spot a lot and takes his time before flying off giving me time to snap some pictures. For the doubters I took a photo of an oak tree with leaves still attached, a red tailed hawk flying off the branch. This is a reminder to enter my CONTEST. Winner will be announced January 1st.












Last but not least, how many deer can you count in this photo? Take a guess!











I will be painting all week and will have updated images for the Birth Of a Painting series. Also, I will possibly be able to post images of a Zelda, a private commission I have been working on for the past 3 days.

Cheers for now!
Bill

Barred Owl Sketch

Barred Owl

(Strix varia)

Average Height: 16-24 inches

Average Weight: 1 1/2-2 pounds

Wingspan: 3-4 feet

Lifespan: 10-15 years in wild, up to 30 years in captivity

Description: The Barred Owl is a large brown owl without "ear tufts." Adults have dark vertical streaking on the chest and belly and white underparts with brown barring in the neck. The Barred Owl has dark brown eyes.

Call: The most common sound of the Barred Owl is "hoo HOO hoo hoo, hoo HOO hoo hooaaahhhhh." This is often interpreted as "Who-cooks-for-you-- who-cooks-for-you-all?" Barred Owls have many vocalizations, however, and also include a "bark."

Range: Barred Owls are found throughout the Eastern and mid-western United States, as well as in the Northwestern states such as Washington and Oregon, and in Canada. It is a very common owl in Connecticut.

Habitat: Barred Owls prefer dense conifer or mixed coniferous and deciduous forests, wooded swamps and river valleys.

Diet: The diet of Barred Owls consists mostly of mice, but also includes squirrels, rabbits, smaller birds, crayfish, amphibians, reptiles and insects.

Source: http://www.sharon.audubon.org/

Birth of a Painting #4 and bonus**

Happy Monday...I had a chance to do a little painting this weekend. I worked on the 'wood pile barn' (need a name for it) and started a new painting of a friends dog Zelda. I am considering posting it as I paint it as well.
Although I went on several hikes, I didn't take too many pictures. This one of a Blue Heron and Canadian Goose was the best of the bunch. I took it on my way back from Jo's house on Chestnut Ridge Rood in Redding. Usually Blue herons wont let me get this close, but I was struggling with enough light to get proper sharpness and exposure. This one however seemed to have a unique feel to it. Cheers
Bill

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Birth of a Painting #3

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Birth of a Painting #2

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The Birth of a painting.

A New painting is born!! I have always wanted to keep a record of a painting as it progresses, snapping pictures every few hours. Starting with this first image ( a rough pencil sketch) I will be updating a as I make progress. This painting is based on a photo I took this summer. The subject is a small stack of wood inside of a barn with a strong orange light on the wall as the sun set behind the barn. The location is in Redding Connecticut located on the corner of Topstone Rd. and Umpawaug Rd. I do not know the owner of this building but may drop them a postcard. Every time I drive past this place I feel like I should see a fox or a owl in the barn. It has not happened yet so I decided to make it happen with paint. Although the photo I am working from was taken in summer I will change the season to fall/early winter. Enjoy, check back soon for progress!

