The shy one...

I didn't have much time for photos today as the hubs and I had to make a trip into the City which took up most of the day. However, I did get a few shots this morning through my office window of the house finch gang. When I got home and downloaded the pics this evening, this one spoke to me. She was looking up through the window at me when I took this with what a think is a shy look on her little avian face. Or maybe she had a little gas ... hard to say.

I decided to convert this to monotone since the female house finch's colors are fairly drab, while their feather patterns are quite lovely. I think her feathers show better without the distraction of any color. I fiddled with the exposure a bit as well since it was a little darker than I had wanted. I have been using all manual settings on my camera lately, forcing myself to get comfortable with ISO, white balance, aperture and shutter speed along with exposure. Some days are more successful than others. I should probably have had the white balance a little higher on this one, but I didn't want the "noise". Every day is a learning day for me...

Well, people, only two more days left in 2011 ... are you ready for the new year?