Posts in Category: moss and lichen

Nature Phonography: Looking closely in the forest

I took a short ride on my trike yesterday, and an even shorter walk out into the forest along the way to see what I could see and to play with the Sirui lens set on my iPhone SE 2020. I have the Moment thin case, so mounting the lenses is just a twist. I got out the 10x Macro lens for its first real world test. I was surprised at the depth of field…much greater than I expected, but still shallow enough to isolate a subject against its background. You need to be able to get really close to your subject. This not a “telephoto macro.” The main trick is to keep out of your own, and the phone’s shadow. Overall I am impressed. This lens is going to be a lot of fun, if I can remember to use it. 🙂 A bit of moss with a pine cone embedded from beside the trail made a vivid macro still life. iPhone SE 2020 with Sirui 10x macro on the Moment thin case. Stock Camera App on Auto. Processed in Apple Photos.

British Soldiers, and a funny story…

British Soldier Lichen, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area in West Kennebunk Maine

There is an interesting story behind this image of British Soldier Lichen, taken on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area in West Kennebunk Maine. I was feeling the itch in my shutter button yesterday. It was a strange winter day, with temperatures in the low 50s and snow still on the ground and I thought it would be a waste to stay inside, so I drove out to the Kennebunk Plains to see what I could see. I thought that with the warm weather and light snow coat, others would have been into the parking areas already and made a way for my non-four-wheel-drive hybrid. When I got there, the parking area was completely flooded. I had not counted on the snow melt, which was in high gear. The parking lot was not only flooded over and ice pack, but it actually had a good sized stream flowing through it…much deeper then I though when I turned in. By then I was committed, and I thought, oh well, I will just drive all the way to the other side to dry ground so I can get out of the car (I only had my winter crocks on, which have air holes and are only 3 inches high anyway). Good plan until, right in the middle of the stream, my front driver-side wheel went through the ice that was under water and the car sloped down until the water was right up to the lower sill of the door. And, of course, there I was, well and truly stuck. There was no way my little hybrid was going to climb back up out of that hole in the ice…and I was still in my crocks, but now surrounded by a minimum of 4 inches of water, and that was on the high side of the car. So I pulled out my phone and called AAA. It took a while to explain the situation, but about 40 minutes later a big flatbed tow truck arrived. By then I had climbed across to the passenger seat and out of the car and waded on tiptoes to solid ground at the edge of the parking lot. Of course I took some photos while I waited for the tow truck. This one, of the British Soldier Lichen (in case you have forgotten), is one of them. 

The tow truck driver knew his stuff, and despite almost getting stuck when his back tires also went through the ice, he got the chain on a tow point on the frame and winched the car back to solid ground (or ice at least). From there I was able to back around and get out of the parking lot. No harm done. All part of the adventure. And I can not say enough good about the skill of that AAA tow truck driver!

The Lichen shot is at 1/80th @ ISO 100 @ f5 at 86mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Polarr on my Android tablet. 

Fallen Glory

I still have a lot of images from my trip to Arcata California and the Godwit Days Spring Migration Festival that I could share. This is one of my deep HDR experiments at Founder’s Grove in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I like the way the Richardson’s Geraniums and a variety of ferns are growing on this fallen Redwood trunk. My guess, given the legendary durability of Redwood, is that this trunk has been down for well over 1000 years, to reach the stage of decomposition where it now supports it’s own micro-habitat. And I suspect it will be another 1000 years (or more) before all trace of the tree is gone. That is a long time!

It takes at least a 3 exposure HDR, with the highlight (dark) shot at least at -3EV, and the exposures well separated, to capture the range of light on the floor of Founder’s Grove. Canon SX50HS. 24mm equivalent field of view. From a tripod. Exposures blended and the HDR file tone mapped in Dynamic Photo HDR. Final processing for my usual intensity, clarity, and sharpness in Lightroom. Auto Color Balance to correct a yellow bias introduce in the HDR process.

Sun in Tree Tops

Yesterday I drove from Ukiah California to Arcata California, up 101 and the Avenue of the Giants, with a short side trip to Victorian Ferndale (more about which later). This is a shot from the first rest area on 101. It is deep in a sharp valley in the little range of hilly mountains just north of Ukiah, and though the sun had been up for hours, it was just then reaching the depths and lighting the tops of this great tree.

Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. 55mm equivalent field of view. f4.5 @ 1/100th @ ISO 80. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.

10/3/2011: Still life with fungi

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Another shot from Saco Heath, along the boardwalk on the way out through the forest. There was a great variety of fungi along the path. This little grouping in the moss caught my eye both going in and coming out. Coming out it was in a little patch of sun. Bonus!