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A Perfect Morning

Sometimes things just happen, all at once. This morning was one of those times. 6:45 am I headed out into sunrise in search of a great photo. I had no idea what was waiting for me in the woods. Being seasonably cold I bundled up for the hour I planned to sit motionless before I had to go to work. As I started into the woods I turned on my camera and did a quick light meter check, the results proved I barley had enough light to take a picture. I continued up the hill and took a side trail to a rock formation where I planned to sit. All at once I noticed a LARGE 8 point buck standing right in front of me, before I could lift my camera he was gone...never stopping once. As he exploded out into the dense brush above me a very large Barred Owl dropped out of a pine and came to rest on a branch to see what was going on. I was shaking from all this action and managed to squeeze out a few shots of him before he too fled to the safety of the deeper forest. I regained my composure and trudged on up the hill towards the rock. As I approached the crest of the hill I noticed the wind was more south west than expected so I changed plans and sat down behind a old pile of wood and began to rattle some antlers for 30 seconds. I waited about 10 minutes and spotted 3 doe running off in the distance, this was a good sign. About 5 minutes after that right ahead of me, coming straight for me was a nice 7 pointer that I know all to well. I maintained frozen as he approached. I watched as he nonchalantly sniffed and browsed without a care in the world. I began snapping a few shots, he continued on past me so close that I could not even fit him in the camera frame. Then he went up to a rub tree and began to rub his antler on the tree and licking it. I continued shooting. He continued off. Two minutes later another buck came along and this one was on to me. A small 5 pointer stood frozen looking right at me waiting for me to make a mistake. I did and off he went. I looked at my watch and realized I had to head back so I could get to work. I think I literally skipped out of the woods in great satisfaction for all the events that took place in such a short period of time. I feel like today mother nature gave me my Christmas present early. I have NEVER seen a barred owl while hiking and this is by far the closest a buck has ever walked to me. Here are some of the pictures. Click to enlarge.
Stop back soon and don't forget to enter the contest in the post before this one. The value of the grand prize could be upward of $150!!!

Holiday Contest

Hello Everyone,
I am having a little contest just in time for the Holidays. Its quite simple. Answer the question below in a few sentences and email me @ Title of the email should be CONTEST.
A correct answer will enter you into a pool where a computer drawn number will pick 2 winners. There will be 2 prizes, the grand prize will be a print of your choice, signed and numbered. Second place will be a 2007 William Kramer Studio Calendar. Contest winners will be announced January 1, 2007.


The question is:
Why is it that oak trees retain their leaves throughout the winter?


Good Luck and stop back soon for exciting news of a solo Art Show in Bethel, Connecticut for the month of December. I will also have limited number of Calendars on sale featuring 4 new paintings. Price is $15 with shipping. Let me know if you would like to purchase one. First come first serve.
Have a great week,
Bill

Bucks are running!

The mating or rutting season for the white tailed deer starts in late October and extends through early January. In Connecticut, the peak of the rutting season is the last two weeks in November. Fawns, weighing from four to eight pounds, are usually born in June. They remain under the female’s care through September, when they are weaned. The number of young born ranges from one to four, depending upon the age and condition of the doe. In Connecticut, twins are common and triplets and quadruplets have been recorded. Female fawns born early in spring have the potential to breed by the following fall.

Being nearly mid November I have seen bucks nearly every day. The past week (when it was not raining) I have been going to a south edge of a field (down wind side) and sitting and scoping for bucks when sun first rises. Its a great experience to watch these rut crazed bucks chase does. There are a few nice big guys in there but they are much harder to get pictures of because they will spot you first in most cases and make off into thick cover. Here are a few images from this week.
Enjoy and have a great weekend
Bill

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Hello, seems like there are lots of these woodpeckers around right now. Named for its least obvious field mark, a faint blush of red on the belly that is rarely seen, the red-bellied woodpecker is the largest common woodpecker of the eastern United States. The red bellied doesn't seem to be bothered by my presence, I have seen them 10 times in the last week, from deep in the woods, and also right outside my window...

November Birds

A few new bird photos from a hike last Saturday on the Stietzel Family Farm in Redding Connecticut. Lots of Cedar Waxwings! and the Kinglets seems to still be around, after this cold snap today I have a feeling this is the last we will see of them as they migrate south...

Got Him!

continuing from last post......
Well not quite as big as I remember when I saw him in person, but still an impressive 11 pointer with a split g2 on the left antler (g2 referrers to the back left antler and how it splits into a fork, this is indicative of an older animal ) The nighttime shots with this camera are clearly not as pretty but still very exciting to down load and see what roams in the woods at night. I should try to get some Coyotes........stay tuned

Fall is on!

Welcome back! Fall is in full swing here in Connecticut, about 70% of the maples have lost their leaves, tomatoes in the garden are all done, and the bucks are in pre rut out chasing the does! I can honestly say that this time of year is my favorite, any chance for me to get outside I take it, before work, after work, even during lunch.

