Looking into Autumn
Looking into Autumn, and into the sun, down another long alley of marsh, this time just over the hill from the Kennebunk town line on Rt. 9. I really like the perspective of the Sirui 18mm ultra-wide for this kind of of shot, especially since it is wide both ways…vertically as well as horizontally. It gives the scene a very natural look. At least to my eye. The high contrast light picks out every detail, and the Apple Camera app’s Smart HDR renders the range of light effectively, producing another memorable image of fall. Or that is what I think. Processed in Apple Photos.
Best of autumn in Kennebunk
Of course, this time of year, I have my eye out for great autumn shots…places where the color is at its best and well displayed. I was in the passenger seat of our car (a rare position for me to be) when we crossed the marsh at the edge of Kennebunk Lower Village, in leaf-peeper traffic at its best (or worst), and glimpsed this scene out the widow as we passed. It was overcast with a dull grey sky, so I could let the scene pass, but I would remember. I immediately began to plot how to get there safely on Indigenous People/Columbus Day Monday, when better skies were predicted, on my eTrike, without getting myself run over by a leaf peeper. By 11am the next morning the sky was promising and I got the trike out and took my chances…going the long way around to approach from the right side of the road, and avoid as much traffic as I could…as well as the stretch of horrible trike road on Rt. 9 coming into Lower Village. When I got there I found that there was enough of a shoulder on the bridge over the marsh so I could safely park my trike for the photos. I took many views of this with slightly different compositions, and picked this one as the best of the non-panoramic set. I might post the panorama another day. Anyway. This is a classic southern Maine autumn landscape. iPhone SE with Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.
Turkey!
Wild Turkey: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — We had to go to Kennebunkport on an errand yesterday about noon, and saw these two tom turkeys (you can tell by the well developed breast beards) feeding by what will be the new headquarters of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge when they get around to renovating the existing buildings. The Wildlife Refuge bought (or perhaps was given) a large stone mansion and extensive grounds that already occupied an enclave in Refuge lands just down the street from us. I was not thinking about the turkeys when I decided to take a walk down that way…just out for exercise and maybe a bit of fall color on what was turning out to be an increasingly overcast day…but they were still there, now well out in the lawn, slowly trolling for bugs in the grass. And who can resist a turkey shot when it is on offer? There is not much color on a turkey, but the richness of the feather pattern and the variety of textures in the plumage always strikes me as quite beautiful. Sony Rx10iv. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. 517mm equivalent and ISO 400. 534mm equivalent and ISO 500. Both at f4 and 1/500th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. Assembled in FrameMagic.
Again with the chickadees…
Black-capped Chickadee: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Endlessly entertaining. And this set of shots is distinguished by the out of focus highlights in the background. I could not have set this up if I had tried. Sometimes good things just happen. The chickadee has taken a dried mealworm from the Bluebird feeder, and flown to one of the perches we provide to dispatch it. And, I must say, with a great deal of enjoyment…apparently. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm from the open door onto our deck. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.
Flag of fall…
Just above eye-level in forest along the stream above Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains, where the trees are slowly turning in our frostless fall, this small shoot on the trunk of a large maple, caught by the sun behind it, appears as the flag of the fall that is still coming…the banner of autumn. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Nuthatch anyone?
White-breasted Nuthatch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — No bird is more faithful at our feeders, year in, year out, than the White-breasted Nuthatch, with the obvious exception of the chickadees. And they are almost as expressive as the chickadees…striking poses as they forage and visit the feeders. These shots were taken from the open door leading out to our deck. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Apple Photos. Assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.
Great! Egret
Great Egret: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I almost rode right by this Great Egret feeding in the marsh along the access road to our local beach. I was at the end of my eTrike ride, headed for home, just checking the marsh for anything spectacular. So I guess it is safe to say I did not consider the Great Egret, well out in the marsh, spectacular. 🙂 Still, my theory is that if you do not take the easy shots when they are on offer, you might not get the chance of the “special” shots when they happen. And, with a bit of post processing magic to bring the Egret in closer, I managed satisfying, if not spectacular. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr, then enlarged in Pixelmator Pro Photo and recropped for the equivalent of at least a 2000mm field of view. Finished off in Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/800th. Assembled in FrameMagic.
Fall coming on nicely!
We had our first sunny day…or at least a few sunny hours, yesterday and I got out on my eTrike for photoprowl, to see how fall is coming along. It has been kind of stuttering after an early start. No worries. At least in the likely spots it is coming along fine. 🙂 This is one of two little ponds right next to Rt. 9 between Brown Street and the Wells Town line. I photograph it in all seasons, but fall is certainly the most striking. I got down just about at ground level with my iPhone and the Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. The sky was bright but the foreground was in cloud shadow already. Really an attractive combination that does well with the fall color. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.
Hard not to love a chickadee :)
Black-capped Chickadee: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — The title says it all. It is indeed hard not to love a chickadee. They are so sprightly, and so bold. When all the other birds are being shy they are right there wherever you are, in close…often within your space. I have had them land on the feeder while I was filling it…and of course there are a gazillion photos of them sitting on people’s hands. And they have so much attitude! These shots are from a few moments before I headed out for a rainy day walk yesterday, when I pulled up a chair and sat in the open door leading out to our deck and the feeding station. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 2500 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.
More fascinating fungi from the pond edge
I found all of these mushrooms growing within 20 feet of Day Brook Pond in the sands of the Kennebunk Plains. I continue to be amazed at the numbers and variety of fungi I am finding this season. Top left is probably Laccaria laccata, or the “scurfy deceiver”, then possibly an Amanita, then maybe a Coltricia, and neither I or my AI assistants can come up with a likely name for the last one, but it might be some kind of “fieldcap”. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic.