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cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
Teach Honest History
@cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
16 followers 2 following 250 posts
Retired software engineer living in Virginia, USA, happily married, wildlife photography (mostly birds) is my main hobby. I support democracy and embrace […]

[bridged from https://mindly.social/@Cliftographer on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
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cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
A red-shouldered hawk looking pensive in the morning light. Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia, USA 13-Feb-2026. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography
A red-shouldered hawk perches on a tree branch facing to the right into the early morning sun. Other branches and some blue sky are in the background.
January 14, 2026 at 4:50 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
Northern Shoveler drake and its reflection, Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia, USA 13-JAN-2026. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography
A male Northern Shoveler duck is swimming from right-to-left with a good quality reflection in the water.
January 13, 2026 at 9:48 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
Ah, the pause that refreshes! An American Goldfinch shakes off some excess water after drinking deeply at the bird bath. Clifton, Virginia, USA 12-JAN-2026. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography
An American Goldfinch is seen perching on the edge of a bird bath in the early morning sun. The bird is upright and has just shaken off many water droplets that can be seen captured by the bright sunlight.
January 12, 2026 at 7:06 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
It's a gray rainy day here, so how about a bit of #monochrome? I believe this treatment shows the feather texture well. American Crow (on a sunnier day), Clifton, Virginia, USA 8-JAN-2026. #birds #photography #birdphotography #naturephotography #nikonz8
An American Crow perches atop a deck railing. The bird has its back partially to the camera but if facing to the left into early morning sun. The high-contrast monochrome treatment emphasizes the texture of the feathers.
January 10, 2026 at 6:36 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
God damn it all, I DO NOT WANT #ai inserting itself into all my tools. My #gmail was working just find. Just signed in and see this crap. #aislop #gemini #google #rant
Screen capture with announcement 'New: Gmail is entering the Gemini era", and "AI-powered email for everyone"
January 8, 2026 at 4:45 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
I usually photograph flying birds with their wings outstretched, but this 'tuck position' allows for a nice tight shot. Mallard drake, Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia, USA 6-JAN-2025 #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography
A very colorful mallard drake (male) is seen in flight flying from left-to-right and climbing. The wings are downswept and curled toward the body so that they image can be cropped to provide a close-up view.
January 8, 2026 at 2:49 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
Yesterday was one of those crappy mostly overcast sky days that is miserable for wildlife photography. When I did get a good subject, it was often backlit. But for one brief stretch I had the sun behind me and a little bit of it poked through. Mallard drake […]

[Original post on mindly.social]
A male mallard duck in flight from left-to-right with its wings upraised against an out-of-focus light gray-brown background of Winter trees. The yellow beak, blue-green head, orange feet, and purple sash on the wing's trailing edge show nicely against the bird's body.
January 8, 2026 at 12:50 AM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
A ring-billed gull with a little bit of edible treasure. I like that this angle shows off the sporty wing tips on this model. Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia, USA 6JAN2026. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography
A gray and white seagull is on thin ice atop a pond with some bit of edible entrails dangling from its beak. There's some distinctive black feathers with white spots at the wingtips of the gull.
January 6, 2026 at 7:45 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
Imagine a nice close-up of a blue jay here. You will just have to imagine it because Mastodon won't let me post hi-res images. Yes, I've tried posting them via links to another site. No one follows the links and the posts are ignored.
December 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
The blue jay that got to the bird bath first has strong opinions about the arrival of a second blue jay. Clifton, Virginia, USA, 13-DEC-2025 #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography #nikonz8
Two blue jays at a bird bath with a large chunk of milky quartz rock in the middle. A blue jay at the right side of the photo had arrived first and its beak is open in an apparent loud vocalization. A 2nd blue jay at the left side of the photo arrived later and is the apparent reason for the 1st blue jay's cry.
December 26, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Teach Honest History
w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy
“The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was unanimous.’ That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.” - Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH)
December 18, 2025 at 11:51 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
#hackers are really getting under my skin, or at least very close to it. Just learned that my email address was exposed via a #databreach at underarmour.com. I honestly have lost track of all the breach notifications I've received. ID theft monitoring seems almost pointless. #datasecurity
December 10, 2025 at 5:14 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
RE: https://tech.lgbt/@ngaylinn/115593745939304247

I love the phrase 'seductive illusion of competence' in this post. Describes AI to a 'T'.
tech.lgbt
November 22, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Teach Honest History
karenattiah.bsky.social
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination
Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
A red-bellied #woodpecker (female I believe) about to snack on a berry or nut. Algonkian Regional Park, Sterling, Virginia, USA 14-Nov-2025 #birds #nikonz8 #birdphotography #naturephotography
A red-bellied woodpecker is perched on a smooth horizontal tree berry. It is holding a large berry or nut in its open beak.
November 17, 2025 at 3:19 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
A million thanks to
@thegardenjungle.bsky.social
for putting me on the right track for relatively quick & easy object removal using Photoshop. Here are my after-and-before images side-by-side for comparison. Northern flickers (male at top), Sterling, Virginia […]

[Original post on mindly.social]
Two Northern Flicker woodpeckers perch at the broken craggy top of a large old dead tree. The male, marked by the black chin patch, is at the very top while the female clings to the side near the top. The background is a soft clear blue sky. This image has been processed with Photoshop to remove some distracting small branches in the foreground. Two Northern Flicker woodpeckers perch at the broken craggy top of a large old dead tree. The male, marked by the black chin patch, is at the very top while the female clings to the side near the top. The background is a soft clear blue sky. This is the same image as the one on the left, but before the small branches were removed.
November 16, 2025 at 8:59 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
I get excited when I can get decent pics of some relatively hard-to-find bird, but these darned gorgeous northern cardinals keep flying in front of me at near eye-level in good light. Algonkian Regional Park, Sterling, Virginia, USA 14-Nov-2025 #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography
A bright red-orange northern cardinal poses in the sun on a diagonal branch with some sparse late Fall green and brown foliage in the background. The bird is facing to the right but has its head turned so it is looking back at the camera.
November 16, 2025 at 2:06 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
I use #lightroom Classic for #post-processing, often #topaz to denoise or sharpen. Have #photoshop but its complexity is intimidating. Is there any easy way I can remove the foreground branches from this photo without a huge learning curve? TIA. #birds […]

[Original post on mindly.social]
Two Northern Flicker woodpeckers perch at the broken craggy top of a large old dead tree. The male, marked by the black chin patch, is at the very top while the female clings to the side near the top. The background is a soft clear blue sky.
November 15, 2025 at 10:21 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
Knee surgery recovery proceeding, so I was able to do about 2/3s of the Woodlands Trail at Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling, VA, USA. I seldom see Northern Flickers and was very happy to see a pair. Tricky sun angle, heavy post-processing was required […]

[Original post on mindly.social]
Two Northern Flicker woodpeckers perch at the broken craggy top of a large old dead tree. The male, marked by the black chin patch, is at the very top while the female clings to the side near the top. The background is a soft clear blue sky.
November 15, 2025 at 12:02 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
Time for a #fridayphotofail post. This bird (of whatever kind iy may be) was getting ready to "hightail" it out of there. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography #photography 14-Nov-2025 Algonkian Regional Park, Sterling, Virginia, USA.
November 14, 2025 at 3:06 PM
An off-white and gray bird (species unknown) is seen totally from beneath and to the rear such that no part of the head or upper body is visible. The bird is perched on a bare gray branch against a blue sky. The tail is upraised and it is about to launch into flight.
November 14, 2025 at 8:11 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
RE: https://mastodon.social/@Prosybris/115528092326117780

I needed this this morning. Too much crappy news, not enough joy.
mastodon.social
November 11, 2025 at 2:11 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
I am still recovering from knee replacement and have missed most of the Fall WRT photography, but here is a ring-billed gull against some Fall color. 5-Nov-2025 Burke Lake Park, Burke, Virginia, USA. #birds #nikonz8 #birdphotography #naturephotography
A ring-billed gull in flight, its wings banked at a 45 degree angle, with the right wing dipping down, the left wing up, and the yellow legs tucked up for flight. Like most gulls, the body is mostly white but it has crisp black markings near the wingtips, and the distinctive black ring on the yellow bill. The background is a heavily wooded lake shore with orange, brown, and some olive green Fall foliage.
November 5, 2025 at 9:37 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
I took a picture of a bird. So what, you say? Well, just over 2 months ago pain in my right knee after an easy outing was so bad I barely made it back to my car. Had full knee replacement in mid-Sep. Just now getting to where I can wield my Nikon Z8 and a big […]

[Original post on mindly.social]
Male house finch perching on the edge of a bird bath in late afternoon sun. The photo is sharply detailed and shows off the texture of the feathers well. The birds head is upturned and the sun illuminates the back and neck area well. The diffused background is mostly olive green with patches of yellow.
October 30, 2025 at 8:34 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
Seeing 'GOP Senator denounces Trump's...' in a headline always grabs my attention. But with the GOP, it's always a letdown - it's a retiring senator. Why can't any of these MFs speak truth other than when they are headed for the exit? #politics #usapol #Trump […]
Original post on mindly.social
mindly.social
October 23, 2025 at 8:06 PM
cliftographer.mindly.social.ap.brid.gy
I tried doing a search in #Mastodon on my iPad for the #nokings hashtag. The app crashed. That’s a good problem to have.
October 18, 2025 at 3:48 PM