I now feel a lot more comfortable taking photos on manual mode. To take these photos I needed adjust the ISO, and f-stop to get the exposure that I wanted. Manual focus is still a bit of a challenge though so I’ve decided to use the autofocus so that I can take shots faster and easier.

I need that autofocus in taking these wildlife photos. There is a lot of wildlife west of Sooke. I was lucky to come across a seal sunning on a rock overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Seals do this for thermal regulation. The water is quite cold and being out of the water allows the seal to use less energy and stay warm.

The stelar jay is blue, but its feathers do not have blue pigment. Blue pigment is very energy intensive to make and thus very rare in nature. Like many other animals, stelar jays use micro structures in their feathers which absorb all other wavelengths of light, leaving blue light to be reflected, thus the bird appears blue.