Posts in Category: snow
Maine! Cardinal on ice
Northern Cardinal: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — Before my Cardinal after the March snow and ice event encounter slips too far into memory I need to share at least one more photo. 🙂 OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Post Card Cardinal
Northern Cardinal: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — We woke yesterday to trees glistening with frozen rain after maybe 3 inches of snow on Saturday. Right at first light our neighborhood male Cardinal was under the pines and up in the glistening branches…too far away and still too dark for a photograph. As the sun got up, I bundled up and spent an enchanted hour or more photographing birds…bluebirds, robins, goldfinches and even the Carolina Wren…in the back yard among the icy branches…but I kept hearing the siren call of the Cardinals somewhere out there in the larger neighborhood and eventually it was too much. I went walkabout with my camera. I went around our local blocks many times. I could hear the Cardinals calling but wherever I went, by the time I got there, the Cardinals were somewhere else. Finally I traced them to some tall trees a few corners over from our house. They were close. I could hear them but I just could not see them. And then the male popped out of a hedge of evergreens right in front of me, right at eye-level, way lower than I was expecting from the calls. Alright! A gift pure and simple. I took way too many photos. This is not necessarily the best one…I have many I will keep…but the one I chose this morning. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Snow birds
Eastern Bluebird: Carolina Wren: York County, Maine, USA, January 2024 — Before it slips totally into long-term memory, here are a couple of mandatory bird shots from Sunday’s snow storm. Unlike many in Maine, we have had our regular birds at the feeders through the late fall and early winter, so we were not surprised to see a flurry of activity as the snow fell. The Carolina Wren has been an occasional visitor for the past year, and must be nesting in the area, and we had 7 Bluebirds at the same time around our mealworm feeder…as well as the Titmice, Gold and House finches, Chickadees, Nuthatches, and both Downy and Hariy Woodpeckers. The Red-bellied even put in a brief appearance, along with a pair of Mourning Doves. We even have one lonely Chipping Sparrow still hanging out with the mixed flock. So, yes, busy feeders. And, of course, there is nothing like a bird in the snow shot to warm the winter heart. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Snowy day bonus
Two HDR snowy landscapes from behind the dunes at our local beach, and a forest panorama (three HDR shots stitched). OM Systems OMD E-M5mkiii and the Olympus 12-45mm zoom. Program mode with HDR. Processed in Photomator and stitched in Panorama Stitcher. Assembled in FrameMagic.
Mousam River in the snow…
Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2023 — It is very rare indeed for the snow to stay on the trees in southern Maine for more than a few hours. We are into our third day of this winter wonderland now…and it looks good to hold until we get some “wintery mix” late this evening into tomorrow. There are downed trees and branches all over town, and there will be more by morning tomorrow. Still, it is undeniably beautiful. This is two more iPhone 13 shots. One with the ultra-wide lens and, of course, a panorama. The computing power of the phone makes these kinds of photos possible and even easy.
Clinging snow…
Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2023 — We had one of those days on Friday. Heavy wet snow overnight, with, thankfully, no wind, and we woke to a world frosted in white. (The thankfulness is about broken branches, downed trees, and power lines…which would have been a major problem with any wind at all…as it was the lawn is littered with fallen branches buried in the snow.) I was out clearing the drive with the snowblower, and still had the energy when I finished for a few phone photos. I have a “new” iPhone 13 with the ultrawide lens to try out. If you follow my Day Poems on Tumbler or Facebook, that graze on the big pine is where the truck hit it a few nights ago…during the last snow storm. Anyway, it makes a change from constant photos of tropical birds and wildlife. 🙂
Snow birds…
Goldfinch, Eastern Bluebird, White-breasted Nuthatch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2023 — We had a flurry of birds (our mixed feeding flock) just as the first huge flakes of snow begin to fall yesterday, so I paused my exercise routine to take the camera out and record it. Three of the usual suspects making the most of the opportunity. The Bluebird looks the most bemused by the falling snow (our first this year) but then bluebirds always look a bit bemused. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 1250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
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.
Nature Phone
Today marks a new photography adventure for me. I have decided to explore just how far you can push a phone camera in nature photography. This is my first attempt at serious phone photography with my modest iPhone SE 2020 and a Surui 18mm equivalent clip on lens. I used the ProCamera app to shoot and then process in HDR. I have a couple more Surui lenses to play with, and a small 50mm spotting scope for phonescoping on its way. We will see how this goes. This the forest across the road from our yard after Friday’s gentle snow. This new adventure needs a title, since I plan to chronicle my experiences on the web and maybe in at least an ebook. After long pondering, I think maybe “Nature Phone” will do. 🙂
Goldfinch in the snowstorm…
American Goldfinch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Low light, snow falling, and lots of birds at the feeder. The most Goldfinches I have seen together this winter…at least a dozen at a time around the thistle and sunflower feeders. For this shot the camera had to contend not only with the light levels, which pushed the ISO into the upper reaches, but also with double layer thermopane glass in the deck door…and still did a reasonable job of capturing the image. Some noise reduction was applied in Polarr, but no specialized noise reduction was used. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 2500 @ f4 @ 1/500th.