Posts in Category: landscape
Tumbling down at Emmon’s Preserve
As I have mentioned before, the Batson River tumbles down over a short run of ledges at Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport…there is not always enough water to make it interesting, but recent tropical storms and tropical storm remnants have made the ledges merry! I am not a fan of the whole silky water effect thing, when it is overdone, but I do like a bit of blur. Sony Rx10iv at 34mm equivalent. Program with HDR. Program shift for a slow shutter speed and Exposure Compensation to hold the highlights. Nominal exposure: ISO 100 @ f16 @ 1/6th. -1.7 EV. Hand held.
Falling water…
Falls on the Batson River at Emmon’s Preserve. The Batson River is more of a large brook for most of its run, only achieving anything like river size in its last few miles to the ocean, and then not by most river standards. When the water is high there is a nice tumble down a series of ledges between two deep pools in Emmon’s Preserve (Kennebunkport Land Trust). This is a close up of one of the tumbles…using in-camera HDR, and program shift for a slow shutter speed. Sony Rx10iv at 60mm equivalent. HDR with program shift and -1EV exposure compensation (to protect the highlights). Nominal exposure ISO 100 @ f16 @ 1/6th.
Another Laudholm landscape
Another iPhone and Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens landscape from the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, in Wells Maine. Textures, colors, and clouds. What could be better? Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.
Laudholm landscape
Time for a landscape Pic for today 🙂 A lovely late summer sky over the buildings at Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve) in Wells, Maine. iPhone SE with Moment thin case and Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.
Hog Island Ketch
This shot is just right at the edge of what I can call Nature Photography. If it were a close up of the sailing ketch then, for sure, it would not be a nature photo…but in this ultra-wide view, the ketch…off Hog Island, Maine, USA…and the boats behind it, become elements in the land, sea, and sky scape. Mostly it is just a pleasing photo. iPhone SE with Moment thin case and Sirui 18mm ultra-wide. Standard Apple Camera app with smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.
Blazing Star Display
Northern Blazing Star, Kennebunk Plains, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — This one of the denser stands of Northern Blazing Star on the Kennebunk Plains this year. Blazing Star is a fire dependent plant of glacial sand plains and is very restricted by just how little of that habitat remains undeveloped, both in Maine and all across the northern states to the Rocky Mountains. We are blessed that the Kennebunk Plains were kept open, first for wild blueberry production, and then as a Nature Conservancy Preserve, and that it is managed, in part, for fire dependent species like the Blazing Star. Stands like this one are getting harder and harder to find. Having it, basically, in my backyard (a short trike ride away) is very special. I used moderate telephoto, 107mm equivalent, on Nikon B700 to compass the image slight to show the stand to best effect. Program mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 @ 1/1000th.
Lupine time
It is that time of year again and you will have to bear with me as I get the Lupines out of my system. 🙂 This meadow, the best display I know of in Southern Maine, is about 10 miles from my home, 20 miles round trip on my electric recumbent trike, and a pleasant journey that also includes a stop at Emmon’s Preserve for dragonflies or whatever else is on offer. The Lupines are definitely the star of the show in early June. What we have here is three different perspectives on the same scene from the same spot. 18mm wide angle with the iPhone SE2020 and the Sirui 18mm lens, and then at about 110mm and 580mm equivalents with the Nikon B700. It is a good show indeed this year. 🙂 iPhone shot with the standard camera app on auto. Nikon shots, Program mode, Vivid Picture Control, -.3 EV. Processed in Apple Photos, with Polarr on the Nikon shots.
Day Brook Pond
I am falling behind…not because I am not posting every day, but because I am taking too many photos 🙂 Not a bad problem to have. Of course a string of rainy days might cure that, but for now, I am going to group this set taken at the same location on the same outing: I rode my trike out to Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains near home here in Maine, to see how spring was coming along. We have the Plains landscape on the way into the pond at 24mm equivalent (all with the Sony Rx10iv, this one with HDR, and the rest with my birds and wildlife modifications to Program), a Northern Water Snake (one of the largest I have ever seen) at 465mm, Dogwood in bloom against a stand of white birch at 24mm, two Painted Turtles sharing what appears to be a tender moment (but probably was not really) at 600mm, and Eastern Pine Elfin at 600mm and about 3 feet (this is a tiny butterfly, about 1/2 inch across). In leaner times I might have stretched this out over 5 posts, as each shot has an interest of its own. (I did already post the Elfin to some of the Butterfly groups on Facebook, but it belongs here too, in the context of the the visit to Day Brook Pond.)
Nature Phonography: Waiting for the thaw
This is one of my favorite views near home. This pond is right off busy Rt. 9 between here and the Wells Town line. The ice will not hold out long now. I like the contrast of the tree bark, the still expanse of the water (frozen here), and the bright green of the evergreens. I am still experimenting with the Sirui 18mm wide angle lens on the Moment thin case. The trick with the Sirui is that it has to be exactly centered over the phone camera lens to give good results…but when it is perfectly centered it is very fine indeed. The Moment case does the job of centering the lens every time, so there are no unpleasant surprises when you review the photos for the day. So much so that I am going to have to stop saying I am “experimenting” with the lens. The Sirui 18 has become part of my regular photo kit. Why not? It is super easy to carry, I have always enjoyed the 18mm perspective, and the results are fine. 🙂 Sirui 18mm add on lens, Moment thin case, iPhone SE 2020, standard camera app auto. ISO 20.
Nature Phonography: All contrails lead to Portland
The atmosphere yesterday must have been ideal for the formation of contrails. This was taken from our local beach at the mouth of the Mousam River, and all those contrails point to Portland, Maine, away there, not so far, over the horizon. I know some landscape photographers hate contrails, and I know all about the chemtrails conspiracy theory (or as much as I want to know…I got educated by (or at least “due to”) folks who commented on past contrail containing landscapes). But sometimes the “flaws” in a photo are actually what the photo is about. Case in point. iPhone SE with Sirui 18mm wide angle lens. Standard Apple Camera app. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.