Posts in Category: Laudholm Farm
Maine! Snowy Egret in the noonday sun.
Snowy Egret: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells, York County, Maine, USA — It was high noon by the time I got to the overlook on the back side of the Little River marsh, and the light was really too bright for white birds! This Snowy Egret with a nice plume was busy feeding in the pool close in. Such a handsome bird! OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 250 @ f7.1 @ 1/640th and ISO 320 @ f7.1 @ 1/800th.
Maine! Great Egret
Great Egret: York County, Maine, USA, July 2023 — Great Egret banking into a turn as it flew in from far out in the marsh. Not ideal lighting for a white bird…mid-day sun on our first sunny day in more than a week here in southern Maine. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving birds-in-flight modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 2000 @ f6.3 @ 1/3200th. +.7EV (because I was expecting flight shots to be against the sky 🙂
Maine! Fiddlehead season
Fiddleheads (emerging ferns): Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, May 2023 — It is fiddlehead season and the woods at Laudholm Farms are full of them. Emerging ferns. I was trying out the somewhat macro capabilities of the Olympus 100-400mm zoom. It does .5x at 800mm equivalent, and 1x using the digital tele-converter for 1600mm from 4.3 feet. You don’t have much depth of field, but still, it makes a emergency macro without carrying an extra lens. 🙂 Olympus OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800 and 1600mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving macro and environmental modifications. (Custom program #4). ISO 800 and 640 @ f6.3 @ 1/320th. Shot off my bean-bag headed monopod.
Maine! Eastern Towhee
Eastern Towhee: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA, May 2023 — Again I took advantage of some early sun, or so I thought, to get out for some practice with the new Olympus OM-1 and the 100-400mm zoom. By the time I got down to Laudholm Farms, the clouds had rolled in and the light was already less than ideal. So it goes. I have trouble remembering that this is not the Rufous-sided Towhee, which is the name it had when I as first leaning bird names. I think I may have confused more than one young birder by calling it that. It has been the Eastern Towhee for some time now. 🙂 It was keeping company with a couple of Catbirds and some Robins along the upper trail at Laudholm. Olympus OM-1 with the 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving custom birds modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Maine spring edition: American Kestrel
American Kestrel: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells, Maine, USA, April 2022 — It was too cool to ride my trike the other day, despite being a lovely sunny spring day, so I took a walk at Laudholm Farms to see how spring was getting on there. This Kestrel was working the forest edge along the southern boundary of the farm, where it butts up against a chunk of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge land. It would not give me any better view than this, but I will take what is on offer and be happy. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f5.6 @ 1/1000th.
Maine spring edition: Trout-lily
Trout-lily, Wells Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA — It is Trout-lily time of year again. I have been watching the distinctive leaves, dark green with brown mottling, emerge slowly in likely spots, but these are the first I have found blooming this spring, in a warm sheltered spot along the boardwalk in the Maple Swamp at Laudholm Farms. Trout-lily (or Adder’s Tongue) is a nodding lily and you have to get right down on the ground to shoot up under the blossoms for the full effect. Times like these I am very thankful for the articulated LCD on the Sony. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv. One at 97mm equivalent, two at 79mm, and the last one at 600mm for a telephoto macro. With the Sony’s full time macro you have to experiment with close focus distance and focal length for the best image scale…or back off and shoot at 600mm. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/400th to 1/800th.
Not a bleak mid-winter
We will take a break, this winter Sunday, from our ongoing converge of the birds and nature of Costa Rica to bring you this special report from snowy southern Maine. We have not had all that much snow yet this winter and, to be honest, a nice gentle 8 inch fall is just what we needed to make the cold and damp feel worth it all. (It won’t last. A wintery mix is predicted for today, without much accumulation.) Still, I got out yesterday as far as Laudholm Farms to find a nice snowy scene. Sony Rx10iv at 24mm equivalent. Program mode with auto HDR. Processed in Pixomator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent exposure: ISO 100 @ f5 @ 1/1000th.
Canada Geese
Canada Geese: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, Maine, USA — I know Canada Geese are reaching “vermin” status in some parts of the country, but I still like to see them as they gather in Southern Maine in late fall. They are still mostly in the marshes, not on folks lawns here yet. (My attitude might be different if I were a golfer, but I am not.) This group was in the marsh beside the Merriland River where it flows through Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, below the bluff where the headquarters buildings are and the Well’s National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms on the other side of the river. Sony Rx10iv at ~580 equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 400 and 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
That birch…
This might be another story about Japanese Barberry, which provides the red understory here, but the photo is really about the birch tree…which I have photographed in every season. The ultra-wide lens makes it look less substantial than it is in person. It is s a big birch tree, and standing alone in the middle of a mostly maple forest at Laudholm Farms as it does, it is very impressive. iPhone SE with Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.
Little River Marsh
This is looking across from the Little River Marsh overlook at Laudholm Farms toward the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, on a late fall day. iPhone SE with Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.