Nikon Coolpix P500 in close up mode. 32mm equivalent field of view, f3.7 @ 1/60th @ ISO 160.

Processed in Lightroom for Clarity and Sharpness.

8/10/2011: Batson River at August Ebb

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The river at Emmons Preserve barely deserves the name in any season, but by August its spring rush is just a memory…a song sung far away and in a minor key by the trickle of water that flows down rock to rock and moistens an abundant growth of moss. Still it has its alure. One thinks of ferries and elves making the most of deep summer evenings. Indeed the Ebony Jewelwings over dark water, catching the sun flash on their irridescent blue and sometimes green tails could easily be the originals of more than one supernatural dweller in the glades.

Nikon Coolpix P P500 at 23mm equivalent field of view. F3.4 @ 1/60th @ ISO 200. Program with Active D-Lighting. 2) 283mm, f5.5 @ 1/20 @ ISO 200. Close Up mode.

Processed in Lightroom for Clarity and Sharpness.

6/19/2011: Lichen Flowers: Happy Sunday!

Happy Sunday.

As I mentioned in my extended essay on shooting in the rain (Acadia from under an umbrella…), one of the advantages of prevailing mist and falling water is that you tend (or at least I tend) to look at what is close to hand more carefully…and, of course, the water on everything adds a glisten that catches the eye. I have always been fascinated by moss and lichen, though I know next to nothing about it. I like the forms it takes, the colors (or lack thereof) and the textures. The northern coast of Maine has both moss and lichen in abundance.

This whitish, antlered lichen forms large dense beads from the seaside path to the tops of the mountains of Acadia. It generally hosts a variety of other plants, but only a few hardy individuals, well spaced, as below.

 

I had, however, never seen the flowers, if that is the proper word for these reproductive parts of this particular lichen, until my day of photographing in the rain.

Nikon Coolpix P500 in 1) Close Up Scene mode, 32mm equivalent field of view, f3.7 @ 1/60th @ ISO 160. 2) 100mm equivalent, f4.6 @ 1/60th @ ISO 160 Program.

Processed in Lightroom for Clarity and Sharpness.

And, of the Sunday thought, that matter of looking close come to mind. Though we Christians don’t give “paying attention” as much attention as some other religions, I certainly find that a sense of reverence has to be grounded in attention…in looking closely at life…in seeing and celebrating all the works of creation, from the most grand landscape to the smallest lichen on the forest floor. And when you do pay attention, you see the most amazing things. I mean, how unlikely are those flowers, or whatever lichen have, and how unlikely is the lichen itself…a fungus and an alga living entwined, supporting and feeding each other? The infinite forms of creation is enough to keep me reverent…and entertained…even on a rainy day. Even on a Sunday. Especially on a Sunday! 

4/19/2011: Lichen and ???

The flaky growth on a fallen branch at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is lichen, and I think the little miniature pine-tree-thingy is too. I think, from a bit of googling, it may be a fruticose lichen related to Spanish Moss. I was struck by the contrast in form and color, and framed this with the long end of the zoom and macro on the Canon SX20IS, which provided the attractive bokeh. The early morning light of early spring picked out the detail and gave the image some warmth it would not otherwise have had.

Canon SX20IS at 356mm equivalent field of view, f5 @ 1/80th @ ISO 80. Program Mode.

Processed for intensity and clarity in Lightroom.

4/16/2011: Miniature Mountains, Forests, in a Stump

On my photo walk last Saturday, spring just was not happening all that much, but I found a brave display of moss and lichen along a new trail through a little patch of public use land donated to the town recently. This is a rather small stump, in the scale of things, but well decorated. In the light of an early spring morning it builds possibilities in the mind. Kind of an alternative scenery for Saturday.

Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent and super-macro. F7.1 @ 1/30th @ ISO 80. I used Program Shift to select the smaller aperture for added depth of field.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity and clarity (see Lightroom Processing page above).

1/14/2011: You can’t keep a good moss down!

The boggy fir forest that surrounds Saco Heath is always an interesting place. The water there must be on the warm side, perhaps from the peat decomposition, because despite several inches of snow covering the forest floor, there were these little bare patches of moist moss showing in odd spots. The contrast of bright green with the snow and old oak leaves is what caught my eye here. Then it was just a matter of framing it.

Canon SX20IS at 360mm equivalent, f5 @ 1/400th @ ISO 160. Snow Mode.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity and clarity.