Posts in Category: drift wood

Maine! November drift

It was a somewhat dreary November day at the beach but a good day for the driftwood against the dying and drying grasses. OM Systems OMD EM5Mkiii with 12-45mm zoom at 50mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. Processed in Photomator.

The wacky world of wood…

Weathered roots on driftwood. Timber Point, Rachel Carson NWR.

Every once in a while I see something in the field and realize that it has more interest as a graphic design than as an actual photograph. The Sony HX90V which I carry for HDR landscapes has a Picture Effect called “Illustration” which reduces an image to its graphical elements and attempts to render it as a color drawing, pen and ink style with airbrush style. Often it produces surprisingly attractive results, so much so that I have it set to one of the three memory slots on my camera. I just have to remember to use it. Generally, once I have used it on a photoprowl, I will try several shots during that adventure…only to forget it until the next time some really apt object or subject catches my eye to remind me it is there.

This is the root end of a huge driftwood log on the beach at Timber Point (Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge) across from Goose Rocks Beach in southern Maine. It has been exposed for many years, and the wood, especially around the roots, has weathered into something very like a modern abstract sculpture. Just the thing for the Illustration Picture Effect. Once in Lightroom, I applied some HDR-like adjustments to bring up the shadowed areas deeper into the log. What do you think?

 

 

Black-bellied Whistling Duck Strikes a Pose

On my last day in Texas, after wrapping up the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, it rained all morning, and spent it in my hotel catching up on emails and business, before venturing out to the local UPS store to ship my booth and samples to New Mexico for the Festival of the Cranes. By then the weather was breaking and there was enough light in the sky to encourage me to one more visit to the Estero Llano Grande World Birding Center, a half hour away in Weslaco. The light was still subdued when I got there, but lots of cooperative birds and bugs make it all worthwhile.

A flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks inhabits the pond right below the deck at the visitors’ center and make great subjects. They are a striking bird a the worst of times, and they are prone to posing. Who could resist this handsome fellow, especially as he arranged himself on the dead tree snag in such an artistic way. I love the big pink feet and the matching pink bill.

Canon SX50HS. Program with auto iContrast and Shadow Fill.  – 1/3 EV Exposure Compensation.  1200mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/800th @ ISO 800. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness. 

Ed Munro Seahurst Park, Greater Seattle

I am Seattle for a few days, doing a Point and Shoot for Wildlife workshop for Seattle Audubon. I got to Seattle, after already a long day of travel, in the afternoon, and checked into a hotel near the SeaTac airport. If you have been, you know SeaTac is not exactly centrally located for Seattle proper, so I looked for somewhere more local to get out for a few hours. Ed Munro Seahurst Park is a sizeable chunk of green on the edge of Puget Sound, and only about 20 minutes from the hotel. I am sure there is much more to it than I saw in my limited visit, and I am also sure that on a clear day the view across the Sound to the islands with the Olympics behind must be spectacular. The view was hazed in yesterday, but I still enjoyed the afternoon sun, the rocky beach, the blue water, and the driftwood.

Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 24mm equivalent field of view. f4 @ 1/800th @ ISO 80. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.