Maine! Alsike Clover
There were many different kinds of clover in bloom along the Kennebunk Bridle Path when I went walking yesterday…including this one which is new to my awareness. I have probably seen it a thousand times, but I can’t say that I have ever appreciated it. It was way too windy for focus-stacking, so this is a straight up tele-macro at 800mm with the M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom. The flower head is about 3/4 of an inch across so even on phone you are seeing it larger than life size. OM System OM-1Mkii in Program mode with my bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Not so Ruby-throat
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — I sat in the open doorway out onto our back deck for two hours yesterday afternoon, waiting on the hummingbirds to come to the feeder. They are much less dependent on feeders this time of year, with lots of flowers in bloom, but they do come often enough to keep my 8 ounce feeder full…though I have to replace the juice before they drink it all. They come about once every 15 to 45 minutes depending on the time of day…never staying more than a minute…long enough for a hit on the feeder and then away back to wherever they are nesting, or to feeding on the flowers. As you see here, even 1/2500th of second is not fast enough to freeze the wing tips, but even in full sun at f6.3 that puts the ISO at 2000. I will try 1/4000th today. 🙂 OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom. Program mode with my birds-in-flight modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! It is not easy being green
Green Heron: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — I went by one of our local parking lot drainage ponds to check for dragonflies. Not much yet. There was, however, a nice Green Heron (not uncommon at this pond). It was in the reeds on my side, but flushed as I approached before I saw it and landed on the far side of the small pond. This shot is at 1600mm equivalent (and cropped) using the OM System OM-1Mkii with the M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom and the in-camera 2x digital teleconverter. Program mode with my bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Least of terns
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — Nothing like a close encounter with a Tern in flight 🙂 This one was hovering momentarily as it decided whether to come down to the beach. This is a crop of about a quarter of the frame at 800mm equivalent (which would make it like the view through a 3200mm lens), but even-so it is about as close as you can get to a tern in flight. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Tern chase
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — another version of the chasing Terns…this time lower against the beach grass and sea peas. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 538mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Tern art
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — Sometimes it is not so much about the birds as it is about the light, the form, the composition. Art. 🙂 These two Least Terns were chasing each other down the beach in close formation. I don’t know why. They just were. I have several shots of them framed against the green backdrop of distant trees and the closer backdrop of the beach grass and sea peas. This is not a tern portrait, and it is not an id photo. It does not have that kind of detail. It is something else, but I can’t help but like it. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 538mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Late Ladies
When I went out looking for Lupines near Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport/Arundel, I was surprised to find a few late Lady Slipper Orchids blooming along the trail into the Batson River falls. Lovely wherever and whenever you find them. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro zoom at 48mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Gimmy shelter
Piping Plover: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2024 — A cloud passed over the sun and mama Plover called all 4 chicks home to shelter. They had been out exploring the beach, one of them half way out to the distant tideline, and dad was having trouble keeping them corralled. This is the last of the 4, and you can count the legs under her for the other 3. This shot was taken from a long way away, well outside the protected area of the beach and she was well inside, at 1600mm equivalent field of view using the 2x digital tele-extender on my OM System OM-1Mkii with the M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom and then cropped some. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! driftwood sculpture
A gift of the beach altering storms of late winter and early spring…this massive tree trunk was deposited high on the beach against the dunes. That was all sand behind it last year. Who knows where this tree grew to this size though its history is undoubtedly written in the twisted roots. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro zoom at 26mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! swing and a miss
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — Life is not all wins for the Least Tern. I suspect, like most photographers I know, there are way more misses than keepers. These shots are keepers, though at larger magnifications they are not critically sharp…they capture a moment. Not a moment of success for the Tern, but a significant moment nonetheless. And considering how fast the tern was moving, I am happy to have gotten them at all. 🙂 OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 684mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
