Maine! Black-saddlebags
Black-saddlebags Dragonfly: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, September 2024 — I don’t ever remember seeing as many Black-saddlebags as I have seen this summer here in Southern Maine. Maybe I have just been more often to places where they are, but it certainly seems to me that there are more of them this year. And I have, with patience, certainly gotten more of them perched for me. 🙂 I had to wait 10 minutes for this one as it circled the path and the little stand of taller beach rose bushes many times before settling down. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Insect recognition auto focus. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Red over head
Red-tailed Hawk: York County, Maine, USA, September 2024 — I watched this Red-tailed Hawk fly in to the far edge of the marsh, pursued by crows, as I walked out the trail and kept my eye out for it on the way back. Sure enough it came soaring down the berm from behind me, and circled twice right over me. I think it was actually using the thermal from the colder waters of the creek just there to gain a bit of height, but as it circled I was able to get a few relatively close shots of the hawk overhead with an interesting sky behind. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my action and flight modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Over the Mousam and out to sea
A little unnamed tidal creek near the mouth of the Mousam River along the Bridle Path in Kennebunk, Maine. Looking out to sea under a complex sky. Sony a5100 with E 10-18 f4 at 15mm equivalent. Superior Auto with Landscape Scene Mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Face-offs in the seaweed
Semi-palmated Sandpipers: York County, Maine, USA, September 2024 — a few more face-offs from Labor Day at the beach. Again, I don’t know exactly what is going on here, but it was interesting to watch. It certainly appears to be some kind of dominance game. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my action and flight modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Labor Day at the beach
I went out looking for Sandpiper action at our local Kennebunk beach but had to stop for land/seascape. (There are some sandpipers along the surf line.) Sony a5100 with the E 10-18 f4 zoom at 15mm equivalent. Superior Auto with Landscape Scene mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Sandpiper action
Semi-palmated Sandpipers: York County Maine, USA, September 2024 — I went back to the beach yesterday specifically to try to catch a few of these interactions…face-offs, tumbles in the air, and aggressive posturing…between the Semi-palmated Sandpipers as they fed up against the sea wall in the piles of seaweed. I am not certain what these interactions signify, but they are interesting to watch and a challenge to catch in a photograph. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Marsh with marching clouds
September 1st sky over the marsh at Parson’s Beach. Sony a5100 with Sony E 10-18 f4 zoom at 15mm equivalent. Superior Auto with Landscape Scene Mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Eye to eye
Semi-palmated Plover: York County, Maine, USA, September 2024 — I went to the beach yesterday to see if the shorebird migration has reached us. Lots of Semi-palmated Plovers and Sandpipers but no Sanderlings yet. Still on their way I guess or they hopped over us. I sat on the sand for a while to see how close the plovers and sandpipers would come to me in my bright yellow triking shirt and hat. They came close. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my (momentarily messed up) bird and wildlife modifications (I had been researching a setting for a follower and did not get my modifications set back correctly, so this was taken at an uncharacteristically slow shutter speed of 1/160th.) Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Ghost Flower, the inside view
Occasionally you find a Ghost Flower or Indian Pipe plant with the blossom still pointing up so you can see what is inside. And here it is. The inside view of the Ghost Flower. Who would suspect that all the pigment in the plant is mostly hidden. Even viewed on phone you are seeing the flower at life-size or more. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 106mm equivalent. Program mode with my macro modifications. Program shift to f10 at 1/30th for depth of field. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Standoffish
Snowy Egrets: (and two Greater Yellowlegs) York County Maine, USA, August 2024 — A small pool and lots of birds so, of course, there were a lot of squabbles as they hunted. Here two Snowy Egrets face off while another strolls by. And of course the Yellowlegs, are variously concerned. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Highlight metering. (Not easy light!) Processed in Photomator.