Maine! Little black clouds
Something in every layer of interest…from the beach rose pips and weathered post in the foreground to the snow fence and wind combed marsh grasses in the mid-ground, to the little black clouds just above the horizon…something to take the eye. I am sometimes accused of taking photos with nothing in them…but I say that is exactly what I am photographing…the too much to fit in a frame shots. Sony a5100 with 16-50 kit lens at 24mm equivalent. Intelligent Auto, Landscape Scene Mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Pretty Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe: York County Maine, USA, August 2024 — There are some old posts, maybe originally rail-road ties, that the Phoebes like to sit on while hunting. I like to photograph them there, because the weathered wood adds to the composition, and highlights the subtle beauty of the Phoebe. And then there is the out of focus marsh background. All in all, makes for a pretty Phoebe picture. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Debby sky over the dunes
As the remnants of Hurricane Debby approached the northeast coast, the skies heralded her coming. 🙂 Lots of drama. Sony a5100 with 16-50 kit zoom at 24mm equivalent. Intelligent Auto. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Song on the rocks
Song Sparrow: York County, Maine, USA, August 2024 — I was taking photos of a Snow Egret in the tidal creek when I heard a russel in the beach rose right at my feet. It was a Song Sparrow, this Song Sparrow, and it came out onto the gravel just below the road foraging, totally unconcerned with my close presence. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. ISO 640 @ f6.3 @ 1/1000th. (Experimenting with the “faster” setting under Min SS ISO Auto 🙂 Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Tripping Slugs
From my session with the mushrooms of the woods along the Bridle Path…you have to wonder if these slugs are tripping on what looks like Fly Agaric to me. They certainly seem to be enjoying it. Yes I know, yuk. Still I find it to be an interesting photo. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 75mm equivalent. Program mode with my macro modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Catbird back
Grey Catbird: York County, Maine, USA, August 2024 — We had Catbirds in our yard all spring and into summer, likely through the nesting season…and then they disappeared…out into the wider world to make a living. They are back. Eyeing the suet in the cage above. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. ISO 8000 @ f5.3 @ 1/500th. Animal/bird detection auto focus. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Golden Trumpet
Xeromphalina campanella, or Golden Trumpet (aka Fuzzy Foot): Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2024 — I found this stump along the Bridle Trail in Kennebunk, absolutely covered with what I think is Golden Trumpet mushrooms. There was a shaft of sun highlighting the little mushrooms and they were attracting quite a few slugs and bugs as well. All three of them shots were taken with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at between 75 and 110mm equivalent. At those focal lengths the lens reaches 1:2 magnification, so near macro and is great for this kind of work. Sony a6700. Program mode with my macro modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Great flyby
Great Egret: York County Maine, USA, August 2024 — One of the great things about bird and wildlife photography is that you just never know what is going to happen. It was such a slow morning yesterday that I was doing macros of fungi in the forest, just to keep myself busy (and, honestly, because I enjoy photographing mushrooms) but when I stepped back out onto the marsh trail what should come flying by but this Great Egret…close too. It made one loop coming down river past me, and then disappeared way up river. This one has it all. The bird. The feather detail. the sun light highlighting the head and beak, the extension of the wings, the cloud mottled blue sky behind! Not expecting that. But so glad to be there when it happened and ready with my camera. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my action and flight modifications. ISO 200 @ f6.3 +.3EV @ 1/2000th. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! More scenic Egrets
Great and Snowy Egrets: York County, Maine, USA, August 2024 — I might as well call this “Landscape with Egrets” . I love the layers and the textures of this shot. The way the light plays across the marsh grasses, the sand and water. It just happens to have a small flock of wading birds in the foreground. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Highlight metering mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Tattered Eagle
Immature Bald Eagle: York County Maine, USA, August 2024 — This immature Bald Eagle, clearly molting into one of its intermediate plumages before the adult stage, was sitting in a tall pine on the way to the beach the other day, basking in the morning sun after at day of heavy rains. It was too far away really, and the sun behind it, but I had to try. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Plus 2 EV exposure compensation. Animal/bird subject recognition auto focus. Processed in Photomator.