In the past two weeks my field work has been very enjoyable. I have noticed several new species of birds that I have never seen before and I am including a few sketches I did of 2 of these. Last Saturday a flock of these tiny birds were all around me picking at the twigs of a sugar maple. I later identified them as Ruby Crowned Kinglet and the Golden Crowned Kinglet. These birds are a lot of fun to watch and have the ability to hover in place almost like a humming bird. I am also attaching an image of a Pieated Woodpecker that I took in New Hampshire. I really don't see these all to often.
Finally, I made another new purchase. I now am the proud owner of a digital scouting camera that uses infra red technology to take pictures of animals in the woods while unattended. Here are a few shots of a nice 10 point buck I named Daggers. The camera is back out in the woods today in a area that I saw the biggest buck on my way home from work last night. I scouted the hill side behind where I saw him and located some trees that had recently been violently rubbed and that's where I set up the camera. I will be picking it up in 2 days to see if I got him, look for an update, I'm very excited to capture that guy on film, or should I say, memory stick!
Enjoy this weather, and happy Halloween!
Bill

Back from Yellowstone!

Hello all, well what a great success the trip was. I will share a few images here, but will save some of the real gems to post once I update my website photo and painting sections.
Enjoy!
-Bill

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A few new pictures

Hello, I had a few recent captures that I wanted to share, the rainy misty mornings have created some great lighting. I shot the turkeys this morning on my way to work, I was taking images in the rain when all of the sudden a Great Blue Heron exploded out of that little pond...glad I had my finger on the shutter release!
Thats it for now
Bill

click to enlarge!

Kings of the Hill

Hello and welcome back. Today's news starts off with a short story that started Monday evening. On my way home from work on my bike I was climbing up a hill on my road, I seem to always be scanning the side yards and woods along the road for any signs of life that might present a great photo opportunity. So, I am riding a long and spot a few deer behind a house. I stopped along side of the road and shot a few blurry images ( It was getting late) One of the owners of the house (Jill) noticed me and must have thought , "what is this guy doing?". Fortunately I was able to tell Jill that I was a photographer/painter and thought that the 8 point buck was really nice. She basically said, "hey you think that nice, that NOTHING " So after a little more conversation Jill invited me to comeback any time. I am pretty sure she didn't know that 'anytime' would be the next day but there I was 6 pm and setting up the tripod on Jill and Francis's deck. After about 20 minutes I spotted some shadows lurking in the woods, within minutes these massive giants revealed themselves as the largest deer I have ever seen in Connecticut. Enjoy the photos and special thanks to my new friends Jill and Francis.

One more update, I have a poster for sale on the official String Cheese Incident Website have a look by flowing the link below.
Cheers for now
Bill

http://www.scigear.com/product.asp?0=200&1=280&3=746

Green Heron, White deer

Hello and welcome back to the site. This weeks adventures took me to one of my favorite locations. Tucked almost secretly down a back road a few miles from my house is a secret seldom used spot called The Bogus Brook Preserve. There is a tiny sign barley visible through the branches that points you in the directions of the heavily overgrown trails. I really like this place because 9 out of 10 times I am the only one there and it has a incredible array of wildlife. Many of my photographs on my site have come from here as well as the subject for the "Mute Swan" painting. This morning I headed over there before work for a 45 minute hike with the camera and was happy to finally get close enough to a few Green herons to get a crisp shot. Although they don't really look green they are quite fantastic creatures. easy to spook but they seem to come back fairly quickly if you stay hidden and still.

One other picture I wanted to share is a first for me as well. I have read about white tailed deer being seen with large white blotches, some time appearing to look all white. This is called a Piebald Deer In this case this yearling appears to have a white cast over all of its fur. I nearly drove off the road when I saw this. I took the picture and noticed the home owner walking down the drive way to get the mail. I talked to him quickly he was an older gentleman in his mid 80's and he reminded me a LOT of my grandfather. He told me these deer show up every night, sure enough the next night I checked again and there it was. He went on to tell me that he had lived there all his life (except when he was in World War 2) and built the house he lives in. A nice experience to meet some one who doesn't probably have a lot of interaction with people every day. As always click on image to see full size. That's it for this week, check back soon.
Bill